Chapter 2:
Early Memory Management Systems
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Introduction
● Management of main memory is critical.
● The performance of the entire system has
been directly dependent on two things:
● How much memory is available
● How it is optimization while jobs are being
processed.
● This chapter introduces:
● The memory manager (RAM)
● Core memory (primary storage)
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Introduction
● This chapter introduces:
● Four types of memory allocation schemes
● Single-user systems
● Fixed partitions
● Dynamic partitions
● Relocatable dynamic partitions
● These early memory management schemes are
seldom used by today’s OSs but are important to
study because each one introduced fundamental
concepts that helped memory management
evolve.
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Types of Memory Allocation Schemes
● Single User Contiguous Scheme
● Fixed Partitions
● Dynamic Partitions
● Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
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Single-User Contiguous Scheme
● Commercially available in 1940s and 1950s
● Each program was loaded in its entirety into
memory and allocated as much contiguous
memory space allocated as it needed.
● If the program was too large and didn’t fit the
available memory space, it couldn’t be executed,
● Although early computers were physically
large, they had very little memory.
● Computers have only a finite amount of
memory.
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Single-User Contiguous Scheme
● If a program doesn’t fit, then either the
size of the main memory must be increased
or the program must be modified.
● Making it smaller
● Using methods that allow program segments
(partitions made to the program) to be overlaid.
● Transfer segments of a program from secondary
storage into main memory for execution
● Two or more segments take turns occupying the same
memory locations.
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Single User Contiguous Scheme
● How it works:
● Job/program is loaded (entirety), into memory & is
allocated as much contiguous space in memory as it
needs.
● If program fits
● Execute
● Else
● End
● If a program doesn’t fit, then either the size of
main memory must be increased, or the program
must be modified to fit.
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Operating System
10K
Job 1 (30K)
40K
Remainder of Main Memory
is Unused
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● It is a non-networked environment
allocate to each user, access to all
available main memory for each job, and
jobs are processed sequentially, one after
the other.
● To allocate memory, Memory Manager will:
1. Evaluate the incoming job for its size
whether it fits the memory space or not.
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● If it is, load into memory; if not, reject it and
evaluate the next coming process.
2. Monitor the occupied memory space.
When the resident job ends its
execution and no longer needs to be in
memory, indicate that the entire amount
of main memory space is now available
and return to Step 1, evaluating the next
incoming job.
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● Major problem:
● It doesn’t support multiprogramming
(multiple jobs or processes occupying
memory at the same time)
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Algorithm
1. Store first memory location of program
into base register (for memory protection)
2. Set program counter (it keeps track of
memory space used by the program) equal
to address of first memory location
3. Read first instruction of program
4. Increment program counter by number of
bytes in instruction
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5. Has the last instruction been reached?
● If yes, then stop loading program
● If no, then continue with Step 6
6. Is program counter greater than memory size?
● If yes, then stop loading program
● If no, then continue with Step 7
7. Load instruction in memory
8. Read next instruction of program
9. Go to Step 4
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Disadvantages
● There is no support for multiprogramming
or networking
● It can handle only one job at a time.
● This configuration was first used in
research institutions but proved
unacceptable for the business community.
● It was not cost effective to spend almost
$200,000 for equipment that could be
used by only one person at a time.
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In conclusion..
● The amount of work performed by the
Memory Manager is minimal.
● Only two hardware items are needed:
● A register to store the base address
● An accumulator to keep track of the size of
the program as it’s being read into memory.
● Once the program is entirely loaded into
memory, it remains there until execution is
complete, either through normal
termination or by intervention of the OS.
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Fixed Partitions
● The first attempt to follow multiprogramming
used fixed partitions (static partitions)
within main memory.
● One partition for each job.
● The size of each partition was designated
when the system was powered on.
● Each partition could only be reconfigured when
the system was shut down.
● Once the system was in operation, the
partition sizes remained static.
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Fixed Partitions
● Introduced protection of the job’s memory
space
● Once a partition was assigned to a job, no other job
could be allowed to enter its boundaries, either
accidentally or intentionally.
● Not a problem in single-user contiguous allocation schemes.
● Fixed Partitions is more flexible than the
Single-User scheme because it allows several
programs to be in memory at the same time.
● Fixed Partitions still requires that the entire
program be stored contiguously and in memory
from the beginning to the end of its execution.
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Fixed Partitions
● In order to allocate memory spaces to jobs, the
OS’s Memory Manager must keep a table which
shows:
● Each memory partition size
● Its address
● Its access restrictions
● Its current status (free or busy)
● As each job terminates, the status of its memory
partition is changed from busy to free so an
incoming job can be assigned to that partition.
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Fixed Partitions (cont'd.)
● Memory manager allocates memory space to jobs
● Uses a table
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Fixed Partitions (cont'd.)
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Fixed Partitions (cont'd.)
● Disadvantages
● The Fixed Partition scheme works well if all
the jobs run on the system are of the same
size or if the sizes are known ahead of time
and don’t vary between reconfiguration.
● If the partition sizes are too small:
● larger jobs will be rejected if they’re too big to fit
into the largest partition.
● Large jobs will wait if the large partitions are busy.
● Large jobs may have a longer turnaround time as
they wait for free partitions of sufficient size or
may never run.
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Fixed Partitions (cont'd.)
● Disadvantages
● If the partition sizes are too big, memory is wasted.
● If a job does not occupy the entire partition, the unused
memory in the partition will remain idle.
● It can’t be given to another job because each partition is
allocated to only one job at a time.
● Partial usage of fixed partitions and the coinciding
creation of unused spaces within the partition is
called internal fragmentation and is a major
drawback to the fixed partition memory allocation
scheme.
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Dynamic Partitions
● With Dynamic Partitions available memory is still
kept in contiguous blocks but jobs are given only as
much memory as they request when they are loaded
for processing.
● A dynamic partition scheme fully utilizes memory
when the first jobs are loaded.
● As new jobs enter the system that are not the same
size as those that just vacated memory, they are fit
into the available spaces on a priority basis.
● First Come – First Serve priority
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Dynamic Partitions
● The subsequent allocation of memory
creates fragments of free memory between
blocks of allocated memory.
● External fragmentation
● Lets memory go to waste
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Dynamic Partitions (cont'd.)
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Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation
● For both fixed and dynamic memory allocation
schemes, the OS must keep lists of each
memory location noting which are free and
which are busy.
● As new jobs come into the system, the free
partitions must be allocated.
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● These partitions may be allocated on the
basis of:
● First-fit memory allocation:
● First partition fitting the requirements
● Best-fit memory allocation:
● Smallest partition fitting the requirements
● Least wasted space
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Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation
● For both schemes, the Memory Manager
organizes the memory lists of the free
and used partitions either by size or by
location.
● The Best-fit allocation method keeps the free/
busy lists in order by size, smallest to largest.
● Makes the best use of memory space.
● The first-fit method keeps the free/bust list
organized by memory locations, low-order
memory to high-order memory.
● Faster in making the allocation. 28
Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation (cont'd.)
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Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation (cont'd.)
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Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation (cont'd.)
● Algorithm for first-fit
● Assumes memory manager keeps two lists
● One for free memory blocks
● One for busy memory blocks
● The operation consists of a simple loop that
compares the size of each job to the size of each
memory block until a block is found that is large
enough to fit the job.
● The job is stored into that block of memory and
the Memory Manager moves out of the loop to
fetch the next job from the entry queue
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Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation (cont'd.)
● Algorithm for first-fit (cont'd.):
● If the entire list is searched in vain, then
the job is placed into a waiting queue.
● The Memory Manager then fetches the
next job and repeats the process.
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Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation (cont'd.)
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Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation (cont'd.)
● Algorithm for best-fit
● The goal is to find the smallest memory
block into which the job will fit
● The entire table must be searched before
the allocation can be made because the
memory blocks are physically stored in
sequence according to their location in
memory.
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Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation (cont'd.)
Understanding Operating Systems,
Sixth Edition 35
Best-Fit Versus First-Fit Allocation (cont'd.)
● Hypothetical allocation schemes
● Next-fit:
● Starts searching from last allocated block, for
next available block when a new job arrives
● Worst-fit:
● Allocates largest free available block to new job
● Opposite of best-fit
● Good way to explore theory of memory allocation
● Not best choice for an actual system
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Deallocation
● There eventually comes a time when memory
space must be released or deallocated.
● For a fixed-partition system:
● When the job is completed, the Memory
Manager resets the status of the memory
block where the job was stored to “free”.
● Any code may be used.
● Example code: binary values with zero indicating
free and one indicating busy.
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Deallocation (cont'd.)
● For dynamic-partition system:
● A more complex Algorithm is used because the
algorithm tries to combine free areas of memory
whenever possible.
● The system must be prepared for three alternative
solutions:
● Case 1: When the block to be deallocated is adjacent to
another free block
● Case 2: When the block to be deallocated is between two
free blocks
● Case 3: When the block to be deallocated is isolated from
other free blocks
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Case 1: Joining Two Free Blocks
● Using the deallocation algorithm, the system
sees that the memory to be released is next
to a free memory block (Location 7800).
● The List must be changed changes to reflect
the starting address of the new free block
(7600) which was the address of the first
instruction of the job that just released
this block.
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● In addition, the memory block size for
this new free space must be changed to
show its new size, which is the combined
total of the two free partitions (200 + 5).
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Case 1: Joining Two Free Blocks (cont'd.)
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Case 1: Joining Two Free Blocks (cont'd.)
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Case 2: Joining Three Free Blocks
● When the deallocated memory space is between two
free memory blocks:
● Using the deallocation algorithm, the system learns
that the memory to be deallocated is between two
free blocks of memory.
● The sizes of the three free partitions (20 + 20 +205)
must be combined and the total stored with the
smallest beginning address, 7560.
● Because the entry at location 7600 has been combined
with the previous entry, we must empty out this entry.
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Case 2: Joining Three Free Blocks
● We do that by changing the status to null
entry, with no beginning address and no
memory block size as indicated by an
asterisk.
● This negates the need to rearrange the
list at the expense of memory.
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Case 2: Joining Three Free Blocks (cont'd.)
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Case 2: Joining Three Free Blocks (cont'd.)
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Case 3: Deallocating an Isolated Block
● The third alternative is when the space to be
deallocated is isolated from all other free
areas.
● Using the deallocation algorithm, the system
learns that the memory block to be released is not
adjacent to any free blocks of memory
● It is between two other busy areas
● The system must search the table for a null entry.
● When the null entry is found:
● The beginning memory location of the terminating job is
entered in the beginning address column.
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Case 3: Deallocating an Isolated Block
● The job size is entered under the memory
block size column
● The status is changed from a null entry to
free to indicate that a new block of memory is
available.
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Case 3: Deallocating an Isolated Block (cont'd.)
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Case 3: Deallocating an Isolated Block (cont'd.)
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Case 3: Deallocating an Isolated Block
(cont'd.)
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Case 3: Deallocating an Isolated Block (cont'd.)
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
● Both the fixed and dynamic memory allocation
schemes described thus far shared some
unacceptable fragmentation characteristics
that had to be resolved before the number of
jobs waiting to be accepted became unwieldy.
● In addition, there was a growing need to use all
the slivers of memory often left over.
● The solution to both problems was the
development of relocatable dynamic partitions.
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
● Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
● The Memory Manager relocates programs to gather
together all of the empty blocks and compact them to
make one block of memory large enough to
accommodate some or all of the jobs waiting to get in.
● The compaction of memory is performed by the
OS to reclaim fragmented sections of the
memory space.
● Every program in memory must be relocated so
they’re contiguous.
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
● The compaction of memory
● Every address, and every reference to an
address, within each program must be
adjusted to account for the program’s new
location in memory.
● All other values within the program must
be left alone.
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
57
Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
● Compaction Issues:
● What goes on behind the scenes when
relocation and compaction take place?
● What keeps track of how far each job has
moved from its original storage area?
● What lists have to be updated?
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
● What lists have to be updated?
● After relocation and compaction, both the
free list and the busy list are updated.
● Free list is changed to show the partition for
the new block of free memory
● The one formed as a result of compaction that will be
located in memory starting after the last location
used by the last job.
● Busy list is changed to show the new locations
for all of the jobs already in process that were
relocated.
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
● Special-purpose registers used for relocation:
● Bounds register
●
Used to store the highest (or lowest) location in
memory accessible by each program.
●
This ensures that, during execution, a program won’t
try to access memory locations that don’t belong to it.
● Relocation register
●
Contains the value that must be added to each
address referenced in the program so that the
system will be able to access the correct memory
addresses after relocation.
●
If the program isn’t relocated, the value, “zero” is
stored in the program’s relocation register.
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
● By compacting and relocating, the Memory
Manager optimizes use of memory and, thus,
Improves throughput.
● An unfortunate side effect is that more
overhead is incurred than with the two previous
memory allocation schemes.
● The crucial factor is the timing of the
compaction.
● When and how often should it be done.
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
● There are three options for the timing of
compaction:
● One approach is to do it when a certain
percentage of memory becomes busy – 75%
● The disadvantage of this approach is that the
system would incur unnecessary overhead if no
jobs were waiting to use the remaining 25%.
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● A second approach is to compact memory
only when there are jobs waiting to get in.
● This would entail constant checking of the
entry queue, which might result in unnecessary
overhead and slow down the processing of the
jobs in the system.
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
● There are three options for the timing of
compaction:
● A third approach is to do it after a prescribed
amount of time has elapsed.
● If the amount of time chosen is too small, the
system will spend more time on compaction than on
processing.
● If the amount of time is too large, too many jobs
will congregate in the waiting queue and the
advantages of compaction are lost.
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Relocatable Dynamic Partitions
(cont'd.)
● There are three options for the timing of
compaction:
● The best choice for any system is decided
by the OS designer who, based on the job
mix and other factors, tries to optimize
both processing time and memory use
while keeping overhead as low as possible.
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Summary
● Four memory management techniques
● Single-user systems
● Fixed partitions
● Dynamic partitions
● Relocatable dynamic partitions
● Common requirements of four memory management
techniques
● Entire program loaded into memory
● Contiguous storage
● Memory residency until job completed
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Summary
● Each places severe restrictions on job
size
● Sufficient for first three generations of
computers which processed jobs in batch
mode.
● Turnaround time was measured in hours.
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Summary (cont'd.)
● New modern memory management trends in
late 1960s and early 1970s
● Discussed in next chapter
● Common characteristics of memory schemes
● Programs are not stored in contiguous memory
● Not all segments reside in memory during job
execution
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