Memory Management Paper - Essay Example

Memory Management Requirements By Introduction In order for a program to execute, it is brought into the main memory (swap in). Many processes can be requesting for memory at the same time. Once allocated, a process cannot hold memory indefinitely Memory management refers to how a computer’s memory is allocated between the various memory requesting processes. Memory management is essential for the proper resource allocation and functioning of a computer and it must essentially satisfy the following four requirements (Ramesh, 2010; Isrd, 2006);1.

Protection As a number of programs are usually present in the memory at the same time, it is essential to protect the data and code of each user program from the other by separating the address spaces. Protection helps prevent any malicious or malfunctioning program to make any unauthorized access to memory portions and cause interference in other program’s operation causing system level errors.2. Sharing While protection limits access to memory, it is required that the protection scheme provides some flexibility to allow for sharing of memory space as well e.g. of read only programs.

A number of cooperating processes that may be executing the same program should be able to access the same part of main memory containing the same main program instead of having individual duplicates of the same program which would waste a lot of the precious memory space. Concurrency control must be maintained in case of sharing of program data.3. Relocation Relocation is responsible for allocating a user process a place in memory by converting the program’s logical address to physical address.

During swap in, it is necessary to relocate a process from the physical disc to main memory. Usually a program occupies the same place in memory when swapped in. However, it may happen that during a swap in, the usual memory place of a program may not be available. So, in that case, the program will have to be relocated to a new memory place and memory references would have to be translated to the actual physical address. 4. OrganizationMemory is required to be organized in a way that the programs with read only elements are stored in a separate portion within it.

Secondly, memory is divided into two types depending on the speed of access; main memory and secondary memory. Main memory is volatile and allows for the programs to be accessed quickly while the secondary memory is long term storage and allows slow access for the long term stored programs. ConclusionBy ensuring the requirements of protection, sharing, relocation and organization are met in the memory management system, proper functioning of the computer operations can be guaranteed.ReferencesRamesh, S. V. (2010).

Principles of Operating Systems. Laxmi Publications, Ltd. pp. 86-87.Isrd (2006). Basics Of Os Unix And Shell Programming. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 21.