From the course: Computer Architecture Essentials
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Paging
From the course: Computer Architecture Essentials
Paging
- [Instructor] At this point, we have covered what goes on between caches and the main memory. This process is called caching. Now let's talk about the process of moving data in main memory called paging, and the process of offloading data to mass storage for later use called swapping. Caching involves moving tiny chunks of data known as blocks or lines. Whereas paging involves moving larger chunks of data known as pages. The terms come from the metaphor of moving text in a book, which has pages with lines of text composed of words. Likewise, in computing, a 32 bit variable is often referred to as a word, which belongs to a line in cache, which belongs to a page in memory. Caching is a hardware process performed by the memory management unit. Paging and swapping are mostly software processes managed by the operating system or OS for short. These two processes are the foundation of a much larger level in the hierarchy. One that has no physical form, hence known as virtual memory…
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