Computer Systems Engineering Department, QUEST, Nawabshah.

14CS

OPERATING SYSTEM
Operating System Threads
Introduction to threads
Types of threads
Multi-threading models
 Computer Systems Engineering Department, QUEST, Nawabshah. 14CS

Introduction
• Process is a huge code that gain access to microprocessor/resources to
perform particular task
• Term Process has provided many facilities to operating system but still it
looks like a huge block of code to be managed
• Solution is to use a process into multiple small pieces (called threads)
• Threads are small executable piece of process those can be handled as a
task
• Process(es) within a process
• By doing so, it is easy to manage threads rather than managing giant process

User mode User mode

Kernel mode Kernel Kernel mode Kernel

Single Thread Process Multiple Thread Processes

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 Computer Systems Engineering Department, QUEST, Nawabshah. 14CS

Advantages
• Increase User Responsiveness
• Threads of same process can share resource(s) with
each other
• Management of threads take less time then process
(Threads are lighter & faster then process)
• Multi-threading increases Microprocessor Utilization,
hence increase in performance
• Threads can be a factor of performance if all of threads (of
one process) are not CPU-Bound only

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 Computer Systems Engineering Department, QUEST, Nawabshah. 14CS

User-Level Threads
• Threads are created at user level
• Application programs are responsible to create multiple threads
• These threads can be created by a programming languages support
(e.g. Java Virtual Machine), Libraries (e.g. OpenMP) or by APIs (e.g.
POSIX)
• Disadvantages:
• If a thread is blocked from parent process, it should be block from child too…!
• If a thread was using a resource & new thread was assigned and wants the same
resource, then how resource should be managed…!
Thread Control Block
Registers
Program Counter
User mode
Thread Program status word
Control Block (PSW)
Stack Pointer
Process State
Process Scheduling parameters
Kernel mode Kernel Control
Block
User-Level Threads
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 Computer Systems Engineering Department, QUEST, Nawabshah. 14CS

Kernel-Level Threads
• Threads are created at kernel level
• Operating System or kernel is responsible to break a process into multiple
threads
• TCB is managed by kernel so it is easy to overcome on previous
disadvantages
• Disadvantages:
• Load over kernel
• When processes communication is performed, then threads will interact on
those communications/signals

User mode

Kernel mode Kernel Thread

Control Block
Process Kernel-Level Threads
5 Control Block
 Computer Systems Engineering Department, QUEST, Nawabshah. 14CS

Hybrid Threads
• Combination of both
• Also known as LWP (Light Weight Process)
• User-level threads are multiplexed into kernel-level thread
• Each kernel-level thread is invoked by a set of user-level
thread (depends on the nature of call)
• In this case, kernel only manages kernel-level threads
• While processes threads are managed as user-level
threads
User mode

Kernel mode Kernel

Hybrid Threading
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 Computer Systems Engineering Department, QUEST, Nawabshah. 14CS

Multithreading Models
• Many systems provide support for both user-level and kernel level thread which
provides different multithreading models:
• Many-to-One (User-level threads): maps many user level threads into one kernel level

thread.
• The entire process will block if a thread makes a blocking system call
• Since only one thread can access kernel at a time, multiple threads cannot run
concurrently and thus cannot make use of multiprocessors
• One-to-One (Kernel-level threads): maps each user level thread to a kernel level thread

• Creating a user level thread results in creating a kernel thread

• More overhead and allows parallelism
• Because of the overhead most implementations limit the number of kernel threads
created
• Many-to-Many (Hybrid): Multiplexes many user level threads to a smaller or equal

number of kernel threads

7 • Has the advantages of both the many-to-one and one-to-one model
Computer Systems Engineering Department, QUEST, Nawabshah. 14CS

Questions