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Dynamic Partitioning in Operating System

The process of dynamic partitioning is a part of the contiguous memory allocation technique. It is primarily used for alleviating the problems faced due to fixed partitioning. Unlike fixed partitioning, partitions aren’t created in dynamic partitioning unless and until a process gets executed.

In this article, we will look more into the Dynamic Partitioning in Operating System according to the GATE Syllabus for (Computer Science Engineering) CSE. We will read ahead to find out more about it.

Table of Contents

What is Dynamic Partitioning in Operating Systems?

Dynamic partitioning helps in overcoming the difficulties caused by the process of fixed partitioning. In dynamic partitioning, the partition size initially isn’t declared. It’s declared at the moment of process loading.

The very first partition has to be reserved for the OS. The left space gets divided into various parts. The actual size of every partition would be equal to the process size. The size of the partition varies according to the requirement of the process. This way, internal fragmentation can be easily avoided.

Dynamic-Partitioning-in-Operating-System

Pros of Dynamic Partitioning in Operating System

1. No Internal Fragmentation

Since the partitions present in dynamic partitioning are only created according to the requirement of the process, there won’t be any internal fragmentation since there won’t be any remaining unused space in the given partition.

2. No Limitation on the Process Size

In the case of fixed partitioning, the process that has a size greater than the actual size of the largest partition couldn’t be executed because of the shortage of sufficient contiguous memory. On the other hand, the process size can’t be restricted in dynamic partitioning because the size of the partition is decided in accordance with the size of the process.

3. Dynamic Degree of Multiprogramming

Since there is no internal fragmentation, there won’t be any unused, unutilised space in the partition. Thus, more processes could be loaded at the same time in the memory.

Cons of Dynamic Partitioning in Operating System

1. External Fragmentation

Since there is no internal fragmentation, it doesn’t mean there would be no external fragmentation either.

Now, let us consider three processes, i.e. P1 (1 MB), P2 (3 MB) and P3 (1 MB), that are being loaded in their respective partitions of the main memory. P1 and P3 get completed after some time, and the assigned space gets freed. Here, we have two unused partitions available (both 1MB) in the main memory. However, we can’t use them to load 2MB processes in the memory because they aren’t located contiguously.

This rule says that a process has to be present contiguously in the main memory so as to get executed. One needs to change this rule in order to avoid external fragmentation.

2. Complex Memory Allocation

In the case of fixed partitioning, the overall list of partitions is created once, and it won’t ever change. However, the deallocation and allocation are very complex in dynamic partitioning because the partition size would be varied every single time when it’s assigned to any new process. The OS must keep track of all of the partitions.

Since deallocation and allocation are very frequently done in dynamic allocation and the size of the partition gets changed each time, it’s always going to be absolutely difficult for the OS to manage every single thing.

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