Virtual Memory
Virtual Memory
Virtual Memory is a memory management technique that allows the execution of processes that
may not be completely in main memory (RAM). It provides an illusion of a large, continuous
memory space to processes, even if the physical memory is smaller.
Key Points:
Virtual memory uses both RAM and a portion of the hard disk (called the swap space or
page file).
It allows larger programs to run and more processes to execute simultaneously.
Implemented using techniques like paging and segmentation.
Example:
A program needs 10 pages, but only 3 pages are frequently used.
Only those 3 are kept in RAM; others are fetched when required.
This reduces memory load and improves performance.