CPU scheduling algorithms performance analysis in the RISC-V xv6 operating system environment

Abstract

Process scheduling is a crucial element of operating systems, which has a significant impact on system performance and the efficient use of resources. This paper includes a study of scheduling algorithms implemented in xv6, which is a Unix-like operating system designed specifically for educational purposes. This paper examines the specificities and operational attributes of Round Robin, First-Come-First-Serve, and Priority-Based Scheduling. The functionality of xv6 is enhanced by integrating system call tracing, a debugging tool that intercepts and logs system calls invoked by programs during execution. The strace system function can be implemented in a comprehensive manner, allowing for selective tracing depending on a mask given by the user. The procdump software offers detailed information on the present condition of running processes, encompassing their execution durations, waiting durations, and queue durations. Benchmarking and performance analysis provide a quantitative evaluation of the trade-offs linked to each scheduling policy. The results indicate that the First-Come-First-Serve scheduler has the lowest average waiting time, while the Round Robin and Priority-Based Scheduling schedulers have larger waiting times due to the additional overhead of preemption and priority-based selection.