Disk Space Allocation Methods in Operating Systems: Contiguous, Linked, and Indexed Allocation
Explore different disk space allocation methods used by operating systems to manage file storage on hard drives. This guide compares contiguous, linked, and indexed allocation, analyzing their advantages, disadvantages, and impact on system performance.
Disk Space Allocation Methods
How Operating Systems Allocate Disk Space
When a file is stored on a hard drive, the operating system needs a way to manage where that file's data is physically located on the disk. This is handled by a disk space allocation method. The choice of allocation method impacts the system's overall performance and efficiency.
Different Disk Space Allocation Methods
Several methods exist for allocating disk space. Here's a list of common approaches; we'll explore some in more detail below:
- Contiguous Allocation
- Extents
- Linked Allocation
- Clustering
- FAT (File Allocation Table)
- Indexed Allocation
- Linked Indexed Allocation
- Multilevel Indexed Allocation
- Inode
Methods Explained (Contiguous, Extents, Linked)
We will focus on three commonly used methods:
Contiguous Allocation
(An explanation of contiguous allocation would be added here, including diagrams and a discussion of its advantages and disadvantages.)
Extents
(An explanation of extents-based allocation would be added here, along with a comparison to contiguous allocation.)
Linked Allocation
(An explanation of linked allocation, including how it manages file storage using pointers, and a comparison with contiguous allocation and extents, would be added here.)