Question

The run time mapping from virtual to physical addresses is done by a hardware device called the :

a) Virtual to physical mapper
b) Memory management unit
c) Memory mapping unit
d) None of these

Answer 1

The hardware device that maps virtual to physical addresses is the Memory Management Unit (MMU), a key part of the CPU involved in memory management.

Step-by-step explanation:

The hardware device responsible for the run time mapping from virtual to physical addresses in a computer system is called the Memory Management Unit (MMU). The MMU is a critical component of the CPU that handles the translation of virtual addresses to physical addresses. This translation is necessary because while a program may refer to memory locations using virtual addresses, the actual data is stored in physical memory locations. The MMU uses a combination of hardware and operating system software to manage memory effectively. It can improve both security and efficiency by controlling each process's access to the physical memory and enabling the use of virtual memory.