A computer system has 6 tape drives, with ‘n’ processes competing for them.…
2021
A computer system has 6 tape drives, with ‘n’ processes competing for them. Each process may need 3 tape drives. The maximum value of ‘n’ for which the system is guaranteed to be deadlock free is
- A.
2
- B.
3
- C.
4
- D.
1
- E.
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Correct answer: A
Given
Total tape drives m=6
Each process may need maximum k=3 tape drives
Number of processes = n
To guarantee deadlock freedom, we use the condition:
n(k−1)<m
where
n = number of processes
k = maximum resources required by each process
m = total resources
Substitute the values
n(3−1) < 6
2n < 6
n < 3
So the maximum integer value of n is:
n=2
Answer: 2