Operating System Scheduling: MLFQ Simulation and Analysis

Operating systems must constantly decide which process gets CPU time, balancing responsiveness and throughput. Understanding how a Multi-Level Feedback Queue (MLFQ) solves this challenge is fundamental to mastering system internals. This text-based course guides you through the core principles of MLFQ scheduling. You will analyze scheduling behaviors, experiment with queue parameters, and understand how modern operating systems prevent starvation and handle diverse workloads. What you'll learn: 1. Learn the foundational rules of Multi-Level Feedback Queue scheduling. 2. Analyze how workloads dynamically change priority based on CPU burst behaviors. 3. Configure simulation parameters like time slices, boost intervals, and queue depths. 4. Identify scheduling issues such as starvation and gaming the scheduler, and how to mitigate them. 5. Compare MLFQ principles with modern multi-core scheduling concepts. Starting with foundational definitions of CPU scheduling, you will progress to tracing workloads through simulated queues, examining how parameter adjustments alter system efficiency. This course is designed for beginning computer science students, software engineers, and system administrators looking to understand OS internals. No prior systems programming experience is required. Begin exploring the mechanics of process scheduling today.