Scalability of dynamic storage allocation algorithms

Abstract

Dynamic storage allocation has a significant impact on computer performance. A dynamic storage allocator manages space for objects whose lifetimes are not known by the system at the time of their creation. A good dynamic storage allocator should utilize storage efficiently and satisfy requests in as few instructions as possible. A dynamic storage allocator on a multiprocessor should have the ability to satisfy multiple requests concurrently. This paper examines parallel dynamic storage allocation algorithms and how performance scales with increasing numbers of processors. The highest throughputs and lowest instruction counts are achieved with multiple free list fit I. The best memory utilization is achieved using a best fit system.