Access Graphs Results for LRU versus FIFO under Relative Worst Order Analysis

TL;DR

This paper compares the performance of LRU and FIFO paging algorithms using access graphs and relative worst order analysis, revealing conditions where LRU outperforms FIFO and where they are incomparable.

Contribution

It introduces the application of access graphs to relative worst order analysis, providing new insights into the comparative performance of paging algorithms.

Findings

FWF is strictly worse than LRU and FIFO on access graphs.

LRU outperforms FIFO on paths and cycles.

LRU and FIFO are incomparable on certain graph families.

Abstract

Access graphs, which have been used previously in connection with competitive analysis to model locality of reference in paging, are considered in connection with relative worst order analysis. In this model, FWF is shown to be strictly worse than both LRU and FIFO on any access graph. LRU is shown to be strictly better than FIFO on paths and cycles, but they are incomparable on some families of graphs which grow with the length of the sequences.