RAM and Secondary Storage

C.

Virtual storage a service provided by the operating system where it uses a combination of RAM and disk storage to simulate a much larger address space than is actually present.Infrequently used portions of memory are paged out by being written to secondary storage and paged back in when required by a running program.

Most OSs have the ability to simulate having more main memory than is physically available in the system.

This is done by storing part of the data on secondary storage, such as a disk.

This can be considered a virtual page.

If the data requested by the system is not currently in main memory, a page fault is taken.

This condition triggers the OS handler.

If the virtual address is a valid one, the OS will locate the physical page, put the right information in that page, update the translation table, and then try the request again.

Some other page might be swapped out to make room.

Each process may have its own separate virtual address space along with its own mappings and protections.

The following are incorrect answers: Primary storage is incorrect.

Primary storage refers to the combination of RAM, cache and the processor registers.

Primary StorageThe data waits for processing by the processors, it sits in a staging area called primary storage.

Whether implemented as memory, cache, or registers (part of the CPU), and regardless of its location, primary storage stores data that has a high probability of being requested by the CPU, so it is usually faster than long-term, secondary storage.

The location where data is stored is denoted by its physical memory address.

This memory register identifier remains constant and is independent of the value stored there.Some examples of primary storage devices include random-access memory (RAM), synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM), and read-only memory (ROM)

RAM is volatile, that is, when the system shuts down, it flushes the data in RAM although recent research has shown that data may still be retrievable.

Contrast this Secondary storage is incorrect.Secondary storage holds data not currently being used by the CPU and is used when data must be stored for an extended period of time using high-capacity, nonvolatile storage.Secondary storage includes disk, floppies, CD's, tape, etc.While secondary storage includes basically anything different from primary storage, virtual memory's use of secondary storage is usually confined to high-speed disk storage.

Real storage is incorrect.Real storage is another word for primary storage and distinguishes physical memory from virtual memory.

Reference(s) used for this question: Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21)

Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 17164-17171)

Auerbach Publications.

Kindle Edition.

Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21)

Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 17196-17201)

Auerbach Publications.

Kindle Edition.

Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21)

Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 17186-17187)

Auerbach Publications.

Kindle Edition.

RAM (Random Access Memory) and Secondary storage (such as a hard disk or solid-state drive) are two types of computer storage. They differ in terms of their speed, capacity, and cost.

RAM is volatile memory, meaning that its contents are lost when the power is turned off. It is used by the computer to store data and programs that are currently being used by the processor. Secondary storage, on the other hand, is non-volatile memory, meaning that its contents are retained even when the power is turned off. It is used by the computer to store data and programs that are not currently being used by the processor.

The condition where RAM and Secondary storage are used together is known as Virtual Storage. In this configuration, a portion of the secondary storage is used to simulate additional RAM. This is accomplished through a process called paging or swapping, where portions of the RAM are temporarily moved to the secondary storage to free up space in the RAM for other processes.

Virtual storage allows the computer to use more memory than is physically available in the RAM, which can improve performance by reducing the need for the processor to continually load and unload programs from the RAM. However, it is generally slower than using physical RAM since accessing the secondary storage takes more time than accessing the RAM.

Therefore, the correct answer to the question is C. Virtual storage.