Given memory access time as p nanoseconds and additional q nanoseconds for…

2021

Given memory access time as p nanoseconds and additional q nanoseconds for handling the page fault. What is the effective memory access time if a page fault occurs once for every 100 instructions? [

  1. A.

    \(P + \frac {q} {100}\)

  2. B.

    \(\frac {p+q} {100}\)

  3. C.

    \(p + q\)

  4. D.

    \(\frac {p} {100} + q\)

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Correct answer: A

Key insight: page fault probability = 1/100; when no fault time = p; when fault time = p + q.

  • Probability of a page fault per instruction = 1/100. Probability of no page fault = 99/100.

  • If no page fault occurs, memory access time = p.

  • If a page fault occurs, memory access time = p + q.

  • Expected (effective) memory access time = (99/100)*p + (1/100)*(p + q) = p + q/100.

Final answer: Effective memory access time = p + q/100 nanoseconds.

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