Do you think IIT Guwahati certified course can help you in your career?
Introduction
Hello Ninjas! As you know, the operating system plays an important role in managing computer resources. It ensures the process runs smoothly. In some cases, the processes may lead to resource starvation and wait in the system for a long time. In case you don't know about the concept of starvation, a problem often associated with Priority Scheduling Algorithms we got you covered. Then we will discuss our topic of Aging in OS.
In this article, we will discuss how the aging technique can be used as a solution for resource starvation in operating systems. So, understanding the concept of starvation is important in the Operating System. The aging in OS technique is used to ensure optimal performance and prevent resource starvation. So let's dive deeper and first understand the concept of starvation and then the aging technique that is used as a solution for starvation.
Starvation occurs when a process is unable to acquire the necessary resources required to complete its task. Starvation is also known as indefinite blocking. It is a problem often associated with Priority Scheduling Algorithms. It occurs when a process that is ready for CPU resources is unable to run because of its low priority, resulting in an indefinite wait time. This can lead to poor performance and prolonged wait times for processes and reduce the system throughput.
To prevent starvation, operating systems use various scheduling techniques. Such as aging, where the priority of processes is gradually increased over time. It is done to ensure the fair allocation of resources to all processes.
Solutions to Starvation
Let's look into some of the most common solutions and techniques:
To prevent starvation in OS, several solutions can be implemented. One such solution is to use an independent resource manager. The resource manager allocates resources in a fair manner. This manager ensures that resources are distributed fairly and processes do not suffer from a lack of resources.
To avoid random selection of processes for resource allocation or processor allocation. Such random selection encourages starvation as some processes may wait indefinitely for the resources they need.
The priority scheme should include the Aging in OS concept. Aging slowly increases the priority of the process as it waits in the system. It ensures it receives the resources it needs to execute.
What is Aging in OS?
Aging in OS is a scheduling technique used to prevent starvation in operating systems. It involves gradually increasing the priority of processes that have been waiting for a long time. It increases the chance of them getting the necessary resources to execute. Thus it reduces the risk of starvation.
It involves assigning the waiting process higher priority when not chosen for execution. It ensures that processes waiting for a long time are given a fair chance to execute.
To prevent starvation, aging is used with other scheduling algorithms. For example, priority scheduling or round-robin. It helps maintain a balance between short-term and long-term fairness in process scheduling.
Example
Aging is a technique used in operating systems to increase the priority of waiting processes. When a process with low priority waits in the system for an extended period, its priority is increased over time. It ensures that the process does not indefinitely starve of resources.
Let’s look at the example:
Increasing Process
In a priority range of 256 to 0, a waiting process's priority can be increased by 1 every 15 minutes. With this approach, even a process initially assigned a priority of 256 will take no more than 64 hours to age to a priority-0 process.
Decreasing Process
If the process initially has a priority number of 256, its priority number will drop by 1 every 15 minutes. Thus, after 15 minutes, the process will have a priority of 255. After 30 minutes, it will have a priority of 254. The process will continue to age in this manner, and once the priority number approaches 0, it will gain high priority and receive the CPU after a long wait.
Uses
The following are the important uses of Aging in OS:
Aging can be used in various scheduling algorithms, such as priority scheduling or round robin, etc.
Aging ensures that processes waiting in the queue for a long time are given fair time to execute.
Aging in OS prevents priority inversion.
It is used to avoid starvation by increasing the priority of a process waiting a long time for resources.
It is used in combination with scheduling algorithms to provide optimal performance and prevent starvation.
Limitations of Aging
Let's discuss some of the limitations of Aging in OS:
The aging technique is not effective where the number of waiting processes is more than the available resources. We need to consider other scheduling algorithms to avoid starvation.
Aging can be unfair to newly arrived processes because it prioritizes long waiting processes. As a result, the new process waits while the long waiting process gets resources.
Implementing the aging technique can result in increased overhead and complexity in the OS. This can lead to additional costs in terms of system resources and maintenance.
Aging can also lead to the problem of process starvation in reverse. A process with a higher priority may wait indefinitely if there are always other processes with higher priority.
The aging technique is not suitable for all types of systems. For example, real-time systems where response time must be guaranteed and cannot be delayed by aging.
What is the difference between starvation and deadlock?
Starvation and deadlock are two common problems in OS. Starvation occurs when a process is unable to access the required resources to proceed due to low priority, while in deadlock two or more processes are blocked, and each is waiting for another to release the resource.
How is priority scheduling calculated?
In the operating system, the processes are scheduled by making a Gantt chart. In this, the process that arrives first is scheduled first (FIFO). When two or more processes arrive at the same time, they are scheduled according to their priority.
What is process management in operating systems?
When a program runs, it gets divided into multiple execution units called processes. A single unit is called a process. The operating systems help in scheduling, creating, and terminating these processes, which are ultimately used by the CPU.
What is a round-robin strategy?
Round-robin scheduling allocates the tasks to an equal share of the CPU time. In the simplest form, tasks are in a circular queue. If a task's assigned CPU time runs out, it is moved to the end of the queue, and the next task in the queue is executed.
Conclusion
This article briefly discussed Aging in OS. We have discussed starvation and aging in OS technique with its limitation in brief. You can check out our other blogs to enhance your knowledge:
34+ registered 
