Virtual memory in operating systems: What is the use of virtual memory in operating systems?

Virtual memory in operating systems: What is the use of virtual memory in operating systems?

We can encounter many problems while using our computers in daily life . Since operating systems are very complicated systems , these problems can have multiple causes. Many ideas have been developed for operating systems to prevent these problems to a great extent . Virtual memory technology is one of them. In this article, we will share with you many information about the use of virtual memory in operating systems .

Although the need for virtual memory is basically the same for every operating system, there are some minor differences. We will consider them in order in our article.

What is the use of virtual memory in operating systems?
The idea of virtual memory in operating systems was first discovered in 1957 by Fritz-Rudolf Güntsch , the developer of the Telefunken TR440 mainframe, as he claims . The idea of ​​virtual memory was first used in the B5000 commercial computer after it was put forward as a doctoral thesis . However, it took a long time to adopt the use of virtual memory. By 1969 , an IBM research group led by David Sayre stated that virtual memory works much better than other systems.

Virtual memory in operating systems: What is the use of virtual memory in operating systems?

We can say that the idea of ​​virtual memory in operating systems was found so that computers can continue their functions when there is not enough memory left . In the 1970s, the cost of RAM was not as low as it is now. Producing RAM was very difficult and costly . Therefore, high capacity memories could not be used. Instead, help was received from discs that cost less . Virtual memory technology is basically a system based on covering this space from the disk on the computer when there is not enough RAM left for the operating system or programs .

RAM and HDD are basically two parts that act the same. Both are storage units. However, RAM is quite fast but costly, HDD is much slower but costly. For this reason, when there is not enough RAM left in the computer, the HDD is recovered. When the RAM on the system is full, the operating system starts using the space it allocates from the disk. Primary processes are handled in RAM, while other processes are held on disk in the background . According to the priority, read – write operations take place between RAM and disk . In this way, the desired area of ​​the system is provided, even if it is slow.

Virtual memory in operating systems: What is the use of virtual memory in operating systems?

The use of virtual memory in operating systems works best for Windows . Compared to Linux and macOS systems, Windows needs more RAM . For this reason, the virtual memory is automatically turned on when installing Windows, and the system manages this space unless you change it. This automatically determined area is determined according to the RAM and storage area on the computer. In Linux, virtual memory is also called swap space.

Nowadays , the need for virtual memory is gradually decreasing, as RAM costs are significantly reduced. If you do not have very high memory capacity, we recommend using virtual memory, even if your system is macOS. If you are a daily user and have enough memory, you do not have to allocate swap space on Linux systems.

Virtual memory performance in operating systems has increased significantly with the output of SSD disks . However, if virtual memory usage is intense, disk life will be significantly reduced as a high amount of reading and writing will be done on the disk . For this reason, if you have 16 GB of RAM or more on your computer, you can make the virtual memory use HDD instead of SSD .

Virtual memory in operating systems: What is the use of virtual memory in operating systems?

To manage this section, right click on My Computer folder and click on properties option from the window that opens . Here, click on the advanced system settings on the left and click Performance – Settings from the window that opens . Then click the change option in the Virtual memory option in the advanced section . After removing the tick in the upper part, you can manage the virtual memory space as you wish or select the disk to be used for this process.

To summarize, using virtual memory in operating systems is a very useful feature. Based on our suggestions above, you can regulate your virtual memory usage.

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Virtual memory in operating systems: What is the use of virtual memory in operating systems?
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