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Module 5: CPU Scheduling

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Basic Concepts

Scheduling Criteria

Scheduling Algorithms

Multiple-Processor Scheduling

Real-Time Scheduling

Algorithm Evaluation

Basic Concepts
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CPU scheduling is the basis of multi-programmed operating systems. By switching the CPU
among processes, the operating system can make the computer more productive.

Maximum CPU utilization obtained with multiprogramming

The objective of multiprogramming is to have some process running at all times, in
order to maximize CPU utilization. In a uniprocessor system, only one process may
run at a time; any other processes must wait until the CPU is free and can be
rescheduled.

CPU–I/O Burst Cycle – Process execution consists of a cycle of CPU execution and I/O
wait.

The idea of multiprogramming is relatively simple. A process is executed until it
must wait, typically for the completion of some I/O request. In a simple computer
system, the CPU would then sit idle; all this waiting time is wasted. With
multiprogramming, we try to use this time productively. Several processes are kept
in memory at one time. When one process has to wait, the operating system takes
the CPU away from that process and gives the CPU to another process. This
pattern continues.
Scheduling is a fundamental operating-system function. Almost all computer resources are
scheduled before use. The CPU is, of course, one of the primary computer resources. Thus,
its scheduling is central to operating-system design.

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CPU - I/O Bursts Cycle

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The success of CPU scheduling depends

on the following observed property of
processes: Process execution consists of a
cycle of CPU execution and I/O wait.
Processes alternate between these two
states. Process execution begins with a
CPU burst. That is followed by an 110
burst, then another CPU burst, then
another I/O burst, and so on. Eventually,
the last CPU burst will end with a system
request to terminate execution, rather
than with another I/O burst.

CPU - I/O Bursts Cycle

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The durations of these CPU

bursts have been
extensively measured.
Although they vary greatly
by process and by
computer, they tend to
have a frequency curve.
The curve is generally
characterized as
exponential or hyper-
exponential, with many
short CPU bursts, and a
few long CPU bursts. An
I/O-bound program would
typically have many very
short CPU bursts. A CPU-
bound program might
have a few very long CPU
bursts. This distribution can
help us select an Histogram of CPU-burst Times
appropriate CPU-
scheduling algorithm.

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CPU Scheduler
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Whenever the CPU becomes idle, the operating system must select one of
the processes in the ready queue to be executed. The selection process is
carried out by the short-term scheduler (or CPU scheduler). The scheduler
selects from among the processes in memory that are ready to execute,
and allocates the CPU to one of them.

The ready queue is not necessarily a first-in, first-out (FIFO) queue. As we
shall see when we consider the various scheduling algorithms, a ready
queue may be implemented as a FIFO queue, a priority queue, a tree, or
simply an unordered linked list. Conceptually, however, all the processes in
the ready queue are lined up waiting for a chance to run on the CPU. The
records in the queues are generally process control blocks (PCBs) of the
processes.

CPU Scheduler
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Selects from among the processes in memory that are

ready to execute, and allocates the CPU to one of
them.

CPU scheduling decisions may take place when a
process:
1. Switches from running to waiting state.
2. Switches from running to ready state.
3. Switches from waiting to ready.
4. Terminates.

Scheduling under 1 and 4 is nonpreemptive.

All other scheduling is preemptive.

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Dispatcher
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Dispatcher module gives control of the CPU to the

process selected by the short-term scheduler; this
involves:

switching context

switching to user mode

jumping to the proper location in the user program to restart
that program

Dispatch latency – time it takes for the dispatcher to
stop one process and start another running.
The dispatcher should be as fast as possible, given that it
is invoked during every process switch.

Scheduling Criteria
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Different CPU-scheduling algorithms have different

properties and may favor one class of processes over
another. In choosing which algorithm to use in a
particular situation, we must consider the properties
of the various algorithms.

Many criteria have been suggested for comparing
CPU-scheduling algorithms. The characteristics used
for comparison can make a substantial difference in
the determination of the best algorithm.

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Scheduling Criteria
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The criteria include the following:

CPU utilization - Keep the CPU as busy as possible.

We want to keep the CPU as busy as possible. CPU utilization may range
from 0 to 100 percent. In a real system, it should range from 40 percent (for
a lightly loaded system) to 90 percent (for a heavily used system).

Throughput – # of processes that complete their execution per time unit.

If the CPU is busy executing processes, then work is being done. One
measure of work is the number of processes completed per time unit, called
throughput. For long processes, this rate may be 1 process per hour; for short
transactions, throughput might be 10 processes per second.

Turnaround time – amount of time to execute a particular process

From the point of view of a particular process, the important criterion is how
long it takes to execute that process. The interval from the time of submission
of a process to the time of completion is the turnaround time. Turnaround
time is the sum of the periods spent waiting to get into memory, waiting in
the ready queue, executing on the CPU, and doing I/O.

Scheduling Criteria
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Waiting time – amount of time a process has been waiting in the ready
queue

The CPU-scheduling algorithm does not affect the amount of time during
which a process executes or does I/O; it affects only the amount of time that
a process spends waiting in the ready queue. Waiting time is the sum of the
periods spent waiting in the ready queue.

Response time – amount of time it takes from when a request was
submitted until the first response is produced, not output (for time-
sharing environment)

In an interactive system, turnaround time may not be the best criterion.
Often, a process can produce some output fairly early, and can continue
computing new results while previous results are being output to the user.
Thus, another measure is the time from the submission of a request until the
first response is produced. This measure, called response time, is the amount
of time it takes to start responding, but not the time that it takes to output
that response. The turnaround time is generally limited by the speed of the
output device.

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Optimization Criteria
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Max CPU utilization

Max throughput

Min turnaround time

Min waiting time

Min response time

First-Come, First-Served (FCFS)

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Scheduling

Example: Process Burst Time
P1 24
P2 3
P3 3

Suppose that the processes arrive in the order: P1 , P2 , P3
The Gantt Chart for the schedule is:
P1 P2 P3

0 24 27 30

Waiting time for P1 = 0; P2 = 24; P3 = 27

Average waiting time: (0 + 24 + 27)/3 = 17

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FCFS Scheduling (Cont.)

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Suppose that the processes arrive in the order

P2 , P3 , P1 .

The Gantt chart for the schedule is:

P2 P3 P1

0 3 6 30

Waiting time for P1 = 6; P2 = 0; P3 = 3

Average waiting time: (6 + 0 + 3)/3 = 3

Much better than previous case.

Convoy effect short process behind long process

Shortest-Job-First (SJR) Scheduling

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Associate with each process the length of its next CPU

burst. Use these lengths to schedule the process with the
shortest time.

Two schemes:

nonpreemptive – once CPU given to the process it cannot be
preempted until completes its CPU burst.

Preemptive – if a new process arrives with CPU burst length
less than remaining time of current executing process,
preempt. This scheme is know as the
Shortest-Remaining-Time-First (SRTF).

SJF is optimal – gives minimum average waiting time for
a given set of processes.

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Example of Non-Preemptive SJF

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Process Arrival Time Burst Time

P1 0.0 7
P2 2.0 4
P3 4.0 1
P4 5.0 4

SJF (non-preemptive)

P1 P3 P2 P4

0 3 7 8 12 16

Average waiting time = (0 + 6 + 3 + 7)/4 - 4

Example of Preemptive SJF

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Process Arrival Time Burst Time

P1 0.0 7
P2 2.0 4
P3 4.0 1
P4 5.0 4

SJF (preemptive)

P1 P2 P3 P2 P4 P1

0 2 4 5 7 11 16

Average waiting time = (9 + 1 + 0 +2)/4 - 3

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Determining Length of Next CPU Burst

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Can only estimate the length.

Can be done by using the length of previous CPU
bursts, using exponential averaging.
1. tn = actual lenght of nthCPU burst
2. τ n+1 = predicted value for the next CPU burst
3. α , 0 ≤ α ≤ 1
4. Define :

τ n=1 = α tn + (1 − α )τ n .

Examples of Exponential Averaging

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α =0

τn+1 = τn

Recent history does not count.

α =1

τn+1 = tn

Only the actual last CPU burst counts.

If we expand the formula, we get:
τn+1 = α tn+(1 - α) α tn -1 + …
+(1 - α )j α tn -1 + …
+(1 - α )n=1 tn τ0

Since both α and (1 - α) are less than or equal to 1, each
successive term has less weight than its predecessor.

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Priority Scheduling
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A priority number (integer) is associated with each

process

The CPU is allocated to the process with the highest
priority (smallest integer ≡ highest priority).

Preemptive

nonpreemptive

SJF is a priority scheduling where priority is the
predicted next CPU burst time.

Problem ≡ Starvation – low priority processes may
never execute.

Solution ≡ Aging – as time progresses increase the
priority of the process.

Round Robin (RR)

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Each process gets a small unit of CPU time (time

quantum), usually 10-100 milliseconds. After this time
has elapsed, the process is preempted and added to
the end of the ready queue.

If there are n processes in the ready queue and the
time quantum is q, then each process gets 1/n of the
CPU time in chunks of at most q time units at once. No
process waits more than (n-1)q time units.

Performance

q large ⇒ FIFO

q small ⇒ q must be large with respect to context switch,
otherwise overhead is too high.

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Example: RR with Time Quantum = 20

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Process Burst Time
P1 53
P2 17
P3 68
P4 24

The Gantt chart is:

P1 P2 P3 P4 P1 P3 P4 P1 P3 P3

0 20 37 57 77 97 117 121 134 154 162

Typically, higher average turnaround than SJF, but better response.

Turnaround Time Varies With The Time Quantum

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Multilevel Queue
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Ready queue is partitioned into separate queues:

foreground (interactive)
background (batch)

Each queue has its own scheduling algorithm,
foreground – RR
background – FCFS

Scheduling must be done between the queues.

Fixed priority scheduling; i.e., serve all from foreground then
from background. Possibility of starvation.

Time slice – each queue gets a certain amount of CPU time which
it can schedule amongst its processes; i.e.,
80% to foreground in RR

20% to background in FCFS

Multilevel Queue Scheduling

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Multilevel Feedback Queue

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A process can move between the various queues;

aging can be implemented this way.

Multilevel-feedback-queue scheduler defined by
the following parameters:

number of queues

scheduling algorithms for each queue

method used to determine when to upgrade a process

method used to determine when to demote a process

method used to determine which queue a process will
enter when that process needs service

Multilevel Feedback Queues

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Example of Multilevel Feedback

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Queue

Three queues:

Q0 – time quantum 8 milliseconds

Q1 – time quantum 16 milliseconds

Q2 – FCFS

Scheduling

A new job enters queue Q0 which is served FCFS. When it
gains CPU, job receives 8 milliseconds. If it does not finish in
8 milliseconds, job is moved to queue Q1.

At Q1 job is again served FCFS and receives 16 additional
milliseconds. If it still does not complete, it is preempted and
moved to queue Q2.

Multiple-Processor Scheduling
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CPU scheduling more complex when multiple CPUs

are available.

Homogeneous processors within a multiprocessor.

Load sharing

Asymmetric multiprocessing – only one processor
accesses the system data structures, alleviating the
need for data sharing.

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Real-Time Scheduling
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Hard real-time systems – required to complete a

critical task within a guaranteed amount of time.

Soft real-time computing – requires that critical
processes receive priority over less fortunate ones.

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