operating-systems scheduling

Definition

Feedback Scheduling

Feedback scheduling is a dynamic priority-based strategy that penalises processes based on CPU usage. Processes using long continuous bursts are demoted to lower-priority queues.

Mechanism

Queue Structure

New processes enter the highest-priority queue (RQ0).

Time Slice Execution

A process runs for a specified time slice. If it uses the full slice without blocking, it is demoted to the next lower queue.

Promotion

To prevent starvation, processes in low-priority queues may be periodically promoted to higher queues.

Properties

Selection

Always pick from the highest-priority non-empty queue. Within a queue, FCFS or Round Robin may be used.

Preemptive

Higher-priority processes preempt lower-priority ones.

I/O Bias

Favour I/O-intensive and interactive processes, as they block frequently and stay in high-priority queues.

Dynamic Adaptation

Automatically adapts to process behaviour without requiring prior service time estimates.