Skip to main content
  • Courses
  • Programs
  • Help
    Getting Started Discussion Forums Help Center & FAQ
Saylor Academy
  • Log in or Sign up

CS401: Operating Systems

  1. Home
  2. Courses
  3. Course Catalog
  4. Computer Science
  5. CS401: Operating Systems
  6. Sections
  7. Unit 6: Memory Management
Back to course 'CS401: Operating Systems'
Log in or Sign up to track your course progress, gain access to final exams, and get a free certificate of completion!
  • Unit 6: Memory Management

    Memory is the oil that keeps the computer running smoothly. It is present in various forms throughout the entire computer system. As software developers, it is absolutely essential to have a solid understanding of the role memory plays so that you are able to efficiently use memory in your programs, as well as understand what is going on "under the hood" should a problem arise. We will discuss the role of memory in an Operating System, first with an overview of the memory hierarchy and how memory and the OS interact with each other. Next, we will move on to discussing how memory is allocated for different purposes. Finally, we will discuss the two main topics regarding memory access: segmentation and paging.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 11 hours.

    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • explain the memory hierarchy;
      • discuss how the operating system interacts with memory;
      • describe how virtual memory works;
      • discuss three algorithms for dynamic memory allocation;
      • explain methods of memory access; and
      • describe paging and page replacement algorithms.

    • 6.1: Overview of Memory Management

      • Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Jerry Breecher's "Memory Management" URL

        Read these slides.

      • 6.1.1: Memory Hierarchy

        • The Memory Management Reference: "Overview" URL

          Read this page.

      • 6.1.2: OS Interaction with Memory Levels

        • University of Idaho: Axel Kring's "Paging" URL

          Read the first seven slides.

      • 6.1.3: Virtual Memory

        • Thomas Finley's "Virtual Memory" URL

          Read these notes.

        • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Hari Balakrishnan and Samuel Madden's "Virtual Memory" Page

          Watch this lecture.

    • 6.2: Allocating Memory

      • The University of Wisconsin, Madison: Marvin Solomon's "Memory Management" URL

        Read these notes.

      • Memory Management Simulation URL

        Complete this assignment. You can check your answers against the answer key.

    • 6.3: Memory Access

      • The University of Wisconsin, Madison: Marvin Solomon's "Segmentation" URL

        Read these notes.

      • Jeremy Pierre's "An Introduction to Intel Memory Management" URL

        Read this document.

      • Brandon Friesen's "The GDT" URL

        Read this article.

      • The University of Wisconsin, Madison: Marvin Solomon's "Paging" URL

        Read these notes.

Skip Other students also took...
Other students also took...

Loading course recommendations...

Courses
Programs
Help
Getting Started
Discussion Forums
Help Center & FAQ
CS401: Operating Systems
Sections
Course Introduction
Unit 1: Introduction to Operating Systems
Unit 2: Processes and Threads
Unit 3: Synchronization
Unit 4: CPU Scheduling
Unit 5: Deadlock
Unit 6: Memory Management
Unit 7: File System
Unit 8: Security
Unit 9: Networking
Course Feedback Survey
Certificate Final Exam
Proctor-Verified Final Exam
Resources
Activities
Quizzes
About Saylor Academy
Blog
College Credit Partners
Saylor Academy
  • About

  • Partners

  • Blog

  • Contact

Saylor Academy

© Saylor Academy 2010-2019 except as otherwise noted. Excluding course final exams, content authored by Saylor Academy is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Third-party materials are the copyright of their respective owners and shared under various licenses. See detailed licensing information.

Saylor Academy and Saylor.org® are trade names of the Constitution Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization through which our educational activities are conducted.

"CCBY"

Sitemap | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Data retention summary
Get the mobile app
Policies