INTRODUCTION TO OS

What is an Operating System

• A modern computer consists of:
 One or more processors
 Main memory
 Disks
 Printers
 Various input/output devices.
• Managing all these varied components
requires a layer of software – the
Operating System (OS).
What is an Operating System
An Operating System is a program that acts as an
intermediary/interface between a user of a computer and the
computer hardware.
OS goals:
Control/execute user/application programs.
Make the computer system convenient to use.
Ease the solving of user problems.
Use the computer hardware in an efficient manner.
What is an Operating System
In a more simplistic approach, in fact, OS itself is a program.
But it has a priority which application programs don’t have.
OS uses the kernel mode of the microprocessor, whereas
other programs use the user mode.
The difference between two is that; all hardware instructions
are valid in kernel mode, where some of them cannot be used
in the user mode.
Where does the OS fit in?
Four Components of a Computer System
(Computer System Structure)
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, web browsers, database systems, video

games
Users
 People, machines, other computers
Functions of an Operating System
I/O Management
Process Management
Memory Management
Storage Management
Protection and Security
I/O Management
One of the purposes of an operating system is to hide the
peculiarities of specific hardware devices from the user.
Every operating systems has an I/O subsystem for managing
its I/O devices.
Process Management
A process is program in execution.
Eg: A word-processing program being run by an individual user
on a PC
A process needs certain resources to accomplish its task.
 CPU time
 memory
 files
 I/O devices.
These resources are either given to the process when it is
created or allocated to it while it is running.
Process Management
The operating system is responsible for the following process
management activities :
 Scheduling processes and threads on the CPUs
 Creating and deleting both user and system processes
 Suspending and resuming processes
 Providing mechanisms for process synchronization
 Providing mechanisms for process communication
Memory Management
Main memory is the only large storage device that the CPU is
able to address and access directly.
For a program to be executed, it must be mapped to absolute
addresses and loaded into memory.
As the program executes, it accesses program instructions and
data from memory by generating these absolute addresses.
When the program terminates, its memory space is declared
available, and the next program can be loaded and executed.

To improve both the utilization of the CPU and the speed of
the computer’s response to its users, general-purpose
computers must keep several programs in memory, creating a
need for memory management.
Memory Management
The operating system is responsible for the following memory
management activities :
 Keeping track of which parts of memory are currently
being used and who is using them
 Deciding which processes (or parts of processes) and data
to move into and out of memory
 Allocating and deallocating memory space as needed
Storage management-File-System Management
Files represent programs (both source and object forms) and data.
Data files may be numeric, alphabetic, alphanumeric, or binary.
The operating system is responsible for the following file
management activities
Creating and deleting files
Creating and deleting directories to organize files
 Supporting primitives for manipulating files and directories
 Mapping files onto secondary storage
 Backing up files on stable (non-volatile) storage media
Storage management-Mass Storage Management
Main memory is too small to accommodate all data and
programs, and because the data that it holds are lost when
power is lost, the computer system must provide secondary
storage to back up main memory.
Most modern computer systems use disks as the principal on-
line storage medium for both programs and data.
The operating system is responsible for the following activities
in connection with disk management:
• Free-space management
• Storage allocation
• Disk scheduling
Storage management-Caching:

Information is normally kept in some storage system (such as

main memory).
As it is used, it is copied into a faster storage system ,the cache
on a temporary basis.
When we need a particular piece of information, we first check
whether it is in the cache. If it is, we use the information
directly from the cache.
If it is not, we use the information from the source, putting a
copy in the cache under the assumption that we will need it
again soon.
Storage management-Caching:

Instruction Cache
Most systems have an instruction cache to hold the instructions
expected to be executed next.
Without this cache, the CPU would have to wait several cycles
while an instruction was fetched from main memory.
Data Cache
Most systems have one or more high-speed data caches in the
memory hierarchy.
Storage management-Caching:

Because caches have limited size, cache management is an

important design problem.
Storage management-Caching:
In a hierarchical storage structure, the same data may appear in
different levels of the storage system.
 For example, suppose that an integer A that is to be
incremented by 1 is located in file B, and file B resides on
magnetic disk.
The increment operation proceeds by first issuing an I/O
operation to copy the disk block on which A resides to main
memory.
This operation is followed by copying A to the cache and to an
internal register.
Thus, the copy of A appears in several places: on the magnetic
disk, in main memory, in the cache, and in an internal register
Once the increment takes place in the internal register, the
value of A differs in the various storage systems.
Storage management-Caching:

 The value of A becomes the same only after the new value of A is
written from the internal register back to the magnetic disk.
 In a multitasking environment, where the CPU is switched back
and forth among various processes ,if several processes wish to
access A, then each of these processes will obtain the most
recently updated value of A.
 In a multiprocessor environment where, in addition to maintaining
internal registers, each of the CPUs also contains a local cache .
 In such an environment, a copy of A may exist simultaneously in
several caches.
 Since the various CPUs can all execute in parallel, we must make
sure that an update to the value of A in one cache is immediately
reflected in all other caches where A resides.
 This situation is called cache coherency, and it is usually a
hardware issue .
Storage management-Caching:

In a distributed environment, several copies (or replicas) of the

same file can be kept on different computers.
Since the various replicas may be accessed and updated
concurrently, some distributed systems ensure that, when a
replica is updated in one place, all other replicas are brought up
to date as soon as possible
Protection and Security
If a computer system has multiple users and allows the
concurrent execution of multiple processes, then access to data
must be regulated.
There must be mechanisms to ensure that files, memory
segments, CPU, and other resources can be operated on by
only those processes that have gained proper authorization
from the operating system.
For example, memory-addressing hardware ensures that a
process can execute only within its own address space.
The timer ensures that no process can gain control of the CPU
without eventually relinquishing control.
Protection and Security
Protection is any mechanism for controlling the access of
processes or users to the resources defined by a computer
system.
A system can have adequate protection but still be prone to
failure and allow inappropriate access.

Job of security is to defend a system from external and internal

attacks.
Protection and Security
Attacks spread across a huge range and include viruses and
worms, denial-of service attacks (which use all of a system’s
resources and so keep legitimate users out of the system),
identity theft, and theft of service (unauthorized use of a
system).
 Prevention of some of these attacks is considered an
operating-system function .
Protection and security require the system to be able to
distinguish among all its users.
 Most operating systems maintain a list of user names and
associated user identifiers (user IDs)
Protection and Security
In some circumstances ,it is necessary to distinguish among
sets of users rather than individual users.
To accomplish this, define a group name and the set of users
belonging to that group.
Group functionality can be implemented as a system-wide list
of group names and group identifiers.
A user can be in one or more groups, depending on operating-
system design.
Computer System Architecture
Single-Processor Systems
 On a single processor system, there is one main CPU capable of
executing a general-purpose instruction set, including instructions
from user processes.

 Almost all single processor systems have other special-purpose

processors like device-specific processors, such as disk, keyboard,
and graphics controllers.

 All of these special-purpose processors run a limited instruction set

and do not run user processes.

 Sometimes, they are managed by the operating system, in that the

operating system sends them information about their next task and
monitors their status.
In some other systems special-purpose processors are low-level
components built into the hardware.
The operating system cannot communicate with these
processors; they do their jobs autonomously.

Multiprocessor Systems
Two or more processors in close communication, sharing the
computer bus and sometimes the clock, memory, and peripheral
devices.
Multiprocessor systems have three main advantages:
1. Increased throughput
By increasing the number of processors, more work done in less
time.
The speed-up ratio with N processors is not N, however; rather,
it is less than N.
 When multiple processors cooperate on a task, a certain amount of
overhead is incurred in keeping all the parts working correctly.
 Contention for shared resources also, lowers the expected gain from
additional processors
2. Economy of scale
Multiprocessor systems can cost less than equivalent multiple single
processor systems, because they can share peripherals, mass storage,
and power supplies.
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.
.
The ability to continue providing service proportional to the
level of surviving hardware is called graceful degradation.
Fault tolerance is the property that enables a system to
continue operating properly in the event of the failure of (or one
or more faults within) some of its components.
The multiple-processor systems in use today are of two types.
Asymmetric multiprocessing
Each processor is assigned a specific task.
A boss processor controls the system; the other processors
either look to the boss for instruction or have predefined tasks.
This scheme defines a boss–worker relationship.
 The boss processor schedules and allocates work to the worker
processors.
Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP)
Each processor performs all tasks within the operating system.
All processors are peers; no boss–worker relationship exists
between processors.

Each processor has its own set of registers, as well as a private

or local cache.
All processors share physical memory.
Multiprocessing adds CPUs to increase computing power.
 Multiprocessor systems are termed as multicore when
multiple computing cores on a single chip.
 They can be more efficient than multiple chips with single
cores because on-chip communication is faster than between-
chip communication.
One chip with multiple cores uses significantly less power than
multiple single-core chips.
Clustered Systems
A type of multiprocessor system is a clustered system, which
gathers together multiple CPUs.
 Clustered systems differ from the multiprocessor systems in
that they are composed of two or more individual systems or
nodes joined together.
 Each node may be a single processor system or a multicore
system.
Clustered computers share storage and are closely linked via a
local-area network LAN or a faster interconnect, such as
InfiniBand.
Clustering is usually used to provide high-availability service.
Service will continue even if one or more systems in the
cluster fail.
A layer of cluster software runs on the cluster nodes.
Each node can monitor one or more of the others (over the
LAN).
If the monitored machine fails, the monitoring machine can take
ownership of its storage and restart the applications that were
running on the failed machine.
The users and clients of the applications see only a brief
interruption of service.
Clustering can be structured asymmetrically or symmetrically.
Asymmetric clustering
One machine is in hot-standby mode while the other is running
the applications.
 The hot-standby host machine does nothing but monitor the
active server.
If that server fails, the hot-standby host becomes the active
server.
Symmetric clustering
Two or more hosts are running applications and are monitoring
each other.
This structure is more efficient, as it uses all of the available
hardware
Since a cluster consists of several computer systems connected
via a network, clusters can also be used to provide high-
performance computing environments.
Parallelization
Divides a program into separate components that run in
parallel on individual computers in the cluster.
These applications are designed so that once each computing
node in the cluster has solved its portion of the problem, the
results from all the nodes are combined into a final solution.