Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction

 What Operating Systems Do

 Computer-System Organization
 Computer-System Architecture
 Operating-System Structure
 Operating-System Operations
 Process Management
 Memory Management
 Storage Management
 Protection and Security
 Distributed Systems
 Special-Purpose Systems
 Computing Environments
 Objectives

 To provide a grand tour of the major operating systems

components
 To provide coverage of basic computer system organization
 What is an Operating System?

 A program that acts as an intermediary between a user of a

computer and the computer hardware.
 Operating system goals:
 Execute user programs and make solving user problems
easier.
 Make the computer system convenient to use.
 Use the computer hardware in an efficient manner.
 Computer System Structure

 Computer system can be divided into four components

 Hardware – provides basic computing resources
 CPU, memory, I/O devices
 Operating system
 Controls and coordinates use of hardware among various
applications and users
 Application programs – define the ways in which the system
resources are used to solve the computing problems of the
users
 Word processors, compilers, web browsers, database
systems, video games
 Users
 People, machines, other computers
Four Components of a Computer System
 Operating System Definition

 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
 Operating System Definition (Cont.)

 No universally accepted definition

 “Everything a vendor ships when you order an operating system”
is good approximation
 But varies wildly
 “The one program running at all times on the computer” is the
kernel. Everything else is either a system program (ships with
the operating system) or an application program
 Computer Startup

 bootstrap program is loaded at power-up or reboot

 Typically stored in ROM or EPROM, generally known as
firmware
 Initializates all aspects of system
 Loads operating system kernel and starts execution
 Computer System Organization

 Computer-system operation
 One or more CPUs, device controllers connect through
common bus providing access to shared memory
 Concurrent execution of CPUs and devices competing for
memory cycles
 Computer-System Operation

 I/O devices and the CPU can execute concurrently.

 Each device controller is in charge of a particular device type.
 Each device controller has a local buffer.
 CPU moves data from/to main memory to/from local buffers
 I/O is from the device to local buffer of controller.
 Device controller informs CPU that it has finished its operation by
causing an interrupt.
 Common Functions of Interrupts

 Interrupt transfers control to the interrupt service routine generally,

through the interrupt vector, which contains the addresses of all the
service routines.
 Interrupt architecture must save the address of the interrupted
instruction.
 Incoming interrupts are disabled while another interrupt is being
processed to prevent a lost interrupt.
 A trap is a software-generated interrupt caused either by an error
or a user request.
 An operating system is interrupt driven.
 Interrupt Handling

 The operating system preserves the state of the CPU by storing

registers and the program counter.
 Determines which type of interrupt has occurred:
 polling
 vectored interrupt system
 Separate segments of code determine what action should be taken
for each type of interrupt
Interrupt Timeline
 I/O Structure
 After I/O starts, control returns to user program only upon I/O
completion.
 Wait instruction idles the CPU until the next interrupt
 Wait loop (contention for memory access).
 At most one I/O request is outstanding at a time, no
simultaneous I/O processing.
 After I/O starts, control returns to user program without waiting
for I/O completion.
 System call – request to the operating system to allow user
to wait for I/O completion.
 Device-status table contains entry for each I/O device
indicating its type, address, and state.
 Operating system indexes into I/O device table to determine
device status and to modify table entry to include interrupt.
 Two I/O Methods

Synchronous Asynchronous
Device-Status Table
 Direct Memory Access Structure

 Used for high-speed I/O devices able to transmit information at

close to memory speeds.
 Device controller transfers blocks of data from buffer storage
directly to main memory without CPU intervention.
 Only one interrupt is generated per block, rather than the one
interrupt per byte.
 Storage Structure

 Main memory – only large storage media that the CPU can access
directly.
 Secondary storage – extension of main memory that provides large
nonvolatile storage capacity.
 Magnetic disks – rigid metal or glass platters covered with
magnetic recording material
 Disk surface is logically divided into tracks, which are
subdivided into sectors.
 The disk controller determines the logical interaction between
the device and the computer.
 Storage Hierarchy

 Storage systems organized in hierarchy.

 Speed
 Cost
 Volatility
 Caching – copying information into faster storage system; main
memory can be viewed as a last cache for secondary storage.
Storage-Device Hierarchy
 Caching

 Important principle, performed at many levels in a computer (in

hardware, operating system, software)
 Information in use copied from slower to faster storage temporarily
 Faster storage (cache) checked first to determine if information is
there
 If it is, information used directly from the cache (fast)
 If not, data copied to cache and used there
 Cache smaller than storage being cached
 Cache management important design problem
 Cache size and replacement policy
 Performance of Various Levels of Storage

 Movement between levels of storage hierarchy can be explicit or

implicit
 Migration of Integer A from Disk to Register

 Multitasking environments must be careful to use most recent

value, no matter where it is stored in the storage hierarchy

 Multiprocessor environment must provide cache coherency in

hardware such that all CPUs have the most recent value in their
cache
 Distributed environment situation even more complex
 Several copies of a datum can exist
 Various solutions covered in Chapter 17
 Operating System Structure

 Multiprogramming needed for efficiency

 Single user cannot keep CPU and I/O devices busy at all times
 Multiprogramming organizes jobs (code and data) so CPU always has
one to execute
 A subset of total jobs in system is kept in memory
 One job selected and run via job scheduling
 When it has to wait (for I/O for example), OS switches to another job
 Timesharing (multitasking) is logical extension in which CPU switches jobs
so frequently that users can interact with each job while it is running,
creating interactive computing
 Response time should be < 1 second
 Each user has at least one program executing in memory process
 If several jobs ready to run at the same time  CPU scheduling
 If processes don’t fit in memory, swapping moves them in and out to
run
 Virtual memory allows execution of processes not completely in
memory
Memory Layout for Multiprogrammed System
 Operating-System Operations

 Interrupt driven by hardware

 Software error or request creates exception or trap
Division by zero, request for operating system service
 Other process problems include infinite loop, processes modifying
each other or the operating system
 Dual-mode operation allows OS to protect itself and other system
components
 User mode and kernel mode
 Mode bit provided by hardware
 Provides ability to distinguish when system is running user
code or kernel code
 Some instructions designated as privileged, only
executable in kernel mode
 System call changes mode to kernel, return from call resets
it to user
 Transition from User to Kernel Mode

 Timer to prevent infinite loop / process hogging resources

 Set interrupt after specific period
 Operating system decrements counter
 When counter zero generate an interrupt
 Set up before scheduling process to regain control or terminate
program that exceeds allotted time
 Process Management

 A process is a program in execution. It is a unit of work within the system.

Program is a passive entity, process is an active entity.
 Process needs resources to accomplish its task
 CPU, memory, I/O, files
 Initialization data
 Process termination requires reclaim of any reusable resources
 Single-threaded process has one program counter specifying location of
next instruction to execute
 Process executes instructions sequentially, one at a time, until
completion
 Multi-threaded process has one program counter per thread
 Typically system has many processes, some user, some operating system
running concurrently on one or more CPUs
 Concurrency by multiplexing the CPUs among the processes / threads
 Process Management Activities

The operating system is responsible for the following activities in

connection with process management:
 Creating and deleting both user and system processes
 Suspending and resuming processes
 Providing mechanisms for process synchronization
 Providing mechanisms for process communication
 Providing mechanisms for deadlock handling
 Memory Management

 All data in memory before and after processing

 All instructions in memory in order to execute
 Memory management determines what is in memory when
 Optimizing CPU utilization and computer response to users
 Memory management activities
 Keeping track of which parts of memory are currently being
used and by whom
 Deciding which processes (or parts thereof) and data to move
into and out of memory
 Allocating and deallocating memory space as needed
 Storage Management

 OS provides uniform, logical view of information storage

 Abstracts physical properties to logical storage unit - file
 Each medium is controlled by device (i.e., disk drive, tape drive)
 Varying properties include access speed, capacity, data-
transfer rate, access method (sequential or random)
 File-System management
 Files usually organized into directories
 Access control on most systems to determine who can access
what
 OS activities include
 Creating and deleting files and directories
 Primitives to manipulate files and dirs
 Mapping files onto secondary storage
 Backup files onto stable (non-volatile) storage media
 Mass-Storage Management

 Usually disks used to store data that does not fit in main memory or data
that must be kept for a “long” period of time.
 Proper management is of central importance
 Entire speed of computer operation hinges on disk subsystem and its
algorithms
 OS activities
 Free-space management
 Storage allocation
 Disk scheduling
 Some storage need not be fast
 Tertiary storage includes optical storage, magnetic tape
 Still must be managed
 Varies between WORM (write-once, read-many-times) and RW (read-
write)
 I/O Subsystem

 One purpose of OS is to hide peculiarities of hardware devices

from the user
 I/O subsystem responsible for
 Memory management of I/O including buffering (storing data
temporarily while it is being transferred), caching (storing parts
of data in faster storage for performance), spooling (the
overlapping of output of one job with input of other jobs)
 General device-driver interface
 Drivers for specific hardware devices
 Protection and Security

 Protection – any mechanism for controlling access of processes or

users to resources defined by the OS
 Security – defense of the system against internal and external
attacks
 Huge range, including denial-of-service, worms, viruses,
identity theft, theft of service
 Systems generally first distinguish among users, to determine who
can do what
 User identities (user IDs, security IDs) include name and
associated number, one per user
 User ID then associated with all files, processes of that user to
determine access control
 Group identifier (group ID) allows set of users to be defined
and controls managed, then also associated with each
process, file
 Privilege escalation allows user to change to effective ID with
more rights
 Computing Environments

 Traditional computer
 Blurring over time
 Office environment
 PCs connected to a network, terminals attached to
mainframe or minicomputers providing batch and
timesharing
 Now portals allowing networked and remote systems
access to same resources
 Home networks
 Used to be single system, then modems
 Now firewalled, networked
 Computing Environments (Cont.)

 Client-Server Computing
 Dumb terminals supplanted by smart PCs
 Many systems now servers, responding to requests generated by
clients
 Compute-server provides an interface to client to request
services (i.e. database)
 File-server provides interface for clients to store and retrieve
files
 Peer-to-Peer Computing

 Another model of distributed system

 P2P does not distinguish clients and servers
 Instead all nodes are considered peers
 May each act as client, server or both
 Node must join P2P network
 Registers its service with central lookup service on network,
or
 Broadcast request for service and respond to requests for
service via discovery protocol
 Examples include Napster and Gnutella
 Web-Based Computing

 Web has become ubiquitous

 PCs most prevalent devices
 More devices becoming networked to allow web access
 New category of devices to manage web traffic among similar
servers: load balancers
 Use of operating systems like Windows 95, client-side, have
evolved into Linux and Windows XP, which can be clients and
servers