intermediate · virtualmem
Which Hardware Does Virtual Memory?
Virtual memory is usually described as an operating-system feature. What hardware participates in it?
Practical scenario
A candidate has described virtual memory entirely in OS terms. The interviewer asks which parts of it are actually implemented in silicon.
What it tests
- • Whether the candidate separates OS policy from hardware mechanism
- • Knowledge of the MMU, TLB and page-table walker
- • Understanding that translation happens on every single access