Page replacement using marginal loss functions

This paper describes a new technique to reduce page-faults in multiprocessing systems by supplying compile-time information about application's access patterns to the kernel. Runtime support is used to determine parameters unknown at compile-time and to summarize all this information as a marginal-loss function. Marginal loss functions describe the extra number of page faults that a process incurs when one of its pages is removed from main memory. System calls convey the marginal loss function of each active memory segment to the kernel which uses this information to determine the allocation and replacement of pages. We outline how the compiler analyzes access patterns and how the marginal loss function can be computed for common patterns. Simulation results demonstrate a significant reduction in page faults compared to typical approaches used by current operating systems.