Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) Practice Exam

What critical aspect does the concept of virtual memory focus on?

1. Enhancing user experience in system operations

2. Mapping virtual addresses to physical addresses in memory

3. Eliminating the need for physical storage devices

4. Increasing the data transfer rate between components

The correct answer is: Mapping virtual addresses to physical addresses in memory

The concept of virtual memory primarily focuses on mapping virtual addresses to physical addresses in memory. This mapping allows an operating system to use hardware to simulate a larger amount of memory than is physically available on the system. By doing so, virtual memory enables processes to operate in their own isolated address spaces, enhancing memory utilization and allowing the execution of larger applications or multiple applications simultaneously even if the total memory required exceeds the available physical RAM. Through this mechanism, the system can manage memory more flexibly, allowing for efficient multitasking, memory protection, and the ability to run processes that may not fit entirely in physical memory. This allows the operating system to load only parts of a process into physical RAM when they are needed, while keeping the rest on disk, effectively managing limited resources more deftly. While enhancing user experience, eliminating the need for physical storage devices, and increasing the data transfer rate may be relevant to computer systems and performance, they do not specifically encapsulate the primary function and significance of virtual memory itself. The crucial aspect is indeed the mapping of virtual addresses to physical addresses, facilitating efficient memory management.