OPERATING SYSTEMS

OVERVIEW

Jerry Breecher
1: Operating Systems Overview 1
 OPERATING SYSTEM
OVERVIEW
WHAT IS AN OPERATING SYSTEM?

• An interface between users and hardware - an environment "architecture”

• Allows convenient usage; hides the tedious stuff
• Allows efficient usage; parallel activity, avoids wasted cycles
• Provides information protection
• Gives each user a slice of the resources
• Acts as a control program.

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 OPERATING The Layers Of
SYSTEM OVERVIEW A System

Humans

Program Interface

User Programs

O.S. Interface

O.S.

Hardware Interface/ Privileged Instructions

Disk/Tape/Memory
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 OPERATING Component
SYSTEM
A mechanism for scheduling jobs or processes. Scheduling can be as simple
as running the next process, or it can use relatively complex rules to pick
a running process.

A method for simultaneous CPU execution and IO handling. Processing is

going on even as IO is occurring in preparation for future CPU work.

Off Line Processing; not only are IO and CPU happening concurrently, but
some off-board processing is occurring with the IO.

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 OPERATING Component
SYSTEM
The CPU is wasted if a job waits for I/O. This leads to:

• Multiprogramming ( dynamic switching ). While one job waits for a resource,

the CPU can find another job to run. It means that several jobs are ready to run and
only need the CPU in order to continue.

CPU scheduling is the subject of Chapter 6. All of

this leads to:

• memory management
• resource scheduling
• deadlock protection

which are the subject of the rest of this course.

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 OPERATING
Characteristic
SYSTEM
Other Characteristics include:
• Time Sharing - multiprogramming environment that's also interactive.

• Multiprocessing - Tightly coupled systems that communicate via shared memory. Used for
scientific applications. Used for speed improvement by putting together a number of off- the-shelf
processors.

• Distributed Systems - Loosely coupled systems that communicate via message passing.
Advantages include resource sharing, speed up, reliability, communication.

• Real Time Systems - Rapid response time is main characteristic. Used in control of applications
where rapid response to a stimulus is essential.
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 OPERATING
Characteristic
SYSTEM
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.

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 OPERATING Hardwar
SYSTEM e

These are the

devices that make
up a typical

Any of these
devices can
cause an
electrical interrupt
that grabs the
attention of the

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 OPERATING Hardwar
SYSTEM e

Sequence
of events
for
processin
g an IO
request.

Comparing
Synchronous
and
Asynchronous
IO Operations

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 OPERATING Hardwar
SYSTEM e

This is O.S. Bookkeeping. These structures are necessary to ke

1: Operating Systems 1
 OPERATING Storage
SYSTEM Hierarch
Very fast storage is very expensive. So the Operating System manages a hierarchy of storage devices
in order to make the best use of resources. In fact, considerable effort goes into this support.

Fast and Expensive

Slow an Cheap

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 OPERATING Storage
SYSTEM Hierarch
Performance:

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 OPERATING Storage
SYSTEM Hierarch
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

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 OPERATING Protectio
SYSTEM
The goal is protecting the Operating System and others
from malicious or ignorant users.

The User/Supervisor Mode and privileged

instructions.

Concurrent threads might interfere with others. This

leads to protection of resources by user/supervisor
mode. These resources include:

I/O Define I/O instructions as privileged; they can

be executed only in Supervisor mode.
System calls get us from user to supervisor
mode.

1: Operating Systems 1
 OPERATING Protectio
SYSTEM
Memory A user program can only access its own logical memory. For instance, it
can't modify supervisor code. Depends on an address translation scheme such as
that shown here.

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 OPERATING Protectio
SYSTEM
CPU A clock prevents programs from using all the CPU time. This clock
causes an interrupt that causes the operating system to gain control from a user
program.

For machines connected together, this protection must extend across:

Shared resources,
Multiprocessor Architectures,
Clustered Systems
The practice of this is called “distributed operating systems”.

1: Operating Systems 1
 OPERATING SYSTEM OVERVIEW
WRAPUP
We’ve completed our first overview of an Operating System – this was
the equivalent of a Satellite picture.

The next view will be at the level of a high flying plane.

After that, we’ll be at ground level, looking at pieces in detail.

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