The concept of virtual memory in computer architecture

Virtual memory is a technique used in computer architecture to make it appear as if the computer has more memory than it physically possesses. This is achieved by employing a combination of hardware and software mechanisms that manage the allocation and deallocation of memory resources. The primary aim of virtual memory is to enable efficient and seamless execution of programs and multitasking by allowing them to access more memory than what is physically available.

The concept of virtual memory was introduced to overcome the limitations of physical memory, such as the insufficient allocation of memory resources for large-scale applications. Virtual memory achieves this goal by providing a layer of abstraction between the physical memory and the running programs, allowing them to access a larger memory space than physically available.

At its core, virtual memory utilises a concept called “paging”, which divides the memory into fixed-size blocks called pages. These pages can then be stored in either physical memory or secondary storage devices, such as hard drives (HDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs). The process of managing these pages and mapping them to physical memory is handled by the Memory Management Unit (MMU) within a computer system.

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