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Week 6 Operating System Structures and Functional Modules

The document discusses the structures of operating systems, highlighting monolithic and microkernel architectures, along with their advantages and disadvantages. It also outlines functional modules such as file systems, memory management, process management, and device drivers, as well as the levels of abstraction including user mode and kernel mode. Additionally, it covers the flow of control in operating systems, focusing on control flow, interrupts, and system calls.

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david.kaje
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27 views2 pages

Week 6 Operating System Structures and Functional Modules

The document discusses the structures of operating systems, highlighting monolithic and microkernel architectures, along with their advantages and disadvantages. It also outlines functional modules such as file systems, memory management, process management, and device drivers, as well as the levels of abstraction including user mode and kernel mode. Additionally, it covers the flow of control in operating systems, focusing on control flow, interrupts, and system calls.

Uploaded by

david.kaje
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Week 6: Operating System Structures and Functional Modules

1. OS Structures: Monolithic, Microkernel

• Monolithic Kernel:
o Definition: A single large process that runs in supervisor mode, handling all OS
functions. Includes device drivers, file systems, and system calls.
o Advantages: Efficient communication between components, fewer context
switches.
o Disadvantages: Less modular, harder to maintain and extend.
• Microkernel:
o Definition: Only the most essential functions (e.g., communication, basic
hardware management) run in kernel mode. Other services (e.g., file systems,
device drivers) run in user mode.
o Advantages: More modular and easier to maintain; faults in one component do
not necessarily crash the entire system.
o Disadvantages: Potentially slower due to more context switches and inter-
process communication.

2. Functional Modules of an OS

• Modules:
o File System: Manages file operations such as creation, deletion, reading, and
writing. Provides abstraction for file storage.
o Memory Management: Handles allocation and deallocation of memory, paging,
and segmentation.
o Process Management: Manages process creation, scheduling, and termination.
Ensures fair CPU allocation and efficient multitasking.
o Device Drivers: Provide an interface for the OS to communicate with hardware
devices.

3. Levels of Abstraction in OS

• User Mode vs. Kernel Mode:

MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-KAJE DAVID MURITHI


o User Mode: The mode in which user applications run with restricted access to
hardware and system resources.
o Kernel Mode: The mode in which the OS kernel operates with full access to
hardware and system resources.
• Abstraction Layers:
o Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL): Provides a consistent interface for
hardware across different devices.
o System Call Interface: Provides a way for user applications to request services
from the kernel.
o Application Programming Interface (API): Provides a set of functions and
protocols for application developers to interact with the OS.

4. Flow of Control in Operating Systems

• Control Flow: Manages how processes and threads are scheduled and executed.
Includes handling interrupts and system calls.
• Interrupts: Mechanism to handle asynchronous events and ensure timely responses to
hardware signals.
• System Calls: Interface through which user applications request services from the OS.
Examples include file operations (open(), read(), write()) and process control
(fork(), exec()).

MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-KAJE DAVID MURITHI

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