Question

It is common to keep one or more blocks of the log file in main memory buffers, called the ___, until they are filled with log entries and then to write them back to disk only once, rather than writing to disk every time a log entry is added.

Answer 1

The log buffer is a memory buffer that stores log entries until full and then writes them to disk in bulk, enhancing system performance by reducing disk I/O operations.

Step-by-step explanation:

The part of the log file system described in this question is known as the log buffer. The log buffer plays a critical role in improving system performance by reducing the frequency of disk write operations required to maintain log entries. Instead of writing each individual log entry to the disk as it occurs, multiple entries are collected within the log buffer. Once this buffer is full, it is then written to the disk in bulk. This approach minimizes the costly disk I/O operations that can significantly slow down system performance, especially for database systems or other transaction-oriented applications where logging is an essential part of preserving data integrity and supporting recovery operations. Following this method also allows the system to perform batch processing of writes, which is more efficient than frequent, smaller writes.