USE OF OPERATING SYSTEM TOOLS

1) Performance Monitor
Performance Monitor (known as System Monitor in Windows 9x, Windows 2000 and Windows XP) is
a system monitoring program introduced in Windows NT 3.1. It monitors various activities on a computer such
as CPU or memory usage. This type of application may be used to determine the cause of problems on a local
or remote computer by measuring the performance of hardware, software services, and applications. The
program can define thresholds for alerts and automatic actions, generate reports, and view past performance
data.

system performance monitor (SPM) is a type of application that identifies, collects, monitors
and reports on the overall operational health of a computer system. It is a performance
monitoring tool that enables end users, administrators and organizations to gauge and evaluate
the performance of a given system. system performance monitor primarily collects and reports
key performance indicators and metrics into the operational state of a system. Most operating
systems have a native SPM application/component that displays factual and graphical stats for
system performance. Some of the performance metrics/data collected by an SPM include the use
of the CPU, memory, hard disk and network. It also includes the ability to provide suggestions
and guidelines toward improving performance and tuning/optimizing the system automatically.
SPM is a key tool in any system administrator’s job because it provides system-wide insight and
aids in decision-making.

For example, a system might have an over-utilized CPU/memory and based on past trends
provided by the SPM, a system administrator can schedule a system upgrade accordingly.

Operating System Security

The process of ensuring OS availability, confidentiality, integrity is known as operating
system security. OS security refers to the processes or measures taken to protect the operating
system from dangers, including viruses, worms, malware, and remote hacker intrusions.
Operating system security comprises all preventive-control procedures that protect any system
assets that could be stolen, modified, or deleted if OS security is breached.

Security refers to providing safety for computer system resources like software, CPU,
memory, disks, etc. It can protect against all threats, including viruses and unauthorized access.
It can be enforced by assuring the operating system's integrity, confidentiality, and availability.
If an illegal user runs a computer application, the computer or data stored may be seriously
damaged.

Device Management in Operating System

Device management in an operating system means controlling the Input/Output devices like
disk, microphone, keyboard, printer, magnetic tape, USB ports, camcorder, scanner, other
accessories, and supporting units like supporting units control channels. A process may require
various resources, including main memory, file access, and access to disk drives, and others. If
resources are available, they could be allocated, and control returned to the CPU. Otherwise, the
procedure would have to be postponed until adequate resources become available. The system
has multiple devices, and in order to handle these physical or virtual devices, the operating
system requires a separate program known as an ad device controller. It also determines whether
the requested device is available.

The fundamentals of I/O devices may be divided into three categories:

1. Boot Device
2. Character Device
3. Network Device

Boot Device
It stores data in fixed-size blocks, each with its unique address. For example- Disks

Character Device
It transmits or accepts a stream of characters, none of which can be addressed individually. For
instance, keyboards, printers, etc.

Network Device
It is used for transmitting the data packets.

Functions of the device management in the operating system

The operating system (OS) handles communication with the devices via their drivers. The OS
component gives a uniform interface for accessing devices with various physical features. There
are various functions of device management in the operating system. Some of them are as
follows:
 1. It keeps track of data, status, location, uses, etc. The file system is a term used to define a
group of facilities.
2. It enforces the pre-determined policies and decides which process receives the device
when and for how long.
3. It improves the performance of specific devices.
4. It monitors the status of every device, including printers, storage drivers, and other
devices.
5. It allocates and effectively deallocates the device. De-allocating differentiates the devices
at two levels: first, when an I/O command is issued and temporarily freed. Second, when
the job is completed, and the device is permanently release

Features of Device Management

Here, you will learn the features of device management in the operating system. Various features
of the device management are as follows:

1. The OS interacts with the device controllers via the device drivers while allocating the device to
the multiple processes executing on the system.
2. Device drivers can also be thought of as system software programs that bridge processes and
device controllers.
3. The device management function's other key job is to implement the API.
4. Device drivers are software programs that allow an operating system to control the operation of
numerous devices effectively.
5. The device controller used in device management operations mainly contains three registers:
command, status, and data.
An Overview of Operating
System Tools
Operating system is the mode in the computer that turns the machine to a user enabled service. A
brief knowhow of the OS tools makes the user easy and comfortable while using it. Plus, he
would know that he is not taking some wrong step and he would have knowledge of what is
going to happen next. Here are some of the overview that how the operating systems actually
work;

1) Administrative
Here are the factors which affect the administrative performance of the user and one must know
about them to get some good access.

Computer management

Computer management option can be found within the control panel of any computer
system. One may go to the control panel from the start menu. Within the control panel there is
Administrative toll. One of the administrative tools is computer management. On the computer
management window, one may find there are three panes. The left pane will show some
functions, and when one chooses a function from the left pane, the details of the pane will be
available at the pane at the centre, where as the right section will show the series of action that
can be taken. There is Task Scheduler within the system tools, and even the windows event
viewer can be also accessed from the computer management list. One can also start
defragmentation of the disk and disk spaces from here. And in the performance sector, one can
see how the system is performing and that can be observed for a long period also.

Device manager

When an external hardware is connected to the computer, then the device will be shown at the
Device manager tray or administrative window. The hardware may be of various types, like the
printers, the USB ported devices like pen drive, a Tablet or a mobile, a Mouse and a Keyboard or
even a camera. Most of the time the computer detects the driver of the device and installation of
the driver is done instantly and automatically. However, there are many devices which are to be
installed separately, like the modems or a networking device. And sometimes the device is to be
added manually, from the add device option in the device manager tool. Once the device is
shown at the device manager window, then the device can be configured or even troubleshooting
of the device is also applicable. One can go to the device manager pane from the tools directly or
even can go there via the control panel. At the category view in the control panel, one can find
three options to go to the Device manager window. The options are 'view devices and printers',
'add a device' and 'adjust commonly used mobility settings'.
Users and groups

One can easily go to the Users and groups pane from the tools. He or she has to go to the control
panel and there one may find the tab, 'user accounts'. There a User account can be created and
the profile picture or password can be managed easily. One can even have numerous user
accounts enabled to operate at different mode in the computer. Even one can be given an access
to the computer by making the guest account enabled in a password protected computer. One
user cannot see or access the files or settings of another user until he or she is set as
administrator. One administrator alone can have the access to view or manage all other user's
details. There is yet another option in Users and groups to function at the same time. The option
is the group profile, where there will be a group id and a group password, which can be accessed
by the entire group.

Local security policy

This is a feature for large corporate and is in the ultimate version of the Windows Operating
System. This feature will not be seen in the home computers. One can find the local security
under the Administrative tools, which one may get access from the control panel. This option
allows the administrator to provide access or deny access to some users to some drive or
software on those drives. Thus the changes in those software or drives will not be possible for
them, whom the access to change or configure it is given by the administrator. By this end user
policy one administrator can allow or disallow any user on those computers to get an access over
few websites or not. By these the users can also be restricted to surf freely at their work place as
most of the irrelevant website; basically the irrelevant websites to the job will not be opened
from there.

Performance monitor

It is the option to actually monitor how the CPU is performing. One can go there from the
control panel or another easy way to reach there is by pressing sticky keys on the key boards.
One can press Ctrl, Alt and Del at the same time, to find the option of Start Task Manager. User
can go to the fourth tab under performance and there they can find two graphs. One is showing
the CPU Usage and the other showing Memory. One may find that all the data are changing there
randomly, which implicit the fact that those are the live records of the usage and memory. One
may find there in the small window a button called Resource Monitor. By clicking there, a new
larger window will open where there will be four continuously running meters. The meters are of
the CPU, Memory, Network and Disk. Thus all the records are placed in front one's eye and thus
making the performance monitoring easy.
Services

One can go to the service window directly from the tools and control panel there from. One can
go there from the control panel or another easy way to reach there is by pressing sticky keys on
the key boards. One can press Ctrl, Alt and Del at the same time, to find the option of Start Task
Manager. After finding the small window, one can go to the third tab at the top of the window.
There one can find a list of services that are running at the background to make the system run in
a smoother way.

System configuration

One may find the system configuration by going through the control panel from the tools. Or else
can go to the windows from C drive and by double clicking windows from there. In the windows
folder one may find the System 32 file and within there the 'Config' folder. One may also directly
go there by writing on run window just the word config and pressing the enter switch once.
There he or she will be redirected to the config folder directly. Thus one can easily go to the
system configuration.

Task scheduler

Windows can perform a task at a scheduled time and scheduled date. Not only one time does it
work, but windows can do a particular task scheduled every day at a particular time or at
particular interval. One can find the task scheduler by going to the tools. From tools, one has to
go to the control panel. From control panel, he or she has to go to administrative tools to find the
task scheduler. In windows 7, windows vista or windows 8, one may find the task scheduler in an
updated version. Thus it makes the windows user equipped with he best scheduler and that also
without the support of any other software.

Component services

Any web developer surely has gone through the COM+ feature of computer. This is an extensive
feature of windows that helps in configuring the components related to one's regular job or duty
easily. Not only configuration of components, by even event management and scheduling is also
possible directly from the windows. The direct access of the feature makes the use of other
software for the same purpose undesired. One can easily find the tool at the tools. From tools, he
it she may go to administrative tools via control panel to get access to the feature.

Data sources
A web developer needs to access the database for the developing purpose. For that purpose, one
needs Open Database Connectivity. This ODBC can be accessed from the control panel directly.
The feature is available in the windows in all of it versions. From tools, one is needed to go to
the control panel, and from there one may find the open database connectivity as a tool at the
administrative tool.

Print management

Print management can be accessed directly from the tools, or one may go to the control panel and
get access to the print and printer management. When an external hardware is connected to the
computer, then the device will be shown at the Device manager tray or administrative window.
The hardware may be of various types, like the printers, the USB ported devices like pen drive, a
Tablet or a mobile, a Mouse and a Keyboard or even a camera. Most of the time the computer
detects the driver of the device and installation of the driver is done instantly and automatically.
However, there are many devices which are to be installed separately, like the modems or a
networking device. And sometimes the device is to be added manually, from the add device
option in the device manager tool. Once the device is shown at the device manager window, then
the device can be configured or even troubleshooting of the device is also applicable. One can go
to the device manager pane from the tools directly or even can go there via the control panel. At
the category view in the control panel, one can find three options to go to the Device manager
window. The options are 'view devices and printers', 'add a device' and 'adjust commonly used
mobility settings'. From the print management, the new printer hardware can be detected and
added. If the hardware is not found automatically, then there is option to add a printer manually
also. For annual setting of a printer one may have to add the IP address of the printer device to
the IP address of the system, to get access over the printer. Other than the printer setting the
printing setting is also very much easy from the windows coating system. In all the versions of
windows, be it Windows XP or Windows Vista, or even Windows 7 and windows 8, there is the
facility to access the printer from the system tray, although one can access the settings from the
control panel and in the device setting therefore.

Windows memory diagnostics

It is the option to actually monitor how the CPU is performing. One can go there from the
control panel or another easy way to reach there is by pressing sticky keys on the key boards.
One can press Ctrl, Alt and Del at the same time, to find the option of Start Task Manager. User
can go to the fourth tab under performance and there they can find two graphs. One is showing
the CPU Usage and the other showing Memory. One may find that all the data are changing there
randomly, which implicit the fact that those are the live records of the usage and memory. One
may find there in the small window a button called Resource Monitor. By clicking there, a new
larger window will open where there will be four continuously running meters. The meters are of
the CPU, Memory, Network and Disk. Thus all the records are placed in front one's eye and thus
making the performance monitoring easy. Thus one can find the memory diagnostics. However,
one may also find diagnostics of memory at the start up just by pressing the F1 or F10 button.
Windows firewall

One can access the firewall setting from the control panel. Otherwise one can also avail that
access from the system tray, where usually the firewall icon remains placed. Firewall provides an
additional security to the computer, by protecting the system from threatening softwares, from
malware, from broken files and cracked settings. Thus firewall makes the system secured
enough, and makes the system function smooth. By firewall setting, one can make the system
secured and safe easily and effectively.

Advanced security

In the firewall setting there is an advanced mode which provides additional security to the
computer. By this setting area, which can be accessed from the control panel or system tray, one
can put the firewall off for certain software functioning and even can turn the entire system off.
However, by the same process through which firewall has been put off, I can again be restored.
One can also arrange the system so as to deny the access of many issues or accept the access of
many issues, by this advanced mode of firewall and thus can arrange an additional or advanced
security to the computer or system.