IT2105
Scheduling of the ready state to the running state of the process. The dispatcher
Process Scheduling
Scheduling or process scheduling is the act of selecting a job or a task that
is to be dispatched. In some operating systems, other units of work, such as
the input/output (I/O) operations, may also be scheduled (Stallings, 2018). This
particular activity of the process manager handles the removal of a running
process from the central processing unit (CPU), followed by the selection of
another process on the basis of a particular strategy or algorithm. The
operating system (OS) maintains the following important process scheduling
queues (Tutorialspoint, n.d.):
• Job queue – This queue contains all the processes in the system.
• Ready queue – This queue keeps a set of all processes residing in the
main memory, ready and waiting to execute. A new process is always
added to this queue.
• Device queue – This queue contains processes waiting for a device to
become available. Note that there are unique queues available for each
I/O device.
Process scheduling is an essential part of a multiprogramming operating
system. The basic intent of process scheduling is to divide CPU time among
active processes and threads and maintain a notion of priority in order to
execute a more important job or task sooner. The scheduling of processes on
processors and individual CPUs are performed by the scheduler, a key
component of the OS kernel (Gregg, 2021).
Process scheduling assigns processes to be executed in a way that meets
system objectives, such as response time and throughput. The scheduling
activity can be broken down into three (3) separate functions below. The
names suggest the relative time scales with which these functions are
performed (Stallings, 2018).
• Long-term scheduling – This involves a long-term scheduler, also known
as a job scheduler, that determines which programs are admitted to the
system for processing. Thus, it controls the degree of multiprogramming.
If the degree of multiprogramming is stable, then the average rate of
process creation must be equal to the average departure rate of processes
of the system. The primary objective of the job scheduler is to provide a
balanced mix of jobs.
• Short-term scheduling – This involves a short-term scheduler, also
known as the dispatcher, that is invoked whenever an event that may
lead to the blocking of the current process occurs. It is actually the change
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executes more frequently compared to the job scheduler, and makes the
fine-grained decisions of which process to execute next. The primary
objective of the dispatcher is to increase the system performance in
accordance with the chosen set of criteria.
• Medium-term scheduling – This is a part of the swapping function. The
medium-term scheduler is in charge of handling the swapped-out
processes. On the other hand, the swapping-in decision is based on the
need to manage the degree of multiprogramming. This actually reduces
the degree of multiprogramming.
o Swapping: A running process becomes suspended if it makes an I/O
request, wherein it cannot make any progress towards completion. In
order to remove the process from the memory and make space for
other processes, the suspended process is moved to the secondary
storage. Hence, the process of swapping.
Generally, a set of criteria is established against various scheduling policies
that may be evaluated. Note that it is impossible to optimize all scheduling
criteria simultaneously. The following are the key scheduling criteria that are
usually encountered in operating systems (Stallings, 2018):
• Turnaround time: The interval of time between the submission of a
process and its completion. This involves the time spent waiting in the
ready queue, plus the actual execution time, plus the time spent waiting
for resources, including the processor. Formula: Turnaround Time =
Finish Time – Arrival Time
• Response time: The time from the submission of a request until the
response begins to be received. In most cases, a process begins
producing some output to the user while continuing to process the request.
Thus, this criteria is a better measure than the turnaround time from the
user's point of view. In addition, the scheduling discipline should attempt
to achieve low response time and maximize the number of users receiving
the acceptable response time.
• Burst time: The amount of time required for a process to be executed by
the CPU. This criterion is also called the execution time or running time
(Ishaque, n.d.).
• Waiting time: The scheduling algorithm also affects the amount of time
that a process spends waiting in the ready queue. This is the sum of the
periods spent waiting in the ready queue (Silberschatz, Galvin, & Gagne,
2018). Formula: Waiting Time = Turnaround Time – Burst Time
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• Throughput: The scheduling algorithm should attempt to maximize the
number of processes completed per unit of time. This is the measure of
how much work is being performed by the processor.
• Processor utilization: The percentage of time that the processor is busy.
For exclusive shared systems, this criterion is significant. In other systems,
including single-user systems, this criterion is less important.
Conceptually, processor utilization can range from 0 to 100 percent. In a
real system, it should range from 40% (lightly loaded) to 90% (heavily
loaded).
• Priority: The process priority can be modified dynamically by the
scheduler to improve the performance of certain workloads. Note that
when processes are assigned with specific priorities, the scheduling
algorithm should favor higher-priority processes.
• Fairness: In the absence of guidance from the user or other system-
supplied guidance, processes should be treated the same, and no process
should suffer from starvation.
• Resource balancing: The scheduling algorithm should keep the
resources of the system busy. Processes that will underutilize stressed
resources should be favored. This criterion also involves
• Preemptive: The currently running processes may be interrupted and
moved to the Ready State by the OS. The decision to preempt may be
performed during the following circumstances:
o A new process arrives
o An interrupt occurs that places a blocked process in the Ready State
First-Come First-Serve (FCFS)
In this algorithm, all incoming processes join the ready queue. Then, if the
currently running process ceases to execute, the process that has been in the
ready queue the longest is selected for running. FCFS performs better for long
processes. It is not an appealing alternative on its own for a uniprocessor
system. However, it is often combined with a priority scheme to provide an
effective scheduler (Stallings, 2018).
• It is a non-preemptive algorithm.
• It is easy to understand and implement.
• It is also identified as a strict queuing scheme.
• All jobs are executed on a first-come first-serve basis.
• The performance of this algorithm is poor since the average waiting time
is high.

In operating systems, workloads can be categorized as either of the following FCFS Example:
(Gregg, 2021): Process A B C D E
• CPU-bound – This includes applications that perform heavy compute Arrival Time 0 2 4 6 8
operations, such as scientific and mathematical analysis, which are Burst Time (Ts) 3 6 4 5 2
expected to have long runtimes.
• I/O-bound – This includes applications that perform input/output Finish Time 3 9 13 18 20
Turnaround
operations, such as web servers, file servers, and interactive shells, where 3 7 9 12 12
Time (Tr)
low-latency responses are desirable. Waiting Time 0 1 5 7 10
Tr/Ts 1.00 1.17 2.25 2.40 6.00
Process Scheduling Algorithms
In process scheduling, each algorithm encompasses a specific selection
function that determines which process among the ready processes is
selected next for execution, and a decision mode that specifies the instants
in time at which the selection function is exercised. The decision mode of an
algorithm can either be (Stallings, 2018):
• Non-preemptive: Once a process is in the Running State, it continues to
execute until it terminates or it blocks itself to wait for an I/O operation or
to request some OS service. Average Turnaround Time: 43 / 5 = 8.60
Average Waiting Time: 23 / 5 = 4.60
Average Tr/Ts: 12.82 / 5 = 2.56
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 IT2105
Shortest Job First (SJF) • The scheduler always chooses and executes the process that has the
This algorithm is easy to implement in batch systems, where the required CPU shortest expected remaining processing time.
time is known in advance. On the other hand, this algorithm is impossible to • This does not have the bias in favor of long processes found in a first-
implement in interactive systems where the required CPU time is unknown. It come first-serve setup.
is the best approach to minimize the waiting time (Tutorialspoint, n.d.). • There are no additional interrupts generated, reducing the overhead.
• It is a non-preemptive algorithm. • The elapsed service time can be recorded, contributing to the overhead.
• It is also called the shortest job next or shortest process next.
• This algorithm selects and executes the process with the shortest SRTF Example:
expected or estimated processing time. Thus, the processing time must Process A B C D E
be known in advance by the processor. Arrival Time 0 2 4 6 8
Burst Time (Ts) 3 6 4 5 2
SJF Example:
Process A B C D E Finish Time 3 15 8 20 10
Arrival Time 0 2 4 6 8 Turnaround
Time (Tr)
3 13 4 14 2
Burst Time (Ts) 3 6 4 5 2
Waiting Time 0 7 0 9 0
Finish Time
Tr/Ts 1.00 2.17 1.00 2.80 1.00
3 9 15 20 11
Turnaround
Time (Tr)
3 7 11 14 3
Waiting Time 0 1 7 9 1
Tr/Ts 1.00 1.17 2.75 2.80 1.50

Average Turnaround Time: 36 / 5 = 7.20

Average Waiting Time: 16 / 5 = 3.20
Average Tr/Ts: 7.97 / 5 = 1.59

Average Turnaround Time: 38 / 5 = 7.60 Round Robin (RR)

Average Waiting Time: 18 / 5 = 3.60
Average Tr/Ts: 9.22 / 5 = 1.84
Shortest Remaining Time First (SRTF)
In this algorithm, when a new process with a shorter remaining time joins the
ready queue, the scheduler may preempt the currently running process and
execute the new one. The scheduler must have an estimate of the processing
time to perform the selection function. In addition, the risk of starvation of long
processes exists (Stallings, 2018).
• It is a preemptive version of the SJF algorithm.
This algorithm involves the generation of a clock interrupt at periodic intervals.
When the interrupt occurs, the currently running process is placed in the ready
queue, and the next ready job is selected on a first-come first-serve basis. This
technique is known as time slicing, because each process is given a slice of
time before being preempted (Stallings, 2018).
• It is a preemptive algorithm.
• Each process is provided with a fixed time to execute, called the quantum.
• Once a process has consumed all its allotted execution time, it is
automatically preempted and another process executes for a given period
of time.

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 IT2105
RR Example: NPP Example:
Process A B C D E Process A B C D E
Arrival Time 0 2 4 6 8 Priority 1 2 3 5 4
Burst Time (Ts) 3 6 4 5 2 Arrival Time 0 0 6 11 12
Burst Time (Ts) 4 3 7 4 2
Finish Time 3 17 11 20 19
Turnaround
1 15 7 14 11
Finish Time 4 7 14 20 16
Time (Tr) Turnaround
Waiting Time 0 9 3 9 9 Time (Tr)
4 7 8 9 4
Tr/Ts 1.00 2.50 1.75 2.80 5.50 Waiting Time 0 4 1 5 2

Quantum = 4

Average Turnaround Time: 32 / 5 = 6.40

Average Turnaround Time: 50 / 5 = 5.00 Average Waiting Time: 12 / 5 = 2.40
Average Waiting Time: 30 / 5 = 6.00
Average Tr/Ts: 13.55 / 5 = 2.71 References:
Gregg, B. (2021). System performance: Enterprise and Cloud (2nd ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
Ishaque, S. (n.d.). Arrival, burst, completion, turnaround, waiting, & response time. Retrieved on November 15, 2021 from
Non-Preemptive Priority (NPP) Scheduling https://www.educative.io/edpresso/arrival-burst-completion-turnaround-waiting-response-time
In general, each system process is assigned with a corresponding priority, and Silberschatz, A., Galvin, P. & Gagne, G. (2018). Operating systems concepts (10th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Stallings, W. (2018). Operating systems: Internal and design principles (9th ed.). Pearson Education Limited
the scheduler will always choose a process of higher priority. A particular Tutorialspoint. (n.d.). Operating system scheduling algorithm. Retrieved on November 15, 2021 from
challenge exists in implementing a pure priority-based scheduling, and that is: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_process_scheduling_algorithms.htm
lower priority processes may suffer starvation. This can possibly occur if there Tutorialspoint. (n.d.). Operating Systems – Process Scheduling. Retrieved on November 15, 2021 from
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/operating_system/os_process_scheduling.htm
is a constant and steady supply of higher-priority processes. On the other
hand, the priority of a process can still change based on its age or execution
history (Stallings, 2018).
• It is a non-preemptive algorithm.
• It is the most common scheduling algorithm in batch systems.
• Each process is assigned with a priority and the process with the highest
priority will always be executed first.
• Processes with the same priority level are executed on a first-come first-
serve basis.
• The priority of a process can be based on memory requirements, time
requirements, or any other resource requirements.

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