Question

Can someone please explain to me what are the differences between Windows and Linux memory hierarchy, and  handling flash memory as a replacement for disk.

Thank you so much

Answer 1

The memory hierarchy of Windows consists of Slow Secondary memory, Secondary memory, main memory, on-board cache, CPU cache, and Registers.

• The memory hierarchy of Linux consists of Secondary Memory, RAM, L2 Cache, L1 Cache, and Registers.

• The top of the memory hierarchy of Linux is Registers. The bottom of the memory hierarchy of Linux is Secondary Memory.

• The size of the Secondary Memory is higher than the remaining. The size of Reg is low.

• The speed and cost of the Secondary Memory is lower than the remaining. The speed and cost of Registers is high.

The difference between Windows and Linux memory hierarchy:

Windows memory hierarchy	Linux memory hierarchy
The memory hierarchy of Windows consists of Slow Secondary memory, Secondary memory, main memory, on-board cache, CPU cache, and Registers.	The memory hierarchy of Linux consists of Secondary Memory, RAM, L2 Cache, L1 Cache, and Registers.
The memory of Windows is less efficient than Linux.	The memory of Linux is more efficient than Linux.
The data structure used to design the memory is tree.	The data structure used to design the memory is Linked List.
The 32-bit x86 Windows OS can used to access 4GB of memory.	The user mode requires 3GB of memory space and the kernel mode requires 1 GB of memory space.
The address structure of the memory of the Windows consists of page number and page offset.	The linear address structure of Linus consists of Global Directory, Middle Directory, Page Table, and Offset.

Handling flash memory as a replacement for disk:

The flash memory is a non-volatile memory. There are NAND type flash memory and NOR type flash memory. It is the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory. The data can be stored in the flash memory using a charge on a capacitor. One of the applications of the flash memory is that the flash memory is used as a replacement for hard drives.

• The flash based Solid State Drive (SSD) is used as a replacement for hard drives of the computer system. It has high speed and reliability, and low noise and power consumption.

• The performance of SSD is higher than the hard drives.

• The flash based Solid State Drive (SSD) can be used instead of the hard drives to increase the performance, speed and reliability.

• The flash based Solid State Drive (SSD) consists of blocks. Each block consists of a set of pages. The disadvantage here is an entire block must be erased to write a single page.

• The advantage of using SSD instead of the hard drives is the data cannot be damaged.

• Using SSDs as the replacement for hard drives in the applications of military and aerospace industries increases the performance.