In a virtual memory system, a process requests a page that is not currently in memory, triggering a page fault. Which of the following is the most optimal approach to replace the page?

The Optimal Page Replacement algorithm replaces the page that will not be used for the longest duration in the future. While not practically implementable due to the need for future knowledge, it serves as a theoretical benchmark for evaluating other algorithms. It minimizes the number of page faults. Why Other Options Are Incorrect: • A) LRU: Although practical, LRU does not guarantee the lowest page faults as it only considers past usage. • B) FIFO: FIFO can cause frequent page faults due to the lack of relevance to actual usage patterns. • D) Random: Random selection is arbitrary and inefficient. • E) MFU: Assumes pages used frequently in the past will be required again, which is often incorrect.