CPU Scheduling

• Basic Concepts
• Scheduling Criteria
• Scheduling Algorithms
• Thread Scheduling
• Multiple-Processor Scheduling
• Operating Systems Examples
• Algorithm Evaluation
Objectives
• To introduce CPU scheduling, which is the basis for
multiprogrammed operating systems

• To describe various CPU-scheduling algorithms

• To discuss evaluation criteria for selecting a CPU-

scheduling algorithm for a particular system
Basic Concepts
• Maximum CPU utilization obtained with
multiprogramming

• CPU–I/O Burst Cycle – Process execution consists of a

cycle of CPU execution and I/O wait

• CPU burst distribution

Alternating Sequence of CPU and
I/O Bursts
Histogram of CPU-burst Times
CPU Scheduler
• Selects from among the processes in ready queue, and allocates
the CPU to one of them
• Queue may be ordered in various ways
• CPU scheduling decisions may take place when a process:
1. Switches from running to waiting state
2. Switches from running to ready state
3. Switches from waiting to ready
4. Terminates
• Scheduling under 1 and 4 is nonpreemptive
• All other scheduling is preemptive
• Consider access to shared data
• Consider preemption while in kernel mode
• Consider interrupts occurring during crucial OS activities
Dispatcher
• Dispatcher module gives control of the CPU to the
process selected by the short-term scheduler; this
involves:
• switching context
• switching to user mode
• jumping to the proper location in the user program to restart
that program

• Dispatch latency – time it takes for the dispatcher to stop

one process and start another running
 Scheduling Criteria
• CPU utilization – keep the CPU as busy as possible

• Throughput – # of processes that complete their execution per time

unit

• Turnaround time – amount of time to execute a particular process

• Waiting time – amount of time a process has been waiting in the

ready queue

• Response time – amount of time it takes from when a request was

submitted until the first response is produced, not output (for time-
sharing environment)
 Scheduling Algorithm Optimization
Criteria

• Max CPU utilization

• Max throughput
• Min turnaround time
• Min waiting time
• Min response time
 First-Come, First-Served (FCFS) Scheduling

Process Burst Time

P1 24
P2 3
P3 3
• Suppose that the processes arrive in the order: P1 , P2 , P3
The Gantt Chart for the schedule is:
P1 P2 P3

0 24 27 30

• Waiting time for P1 = 0; P2 = 24; P3 = 27

• Average waiting time: (0 + 24 + 27)/3 = 17
 FCFS Scheduling (Cont.)

Suppose that the processes arrive in the order:

P2 , P3 , P1
• The Gantt chart for the schedule is:

P2 P3 P1

0 3 6 30

• Waiting time for P1 = 6; P2 = 0; P3 = 3

• Average waiting time: (6 + 0 + 3)/3 = 3
• Much better than previous case
• Convoy effect - short process behind long process
• Consider one CPU-bound and many I/O-bound processes
Shortest-Job-First (SJF) Scheduling
• Associate with each process the length of its next CPU
burst
• Use these lengths to schedule the process with the shortest
time

• SJF is optimal – gives minimum average waiting time for

a given set of processes
• The difficulty is knowing the length of the next CPU request
• Could ask the user
Example of SJF
ProcessArrival Time Burst Time
P1 0.0 6
P2 2.0 8
P3 4.0 7
P4 5.0 3
• SJF scheduling chart
P4 P1 P3 P2

0 3 9 16 24

• Average waiting time = (3 + 16 + 9 + 0) / 4 = 7

 Determining Length of Next CPU Burst

• Can only estimate the length – should be similar to the previous one
• Then pick process with shortest predicted next CPU burst

• Can be done by using the length of previous CPU bursts, using exponential
averaging
1. t n actual length of n th CPU burst
2.  n 1 predicted value for the next CPU burst
3.  , 0  1
4. Define :
 n 1  t n  1    n .

• Commonly, α set to ½
• Preemptive version called shortest-remaining-time-first
Prediction of the Length of the
Next CPU Burst
 Examples of Exponential Averaging
•  =0
• n+1 = n
• Recent history does not count
•  =1
• n+1 =  tn
• Only the actual last CPU burst counts
• If we expand the formula, we get:
n+1 =  tn+(1 - ) tn -1 + …
+(1 -  )j  tn -j + …
+(1 -  )n +1 0

• Since both  and (1 - ) are less than or equal to 1, each

successive term has less weight than its predecessor
 Example of Shortest-remaining-time-first

• Now we add the concepts of varying arrival times and preemption to the analysis

ProcessA arri Arrival TimeT Burst Time

P1 0 8
P2 1 4
P3 2 9
P4 3 5
• Preemptive SJF Gantt Chart
P1 P2 P4 P1 P3

0 1 5 10 17 26

• Average waiting time = [(10-1)+(1-1)+(17-2)+5-3)]/4 = 26/4 = 6.5 msec

 Priority Scheduling
• A priority number (integer) is associated with each process

• The CPU is allocated to the process with the highest priority

(smallest integer  highest priority)
• Preemptive
• Nonpreemptive

• SJF is priority scheduling where priority is the inverse of predicted

next CPU burst time

• Problem  Starvation – low priority processes may never execute

• Solution  Aging – as time progresses increase the priority of the

process
 Example of Priority Scheduling

ProcessA arri Burst TimeT Priority

P1 10 3
P2 1 1
P3 2 4
P4 1 5
P5 5 2
• Priority scheduling Gantt Chart

P2 P5 P1 P3 P4

0 1 6 16 18 19

• Average waiting time = 8.2 msec

Round Robin (RR)
• Each process gets a small unit of CPU time (time quantum q),
usually 10-100 milliseconds. After this time has elapsed, the
process is preempted and added to the end of the ready queue.
• If there are n processes in the ready queue and the time
quantum is q, then each process gets 1/n of the CPU time in
chunks of at most q time units at once. No process waits more
than (n-1)q time units.
• Timer interrupts every quantum to schedule next process
• Performance
• q large  FIFO
• q small  q must be large with respect to context switch, otherwise
overhead is too high
 Example of RR with Time
Quantum = 4
Process Burst Time
P1 24
P2 3
P3 3

• The GanttP chartPis: P3 P1 P1 P1 P1 P1

1 2

0 4 7 10 14 18 22 26 30

• Typically, higher average turnaround than SJF, but better response

• q should be large compared to context switch time
• q usually 10ms to 100ms, context switch < 10 usec
Time Quantum and Context Switch Time
Turnaround Time Varies With
The Time Quantum

80% of CPU bursts should be

shorter than q
Multilevel Queue
• Ready queue is partitioned into separate queues, eg:
• foreground (interactive)
• background (batch)
• Process permanently in a given queue
• Each queue has its own scheduling algorithm:
• foreground – RR
• background – FCFS

• Scheduling must be done between the queues:

• Fixed priority scheduling; (i.e., serve all from foreground then from
background). Possibility of starvation.
• Time slice – each queue gets a certain amount of CPU time which it
can schedule amongst its processes; i.e., 80% to foreground in RR
• 20% to background in FCFS
Multilevel Queue Scheduling
Multilevel Feedback Queue

• A process can move between the various queues;

aging can be implemented this way

• Multilevel-feedback-queue scheduler defined by the

following parameters:
• number of queues
• scheduling algorithms for each queue
• method used to determine when to upgrade a process
• method used to determine when to demote a process
• method used to determine which queue a process will
enter when that process needs service
 Example of Multilevel Feedback Queue

• Three queues:
• Q0 – RR with time quantum 8 milliseconds
• Q1 – RR time quantum 16 milliseconds
• Q2 – FCFS

• Scheduling
• A new job enters queue Q0 which is served FCFS
• When it gains CPU, job receives 8 milliseconds
• If it does not finish in 8 milliseconds, job is moved to queue Q1
• At Q1 job is again served FCFS and receives 16 additional
milliseconds
• If it still does not complete, it is preempted and moved to queue Q2
Multilevel Feedback Queues
Thread Scheduling
• Distinction between user-level and kernel-level threads

• When threads supported, threads scheduled, not processes

• Many-to-one and many-to-many models, thread library schedules user-level

threads to run on LWP
• Known as process-contention scope (PCS) since scheduling competition is within the
process
• Typically done via priority set by programmer

• Kernel thread scheduled onto available CPU is system-contention scope (SCS) –

competition among all threads in system
Pthread Scheduling

• API allows specifying either PCS or SCS during thread

creation
• PTHREAD_SCOPE_PROCESS schedules threads using PCS
scheduling
• PTHREAD_SCOPE_SYSTEM schedules threads using SCS
scheduling
• Can be limited by OS – Linux and Mac OS X only allow
PTHREAD_SCOPE_SYSTEM
Pthread Scheduling API
#include <pthread.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#define NUM THREADS 5
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
int i;
pthread t tid[NUM THREADS];
pthread attr t attr;
/* get the default attributes */
pthread attr init(&attr);
/* set the scheduling algorithm to PROCESS or SYSTEM */
pthread attr setscope(&attr, PTHREAD SCOPE SYSTEM);
/* set the scheduling policy - FIFO, RT, or OTHER */
pthread attr setschedpolicy(&attr, SCHED OTHER);
/* create the threads */
for (i = 0; i < NUM THREADS; i++)
pthread create(&tid[i],&attr,runner,NULL);
Pthread Scheduling API

/* now join on each thread */

for (i = 0; i < NUM THREADS; i++)
pthread join(tid[i], NULL);
}
/* Each thread will begin control in this function */
void *runner(void *param)
{
printf("I am a thread\n");
pthread exit(0);
}
 Multiple-Processor Scheduling

• CPU scheduling more complex when multiple CPUs are available

• Homogeneous processors within a multiprocessor

• Asymmetric multiprocessing – only one processor accesses the system

data structures, alleviating the need for data sharing

• Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) – each processor is self-scheduling, all

processes in common ready queue, or each has its own private queue of
ready processes
• Currently, most common

• Processor affinity – process has affinity for processor on which it is

currently running
• soft affinity
• hard affinity
• Variations including processor sets
NUMA and CPU Scheduling

Note that memory-placement algorithms can also consider affinity

Multicore Processors
• Recent trend to place multiple processor cores on same
physical chip

• Faster and consumes less power

• Multiple threads per core also growing

• Takes advantage of memory stall to make progress on another
thread while memory retrieve happens
Multithreaded Multicore System
Virtualization and Scheduling
• Virtualization software schedules multiple guests onto CPU(s)

• Each guest doing its own scheduling

• Not knowing it doesn’t own the CPUs
• Can result in poor response time
• Can effect time-of-day clocks in guests

• Can undo good scheduling algorithm efforts of guests

 Operating System Examples

• Solaris scheduling
• Windows XP scheduling
• Linux scheduling
Solaris
• Priority-based scheduling
• Six classes available
• Time sharing (default)
• Interactive
• Real time
• System
• Fair Share
• Fixed priority
• Given thread can be in one class at a time
• Each class has its own scheduling algorithm
• Time sharing is multi-level feedback queue
• Loadable table configurable by sysadmin
Solaris Dispatch Table
Solaris Scheduling
Solaris Scheduling (Cont.)
• Scheduler converts class-specific priorities into a per-thread global
priority
• Thread with highest priority runs next
• Runs until (1) blocks, (2) uses time slice, (3) preempted by higher-priority
thread
• Multiple threads at same priority selected via RR
Windows Scheduling
• Windows uses priority-based preemptive scheduling
• Highest-priority thread runs next
• Dispatcher is scheduler
• Thread runs until (1) blocks, (2) uses time slice, (3) preempted by higher-priority
thread
• Real-time threads can preempt non-real-time
• 32-level priority scheme
• Variable class is 1-15, real-time class is 16-31
• Priority 0 is memory-management thread
• Queue for each priority
• If no run-able thread, runs idle thread
Windows Priority Classes
• Win32 API identifies several priority classes to which a process can belong
• REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS, HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS,
ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS,NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS,
BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS
• All are variable except REALTIME
• A thread within a given priority class has a relative priority
• TIME_CRITICAL, HIGHEST, ABOVE_NORMAL, NORMAL, BELOW_NORMAL, LOWEST, IDLE
• Priority class and relative priority combine to give numeric priority
• Base priority is NORMAL within the class
• If quantum expires, priority lowered, but never below base
• If wait occurs, priority boosted depending on what was waited for
• Foreground window given 3x priority boost
Windows XP Priorities
Linux Scheduling

• Constant order O(1) scheduling time

• Preemptive, priority based
• Two priority ranges: time-sharing and real-time
• Real-time range from 0 to 99 and nice value from 100 to 140
• Map into global priority with numerically lower values indicating higher
priority
• Higher priority gets larger q
• Task run-able as long as time left in time slice (active)
• If no time left (expired), not run-able until all other tasks use their slices
• All run-able tasks tracked in per-CPU runqueue data structure
• Two priority arrays (active, expired)
• Tasks indexed by priority
• When no more active, arrays are exchanged
Linux Scheduling (Cont.)
• Real-time scheduling according to POSIX.1b
• Real-time tasks have static priorities
• All other tasks dynamic based on nice value plus or minus 5
• Interactivity of task determines plus or minus
• More interactive -> more minus
• Priority recalculated when task expired
• This exchanging arrays implements adjusted priorities
Priorities and Time-slice length
List of Tasks Indexed
According to Priorities
 Algorithm Evaluation

• How to select CPU-scheduling algorithm for an OS?

• Determine criteria, then evaluate algorithms

• Deterministic modeling
• Type of analytic evaluation
• Takes a particular predetermined workload and defines the
performance of each algorithm for that workload
Queueing Models
• Describes the arrival of processes, and CPU and I/O bursts
probabilistically
• Commonly exponential, and described by mean
• Computes average throughput, utilization, waiting time, etc
• Computer system described as network of servers, each with queue
of waiting processes
• Knowing arrival rates and service rates
• Computes utilization, average queue length, average wait time, etc
Little’s Formula
• n = average queue length
• W = average waiting time in queue
• λ = average arrival rate into queue
• Little’s law – in steady state, processes leaving queue must equal
processes arriving, thus
n=λxW
• Valid for any scheduling algorithm and arrival distribution

• For example, if on average 7 processes arrive per second, and normally

14 processes in queue, then average wait time per process = 2 seconds
Simulations
• Queueing models limited
• Simulations more accurate
• Programmed model of computer system
• Clock is a variable
• Gather statistics indicating algorithm performance
• Data to drive simulation gathered via
• Random number generator according to probabilities
• Distributions defined mathematically or empirically
• Trace tapes record sequences of real events in real systems
Evaluation of CPU Schedulers
by Simulation
Implementation
 Even simulations have limited accuracy
 Just implement new scheduler and test in real systems
 High cost, high risk
 Environments vary
 Most flexible schedulers can be modified per-site or per-system
 Or APIs to modify priorities
 But again environments vary
End of Chapter 5
5.08
In-5.7
In-5.8
In-5.9
Dispatch Latency
Java Thread Scheduling
• JVM Uses a Preemptive, Priority-Based Scheduling
Algorithm

• FIFO Queue is Used if There Are Multiple Threads With

the Same Priority
Java Thread Scheduling (Cont.)
JVM Schedules a Thread to Run When:

1. The Currently Running Thread Exits the Runnable State

2. A Higher Priority Thread Enters the Runnable State

* Note – the JVM Does Not Specify Whether Threads are

Time-Sliced or Not
Time-Slicing
Since the JVM Doesn’t Ensure Time-Slicing, the yield() Method
May Be Used:

while (true) {
// perform CPU-intensive task
...
Thread.yield();
}

This Yields Control to Another Thread of Equal Priority

Thread Priorities
Priority Comment
Thread.MIN_PRIORITY Minimum Thread Priority
Thread.MAX_PRIORITY Maximum Thread Priority
Thread.NORM_PRIORITY Default Thread Priority

Priorities May Be Set Using setPriority() method:

setPriority(Thread.NORM_PRIORITY + 2);
Solaris 2 Scheduling
 Chapter 7: Deadlocks

• The Deadlock Problem

• System Model
• Deadlock Characterization
• Methods for Handling Deadlocks
• Deadlock Prevention
• Deadlock Avoidance
• Deadlock Detection
• Recovery from Deadlock
Chapter Objectives
• To develop a description of deadlocks, which
prevent sets of concurrent processes from
completing their tasks

• To present a number of different methods for

preventing or avoiding deadlocks in a computer
system
 The Deadlock Problem
• A set of blocked processes each holding a resource
and waiting to acquire a resource held by another
process in the set

• Example
• System has 2 disk drives
• P1 and P2 each hold one disk drive and each needs another
one

• Example
• semaphores A and B, initialized to 1 P0 P1
wait (A); wait(B) wait (B); wait(A)
Bridge Crossing Example

• Traffic only in one direction

• Each section of a bridge can be viewed as a resource
• If a deadlock occurs, it can be resolved if one car backs up
(preempt resources and rollback)
• Several cars may have to be backed up if a deadlock occurs
• Starvation is possible
• Note – Most OSes do not prevent or deal with deadlocks
System Model
• Resource types R1, R2, . . ., Rm
CPU cycles, memory space, I/O devices

• Each resource type Ri has Wi instances.

• Each process utilizes a resource as follows:

• request
• use
• release
Deadlock Characterization
Deadlock can arise if four conditions hold simultaneously.

• Mutual exclusion: only one process at a time can use a resource

• Hold and wait: a process holding at least one resource is

waiting to acquire additional resources held by other processes

• No preemption: a resource can be released only voluntarily by

the process holding it, after that process has completed its task

• Circular wait: there exists a set {P0, P1, …, Pn} of waiting

processes such that P0 is waiting for a resource that is held by P1,
P1 is waiting for a resource that is held by
P2, …, Pn–1 is waiting for a resource that is held by Pn, and Pn is
waiting for a resource that is held by P0.
 Resource-Allocation Graph

A set of vertices V and a set of edges E.

• V is partitioned into two types:

• P = {P1, P2, …, Pn}, the set consisting of all the
processes in the system

• R = {R1, R2, …, Rm}, the set consisting of all resource

types in the system

• request edge – directed edge Pi  Rj

• assignment edge – directed edge Rj  Pi

 Resource-Allocation Graph (Cont.)

• Process

• Resource Type with 4 instances

Pi
Rj
• Pi requests instance of Rj

Pi

• Pi is holding an instance of Rj Rj
Example of a Resource Allocation
Graph
Resource Allocation Graph With A Deadlock
Graph With A Cycle But No Deadlock
Basic Facts
• If graph contains no cycles  no deadlock

• If graph contains a cycle 

• if only one instance per resource type, then deadlock
• if several instances per resource type, possibility of
deadlock
Methods for Handling Deadlocks

• Ensure that the system will never enter a deadlock state

• Allow the system to enter a deadlock state and then

recover

• Ignore the problem and pretend that deadlocks never

occur in the system; used by most operating systems,
including UNIX
Deadlock Prevention

Restrain the ways request can be made

• Mutual Exclusion – not required for sharable

resources; must hold for nonsharable resources

• Hold and Wait – must guarantee that whenever a

process requests a resource, it does not hold any
other resources
• Require process to request and be allocated all its
resources before it begins execution, or allow process
to request resources only when the process has none
• Low resource utilization; starvation possible
 Deadlock Prevention (Cont.)
• No Preemption –
• If a process that is holding some resources requests
another resource that cannot be immediately allocated to
it, then all resources currently being held are released
• Preempted resources are added to the list of resources for
which the process is waiting
• Process will be restarted only when it can regain its old
resources, as well as the new ones that it is requesting

• Circular Wait – impose a total ordering of all resource

types, and require that each process requests
resources in an increasing order of enumeration
 Deadlock Avoidance
Requires that the system has some additional a priori information
available

• Simplest and most useful model requires that each

process declare the maximum number of resources of
each type that it may need

• The deadlock-avoidance algorithm dynamically examines

the resource-allocation state to ensure that there can
never be a circular-wait condition

• Resource-allocation state is defined by the number of

available and allocated resources, and the maximum
demands of the processes
Safe State
• When a process requests an available resource, system must
decide if immediate allocation leaves the system in a safe state

• System is in safe state if there exists a sequence <P1, P2, …, Pn>

of ALL the processes in the systems such that for each Pi, the
resources that Pi can still request can be satisfied by currently
available resources + resources held by all the Pj, with j < I

• That is:
• If Pi resource needs are not immediately available, then Pi can wait
until all Pj have finished
• When Pj is finished, Pi can obtain needed resources, execute, return
allocated resources, and terminate
• When Pi terminates, Pi +1 can obtain its needed resources, and so on
Basic Facts
• If a system is in safe state  no deadlocks

• If a system is in unsafe state  possibility of

deadlock

• Avoidance  ensure that a system will never

enter an unsafe state.
Safe, Unsafe, Deadlock State
 Avoidance algorithms

• Single instance of a resource type

• Use a resource-allocation graph

• Multiple instances of a resource type

• Use the banker’s algorithm
Resource-Allocation Graph Scheme

• Claim edge Pi  Rj indicated that process Pj may request

resource Rj; represented by a dashed line

• Claim edge converts to request edge when a process requests a

resource

• Request edge converted to an assignment edge when the

resource is allocated to the process

• When a resource is released by a process, assignment edge

reconverts to a claim edge

• Resources must be claimed a priori in the system

Resource-Allocation Graph
Unsafe State In Resource-Allocation Graph
 Resource-Allocation Graph Algorithm

• Suppose that process Pi requests a resource Rj

• The request can be granted only if converting the

request edge to an assignment edge does not
result in the formation of a cycle in the resource
allocation graph
Banker’s Algorithm

• Multiple instances

• Each process must a priori claim maximum use

• When a process requests a resource it may have

to wait

• When a process gets all its resources it must

return them in a finite amount of time
 Data Structures for the Banker’s Algorithm

Let n = number of processes, and m = number of resources types.

• Available: Vector of length m. If available [j] = k, there

are k instances of resource type Rj available

• Max: n x m matrix. If Max [i,j] = k, then process Pi may

request at most k instances of resource type Rj

• Allocation: n x m matrix. If Allocation[i,j] = k then Pi is

currently allocated k instances of Rj

• Need: n x m matrix. If Need[i,j] = k, then Pi may need k

more instances of Rj to complete its task
Need [i,j] = Max[i,j] – Allocation [i,j]
Safety Algorithm
1. Let Work and Finish be vectors of length m and n,
respectively. Initialize:
Work = Available
Finish [i] = false for i = 0, 1, …, n- 1

2. Find an i such that both:

(a) Finish [i] = false
(b) Needi  Work
If no such i exists, go to step 4

3. Work = Work + Allocationi

Finish[i] = true
go to step 2

4. If Finish [i] == true for all i, then the system is in a

safe state
Resource-Request Algorithm for Process Pi

Request = request vector for process Pi. If Requesti [j] =

k then process Pi wants k instances of resource type Rj
1.If Requesti  Needi go to step 2. Otherwise, raise error
condition, since process has exceeded its maximum claim
2.If Requesti  Available, go to step 3. Otherwise Pi must
wait, since resources are not available
3.Pretend to allocate requested resources to Pi by modifying
the state as follows:
Available = Available – Request;
Allocationi = Allocationi + Requesti;
Needi = Needi – Requesti;
 If safe  the resources are allocated to Pi
 If unsafe  Pi must wait, and the old resource-allocation state is
restored
 Example of Banker’s Algorithm

• 5 processes P0 through P4;

3 resource types:
A (10 instances), B (5instances), and C (7 instances)
Snapshot at time T0:
Allocation Max Available
ABC ABC ABC
P0 010 753 332
P1 200 322
P2 302 902
P3 211 222
P4 002 433
Example (Cont.)
• The content of the matrix Need is defined to be Max – Allocation

Need
ABC
P0 743
P1 122
P2 600
P3 011
P4 431

• The system is in a safe state since the sequence < P1, P3, P4, P2, P0>
satisfies safety criteria
Example: P1 Request (1,0,2)

• Check that Request  Available (that is, (1,0,2)  (3,3,2)  true

Allocation Need Available
ABC ABC ABC
P0 010 743 230
P1 302 020
P2 302 600
P3 211 011
P4 002 431

• Executing safety algorithm shows that sequence < P1, P3, P4, P0, P2>
satisfies safety requirement

• Can request for (3,3,0) by P4 be granted?

• Can request for (0,2,0) by P0 be granted?

 Deadlock Detection

• Allow system to enter deadlock state

• Detection algorithm

• Recovery scheme
Single Instance of Each Resource Type

• Maintain wait-for graph

• Nodes are processes
• Pi  Pj if Pi is waiting for Pj

• Periodically invoke an algorithm that searches for a

cycle in the graph. If there is a cycle, there exists a
deadlock

• An algorithm to detect a cycle in a graph requires

an order of n2 operations, where n is the number
of vertices in the graph
Resource-Allocation Graph and
Wait-for Graph

Resource-Allocation Graph Corresponding wait-for graph

 Several Instances of a Resource Type

• Available: A vector of length m indicates the number

of available resources of each type.

• Allocation: An n x m matrix defines the number of

resources of each type currently allocated to each
process.

• Request: An n x m matrix indicates the current request

of each process. If Request [i][j] = k, then process Pi is
requesting k more instances of resource type.Rj.
Detection Algorithm
1. Let Work and Finish be vectors of length m
and n, respectively Initialize:
(a) Work = Available
(b) For i = 1,2, …, n, if Allocationi  0, then
Finish[i] = false; otherwise, Finish[i] = true

2. Find an index i such that both:

(a) Finish[i] == false
(b) Requesti  Work

If no such i exists, go to step 4

 Detection Algorithm (Cont.)

3.Work = Work + Allocationi

Finish[i] = true
go to step 2

4.If Finish[i] == false, for some i, 1  i  n, then the system is in

deadlock state. Moreover, if Finish[i] == false, then Pi is deadlocked

Algorithm requires an order of O(m x n2) operations to detect

whether the system is in deadlocked state
 Example of Detection Algorithm
• Five processes P0 through P4; three resource types
A (7 instances), B (2 instances), and C (6 instances)

• Snapshot at time T0:

Allocation Request Available
ABC ABC ABC
P0 010 000 000
P1 200 202
P2 303 000
P3 211 100
P4 002 002

• Sequence <P0, P2, P3, P1, P4> will result in Finish[i] = true for all i
Example (Cont.)
• P2 requests an additional instance of type C
Request
ABC
P0 000
P1 202
P2 001
P3 100
P4 002

• State of system?
• Can reclaim resources held by process P0, but insufficient resources
to fulfill other processes; requests
• Deadlock exists, consisting of processes P1, P2, P3, and P4
Detection-Algorithm Usage
• When, and how often, to invoke depends on:
• How often a deadlock is likely to occur?
• How many processes will need to be rolled back?
• one for each disjoint cycle

• If detection algorithm is invoked arbitrarily, there

may be many cycles in the resource graph and so
we would not be able to tell which of the many
deadlocked processes “caused” the deadlock.
Recovery from Deadlock:
Process Termination

• Abort all deadlocked processes

• Abort one process at a time until the deadlock cycle is

eliminated

• In which order should we choose to abort?

• Priority of the process
• How long process has computed, and how much longer to
completion
• Resources the process has used
• Resources process needs to complete
• How many processes will need to be terminated
• Is process interactive or batch?
Recovery from Deadlock:
Resource Preemption

• Selecting a victim – minimize cost

• Rollback – return to some safe state, restart

process for that state

• Starvation – same process may always be

picked as victim, include number of rollback in
cost factor