ASSOSA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATICS

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT………1
COURSE TITLE :NETWORK AND SYSTEM
ADMINISTRATION
NAME:EYASU GUDETA
ID.NO:RU 0473/11

SUBMITTED TO MR.DAWIT M

ASSOSA ETHIOPIA
Briefly discuss the Windows, Linux and Unix Operating Systems,

including their similarities and difference

UNIX:

Unix is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T

employees at Bell Labs. Today’s UNIX system is split into number of branches,
developed over time by AT&T as well as various commercial vendors and other
organizations.

UNIX was created to provide a multiuser, multitasking system for users. The object
behind the design of UNIX was to provide simple, yet powerful utilities that could be
pieced together in a flexible manner to perform a wide variety of tasks. Unix is a family
of multi-user operating systems. Unix has a very strong security and model and
relatively simple design, making it popular and fairly easy to implement. Many operating
systems are either based on or modeled after the first Unix systems, such as Linux,
Solaris, or Mac OS X.

The UNIX operating system comprises three parts: The kernel, the standard utility
programs, and the system configuration files.

LINUX
Linux is a Unix based operating system that was designed to provide personal computer
users a free or very low-cost operating system comparable to traditional and usually
more expensive Unix systems. Linux has a reputation as a very efficient and fast-
performing operating system.

Linux is a remarkably complete operating system, including a graphical user interface, an

X Window System, TCP/IP, and other components usually found in a traditional systems.

Unlike Windows and other proprietary systems, Linux is free and publicly open and
modifiable by contributors. Because it conforms to the Portable Operating System
Interface standard user and programming interfaces, developers can write programs
that can be ported to other operating systems. The development of Linux is one of the
most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all

pg. 1
the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed, both
commercially and non-commercially, by anyone under licenses such as the GNU General

Windows
Windows is a licensed operating system in which source code
is inaccessible. It is designed for the individuals with the perspective of
having no computer programming knowledge and for business and other
commercial users. It is very simple and straightforward to use.

Windows is extensible, portable and assists multiple operating environments,

symmetric multiprocessing and client-server computing. It offers integrated
caching, virtual memory, and preemptive scheduling.

Windows 10 (1709) is the latest release of Microsoft Windows operating

system. Its default user interface is Windows shell (Graphical). It
uses hybrid kernel in older versions micro kernel is mostly used.virtual
memory, and preemptive scheduling.

Windows 10 (1709) is the latest release of Microsoft Windows operating

system. Its default user interface is Windows shell (Graphical). It
uses hybrid kernel in older versions micro kernel is mostly used.
Public License.

Difference between Linux, Unix And Windows

Operating system is said as system software which supervises software resources and
computer hardware gives services to PC programs. Linux, windows and Unix are some of
the operating systems. Linux is a system used for tablet PC’s, computer software and
hardware and so on. Unix is a system usually used in universities, big enterprises,
companies and so forth. Microsoft Windows can be said as progression of graphical
interface operating system sold by Microsoft. In this article we are going to explain the
differences exist in three operating systems.

Linux
The Linux kernels began in 1991, as a venture of Linus Torvalds, while a college
understudy in Finland. He posted data related to his project on newsgroup for PC
understudies and developers, and got support and help from volunteers who achieved
something in making a complete and practical portion. On account of its open license
model, the code of Linux kernel is accessible for study and alteration, which brought about

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its utilization on an extensive variety of processing hardware from supercomputers to smart
watches.

Unix
Unix was initially composed in assembly language. Ken Thompson composed B, for the
most part taking into account BCPL, in view of his involvement in the MULTICS project. B
was supplanted by C, and Unix, revamped in C, formed into a vast, complex group of inter
related working frameworks which have been persuasive in each current operating systems.
The Unix-like family is a different gathering of operating system, with a few noteworthy sub-
classifications as well as System V, BSD, and Linux. The name “UNIX” is a brand name of
The Open Group which permits it for use with any operating system that has been appeared
to comply with their definitions.

Windows
Microsoft Windows is a group of exclusive operating system composed by Microsoft
Corporation and essentially focused to Intel design based PCs, with an expected 88.9
percent complete use offer on Web associated computers. The most recent version is
Windows 10.Windows 7 overwhelmed Windows XP as most basic form in use in
2011.Microsoft Windows was initially released in 1985, as an operating domain
consecutively on peak of MS-DOS, which was standard working framework dispatched on
most Intel engineering PCs at the time.

Unix Vs Linux: What Is Difference Between UNIX And

Linux

Unix Vs Linux: Learn what is the Core Difference between UNIX and Linux
Architecture, Kernel And Commands
Linux is nothing but a UNIX clone which is written Linus Torvalds from scratch with the help
of some hackers across the globe.

Unix and Unix-like operating systems are a family of computer operating systems that
derive from the original Unix System from Bell Labs which can be traced back to 1965. 

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Linux is the most popular variant and there comes in a number of different dist

Unix is a family of multitasking, portable, multi-user computer operating systems, which also
have time-sharing configurations.

Unix systems use a centralized OS kernel which is responsible for managing the entire
system.

The programming interface, file abstraction, built-in networking and persistent background
processing called daemons are the other features and capabilities that are supported by a
Unix OS.

What is UNIX?
Unix is considered as the mother of most of the operating systems.

The design of Unix systems is based on “Unix Philosophy” which includes the
following characteristics:
 Usage of plain text for data storage.
 Hierarchical file system.
 Handling devices and some specific kinds of inter-process communication (IPC) as
files.
 Employing a huge number of software tools.
 Multiple small, simple and modular programs which can be threaded together via
a command-line interpreter using pipes, contrasting to use a single monolithic
program which comprises of all the same functionality.
It’s worth mentioning here the below quote about Unix Philosophy:
“Although that philosophy can’t be written down in a single sentence, as its heart is the idea
that the power of a system comes more from the relationships among programs than from

pg. 4
the programs themselves. Many UNIX programs do quite trivial things in isolation, but,
combined with other programs, become general and useful tools.” – Brian Kernighan &
Rob Pike
Unix Architecture
The below diagram will depict you the Unix architecture.

[image source]
The master control program of Unix is its Kernel. The kernel has full control over the entire
system. It has subsystems that offer services to file system handling, resource handling,
memory management, start & stop programs and few other low-level core tasks.

The kernel is the heart of the OS and acts as an interface between the user and hardware.
Each kernel subsystem has certain features like concurrency, virtual memory, paging, and a
virtual file system.

In the outer layers of the architecture, we have the shell, commands and application
programs. Shell is the interface between the user and the kernel. Shell and the user types in
the commands, interpret these commands and call the computer programs accordingly.

Example of the Unix operating system is Solaris and HP-UX. The largest distributors of
UNIX systems include IBM, HP, and SUN.
What is Linux?
By now you would have got a fair idea about Unix. Let’s now explore Linux in detail.

People do confuse a lot between the terms Unix and Linux and they generally ask questions
like “Is Unix Different from Linux?” / “Are Linux and Unix the same thing?” / “Is Linux
like Unix?”/ “Is Linux built on Unix?”.
Here is the answer to all such questions. First, let me clear your confusion in a one-liner.
Linux and Unix are different but they do have a relationship with each other as Linux is
derived from Unix.

Linux is not Unix, but it is a Unix-like operating system. Linux system is derived from Unix
and it is a continuation of the basis of Unix design. Linux distributions are the most famous

pg. 5
and healthiest example of the direct Unix derivatives. BSD (Berkley Software Distribution) is
also an example of a Unix derivative.
At this juncture, it is important for us to make you clear about what is Unix-like?
A Unix-like OS (also called as UN*X or *nix) is the one that works in a way similar to Unix
systems, however, it is not necessary that they conform to Single UNIX Specification (SUS)
or similar POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface) standard.

SUS is a standard which is required to be met for any OS to qualify for using ‘UNIX’
trademark. This trademark is granted by ‘The Open Group’.

Few Examples of currently registered UNIX systems include macOS, Solaris, and AIX. If
we consider the POSIX system, then Linux can be regarded as Unix-like OS.
As per Linux kernel official README file, Linux is a UNIX clone that is developed from
scratch by Linus Torvalds and team. It targets for POSIX compliance. The Linux kernel
code was completely written from scratch. It is designed in such a way so that it acts like
Unix but it does not have the original Unix code in it.
It is also significant to note that Linux is just the kernel and not the complete OS. This
Linux kernel is generally packaged in Linux distributions which thereby makes it a complete
OS.
Thus, Linux is only the Kernel, while Linux distributions can be treated as the OS. On the
other hand, UNIX in itself is a complete OS as everything (all required application tied
together) comes from a single vendor. For Example, Solaris.
Linux distribution (also called as a distro in short) is an operating system that is created
from a collection of software built upon the Linux Kernel and is a package management
system.

A standard Linux distribution consists of a Linux kernel, GNU system, GNU utilities,
libraries, compiler, additional software, documentation, a window system, window manager
and a desktop environment.

Most of the software included in Linux distribution is free and open source. They may
include some proprietary software like binary blobs which is essential for a few device
drivers.

Linux based OS Architecture

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[image source]
Thus, Linux distributions actually make the Linux kernel completely usable as an operating
system by adding different applications to it. There are various flavors of Linux distributions
that serve a wide range of user needs. For Example, we have OpenWrt Linux based OS for
embedded devices, Linux Mint for Personal computers and Rocks Cluster Distribution for
supercomputers. In total, around 600 Linux distributions do exist.

It will be interesting for you to know that Google’s popular Android mobile OS is based on

Linux. Every iteration of the Android OS is built on the current Linux kernel.

pg. 7
Difference Between Unix and Linux
Linux Unix and other Variants

Linux refers to the kernel of the GNU/Linux operating Unix refers to the original operating system devel
system. More generally, it refers to the family of derived AT&T. More generally, it refers to family of deriv
distributions. operating systems.

Original code developed by Linus and the GNU Original code developed by AT & T
Foundation

The Linux trademark is owned by Linus Trovalds, and The UNIX trademark is certified by the Open Gro
managed by the Linux Mark Institute under the Linux of certified operating systems.
Foundation.

The Linux Standard Base (LSB), available as ISO/IEC UNIX certification based on the ‘Single Unix
23360, is a standardization effort by a number of Linux Specification’ which is an extension of IEEE 1003
distributors. LSB is mostly an extension of POSIX but has (POSIX), also available as ISO/IEC 9945. POSIX
some differences. However, there isn’t a strong need for specifies programming APIs and shell and utility
LSB certification as the various distributions use the same interfaces. POSIX was developed as a way to allo
kernel in any case. interoperability between different UNIX vendors.

GNU/Linux and derivates like Debian and Fedora System-V Unix and derivatives like IBM-AIX and
UX; Berkeley Unix and derivatives like FreeBSD
macOS

Open Source under the copyleft General Public License Berkeley Unix is partially open source under the B

pg. 8
 Linux Unix and other Variants

License. System-V Unix source may be procured

proprietary commercial license.

Different variants maintained by different communities; Different variants maintained by different compan
with the kernel merging into the branch maintained by each maintains their own kernel
Linus

Designed as a general-purpose scalable platform for a Typically designed for a narrow audience with a d
broad set of applications. set of target platforms and applications.

Broadly available as configurable software download and Typically shipped along with hardware e.g. MacB
installer.

Free community support. Paid support available from a Paid commercial support. Often leads to vendor lo
number of service providers.

Interfaces often evolve Interfaces usually stable

Frequent updates, with quick bug fixes Infrequent updates, and fixes may take time

Supports almost all file systems used across operating Most versions support two or perhaps three file sy
systems

Breadth of system administration tools often with limited Each version typically has a mature system admin
focus e.g. Suse YAST tool e.g. HP SAM

Preferred OS for cloud deployment and data centers Preferred OS for special purpose server requireme
primarily for economic reasons to application availability, and internet servers for
reasons

Scalability achieved using clusters, grids or cloud. Scalability achieved using clusters or grids

(A cluster is a collection of homogenous computers, a grid

is a collection of distributed computers, and a cloud
service is a collection of virtualized clusters.)

Most of the command line and graphical utilities are Most of the command line and graphical utilities a
similar to Unix similar to Linux
We hope you must have understood the core differences between Unix and Linux from this
article.

Let us now see some more important differences between Linux and Unix in the
below tabular format:

pg. 9
Features Linux Unix

Developer Inspired by MINIX (a Unix-like OS), Linux was Originally derived from AT&T Uni
originally developed by Finnish-American software developed at Bell Labs by Kenneth
engineer Linus Torvalds. Since it is an open source, Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and 3 ot
we have community developers for Linux.

Written in C and other programming languages. C and assembly language.

OS family Unix-like Unix

Working state Current Current

Source Model Open source Mixed. Traditionally closed source,

however, few Unix projects are open
which include illumos OS and BSD
(Berkley Software Distribution) OS

Available in Multilingual English

Initial release Linux is newer when compared to Unix. It was Unix is older. Was released in Octob
derived from Unix and was released in September for outside parties. Before that, it wa
1991. internally in Bell Labs since its ince
1970.

Kernel Type Monolithic kernel Kernel Type varies. It can be monol

microkernel and hybrid.

License GNUv2(GPL General Public License) and others. Licensing varies. Few versions are
proprietary while others are free/OS

Official https://www.kernel.org/ http://opengroup.org/unix

Website

Default user Unix shell CLI (Command Line Interface) and

interface Graphical (X Windows system)

Text Mode By default, the shell is BASH (Bourne Again Shell). Originally the Bourne shell. It is als
Interface Moreover, is compatible with many command compatible with many command
interpreters. interpreters.

Cost Can be obtained and used freely. There are priced Proprietary operating systems have
versions of Linux as well. But, generally, Linux is cost structures set accordingly by th
cheaper than Windows. vendors selling it.

Examples Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat, Android, etc. IBM AIX, Solaris, HP-UX, Darwin,
X, etc.

pg. 10
 Features Linux Unix

Architecture Was originally created for Intel's x86 hardware, ports Compatible with PA and Itanium m
available for a lot of CPU types. Solaris is also available on x86/x64.
PowerPC.

Threat As Linux is mainly driven by open source community, Due to the proprietary nature of Uni
detection and many developers across different parts of the world need to wait for proper bug fixing p
solution are working on the code. Hence threat detection and
solution is quite fast in case of Linux.

Security Both Linux and Unix based OS is generally regarded Unix is also considered to be very sa
as very well protected against malware. This is even harder to infect as the source is
attributable to lack of root access, quick updates and not available. There is no actively sp
comparatively low market share (as compared to virus for Unix nowadays.
windows). As of 2018, there has been none
widespread Linux virus.

Price Linux is free. However, corporate support is available Unix is not free. However, some Un
at a price. versions are free for development us
(Solaris). In a collaborative environm
Unix costs $1,407 per user and Linu
$256 per user.
Hence, UNIX is extremely expensiv

Linux vs Unix Kernel

As Linux alone is just a kernel, it is worth discussing the major differences between the
Linux Kernel and Unix kernel.

There are three types of the kernel i.e. monolithic, micro and hybrid (combination of
monolithic and micro) as seen in the below image.

[image source]
In monolithic kernel architecture, the entire OS works in single kernel space. It single-
handedly defines a high-level virtual interface on top of the computer hardware

pg. 11
Though Linux kernel derives most of its characteristics from Unix/ Unix-like kernels,
however, there are some significant points of differences between the two.

In microkernel architecture, the core services of the OS run in one process while the other
services run in different processes.

In µ kernel, the near-minimum amount of mechanisms is included in the kernel mode.

These mechanisms include basic IPC (inter-process communication), scheduling and low-
level address space management.

In terms of source code size, generally, a microkernel is smaller than the monolithic kernel.

Features Linux Kernel Unix Kernel

Kernel approach Linux follows the monolithic kernel approach. Unix kernel can be mono
microkernel or hybrid.
For Example, macOS has
hybrid kernel, Solaris has
monolithic kernel, and AI
monolithic kernel with
dynamically loadable mo

Adding/removing Provides a great feature through which the kernel Traditional Unix systems
features of the kernel components like device drives can be dynamically added need static linking of new
and removed as modules. This feature is called as systems being added.

pg. 12
 Features Linux Kernel Unix Kernel

loadable kernel modules (LDM). This eliminates the

need to compile the whole kernel again. This feature in
turn gives great flexibility to Linux.

Streams In Linux, there are no streams I/O subsystem. In most of the Unix kerne
streams I/O subsystem is
included which turns out
desired interface for writi
device drivers, terminal d
etc.

Preemptive vs non- Normally a Linux kernel is non-preemptive. However, in Some Unix systems are fu
preemptive approach recent times, Linux real-time OS has started using preemptive.
preemptive kernels. For example, Solaris 2.x.

Kernel threading Linux uses kernel thread just for running some kernel Many Unix-like operating
code periodically. systems use kernel thread
purpose of process contex
switching.

Ways to handle the Through multi-threading, more than one independent In Unix, the LWP is base
multi-threaded execution flows which are called lightweight processes kernel threads.
environment (LWP) are created.
In Linux, LWP is created by calling clone () function.
These processes in Linux can share physical memory,
opened files, address space, etc.

Unix Vs Linux Commands

There are certain differences between the shell commands i.e. even among the versions of
the same Unix variant. However, what varies most is the internal shell that is built-in rather
than the presentation.

On the whole, efforts are made to keep Linux as close as possible to Unix by complying
with the POSIX standards. Hence, the terminal commands in Linux distros and Unix
operating systems are not exactly the same, but, there are not many differences too.

Each Linux distribution in itself has its own way of execution.

For Example, in CentOS which is a Linux family OS, we use yum (yellowdog update
modifier) commands for installation of new packages, while in Debian which is another OS
from the Linux family, we use apt-get commands for installation.
In IBM AIX, which is a proprietary Unix OS, we use -finger command to check who is logged
into the system. But this command is not used in Linux. In Linux, we use
the pinky command to fetch the same result.

pg. 13
In Ubuntu/Debian (a Linux OS), we have fdisk, parted, gparted commands for the ‘create’
task. On the other hand, in Solaris (a Unix OS), we have a format, fmthard for the ‘create’
task.
You can refer to the list of Linux and Unix commands, you will find that the Linux and Unix
commands are similar but not exactly the same.

Examples
So far, in this article, we have seen the generalized core differences between Linux and
Unix. These differences can be more specific if we compare the exact versions of the two.
Let us see this through some examples.

Solaris vs Linux
Solaris, which is now called Oracle Solaris is a Unix family OS. Let’s compare Linux with
Solaris.

Linux supports more system architectures than Solaris does. Hence, Linux is more portable.

While talking about stability and hardware integration, Solaris seems to better here. Linux
also has a faster rate of development when compared to Solaris.

There are few other technical differences between the two, but here we are limiting our
comparison only to performance.

MacOS vs Linux
MacOS is a certified Unix OS. It has its own kernel named XNU. It is used in Apple’s
computers which are considered as the most reliable PCs.

MacOS is relatively easy to set up. On the other side, Linux is cheaper and has a lot of
open source software available as against Apple’s proprietary solutions. Also, Linux is more
flexible as it can be executed on almost any hardware whereas MacOS can run only on
Apple hardware. For Example, iPhones.
MacOS uses HFS+ as a default file system whereas Linux uses ext4.

Difference and Between Linux and

Windows

pg. 14
 Th
e prior difference between Linux and Windows operating system is that Linux
is totally free of cost whereas windows is marketable operating system and is
costly. An operating system is a program intended to control the computer
hardware and behave as an intermediary between user and hardware.

Linux is an open source operating system where users can access the source
code and can improve the code using the system. On the other hand, in
windows, users can not access source code, and it is a licensed OS.

Comparison Chart Difference and

similarity Between Linux and Windows

BASIS FOR
LINUX WINDOWS
COMPARISON

Cost Free of cost Expensive

Open source Yes No

Customizable Yes No

pg. 15
 BASIS FOR
LINUX WINDOWS
COMPARISON

Security More secure Vulnerable to viruses and

malware attacks.

Booting Either primary or logical Only primary partition.

partition.

Separation of the Forward slash Back slash

directories using

File names Case sensitive Case insensitive

File system EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, Reisers FAT, FAT32, NTFS and ReFS

FS, XFS and JFS

Type of kernel used Monolithic kernel Microkernel

Efficiency Effective running efficiency Lower than Linux

What is the similarity between Linux, Unix, and

Windows?

pg. 16
More than you’d expect. At this point, it’s mainly a question of implementation. Many of the
same features found at a lower level are present in all three, just implemented in different
source code. I think it’s fair to say that Linux began as a clone of UNIX, and it’s mainly stuck
with the UNIX philosophy as it has matured. Windows has become more UNIX-like as it has
matured. Primarily because Windows supports standardized internet technologies that were
first implemented in UNIX.
Of course, from a high-level view there are some real differences, but under the hood, not
as much wheel-reinventing as you’d imagine. Interestingly, if you are running Oracle Solaris
(UNIX) then you’re actually running some code that was developed by Microsoft. One of
Microsoft’s earliest products was Xenix (a UNIX clone for x86) and bits of Xenix are still in
the Oracle source.

What is the similarity between Windows and Unity

 They both implement Memory protection, which is something nearly all larger-

system OSes do nowadays.
 They have a slightly different but functionally similar notion of running
computer programs as running Processes. They also support Threads.
 They have a notion of Users, and a notion of file access and visibility being
defined by users. They also have a similar notion of a Superuser: Administrator on
Windows, root on Unix.
 They both have similar tree-based file structures with directories or “folders”
containing plain or executable “files”. And their basic data organization is
the Computer file.

pg. 17