Operating system Assignment One

Due date: 22 October 2021

a) For the Producer-Consumer problem, solutions may be based on semaphores and

message passing. Briefly compare the benefits of the two techniques. [6]
b) At a lower level there are various ways that files can be stored on disk. There are four
main categories of file allocation. Describe any three allocation mechanisms. [12]
c) A small computer has 4 page frames. A process makes the following list of page
references: 1,2,3,4,1,5,2,3,1,2. How many page faults can occur using FIFO, least-
recently-used and Optimal page replacement algorithms [10]
d) Consider the following set of jobs to be scheduled for execution on a single CPU
system.
Job Arrival Time Size (msec) Priority
J1 0 9 2 (Silver)
J2 2 7 1(Gold)
J3 3 3 3(Bronze)
J4 10 4 2(Silver)
J5 12 1 3(Bronze)
J6 15 4 1(Gold)

i) Draw a Gantt chart showing FCFS scheduling for these jobs. [4]
ii) Draw a Gantt chart showing (non-preemptive) SJF scheduling. [4]
iii) Draw a Gantt chart showing non-preemptive PRIORITY scheduling. [4]

e) To improve their performance, modern C.P.U’s have facilities for executing more
than one application at the same time. State and explain any two such facilities. [4]
f) When does a page fault occur? Explain various page replacement strategies. [10]

g) Explain the basic principle behind the buddy system and evaluate an alternative to the
buddy system. [6]