Types of Operating Systems

An Operating System performs all the basic tasks like managing files, processes, and
memory. Thus operating system acts as the manager of all the resources, i.e. resource
manager. Thus, the operating system becomes an interface between user and machine.

Types of Operating Systems: Some widely used operating systems are as follows-

1. Batch Operating System –

This type of operating system does not interact with the computer directly. There is an
operator which takes similar jobs having the same requirement and group them into
batches. It is the responsibility of the operator to sort jobs with similar needs.

Advantages of Batch Operating System:

• It is very difficult to guess or know the time required for any job to complete.
Processors of the batch systems know how long the job would be when it is in
queue
• Multiple users can share the batch systems
• The idle time for the batch system is very less
• It is easy to manage large work repeatedly in batch systems
Disadvantages of Batch Operating System:
• The computer operators should be well known with batch systems
• Batch systems are hard to debug
• It is sometimes costly
• The other jobs will have to wait for an unknown time if any job fails
Examples of Batch based Operating System: Payroll System, Bank Statements, etc.

2. Time-Sharing Operating Systems –

Each task is given some time to execute so that all the tasks work smoothly. Each user
gets the time of CPU as they use a single system. These systems are also known as
Multitasking Systems. The task can be from a single user or different users also. The
time that each task gets to execute is called quantum. After this time interval is over OS
switches over to the next task.

Advantages of Time-Sharing OS:

• Each task gets an equal opportunity
• Fewer chances of duplication of software
• CPU idle time can be reduced
Disadvantages of Time-Sharing OS:
• Reliability problem
• One must have to take care of the security and integrity of user programs and
data
• Data communication problem
Examples of Time-Sharing OSs are: Multics, Unix, etc.

3. Distributed Operating System –

These types of the operating system is a recent advancement in the world of computer
technology and are being widely accepted all over the world and, that too, with a great
pace. Various autonomous interconnected computers communicate with each other
using a shared communication network. Independent systems possess their own memory
unit and CPU. These are referred to as loosely coupled systems or distributed
systems. These system’s processors differ in size and function. The major benefit of
working with these types of the operating system is that it is always possible that one
user can access the files or software which are not actually present on his system but
some other system connected within this network i.e., remote access is enabled within
the devices connected in that network.
Advantages of Distributed Operating System:
• Failure of one will not affect the other network communication, as all systems
are independent from each other
• Electronic mail increases the data exchange speed
• Since resources are being shared, computation is highly fast and durable
• Load on host computer reduces
• These systems are easily scalable as many systems can be easily added to the
network
• Delay in data processing reduces
Disadvantages of Distributed Operating System:
• Failure of the main network will stop the entire communication
• To establish distributed systems the language which is used are not well
defined yet
• These types of systems are not readily available as they are very expensive.
Not only that the underlying software is highly complex and not understood well
yet
Examples of Distributed Operating System are- LOCUS, etc.

4. Network Operating System –

These systems run on a server and provide the capability to manage data, users, groups,
security, applications, and other networking functions. These types of operating systems
allow shared access of files, printers, security, applications, and other networking
functions over a small private network. One more important aspect of Network Operating
Systems is that all the users are well aware of the underlying configuration, of all other
users within the network, their individual connections, etc. and that’s why these
computers are popularly known as tightly coupled systems.

Advantages of Network Operating System:

• Highly stable centralized servers
• Security concerns are handled through servers
• New technologies and hardware up-gradation are easily integrated into the
system
• Server access is possible remotely from different locations and types of systems
Disadvantages of Network Operating System:
• Servers are costly
• User has to depend on a central location for most operations
• Maintenance and updates are required regularly
Examples of Network Operating System are: Microsoft Windows Server 2003,
Microsoft Windows Server 2008, UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X, Novell NetWare, and BSD,
etc.

5. Real-Time Operating System –

These types of OSs serve real-time systems. The time interval required to process and
respond to inputs is very small. This time interval is called response time.
Real-time systems are used when there are time requirements that are very strict like
missile systems, air traffic control systems, robots, etc.
Two types of Real-Time Operating System which are as follows:
• Hard Real-Time Systems:
These OSs are meant for applications where time constraints are very strict and
even the shortest possible delay is not acceptable. These systems are built for
saving life like automatic parachutes or airbags which are required to be readily
available in case of any accident. Virtual memory is rarely found in these
systems.
• Soft Real-Time Systems:
These OSs are for applications where for time-constraint is less strict.

Advantages of RTOS:
• Maximum Consumption: Maximum utilization of devices and system, thus
more output from all the resources
• Task Shifting: The time assigned for shifting tasks in these systems are very
less. For example, in older systems, it takes about 10 microseconds in shifting
one task to another, and in the latest systems, it takes 3 microseconds.
• Focus on Application: Focus on running applications and less importance to
applications which are in the queue.
• Real-time operating system in the embedded system: Since the size of
programs are small, RTOS can also be used in embedded systems like in
transport and others.
• Error Free: These types of systems are error-free.
• Memory Allocation: Memory allocation is best managed in these types of
systems.
Disadvantages of RTOS:
• Limited Tasks: Very few tasks run at the same time and their concentration is
very less on few applications to avoid errors.
• Use heavy system resources: Sometimes the system resources are not so
good and they are expensive as well.
 • Complex Algorithms: The algorithms are very complex and difficult for the
designer to write on.
• Device driver and interrupt signals: It needs specific device drivers and
interrupts signals to respond earliest to interrupts.
• Thread Priority: It is not good to set thread priority as these systems are very
less prone to switching tasks.

Examples of Real-Time Operating Systems are: Scientific experiments, medical

imaging systems, industrial control systems, weapon systems, robots, air traffic control
systems, etc.

Operating System – Services

An Operating System provides services to both the users and to the programs.

• It provides programs an environment to execute.

• It provides users the services to execute the programs in a convenient manner.
Following are a few common services provided by an operating system −

• Program execution
• I/O operations
• File System manipulation
• Communication
• Error Detection
• Resource Allocation
• Protection

Program execution
Operating systems handle many kinds of activities from user programs to system programs like
printer spooler, name servers, file server, etc. Each of these activities is encapsulated as a process.
A process includes the complete execution context (code to execute, data to manipulate, registers,
OS resources in use). Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to
program management −

• Loads a program into memory.

• Executes the program.
• Handles program's execution.
• Provides a mechanism for process synchronization.
• Provides a mechanism for process communication.
• Provides a mechanism for deadlock handling.

I/O Operation
An I/O subsystem comprises of I/O devices and their corresponding driver software. Drivers hide
the peculiarities of specific hardware devices from the users.
An Operating System manages the communication between user and device drivers.

• I/O operation means read or write operation with any file or any specific I/O device.
• Operating system provides the access to the required I/O device when required.

File system manipulation

A file represents a collection of related information. Computers can store files on the disk
(secondary storage), for long-term storage purpose. Examples of storage media include magnetic
tape, magnetic disk and optical disk drives like CD, DVD. Each of these media has its own
properties like speed, capacity, data transfer rate and data access methods.
A file system is normally organized into directories for easy navigation and usage. These directories
may contain files and other directions. Following are the major activities of an operating system
with respect to file management −

• Program needs to read a file or write a file.

• The operating system gives the permission to the program for operation on file.
• Permission varies from read-only, read-write, denied and so on.
• Operating System provides an interface to the user to create/delete files.
• Operating System provides an interface to the user to create/delete directories.
• Operating System provides an interface to create the backup of file system.

Communication
In case of distributed systems which are a collection of processors that do not share memory,
peripheral devices, or a clock, the operating system manages communications between all the
processes. Multiple processes communicate with one another through communication lines in the
network.
The OS handles routing and connection strategies, and the problems of contention and security.
Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to communication −

• Two processes often require data to be transferred between them

• Both the processes can be on one computer or on different computers, but are connected
through a computer network.
• Communication may be implemented by two methods, either by Shared Memory or by
Message Passing.

Error handling
Errors can occur anytime and anywhere. An error may occur in CPU, in I/O devices or in the memory
hardware. Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to error handling
−

• The OS constantly checks for possible errors.

• The OS takes an appropriate action to ensure correct and consistent computing.
Resource Management
In case of multi-user or multi-tasking environment, resources such as main memory, CPU cycles
and files storage are to be allocated to each user or job. Following are the major activities of an
operating system with respect to resource management −

• The OS manages all kinds of resources using schedulers.

• CPU scheduling algorithms are used for better utilization of CPU.

Protection
Considering a computer system having multiple users and concurrent execution of multiple
processes, the various processes must be protected from each other's activities.
Protection refers to a mechanism or a way to control the access of programs, processes, or users
to the resources defined by a computer system. Following are the major activities of an operating
system with respect to protection −

• The OS ensures that all access to system resources is controlled.

• The OS ensures that external I/O devices are protected from invalid access attempts.
• The OS provides authentication features for each user by means of passwords.