Definition
Suspended Process
A suspended process is a process swapped out of main memory to secondary storage. In the Seven-State Process Model, occupies Ready/Suspend or Blocked/Suspend states. Requires a Swap In operation before returning to Ready state.
Properties
Location
Resides in swap space on disk rather than RAM.
Resources
Does not consume physical memory, but its PCB remains in kernel memory for OS management.
State Transitions
Blocked/Suspend can transition to Ready/Suspend if the waited event occurs while on disk.
Suspension Reasons
Memory Pressure
Free up RAM for active processes.
Long-term Events
Move processes blocked on long waits (e.g., user input) out of main memory.
Parent Control
Parent process requests to pause a child for debugging or control.