TSN2101 Operating Systems

Trimester 1, 2013/2014

Textbook
Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Baer Galvin, Greg

Gagne, Operating System Concepts, 8/E, John

Wiley & Sons, 2010. (ISBN: 978-0-470-23399-3)

Reference books
William Stallings, "Operating Systems: Internals and

Design Principles", 7th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2012

(ISBN: 978-0-273-75150-2)
Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Modern Operating

Systems, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall, 2009 (ISBN:9780-13-813459-4)

Assessment
Mid-term Test (20%)
Lectures 1 - 6

Assignment (10%)
Quizzes (10%)
Quiz 1 (5%)
Lecture 4 CPU scheduling
Quiz 2 (5%)
Lectures 7 & 8 Memory management & Virtual memory

Final Exam (60%)

Lectures 1 - 13
Answer 5 out of 7 Questions

Lecture 1: Introduction to OS
and Computer System
Structures

Lecture 1: Introduction to OS and

Computer System Structures
What Operating Systems Do
Computer-System Organization
Computer-System Architecture

Operating-System Structure
Operating-System Operations
Process Management

Memory Management
Storage Management
Protection and Security

Objectives
To provide a grand tour of the major operating systems

components
To provide coverage of basic computer system organization

What is an Operating System?

A program that acts as an intermediary between a user of a

computer and the computer hardware

Operating system goals:
Execute user programs and make solving user problems easier
Make the computer system convenient to use

Use the computer hardware in an efficient manner

Computer System Structure

Computer system can be divided into four components
Hardware provides basic computing resources
CPU, memory, I/O devices
Operating system
Controls and coordinates use of hardware among various applications
and users
Application programs define the ways in which the system

resources are used to solve the computing problems of the

users

Word processors, compilers, web browsers, database systems, video

games

Users
People, machines, other computers

Four Components of a Computer System

Operating System Definition

OS is a resource allocator
Manages all resources
Decides between conflicting requests for efficient and fair

resource use
OS is a control program
Controls execution of programs to prevent errors and improper

use of the computer

Operating System Definition (Cont)

No universally accepted definition
Everything a vendor ships when you order an operating

system is good approximation

But varies wildly

The one program running at all times on the computer is

the kernel. Everything else is either a system program

(ships with the operating system) or an application program

Computer Startup
bootstrap program is loaded at power-up or reboot
Typically stored in ROM or EPROM, generally known as

firmware
Initializes all aspects of system
Loads operating system kernel and starts execution

Computer System Organization

Computer-system operation
One or more CPUs, device controllers connect through

common bus providing access to shared memory

Concurrent execution of CPUs and devices competing for
memory cycles

Computer-System Operation
I/O devices and the CPU can execute concurrently
Each device controller is in charge of a particular device type
Each device controller has a local buffer

CPU moves data from/to main memory to/from local

buffers
I/O is from the device to local buffer of controller
Device controller informs CPU that it has finished its
operation by causing an interrupt

Common Functions of Interrupts

Interrupt transfers control to the interrupt service routine

generally, through the interrupt vector, which contains

the addresses of all the service routines
Interrupt architecture must save the address of the
interrupted instruction
Incoming interrupts are disabled while another interrupt is
being processed to prevent a lost interrupt
A trap is a software-generated interrupt caused either by an
error or a user request
An operating system is interrupt driven

Interrupt Handling
The operating system preserves the state of the CPU by

storing registers and the program counter

Separate segments of code determine what action should be
taken for each type of interrupt
These codes are accessed through interrupt vector the
interrupt vector contains the addresses of where these codes
are located in memory

Interrupt Timeline

I/O Structure
After I/O starts, control returns to user program only upon

I/O completion

Wait instruction idles the CPU until the next interrupt

Wait loop (contention for memory access)
At most one I/O request is outstanding at a time, no

simultaneous I/O processing

After I/O starts, control returns to user program without

waiting for I/O completion

System call request to the operating system to allow user to

wait for I/O completion

Device-status table contains entry for each I/O device
indicating its type, address, and state
Operating system indexes into I/O device table to determine
device status and to modify table entry to include interrupt

Direct Memory Access Structure

Used for high-speed I/O devices able to transmit

information at close to memory speeds

Device controller transfers blocks of data from buffer storage
directly to main memory without CPU intervention
Only one interrupt is generated per block, rather than the
one interrupt per byte

Storage Structure
Main memory only large storage media that the CPU can

access directly
Secondary storage extension of main memory that provides
large nonvolatile storage capacity
Magnetic disks rigid metal or glass platters covered with
magnetic recording material
Disk surface is logically divided into tracks, which are

subdivided into sectors

The disk controller determines the logical interaction
between the device and the computer

Storage Hierarchy
Storage systems organized in hierarchy
Speed
Cost
Volatility

Caching copying information into faster storage system;

main memory can be viewed as a last cache for secondary

storage

Storage-Device Hierarchy

Caching
Important principle, performed at many levels in a computer

(in hardware, operating system, software)

Information in use copied from slower to faster storage
temporarily
Faster storage (cache) checked first to determine if
information is there
If it is, information used directly from the cache (fast)
If not, data copied to cache and used there

Cache smaller than storage being cached

Cache management important design problem
Cache size and replacement policy

Computer-System Architecture
Most systems use a single general-purpose processor (PDAs

through mainframes)

Most systems have special-purpose processors as well

Multiprocessors systems growing in use and importance

Also known as parallel systems, tightly-coupled systems
Advantages include
1. Increased throughput
2. Economy of scale
3. Increased reliability graceful degradation or fault tolerance
Two types
1. Asymmetric Multiprocessing
2. Symmetric Multiprocessing

How a Modern Computer Works

Symmetric Multiprocessing Architecture

A Dual-Core Design

Clustered Systems
Like multiprocessor systems, but multiple systems working

together
Usually sharing storage via a storage-area network (SAN)
Provides a high-availability service which survives failures
Asymmetric clustering has one machine in hot-standby mode
Symmetric clustering has multiple nodes running applications,
monitoring each other

Some clusters are for high-performance computing (HPC)

Applications must be written to use parallelization

Operating System Structure

Multiprogramming needed for efficiency
Single user cannot keep CPU and I/O devices busy at all times
Multiprogramming organizes jobs (code and data) so CPU

always has one to execute

A subset of total jobs in system is kept in memory
One job selected and run via job scheduling
When it has to wait (for I/O for example), OS switches to
another job

Operating System Structure

Timesharing (multitasking) is logical extension in which

CPU switches jobs so frequently that users can interact with

each job while it is running, creating interactive computing
Response time should be < 1 second
Each user has at least one program executing in memory

process
If several jobs ready to run at the same time CPU
scheduling
If processes dont fit in memory, swapping moves them in and
out to run
Virtual memory allows execution of processes not
completely in memory

Memory Layout for Multiprogrammed

System

Operating-System Operations
Interrupt driven by hardware

Software error or request creates exception or trap

Division by zero, request for operating system service

Other process problems include infinite loop, processes modifying

each other or the operating system

Dual-mode operation allows OS to protect itself and other
system components

User mode and kernel mode

Mode bit provided by hardware
Provides ability to distinguish when system is running user code or kernel
code
Some instructions designated as privileged, only executable in kernel mode
System call changes mode to kernel, return from call resets it to user

Transition from User to

Kernel Mode
Timer to prevent infinite loop / process hogging resources
Set interrupt after specific period
Operating system decrements counter
When counter zero generate an interrupt
Set up before scheduling process to regain control or terminate

program that exceeds allotted time

Process Management
A process is a program in execution. It is a unit of work

within the system. Program is a passive entity, process is an

active entity.
Process needs resources to accomplish its task
CPU, memory, I/O, files
Initialization data

Process termination requires reclaim of any reusable

resources

Process Management (Cont)

Single-threaded process has one program counter

specifying location of next instruction to execute

Process executes instructions sequentially, one at a time, until

completion

Multi-threaded process has one program counter per thread

Typically system has many processes, some user, some

operating system running concurrently on one or more

CPUs
Concurrency by multiplexing the CPUs among the processes /

threads

Process Management Activities

The operating system is responsible for the following activities
in connection with process management:
Creating and deleting both user and system processes
Suspending and resuming processes
Providing mechanisms for process synchronization
Providing mechanisms for process communication
Providing mechanisms for deadlock handling

Memory Management
All data in memory before and after processing
All instructions in memory in order to execute
Memory management determines what is in memory when
Optimizing CPU utilization and computer response to users

Memory management activities

Keeping track of which parts of memory are currently being

used and by whom

Deciding which processes (or parts thereof) and data to move
into and out of memory
Allocating and deallocating memory space as needed

Storage Management
OS provides uniform, logical view of information storage
Abstracts physical properties to logical storage unit - file
Each medium is controlled by device (i.e., disk drive, tape drive)
Varying properties include access speed, capacity, data-transfer rate, access
method (sequential or random)

File-System management
Files usually organized into directories
Access control on most systems to determine who can access what
OS activities include
Creating and deleting files and directories
Primitives to manipulate files and dirs
Mapping files onto secondary storage
Backup files onto stable (non-volatile) storage media

Mass-Storage Management
Usually disks used to store data that does not fit in main memory or data

that must be kept for a long period of time

Proper management is of central importance
Entire speed of computer operation hinges on disk subsystem and its
algorithms
OS activities
Free-space management
Storage allocation
Disk scheduling
Some storage need not be fast
Tertiary storage includes optical storage, magnetic tape
Still must be managed
Varies between WORM (write-once, read-many-times) and RW (readwrite)

Protection and Security

Protection any mechanism for controlling access of processes or

users to resources defined by the OS

Security defense of the system against internal and external attacks
Huge range, including denial-of-service, worms, viruses, identity
theft, theft of service
Systems generally first distinguish among users, to determine who can
do what
User identities (user IDs, security IDs) include name and associated
number, one per user
User ID then associated with all files, processes of that user to
determine access control
Group identifier (group ID) allows set of users to be defined and
controls managed, then also associated with each process, file
Privilege escalation allows user to change to effective ID with
more rights

End of Lecture 1
Slides adopted from the book:
Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Baer Galvin, Greg
Gagne, Operating System Concepts, 8/E, John
Wiley & Sons, 2010. (ISBN: 978-0-470-23399-3)