Principles of Optimal Page Replacement

Abstract

ABSTP~CT. A formal model is presented for paging algorithms under /-order nonstationary assumptions about program behavior. When processing a program under paging in a given memory, a given paging policy generates a certain (expected) number of page calls, i.e., its "cost." Under usual assumptions about memory system organization, minimum cost is always achieved by a demand paging algorithm. The minimum cost for /-order program behavior assumptions is expressed as a dynamic programming problem whose solution yields an optimal replacement algorithm. Solutions are exhibited in several 0-order cases of interest. Paging algorithms that implement and approximate the minimum cost are discussed.