Resource Management — Deadlocks

Abstract

One of the major functions of an operating system is to control the resources within the computer system. Indeed, considering CPU time and store as resources, then undoubtedly it is the most important function. At a slightly more mundane level, processes need to drive peripherals such as magnetic tape decks or exchangeable disc drives, as users want to mount their own media and have close and dedicated control of the peripherals. In this chapter, the problems of allocating resources to the processes in a multiprogramming system will be examined. As with the allocation of processor time and store, there is a dual objective:

• (1) To implement particular management policies regarding which users get the ‘best’ service.

• (2) To optimise the performance of the system.

The first of these Is somewhat outside the scope of this book and so only the second objective will be discussed.