DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & SERVICES SEMESTER I,

SESION 2021/2022

ASSIGNMENT

DDWD2663: OPERATING SYSTEM

NAME : 1. NG JUN KAI (AF221WD011KYM)

: 2. Muhammad Farhan bin Samil (AF221WD010KYM)

SUBMISSION DATE : 8/3/2024

LECTURER’S NAME : Puan Zayanah

Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Feature
Windows...................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Linux ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Cost
Windows...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Linux ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Recommendation
Which type of operating system provides better protection against viruses, spam and spyware? ....................................... 12
Which type of operating system has provided features such as backup, security and user access control? ........................ 13
Are training costs involved? ................................................................................................................................................. 14
Which operating system is better suited for programming tasks? ......................................................................................... 15
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 16
References ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 17

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 OPERATING SYSTEM
COMPARISON
28/2/24

INTRODUCTION
WINDOW AND LINUX

An operating system (OS) is the foundational software that manages computer hardware and provides a platform for
running other software applications. It acts as an intermediary between users and the computer hardware, facilitating
tasks such as resource allocation, process management, memory management, file system organization, device
communication, and user interaction. It serves as the backbone of computing devices, ranging from personal
computers and servers to smartphones and embedded systems, enabling them to perform a wide range of tasks
effectively.

Windows is an operating system developed by Microsoft. It is widely used in personal desktop and laptop
computers, as well as in many enterprise environments. Windows is known for its user-friendly
environment, graphic user interface, extensive compatibility with software and hardware and larger
developer community. It comes in different versions and update time by time. Windows offers various
applications, including Microsoft Office, and integrates tightly with other Microsoft products and services.
It is commonly used in personal computing, office environments and even gaming consoles.

Linux is a Unix-like operating system that is open-source and freely available. It is highly customizable and comes
in various distributions (distros), such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, RedHat, Fedora and Debian, each tailored to different
user needs. Linux is known for its stability, security, and robustness, making it a preferred choice for servers,
supercomputers, and embedded devices. It offers a wide range of software applications, development tools, and
server services, supported by a vast community of developers and users. Linux is also the foundation of many other
operating systems, including Android.

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 An operating system encompasses features such as process

Feature
management, memory management, file system handling,
device management, security measures, networking
capabilities, error handling, task scheduling, and user
interface provision to facilitate efficient and secure
Operating system interaction between users and computer hardware.

1. Windows feature
User Friendliness :
Windows provide user-friendly interface, with intuitive features such as the Start menu, taskbar, and Control Panel,
making it accessible for non-expert users.

Hardware Specification :
Windows versions are not specific to any computer but require specific hardware configurations, with official hardware
compatibility lists for each version, and optimized drivers for mainstream hardware components.
For example window 10 have following requirement
▪ Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
▪ RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
▪ Hard disk space: 16 GB for 32-bit OS or 20 GB for 64-bit OS
▪ Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver

Security:
Historically targeted by malware due to its popularity but has improved security measures over the years with features
like User Account Control (UAC), Windows Defender antivirus, and regular security updates. Today, Windows Security
had become one of the best antimalware programs in the world. On the other hand, Windows users cannot fix the issue
by themselves, as they do not have access to the source code.

Backup Features:
Windows provides built-in backup and restore utilities like File History and Backup and Restore, allowing users to
schedule backups of files and system images. It also allows user to synchronize their data to their cloud storage provided.

Processing Speed :
Windows is known for its efficient performance on modern hardware configurations, with optimizations for multitasking,
multiprogramming, multiprocessing, multithreading, and resource management. Windows runs on a hybrid core. Though
it takes up less space, but the performance of Windows degrades over time due to system clutter and background
processes.

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 Linux is an open-source Operating Software

Feature that is free and is majorly preferred for its

customisability, security, and community
support. It is supported on almost every
Operating system desktop computer, which makes it one of the
most widely used Operating Systems.

Although it is free but some of the distro

may require a purchased licence.
2. Linux feature
User Friendliness:
Offers a range of desktop environments and user interfaces, with some distributions focusing on simplicity and ease of
use (e.g., Ubuntu, Linux Mint), while others may require more technical proficiency. Linux Operating Systems also
provide users customizable desktop environments such as GNOME and KDE. These desktop environments allow users
to personalize their interface, adjust themes, and tweak settings according to their preferences. Contrasted with windows,
Its users have the flexibility to create a unique desktop experience tailored to their needs, so it is friendly to expert user.

Hardware Specification
Linux is known for its flexibility and wide hardware support, often running efficiently on older or less powerful hardware,
with a vast library of open-source drivers and kernel modules. But different Linux distro have their own hardware
specification.
Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS Linux Mint 2023
2 GHz dual-core processor or better 2GHz dual-core processor or better
4 GB system memory 2GB system memory
25 GB of free hard drive space 20GB of free hard drive space

Security
Generally considered more secure due to its Unix-based architecture, user privilege separation, and robust security
features like file permissions, SELinux, and AppArmor. Its open-source nature allows for rapid security updates and
community-driven scrutiny. Linux’s user base has access to the source code. This makes it easier to monitor for issues
that can impact the software and makes it less vulnerable to hacking.

Backup feature
Offers various backup solutions, including command-line tools like Rsync, graphical applications like Timeshift, and
integrated backup features in some distributions, allowing users to create backups of files, directories, and entire system
configurations.

Processing Speed
Typically have faster performance, particularly on lightweight distributions and server environments, with efficient
process management, resource management, memory handling, robust command-line interface, extensive support for
scripting and automation, able to run on various hardware configurations. and kernel optimizations contributing to its
speed, responsiveness, and versatility. Linux's open-source nature encourages rapid bug fixes, updates, and optimisations,
ensuring high performance

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Ubuntu Ubuntu a free, open source operating
system (OS) based on Debian Linux. It
Four editions of Ubuntu was first released in 2004 when Mark
• Ubuntu Desktop. Shuttleworth and a small team of Debian
• Ubuntu core
developers founded Canonical and then
• Ubuntu cloud
• Ubuntu server launched the Ubuntu project.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial

RedHat open-source Linux distribution developed by Red

Hat for the commercial market. Red Hat
Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for
RedHat derivatives
x86-64, Power ISA, ARM64, and IBM Z and a
• Enterprise version desktop version for x86-64. Fedora Linux and
o Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server CentOS Stream serve as its upstream sources.
o Red Hat Enterprise Linux for
Workstations
• Community version

Debian is one of the oldest operating systems

Debian based on the Linux kernel. The Debian Stable

branch is the most popular edition for personal
computers and servers. Debian is also the basis for
Debian also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is
many other distributions that have different
a Linux distribution composed of free and
purposes, like Proxmox for servers, Ubuntu or Linux
open-source software and optionally non-
Mint for desktops, Kali for penetration testing, and
free firmware or software developed by the
Pardus and Astra for government use.
community-supported Debian Project.

Linux Mint is a community-driven Linux distribution

Linux Mint
based on Ubuntu, bundled with a variety of free and
open-source applications. It can provide full out-of-
the-box multimedia support for those who choose to
include proprietary software such as multimedia
The Linux Mint project was created by codecs. Compared to Ubuntu, it uses the Cinnamon
Clément Lefèbvre and is actively interface by default, using a different, more traditional
maintained by the Linux Mint Team and layout that can be customized by dragging the
community applets and creating panels. New applets can also be
downloaded.

Fedora Linux is a Linux distribution developed by

Fedora the Fedora Project. It was originally developed in

2003 as a continuation of the Red Hat Linux
project. It contains software distributed under
5 edition of Fedora
various free and open-source licenses and aims
• Fedora Workstation to be on the leading edge of open-source
• Fedora Server technologies.[8][9][10] It is now the upstream source
• Fedora IoT for CentOS Stream and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• Fedora Cloud
• Fedora COREOS

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Summary
Windows Linux
User Friendliness More friendly to non-expert user More friendly to expert user
Hardware Specification Requirement is depended on Requirement is depended on
version, the higher the version both version and distro.
the more advance the hardware
needed
Security better reliability and safety from Vice versa
the perspective of user, but not
for administrator. Have a large community
contribute to it.
Backup feature Built-in and auto backup to using backup commands, tar,
cloud server. cpio ufsdump, dump and
restore
First, launch Windows Backup:
select Start , type windows
backup, and select Windows
Backup from the results.
Processing Speed Slower for both PC and server Faster for server use.
use, but client can buy Windows
Server which is another
windows product that
specifically use as server.

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 Windows activation key and relative product
Support for Windows 8.1 is discontinued after 10/1/23, but
Windows 8
people can buy pirated installation media from flea
and lower
market.
Windows Third party platform: RM0.99 – RM49.90
10/11 home Official platform: RM RM919.00
Windows Third party platform:RM0.99 – RM88.00
10/11 pro Official platform: RM RM1299.00

The price is proven by appendix and reference. Low price doesn’t mean
Cost that it is pirated, some platforms like keyfans.com or Shopee may offer an
original and legal key. Windows price is always consistent, and it is
compatible with almost all brands of computer in market.

Hardware specification
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores
on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on CPU
a Chip (SoC).

4GB RAM

64 GB or larger storage device ROM

UEFI, Secure Boot capable. System firmware

Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 TPM

Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with

Graphic card
WDDM 2.0 driver.
High definition (720p) display that is greater
Display
than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per colour channel.
NTFS(New Technology File System)
File allocation method

No matter where you brought the device, there should be a built-in Windows
operating system. Because almost all merchants already count the price of
Windows into the device price.

Hardware
And
software

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9|Page
 Cost of Linux operating system
assessment
include Ubuntu, Fedora, RedHat, Debian and Linux Mint
Windows Only charge
Ubuntu-pro Ubuntu
Ubuntu product Subsystem for for Ubuntu-pro
subscription flavours
Linux (WSL)
Ubuntu
500 US dollar Free and open Free and open
Free and open source
per year source source
Free and open
Fedora Fedora Fedora source
Fedora Workstation Fedora IoT
Server Cloud CoreOS
Fedora Free and Free and Free and Free and
Free and open source open open open open
source source source source
Red Hat Provided free
Red Hat Red Hat Red Hat
Enterprise trial for 60
Red Hat Enterprise Enterprise Enterprise
Linux for days, all
Enterprise Linux for Linux for Linux
IBM Power product is
Linux Serve SAP Virtual Workstation
Little charged, some
Solutions Datacenters
Endian product is
subscribed
SELF- US$349 US$179 while some
- - -
RedHat SUPPORT Per year product is
US$799 US$1,749 US$2,499 US$269 US$299 lifetime
STANDARD purchase.
Per year

US$1,299 US$2,149 US$3,999 US$435

PREMIUM -
Per year
Totally free
Debian 12: 12.5 released and open
Debian Free and open source source
Totally free
Linux Mint 21.3 “Virginia” and almost
Linux
Free and open source open source
Mint

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 Minimum Hardware Requirement
Linux
include Ubuntu, Fedora, RedHat, Debian and Linux Mint

File Allocation
CPU RAM ROM
Method

2 GHz dual-core processor or better. EXT4

Ubuntu 4 GB 25 GB

2GHz dual core processor or better

Fedora 2GB 15GB
BTRFS

Red Hat defines a logical CPU as any

schedulable entity. So, every 6 GB
RedHat core/thread in a multicore/thread
2 GB XFS
processor is a logical CPU.

Debian 1 GHz or better 512MB 10GB EXT4

Linux Mint 2GHz dual-core processor or better 2GB RAM 20GB EXT4

Summary
Most of the Linux operating system is free and doesn’t
require an advance hardware.
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Recommendation
Operating system

1. Which type of operating system provides better

protection against viruses, spam and spyware?

Linux provides better protection than Windows due to:

- Linux being open source by nature thus allows for faster vulnerability mitigation upon
discovery of security risk due to its community-driven aspect. Anyone with programming
knowledge would be able to see and review the source code to make changes which patches
the vulnerability. Meanwhile Windows on the other hand is closed-source by nature which
requires internal communication within only in the company to discuss any of the security
risk that needed to be addressed, which in turn could delay the security updates End Users
needed.

- Windows being incredibly prevalent for all ages of people and are used widely in company
operation such as Fujitsu Ltd, Panasonic Corp, Infosys Ltd, among others due to its ease of
use and preinstalled in almost every prebuilt pc out there. This is great but comes along
with quite a complication, Windows ubiquity with its high market share at about 88%
worldwide inevitably surfaces bad actors along with their malicious intent to largely target
Windows in order to spy, scam, deploy viruses, and etc. due to its worldwide usage. They
make malicious program laced with virus, trojan, RAT,(Remote Administration Tool), and
etc. But the opposite are also true with built-in Windows Antivirus(Windows Security), a
lot of advanced antivirus software for the platform and etc. which does ameliorate
Windows highly targeted security.

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2. Which type of operating system has provided features
such as backup, security and user access control?

Both are excellent in providing the same features of being able to back up, has great
security and user access control.

- In terms of Security and User Access Control, the existence of AppArmor in Linux allows
using application on Linux to be much more secure. The purpose of AppArmor is to restrict
application’s action to only the specific needs the app requires to function. If an app does
not need to use the action of seeing your private files such picture, videos, document and
etc. to operate, then those action will be restricted. Meanwhile on Windows, the OS
provided Mandatory Integrity Control(MIC) that does the same as SELinux which allows
the action of restricting or granting users access to certain file or accessing other process,
and etc.

- Both provided the backup utility needed for incremental or full backup. In Linux, there is
‘tar’, ‘cpio’, ‘dump’, ‘dd’ and etc. while Windows provides ‘Windows backup’ and ‘File
History’. Backing up in Windows would be a bit of ease because it provided the GUI, Linux
requires a bit of know-how and searching on the internet for the appropriate command to
be used in the Terminal which could result in error if there’s a mistype of command.

- If real-time security updates are concerned and constant usage of OS are desired during
work hours, Linux would fit this requirement. Linux has a feature called ‘LivePatch’ which
updates the kernel without the need to reboot the system. Windows on the other hand would
need to reboot on every instance of security update which could be inconvenient.

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3. Are training costs involved?

- Provided that the computer usage of Mr. Smith as a Data Analyst includes analytical,
statistical, programming skills to collect, analyze, and interpret large data sets and to also
analyses and visualize data, build machine learning model, and writes programs using
Python and SQL, there would be no training costs involved for both operating system if
the tool which Mr. Smith uses are cross-platform meaning the program support both Linux
and Windows. While there might be some difference of operation even with the software
being cross-platform, the functionality would still remain the same. Mr. Smith type of
occupation would also favor Linux more than Windows due to its robust, flexible, open-
source nature, and because majority people of same occupation when encountering a
problem would usually state Linux as their operating system, this means Linux usually
have better community support than Windows.

- This is further elaborated with Linux generally being open-source OS meaning no licenses
need to be bought. Although Microsoft does require its user to purchase license in order to
use Windows, it is quite optional if the user can tolerate on not being able to change the
theme of the OS and a burn-in watermark at the bottom right of the screen reminding users
to ‘Activate Windows’. Otherwise, user can freely use the operating system without major
restriction.

- Although, Windows are much more favorable for beginner due to its approach to a much
more friendly GUI interface for easier usage meaning learning Linux will have it’s
own learning curve due to its obscurity being used in highly specific sector of server/IT
environment.

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4. Which operating system is better suited for programming tasks?

- Linux would be better suited for programming tasks due to it being open source which
means developer from around the world would able to make patches, contribute code, fix
bugs, public discussion and etc. which all of this contributes to a robust, secure, and smooth
operating system. SELinux and AppArmor, worldwide community support, being among
other are what keeps developer safe from breach, code leak and etc.

- There’s a lot of tool for developing software in Linux which makes compiling less of a
hassle, which further benefited from Linux highly praised Package Manager(apt) which
allows developer to download and install any library, toolkit, software development kit and
etc. they needed for development by typing in the Linux Terminal.

- Linux also provided a lot of customizability in terms of what the user specifically needs
for their job, personal use, business and etc. to target their requirement of being lightweight,
memory efficient, incredibly stable by removing applications, cutting number of processes
to the only crucial processes or services they need, and etc.

- Linux is incredibly lightweight in terms of Storage, RAM, CPU utilization. For working
on a project, these 3 things are essential for the OS to not hog all the resources, Storage is
important for storing all the source-code, the compiled binary of the program, crucial
documentation and etc. RAM is essential for software responsiveness for fluidity
of multitasking. Its also important to have a lot of memory especially when compiling
the program from the source-code to make sure the compiling process does not lead to
crashing or overall slow down of the OS. CPU capability is also important for the
compilation process, and as usual the better the processor the faster the compilation process.
Largely as Data Analyst, these factors are important for work efficiency.

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Conclusion
Operating system

Operating system is the primary interface to interact with any computing devices be it
command-line based OS,GUI based OS and etc. While Windows is predominantly found in
PCs, other OS exist different purposes and intention. We have looked at the comparison
between for Linux OSes and Windows and concluded that both operating system have
its strength and weaknesses and purely up to the user for their own use case

In terms of feature comparison between these OSes, both are on par with each other,
provided the same capability and etc. Both has friendly user interface, great respective
security, adequate backup function, fluent OS.

The cost seems to be favoring Linux-based OS for the exclusion of license which makes
it quite enticing for economic reason, although it could also be an offset due to training
costs that are involved if a beginner would need to get accustomed to it. Otherwise in the
long run, the enterprise version license of Windows would need to be considered for it
being a license with an expiration date meaning having to buy license perpetually. But if
its in home or personal use purpose, the license would be a one-time fee.

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 References
Operating system
1. https://www.databarracks.com/blog/linux-vs-windows-backup - (Linux vs Windows Backup)
2. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/create-incremental-backup-in-linux-using-tar/ - (Incremental ‘tar’ backup in Linux)
3. https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/image-backup-windows - (Full Backup in Windows)
4. https://geekflare.com/linux-package-manager-
explained/#:~:text=A%20package%20manager%20in%20Linux%20is%20a%20set,supported%20package%20manager
%20on%20the%20Linux%20operating%20system. – (Package Manager explanation)
5. https://enlyft.com/tech/products/windows-10 - (Companies using Windows)
6. https://www.howtogeek.com/118222/htg-explains-what-apparmor-is-and-how-it-secures-your-ubuntu-system/ -
(AppArmor functionality in Linux)
7. https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2019/228/AppArmor - (Further elaboration on AppArmor)
8. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/secauthz/mandatory-integrity-control - (Mandatory Integrity
Control(MIC) in Windows)
9. https://medium.com/@boutnaru/the-windows-security-journey-mandatory-integrity-control-mic-f7963550c0e7 -
(Further elaboration of MIC)
10. https://medium.com/@tslusk/why-switching-to-linux-is-a-smart-move-for-data-analysts-
6a7c3ed6d028#:~:text=Many%20server%20farms%20and%20supercomputers,without%20worrying%20about%20syste
m%20crashes. – (Recommendation of switching to Linux as a Data Analyst)
11. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/7-reasons-why-programmers-should-use-linux/ - (Reasoning on Programming to use
Linux)

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 ASSESSMENT EVALUATION MARKS
Introduction for both operating system (Windows and Linux) 5

Example of Linux OS: Ubuntu, Linux Mint, RedHat, Fedora, Debian

and etc.

Explain the features for each type of OS 10

The memory capacity, processor speed, and storage requirements, 10

file allocation method for each OS
The initial cost for each operating system per computer 5

Recommendation 10

Conclusion 5

References 5

TOTAL 50

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