Dynamic Working Set Memory Allocation for Concurrent Processes

Haddad, Emile (1990) Dynamic Working Set Memory Allocation for Concurrent Processes. Technical Report TR-90-03, Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Abstract

The problem of allocating a given total amount of main memory page-frames M(t) available at time t, among a given set of concurrently active processes {P-sub i} is examined. Memory allocation is managed under the working set policy, and it is assumed that M(t) is larger than the total sum of all working-set sizes but less than the sum of distinct pages in {P-sub i}. It is required that each process receive at least an allocation equal to its working-set size and that the excess memory be additionally distributed among the concurrent processes to enhance their performance. The upper and lower bounds on the individual memory allocations for each process are derived. A fair policy for apportioning the excess memory among the concurrent processes is presented. A procedure for rounding off fragmented page apportionment is described. An application example, illustrating dynamically changing conditions in the concurrent active processes, is described.