Towards the Unraveling of Zombie Effect in the Linux Kernel

https://doi.org/10.56225/ijgoia.v3i2.302

Authors

  • Shekh Abdullah-Al-Musa Ahmed Department of Computing and Information System, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, Daffodil International University, Daffodil Smart City, Birulia 1216, Bangladesh
  • Md. Mahmudur Rahman Department of Computing and Information System, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, Daffodil International University, Daffodil Smart City, Birulia 1216, Bangladesh
  • Shah Md. Baizid Habib Department of Computing and Information System, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, Daffodil International University, Daffodil Smart City, Birulia 1216, Bangladesh
  • Ayesha Siddika Uzra Department of Computing and Information System, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, Daffodil International University, Daffodil Smart City, Birulia 1216, Bangladesh
  • Mabia Akonda Jemi Department of Computing and Information System, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, Daffodil International University, Daffodil Smart City, Birulia 1216, Bangladesh

Keywords:

Linux kernel, Process table, Zombie state, Kernel functions, Zombie processes, Memory management, Parent process, Child process

Abstract

A zombie process is a type of process that has completed its execution but still has an entry in the process table. Zombie processes are typically created when a child process terminates, but its parent process fails to collect its termination status. Now that the fork () has created a new process, it duplicates the calling process. The new process is referred to as the child process. The calling process is referred to as the parent process. The child and parent processes are to run in separate memory spaces. Both memory spaces have the same content at the time of fork (). Whenever in Linux, a process is an instance of executing a program or command. While these processes exist, they will be in one of the five possible states, such as Running or Runnable (R), Uninterruptible Sleep (D), or Interruptable Sleep (S). Another process (the parent process) creates a child computing process. This technique pertains to multitasking operating systems and is sometimes called a subprocess or, traditionally, a subtask. Hence, there are five Linux process states. Such as running & runnable, interruptable sleep, uninterruptable sleep, stopped, and zombie. Each of these processes exists for a very well-defined reason. After all, a zombie process in Linux is a terminated child process that remains in the system's process table while waiting for its parent process to collect its exit status. A zombie process is a type of process that has completed its execution but still has an entry in the process table. As a result, if too many zombie processes are generated, the process table will be full. That is, the system will not be able to generate any new process, then the system will come to a standstill.

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Published

2024-06-30

How to Cite

Ahmed, S. A.-A.-M., Rahman, M. M., Habib, S. M. B., Uzra, A. S., & Jemi, M. A. (2024). Towards the Unraveling of Zombie Effect in the Linux Kernel. International Journal of Global Optimization and Its Application, 3(2), 75–80. https://doi.org/10.56225/ijgoia.v3i2.302

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2024): June 2024

Section

Articles

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Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.