Which of the following disk strategies is likely to give the best throughput?
1999
Which of the following disk strategies is likely to give the best throughput?
- A.
Farthest cylinder next
- B.
Nearest cylinder next
- C.
First come first served
- D.
Elevator algorithm
Attempted by 31 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
The correct answer is: Nearest cylinder next.
This strategy is Shortest Seek Time First (SSTF). It chooses the pending disk request whose cylinder is closest to the current head position.
Because seek time is a major part of disk access time, reducing head movement generally increases the number of requests that can be served per unit time. Therefore, among the given choices, SSTF is likely to give the best throughput.
The elevator algorithm (SCAN) is often preferred for fairness and more predictable response time, but SSTF is the more direct throughput-oriented choice here.