Analysis of the PFF replacement algorithm via a semi-Markov model

Abstract

An analytical model is presented to estimate the performance of the Page Fault Frequency (PFF) replacement algorithm. In this model, program behavior is represented by the LRU stack distance model and the PFF replacement algorithm is represented by a semi-Markov model. Using these models, such parameters as the inter-page-fault interval distribution, the probability of the number of distinct pages being referenced during an inter-page-fault interval, etc. are able to be analytically determined. Using these models to evaluate these parameter values permits study of the performance of the replacement algorithm by simulating the page fault events rather than every page reference event. This significantly reduces the required computation time in estimating the performance of the PFF algorithm.