GATE 2015 CS (CS2) – Question 30
Six identical resources are shared by N competing processes. Each process can request at most 2 resources. Which N could lead to deadlock?
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Correct answer: (D) 4
Explanation
Source/key conflict: the supplied paper prints a maximum of two resources per process but marks D (four) correct. With a maximum simultaneous holding/request of two, deadlock freedom is guaranteed when 6>N(2−1); all offered N≤4 satisfy this. Thus none is mathematically valid under that standard interpretation. D would be possible if the maximum were three: three processes could hold two each and wait. The published D grading is preserved without silently changing the printed two.