Memory Management Unit (MMU)

The CPU generates a virtual address to get data from the main memory. But main memory works with Physical address. So, Physical address is the basic need to get data from the main memory. For this purpose, a Memory management unit (MMU) comes into the picture, which converts virtual addresses to physical addresses.

MMU is a computer hardware component responsible for all memory and caching operations associated with the CPU. MMU usually exists in CP, but in some cases, it operates on a separate integrated circuit (IC) chip. It uses the Page Table.

The MMU has a section named translation look aside buffer (TLB). It contains some pages of the running process and their corresponding virtual addresses to physical addresses—the concept of TLB we will cover in the next lecture.

Memory management unit (MMU)

Functions of Memory Management Unit 

  • Hardware memory management: it deals with RAM and cache memory.
  • OS memory management: it deals with resources among objects and data structures.
  • Application memory management: it allocates and manages the memory among programs.