OPERATING SYSTEMS

• A modern computer consists of one or more processors, main

memory, storage devices, network interfaces and various
input/output devices.

• Writing programs that keep track of all these components is an

extremely difficult job.
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
How a Modern Computer Works
Components of Computer System

• Hardware

• System Software

• Users
Hardware
• It provides basic computing resources
• CPU, memory, I/O devices
• It may be composed of two or more levels.
• The lowest level consists of the basic resources.
• The next level is the micro architecture level where physical resources are
grouped together as functional units. The basic level operations involve
internal registers, CPU and the operation of the data path is controlled either
by micro program or by hardware control unit.
• The next level is the Instruction set architecture level which deals with the
execution of instructions.
System Software:
• Operating System: It hides the underlying complex hardware. It controls and
coordinates use of hardware among various applications and users.

• Utilities and Application Software: define the ways of in which the system
resources are used to solve the computing problems of the users. The system
programs like compiler, assembler, editor etc. run in the user mode where the
OS run in the supervisor mode or kernel mode.

Users: People, machines, other computers etc.

Abstract View of Components of Computer
Detail Layered View of Computer
Three types of programs
User / application programs
• programs used by the users to perform a task
• Performs specific tasks for users
• Business application
• Communications application
• Multimedia application
• Entertainment and educational software
System programs
• an interface between user and computer
• Performs essential operation tasks
• Operating system
• Utility programs

Driver programs (Device Drivers)

• small program that allows a specific input or output device to
communicate with the rest of the computer system
 The Layers of a
OPERATING SYSTEM
System
OVERVIEW
Humans

Program Interface

User Programs

O.S. Interface

O.S.

Hardware Interface/
Privileged Instructions

Disk/Tape/Memory
OS
• Operating System (OS) is a program or set of programs, which acts as
an interface between a user of the computer & the computer
hardware.
• It is written in low-level languages (i.e. machine-dependent).
• When the computer is on, OS will first load into the main memory
Computer Startup
• bootstrap program is loaded at power-up or reboot
• Typically stored in ROM or EPROM, generally known as firmware
• Initializes all aspects of system including the CPU registers, device controllers,
and memory contents
• Locates and loads operating system kernel and starts execution of the first
process (such as “init”) and waits for events to occur.
Definitions
OS
• is a layer of software that manages all the hardware and software components in
an effective and efficient manner.
• is a resource allocator that decides between conflicting requests for efficient and
fair resource use.
• acts as a mediator, thereby making it easier for the programmer to access and
use of the facilities and services of the computing system.
• implements a virtual machine that is easier to program than bare hardware.
• provides an abstraction of the hardware for all the user programs thereby hiding
the complexity of the underlying hardware and gives the user a better view of the
computer.
• is a control program that controls execution of programs to prevent errors and
improper use of computer.
Why do we need operating systems?
• The primary need for the OS arises from the fact that user needs to
be provided with services and OS has to facilitate the provisioning of
these services.
• Convenience: OS provides a high-level abstraction of physical
resources; make hardware usable by getting rid of warts and specifics;
enables the construction of more complex software systems and
enables portable code.
• Efficiency: It shares limited or expensive physical resources and
provides protection.
Need for Operating System
• Operating System is a program that acts as an Interface between the system hardware and the user making the
tasks easier. It is important software which runs on a computer and controls the set of instructions and wisely
utilizes each part of the Computer.
• OS as a platform for Application programs: The operating system provides a platform, on top of
which, other programs, called application programs can run. These application programs help users
to perform a specific task easily. It acts as an interface between the computer and the user. It is
designed in such a manner that it operates, controls, and executes various applications on the
computer.

• Managing Input-Output unit: The operating system also allows the computer to manage its own
resources such as memory, monitor, keyboard, printer, etc. Management of these resources is
required for effective utilization. The operating system controls the various system input-output
resources and allocates them to the users or programs as per their requirements.
• Multitasking: The operating system manages memory and allows multiple programs to run in their own
space and even communicate with each other through shared memory. Multitasking gives users a good
experience as they can perform several tasks on a computer at a time.

• A platform for other software applications: Different application programs are needed by users to
carry out particular system tasks. These applications are managed and controlled by the OS to ensure
their effectiveness. It serves as an interface between the user and the applications, in other
words.

• Controls memory: It helps in controlling the computer’s main memory. Additionally, it allows and
deallocates memory to all tasks and applications.

• Looks after system files: It helps with system file management. As far as we are aware, all of the data
on the system exists as files. It facilitates simple file interaction.

• Provides Security: It helps to maintain the system and applications safe through the authorization
process. Thus, the OS provides security to the system.
What is an Operating System?
• It is a resource manager
• provides orderly and controlled allocation for programs in terms of
time and space, multiplexing
• Resource management keeps track of the resource, decides who
gets the access and resolves conflicting requests for resources by
enforcing policy, allocates the resource and after use reclaims the
resource.
What is an Operating System?
• It is an extended, or virtual, machine
• creates the functionalities of a computer in software i.e. creating copies of
processors, memory etc. using software.
• provides a simple, high-level abstraction, i.e., hides the “messy details” which
must be performed
• presents user with a virtual machine, easier to use
• provides services; programs obtain these by system calls
Services Provided by the OS
• An OS provides standard services (an interface), such as Processes,
CPU scheduling, memory management, file system, networking, etc.
In addition to this, OS provides services in the following areas:
• Program development: These services are in the form of utility
programs such as editors, debuggers to assist programmers in
creating programs. These are referred as application development
tools.
• Program execution: The tasks that are performed to execute a
program are loading of instructions and data into the main memory,
initializing I/O devices and files and preparing other resources.
• Access to I/O devices: Each I/O device requires its own peculiar set of
instructions or control signals for operation. OS provides a uniform
interface that hides these details so that the programmer can access
such devices using simple reads and writes.
• Controlled access to files: For accessing files, control must include a
detailed understanding of the nature of I/O device as well as the
structure of the data contained in the files on the storage medium.
For system with multiple users, OS should provide protection
mechanisms to control access to the files.
• System access: For shared or public systems, the access function must
provide protection of resources and data from unauthorised users
and must resolve conflicts for resource contention.
• Error Detection and Responses: OS must provide responses to
runtime errors such as internal or external hardware errors, software
errors like arithmetic overflow etc. The response may be terminating
the program or reporting error to the application.
• Accounting: OS collects usage statistics for various resources and
monitor performance parameters to improve performance. On a
multiuser system, the information can be used for billing purposes.
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
such as divide by 0 or a user request (system call).
• An operating system is interrupt driven
Interrupt Timeline
Interrupt Handling
• The operating system preserves the state of the CPU by storing
registers and the program counter

• Separate segments of code determine what action should be taken

for each type of interrupt
Interrupt-drive I/O Cycle
I/O Structure
• 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
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
• Programs and data cannot reside in main memory permanently because:
• Main memory is limited (too small) to store all programs and data permanently
• Main memory is volatile
• So secondary storage is provided – 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 by
• Speed
• Cost
• Volatility

• The higher levels in the hierarchy are expensive but fast. As we move
down the hierarchy, the cost per bit generally decreases, whereas the
access time generally increases.

• Caching – copying information into faster storage system; main

memory can be viewed as a last cache for secondary storage
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
Storage-Device Hierarchy
Major components of OS
1. Process Management
2. Main Memory Management
3. File Management
4. Mass Storage Management
5. I/O System Management
6. Network Management
7. Security and Protection system
8. Command Interpreter System
Process Management
• A process is an instance of a program in execution and is the
fundamental unit of computation in a computer.
• A process needs certain resources, including CPU time, memory, files,
and I/O devices, to accomplish its task. Processes can create sub-
processes to execute concurrently.
• Programs can be executed concurrently as the number of processes
active at a time may be more than one. These multiple processes
which are active may communicate with each other and some may
access resources which are mutually exclusive in nature.
The activities of a process manager include
• creating and deleting of user and system processes,
• suspending and resuming processes,
• scheduling processes,
• providing mechanisms for process synchronization,
• providing mechanisms for inter process communication
• handling deadlocks during concurrent execution.
Main Memory management
• Main memory is a volatile storage device. It loses its contents in the
case of system failure.
• One can view memory as large array of words or bytes, each with its
own address.
• It is storage of quickly accessible data shared by the CPU and I/O
devices.
• A program resides on a disk as a binary executable file and it is
brought to the main memory for execution.
The functions of memory management are
• keeping track of memory in use,

• allocation of memory to processes by deciding which processes and data are

to be moved into and out of memory and move processes between disk and
memory.
File Management
• The other names for this management are information management
and storage management.
• OS provides uniform, logical view of information storage. It abstracts
physical properties to logical storage unit called file.
• A file is a collection of related information defined by its creator. The
information may be a sequence of bits, bytes, lines, or records whose
meanings are defined by their creators. Commonly, files represent
programs (both source and object forms) and data.
• The File management is responsible for allocation of space for
programs and data on disk, creation and deletion of files, creation
and deletion of directories, providing primitives to support for
manipulating files and directories, mapping files onto secondary
storage, maintaining file backup on stable storages.
• In addition, it keeps track of the information, its location, its usage,
status using file system, decides who gets hold of information,
enforce protection and provide access mechanism.
• Allocation and de-allocation of files are done using open and close
system calls.
Mass Storage Management
• Since main memory is volatile in nature and too small to
accommodate all programs and data, disks are used to store data and
programs that does not fit in main memory or data that must be kept
for a long period of time.
• Most modern computer systems use disks as the principle on-line
storage medium, for both programs and data.
• Functions of this storage management includes free space
management, storage allocation, disk scheduling, disk buffer
management to reduce the disk access time as some storage devices
are slow in nature.
• It also manages the tertiary storage such as optical storage devices,
magnetic tapes for back up purpose. These devices vary between
WORM (Write Once Read Many times) and RW (Read Write).
I/O System management
• The I/O system consists of a buffer-caching system, a general device-
driver interface and drivers for specific hardware devices.
• The buffer caching system is to reduce the I/O access time.
• When a process wishes to access an I/O device it must issue a system
call to OS which has device drivers to facilitate I/O functions involving
I/O devices. These device drivers are software routines that control
respective I/O devices through their controllers.
• The OS hides the peculiarities of specific hardware devices from the
user.
• The I/O system management functions are keeping track of the I/O
devices, I/O channels, etc. using I/O traffic controller.
• It performs I/O scheduling by deciding what is an efficient way to
allocate the I/O resource and if it is to be shared, then deciding who
gets it, how much of it is to be allocated, and for how long.
• It allocates the I/O device and initiates the I/O operation and when
the use of the device is through reclaiming is done by the I/O system
or in some I/O operation it terminates automatically.
Network Management
• An OS is responsible for the computer system networking via a distributed
environment which allows computers to work together.
• A distributed system is a collection of autonomous computers and do not
have a common clock or shared memory. Each computer has their own
clock and memory and communicates with each other through networks.
• Several networking protocols such as TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/ Internet Protocol), UDP (User Datagram Protocol), FTP (File
Transfer Protocol), HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer protocol), NFS (Network File
System) etc. are used.
• The resources like processors, memory etc., are shared and access to these
shared resources improves the computation speed-up, increases
availability and enhances reliability.
Security and Protection System
• Security refers to defense of the system against internal and external
attacks which is of huge range including worms, viruses, Trojan
horses, denial of services, identity theft, etc.
• OS is responsible for detecting and preventing these attacks.
• Protection refers to a mechanism for controlling access of processes
or users to resources defined by OS.
• The protection mechanism provided by OS must distinguish between
authorized and unauthorized usage, specify the controls to be
imposed and provide a means of enforcement.
Command-Interpreter System
• A user interacts with OS via one or more user applications through a
special application called a shell or command interpreter which acts
as an interface between the user and the operating system.
• Today almost all OS provides a user friendly interface, namely
Graphical User Interface (GUI).
• The commands given to OS are control statements that deal with
process creation and management, I/O handling, secondary-storage
management, main memory management, file system access,
protection and networking.