7.2 I/O AND PERFORMANCE
We expect our computer systems to be able to efficiently store and retrieve data, and to quickly carry out the commands we give them. When processing time exceeds user “think time,” we complain that the computer is “slow.” Sometimes this slowness can have a substantial productivity impact, measured in hard currency. More often than not, the root cause of the problem is not in the processor or the memory but in how the system processes its input and output (I/O).
I/O is more than just file storage and retrieval. A poorly functioning I/O system can have a ripple effect, dragging down the entire computer system. Virtual memory allows systems to page blocks of memory to disk to make room for more user processes in main memory. ...
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