Visual model of what occurs when a process accesses memory that is not currently mapped into physical RAM.
Process Executes
|
v
CPU References Address
|
v
Address Present?
+---------+
| YES |------> Continue Execution
+---------+
|
NO
v
Page Fault Exception
|
v
Kernel Fault Handler
|
v
Page Located?
+---------+
| YES |
+---------+
|
v
Load Page Into RAM
|
v
Update Page Tables
|
v
Retry Instruction
|
v
Continue Execution
Each step represents a major transition from CPU execution, to operating system intervention, and back to normal execution.