Unit 01 - Introduction - Structures
Unit 01 - Introduction - Structures
Four Components
of a
Computer System
OS is a resource allocator
Manages all resources
Decides between conflicting requests for efficient and
fair resource use
OS is a control program
Controls execution of programs to prevent errors and
improper use of the computer
1. Efficiency
2. Robustness
3. Flexibility
4. Portability
5. Security
6. Compatibility
The word robust, when used with regard to computer software, refers
to an operating system or other program that performs well not only
under ordinary conditions but also under unusual conditions
that stress its designers' assumptions.
A major feature of Unix-like operating systems is their robustness.
That is, they can operate for prolonged periods (sometimes years)
without crashing (i.e., stopping operating) or requiring rebooting (i.e.,
restarting).
And although individual application programs sometimes crash, they
almost always do so without affecting other programs or the
operating system itself.
1. Increased throughput
By increasing the number of processors, we expect to get more work done per
time.
The speed-up ratio with N processors is not N, however; rather, it is less than N.
Because a certain amount of overhead is incurred in keeping all the parts working
correctly, plus contention for shared resources, lowers the expected gain from
additional processors.
2. Economy of scale
Can cost less than single-processor systems, because they can share peripherals,
mass storage, and power supplies.
If several programs operate on the same set of data, it is cheaper to store those
data on one disk and to have all the processors share them than to have many
computers with local disks and many copies of the data.
3. Increased reliability
If functions can be distributed properly among several processors, then the failure
of one processor will not halt the system, only slow it down.
If we have ten processors and one fails, then each of the remaining nine
processors can pick up a share of the work of the failed processor. Thus, the
entire system runs only 10 percent slower, rather than failing altogether.
Note that the system-call names used throughout this text are
generic
System call sequence to copy the contents of one file to another file
File management
create file, delete file
open, close file
read, write, reposition
get and set file attributes
Device management
request device, release device
read, write, reposition
get device attributes, set device attributes
logically attach or detach devices
Information maintenance
get time or date, set time or date
get system data, set system data
get and set process, file, or device attributes
Communications
create, delete communication connection
send, receive messages if message passing model to host
name or process name
From client to server
Shared-memory model create and gain access to memory
regions
attach and detach remote devices
Protection
Control access to resources
messages messages
microkernel
hardware
kernel environment
BSD
Mach
Application Framework
surface media
Dalvik
manager framework
virtual machine
webkit libc
Linux kernel