Computer Architecture

Problem #1 (a) What is the difference between virtual address and physical address? Can physical address space be large than virtual address space?

(b) What is a virtual memory? Describe at least three key advantages of virtual memory.

(c) What is a page table, what is stored in it, for what purpose it is used, who manages it, and where it is stored? Why the size of page table is an important design criteria in the design of memory management system? Describe some techniques employed to reduce the size of page table.

(d) What is a TLB, what is stored in it, for what purpose it is used, and who manages it? Why the instruction cache and date cache require separate TLBs? What techniques are used to reduce the TLB miss penalty?

(e) Compare and contrast the ideas of virtual memory and virtual machines. How do the goals of each compare? What are the pros and cons of each?