Computer Science – Data storage | e-Consult

The Memory Management Unit (MMU) is a hardware component responsible for translating virtual addresses generated by the CPU into physical addresses in RAM. It is a critical part of the virtual memory system.

Address Translation Process:

1. The CPU generates a virtual address.
2. The MMU intercepts the virtual address.
3. The MMU uses the page table base register (PTBR) to access the page table in RAM.
4. The page table entry for the virtual page contains the physical frame number where the corresponding page is stored.
5. The MMU combines the physical frame number with the offset (the portion of the virtual address that represents the location within the page) to create the physical address.
6. The MMU then sends the physical address to the memory controller to access the data in RAM.

Diagram:

The MMU is essential for the security and efficiency of virtual memory. It ensures that programs only access memory that they are authorized to access and that memory is allocated and managed effectively.