Chapter 3

Deadlocks
3.1. Resource
3.2. Introduction to deadlocks
3.3. The ostrich algorithm
3.4. Deadlock detection and recovery
3.5. Deadlock avoidance
3.6. Deadlock prevention
3.7. Other issues

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 Chapter Objectives

• To develop a description of
deadlocks, which prevent sets of
concurrent processes from
completing their tasks
• To present a number of different
methods for preventing or avoiding
deadlocks in a computer system.

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 Resources(1)
• Examples of computer resources
– printers
– tape drives
– tables
• Processes need access to resources in reasonable
order
• Suppose a process holds resource X and requests
resourceY
– at same time another process holds Y and requests X
– both are blocked and remain so

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 Resources (2)
• Deadlocks occur when …
– processes are granted exclusive access to devices
– we refer to these devices generally as resources
• Preemptable resources
– can be taken away from a process with no ill
effects
• Nonpreemptable resources
– will cause the process to fail if taken away

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 Resources (3)

• Sequence of events required to use a resource

1. request the resource
2. use the resource
3. release the resource
• Must wait if request is denied
– requesting process may be blocked
– may fail with error code

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 Resources (4)

• Example request/release as system call

– request/release device
– open/close file
– allocate/free memory
– wait/signal

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 Introduction to Deadlocks
• Formal definition :
A set of processes is deadlocked if each process in the set is
waiting for an event that only another process in the set can
cause
• Usually the event is release of a currently held
resource
• None of the processes can …
– run
– release resources
– be awakened

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 Four Conditions for Deadlock
1. Mutual exclusion condition
• each resource assigned to 1 process or is available
2. Hold and wait condition
• process holding resources can request additional
3. No preemption condition
• previously granted resources cannot forcibly taken
away
4. Circular wait condition
• must be a circular chain of 2 or more processes
• each is waiting for resource held by next member of the
chain

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 Deadlock Modeling (1)
• Modeled with directed graphs
• Resource-Allocation Graph (RAG)

– resource R assigned to process A

– process B is requesting/waiting for resource S
– process C and D are in deadlock over resources T and U

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Deadlock Modeling (2)
A B C

How deadlock occurs 10

Deadlock Modeling (3)

(o) (p) (q)

How deadlock can be avoided 11

Strategies for dealing with Deadlocks

1. just ignore the problem altogether

2. detection and recovery
3. dynamic avoidance
• careful resource allocation
4. prevention
• negating one of the four necessary conditions

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 The Ostrich Algorithm
• Pretend there is no problem
• Reasonable if
– deadlocks occur very rarely
– cost of prevention is high
• UNIX and Windows takes this approach
• It is a trade off between
– convenience
– correctness

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Detection with Multiple Resource of Each Type (1)

Data structures needed by deadlock detection algorithm

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Detection with Multiple Resource of Each Type (2)

The deadlock detection algorithm:

1. Look for unmarked process, Pi, for which the
i-th row of R is less than or equal to A
2. If such process is found, add the i-th row of C to
A , mark the process and go back to step 1
3. If no such process exists, the algorithm
terminates.
When algorithm terminates, any unmarked processes
are known to be dealocked

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Detection with Multiple Resource of Each Type (3)

An example for the deadlock detection algorithm

After first cycle A=(2 2 2 0),
After second cycle A=(4 2 2 1)

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 Recovery from Deadlock (1)

• Recovery through preemption

– take a resource from some other process
– depends on nature of the resource
• Recovery through rollback
– checkpoint a process periodically
– use this saved state
– restart the process if it is found deadlocked

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 Recovery from Deadlock (2)

• Recovery through killing processes

– crudest but simplest way to break a deadlock
– kill one of the processes in the deadlock cycle
– the other processes get its resources
– choose process that can be rerun from the beginning

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 Deadlock Avoidance
Resource Trajectories

Two process resource trajectories

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 Deadlock Avoidance
Basic Facts
• At any instant of time, current state of system
consisting of E (Resources in Existance), A
(Resource Available), C (Current allocation
matrix), R (Request matrix)
• If a system is in safe state  no deadlocks.
• If a system is in unsafe state  possibility of
deadlock.
• Avoidance  ensure that a system will never
enter an unsafe state.

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 Deadlock Avoidance
Safe, Unsafe , Deadlock State

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 Deadlock Avoidance
Safe and Unsafe States (1)

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

- Example: 3 processses A, B, C using one

resource with total 10 instances, 7 already
allocated, 3 available
- Demonstration that the state in (a) is safe

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 Deadlock Avoidance
Safe and Unsafe States (2)

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Demonstration that the state in b is not safe

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 Deadlock Avoidance
The Banker's Algorithm for a Single Resource (1)

(a) (b) (c)

• Three resource allocation states
– (a) safe
– (b) safe
– (c) unsafe

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 Deadlock Avoidance
The Banker's Algorithm for a Single Resource (2)

• The banker’s algorithm considers each request as it occurs,

and see if granting it leads to a safe state.
• If it does, the request is granted; otherwise, it is postponed
until later.
• To see if a state is safe, the banker checks to see if he has
enough resources to satisfy some customer.
• If so, those loans are assumed to be repaid, and the
customer now closest to the limit is checked, and so on. If
all loans can eventually be repaid, the state is safe and the
initial request can be granted.

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 Deadlock Avoidance
Banker's Algorithm for Multiple Resources (1)

Example of banker's algorithm with multiple resources

If order is D, E, A, B, C, Vector A will be (2121), (2121), (5132), (5232), (6342)

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 Deadlock Avoidance
Banker's Algorithm for Multiple Resources (2)

• The algorithm for checking to see if a state is safe can be

stated.
1. Look for a row, R, whose unmet resource needs are all
smaller than or equal to A. If no such row exists, the
system will eventually deadlock since no process can run
to completion.
2. Assume the process of the row chosen requests all the
resources it needs and finishes. Mark that process as
terminated and add all its resources to the A vector.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until either all processes are marked
terminated, in which case the initial state was safe, or until
a deadlock occurs, in which case it was not.

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 Deadlock Prevention
Attacking the Mutual Exclusion Condition
• Some devices (such as printer) can be spooled
– only the printer daemon uses printer resource
– thus deadlock for printer eliminated
• Not all devices can be spooled
• Principle:
– avoid assigning resource when not absolutely
necessary
– as few processes as possible actually claim the
resource

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 Deadlock Prevention
Attacking the Hold and Wait Condition
• Require processes to request resources before
starting
– a process never has to wait for what it needs
• Problems
– may not know required resources at start of run
– also ties up resources other processes could be using
• Variation:
– process must give up all resources
– then request all immediately needed

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 Deadlock Prevention
Attacking the No Preemption Condition

• This is not a viable option

• Consider a process given the printer
– halfway through its job
– now forcibly take away printer
– !!??

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 Deadlock Prevention
Attacking the Circular Wait Condition (1)

(a) (b)

• Normally ordered resources

• A resource graph

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 Deadlock Prevention

Summary of approaches to deadlock prevention

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 Other Issues
Two-Phase Locking
• Phase One
– process tries to lock all records it needs, one at a time
– if needed record found locked, start over
– (no real work done in phase one)
• If phase one succeeds, it starts second phase,
– performing updates
– releasing locks
• Note similarity to requesting all resources at once
• Algorithm works where programmer can arrange
– program can be stopped, restarted

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 Nonresource Deadlocks
• Possible for two processes to deadlock
– each is waiting for the other to do some task
• Can happen with semaphores
– each process required to do a down() on two
semaphores (mutex and another)
– if done in wrong order, deadlock results

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 Starvation
• Algorithm to allocate a resource
– may be to give to shortest job first
• Works great for multiple short jobs in a system
• May cause long job to be postponed indefinitely
– even though not blocked
• Solution:
– First-come, first-serve policy

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