DIWAKAR EDUCATION HUB

System Software and Operating System

Unit – 5
As per updated syllabus
DIWAKAR EDUCATION HUB

2020

THE LEARN WITH EXPERTIES

 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5

System software

System software is a type of computer program that is designed to run a

computer’s hardware and application programs. If we think of the computer
system as a layered model, the system software is the interface between the
hardware and user applications. The operating system (OS) is the best-known
example of system software. The OS manages all the other programs in a
computer.

Other examples of system software include:

 The BIOS (basic input/output system) gets the computer system started
after you turn it on and manages the data flow between the operating
system and attached devices such as the hard disk, video adapter,
keyboard, mouse and printer.

 The boot program loads the operating system into the computer's main
memory or random access memory (RAM).

 An assembler takes basic computer instructions and converts them into a

pattern of bits that the computer's processor can use to perform its basic
operations.

 A device driver controls a particular type of device that is attached to your

computer, such as a keyboard or a mouse. The driver program converts the
more general input/output instructions of the operating system to
messages that the device type can understand.

Additionally, system software can also include system utilities, such as the
disk defragmenter and System Restore, and development tools, such
as compilers and debuggers.

System software and application programs are the two main types of computer
software. Unlike system software, an application program (often just called an
application or app) performs a particular function for the user. Examples
include browsers, email clients, word processors and spreadsheets.

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System Software is a set of programs that control and manage the operations of
computer hardware. It also helps application programs to execute correctly.

System Software are designed to control the operation and extend the processing
functionalities of a computer system. System software makes the operation of a
computer more fast, effective, and secure. Example: Operating system,
programming language, Communication software, etc.

Types of System Software

Important types of System Software:

 Operating systems:- Operating system software helps you for the effective
utilization of all hardware and software components of a computer system.

 Programming language translators:- Transforms the instructions prepared

by developers in a programming language into a form that can be
interpreted or compiled and executed by a computer system.

 Communication Software : - Communication software allows us to transfer

data and programs from one computer system to another.

 Utility programs: - Utility programs are a set of programs that help users in
system maintenance tasks, and in performing tasks of routine nature.

Features of System Software

An important feature of System Software are:

 System Software is closer to the system

 Generally written in a low-level language

 The system software is difficult to design and understand

 Fast in speed

 Less interactive

 Smaller in size

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 Hard to manipulate

Machine language

Machine language, or machine code, is a low-level language comprised

of binary digits (ones and zeros). High-level languages, such as Swift and C++ must
be compiled into machine language before the code is run on a computer.

Since computers are digital devices, they only recognize binary data. Every
program, video, image, and character of text is represented in binary. This
binary data, or machine code, is processed as input by the CPU. The
resulting output is sent to the operating system or an application, which displays
the data visually. For example, the ASCII value for the letter "A" is 01000001 in
machine code, but this data is displayed as "A" on the screen. An image may have
thousands or even millions of binary values that determine the color of each pixel.

While machine code is comprised of 1s and 0s, different processor

architectures use different machine code. For example, a PowerPC processor,
which has a RISC architecture, requires different code than an Intel x86 processor,
which has a CISC architecture. A compiler must compile high-level source code for
the correct processor architecture in order for a program to run correctly.

Assembly Language

Programming in Machine language is tedious (you have to program every

command from scratch) and hard to read & modify (the 1s and 0s are kind of hard
to work with…). For these reasons, Assembly language was developed as an
alternative to Machine language.

Assembly Language uses short descriptive words (mnemonic) to represent each of

the Machine Language instructions.

For example the mnemonic add means to add numbers together, and sub means
to subtract the numbers. So if you want to add the numbers 2 and 3 in assembly
language, it would look like this:

add 2, 3, result

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So Assembly Languages were developed to make programming easier. However,

the computer cannot directly execute the assembly language. First another
program called the assembler is used to translate the Assembly Language into
machine code.

Machine Language vs Assembly Language

Machine language and assembly language are both low-level languages, but
machine code is below assembly in the hierarchy of computer languages.
Assembly language includes human-readable commands, such as mov, add,
and sub, while machine language does not contain any words or even letters.
Some developers manually write assembly language to optimize a program, but
they do not write machine code. Only developers who write software compilers
need to worry about machine language.

NOTE: While machine code is technically comprised of binary data, it may also be
represented in hexadecimal values. For example, the letter "Z," which
is 01011010 in binary, may be displayed as 5A in hexadecimal code.

High Level Language

The high level language is simple and easy to understand and it is similar to
English language. For example, COBOL, FORTRAN, BASIC, C, C+, Python, etc.

High-level languages are very important, as they help in developing complex

software and they have the following advantages −

 Unlike assembly language or machine language, users do not need to learn

the high-level language in order to work with it.

 High-level languages are similar to natural languages, therefore, easy to

learn and understand.

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 High-level language is designed in such a way that it detects the errors

immediately.

 High-level language is easy to maintain and it can be easily modified.

 High-level language makes development faster.

 High-level language is comparatively cheaper to develop.

 High-level language is easier to document.

Although a high-level language has many benefits, yet it also has a drawback. It
has poor control on machine/hardware.

The following table lists down the frequently used languages −

A high-level language is a programming language that uses English and

mathematical symbols, like +, -, % and many others, in its instructions. When
using the term 'programming languages,' most people are actually referring to
high-level languages. High-level languages are the languages most often used by
programmers to write programs. Examples of high-level languages are C++,
Fortran, Java and Python.

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To get a flavor of what a high-level language actually looks like, consider an ATM
machine where someone wants to make a withdrawal of $100. This amount
needs to be compared to the account balance to make sure there are enough
funds. The instruction in a high-level computer language would look something
like this:

x = 100
if balance x:
print 'Insufficient balance'
else:
print 'Please take your money'

This is not exactly how real people communicate, but it is much easier to follow
than a series of 1s and 0s in binary code.

There are a number of advantages to high-level languages. The first advantage is

that high-level languages are much closer to the logic of a human language. A
high-level language uses a set of rules that dictate how words and symbols can be
put together to form a program. Learning a high-level language is not unlike
learning another human language - you need to learn vocabulary and grammar so
you can make sentences. To learn a programming language, you need to learn
commands, syntax and logic, which correspond closely to vocabulary and
grammar.

The second advantage is that the code of most high-level languages is portable
and the same code can run on different hardware. Both machine code and
assembly languages are hardware specific and not portable. This means that the
machine code used to run a program on one specific computer needs to be
modified to run on another computer. Portable code in a high-level language can
run on multiple computer systems without modification. However, modifications
to code in high-level languages may be necessary because of the operating
system. For example, programs written for Windows typically don't run on a Mac.

A high-level language cannot be understood directly by a computer, and it needs

to be translated into machine code. There are two ways to do this, and they are

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related to how the program is executed: a high-level language can be compiled or

interpreted.

Types of Programming Languages

 Data-oriented Language: These programming languages are designed for

searching and manipulating relation that have been described as entity
relationship tables which map one set of things into other sets. Example:
SQL

 Imperative Language: ?

 Object-oriented programming (OOP) support objects defined by their class.

… Focuses on objects over action, data over logic.

Compiler

A compiler is a computer program that transforms code written in a high-level

programming language into the machine code. It is a program which translates
the human-readable code to a language a computer processor understands
(binary 1 and 0 bits). The computer processes the machine code to perform the
corresponding tasks.

A compiler should comply with the syntax rule of that programming language in
which it is written. However, the compiler is only a program and cannot fix errors
found in that program. So, if you make a mistake, you need to make changes in
the syntax of your program. Otherwise, it will not compile.

Interpreter

An interpreter is a computer program, which coverts each high-level program

statement into the machine code. This includes source code, pre-compiled code,
and scripts. Both compiler and interpreters do the same job which is converting
higher level programming language to machine code. However, a compiler will
convert the code into machine code (create an exe) before program run.
Interpreters convert code into machine code when the program is run.

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Difference Between Compiler and Interpreter

Basis of
Compiler Interpreter
difference

 Create the program.

 Compile will parse or

analyses all of the
language statements
for its correctness. If  Create the Program
incorrect, throws an
error  No linking of files or machine
Programming
code generation
Steps  If no error, the
compiler will convert  Source statements executed
source code to line by line DURING Execution
machine code.

 It links different code

files into a runnable
program(know as exe)

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Basis of
Compiler Interpreter
difference

 Run the Program

The program code is already

translated into machine Interpreters are easier to use,
Advantage
code. Thus, it code execution especially for beginners.
time is less.

You can't change the Interpreted programs can run on

Disadvantage program without going back computers that have the
to the source code. corresponding interpreter.

Store machine language as

Machine code Not saving machine code at all.
machine code on the disk

Running time Compiled code run faster Interpreted code run slower

It is based on language
Model translationlinking-loading It is based on Interpretation Method.
model.

Generates output program

Do not generate output program. So
Program (in the form of exe) which
they evaluate the source program at
generation can be run independently
every time during execution.
from the original program.

Program execution is
separate from the Program Execution is a part
Execution compilation. It performed ofInterpretation process, so it is
only after the entire output performed line by line.
program is compiled.

Target program
Memory The interpreter exists in the memory
executeindependently and
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Basis of
Compiler Interpreter
difference

requirement do not require the compiler during interpretation.

in the memory.

Bounded to the specific For web environments, where load

target machine and cannot times are important. Due to all the
be ported. C and C++ are a exhaustive analysis is done, compiles
Best suited for most popular a take relatively larger time to compile
programming language even small code that may not be run
which uses compilation multiple times. In such cases,
model. interpreters are better.

The compiler sees the entire

code upfront. Hence, they Interpreters see code line by line, and
Code
perform lots of thus optimizations are not as robust
Optimization
optimizations that make as compilers
code run faster

Difficult to implement as
Dynamic Interpreted languages support
compilers cannot predict
Typing Dynamic Typing
what happens at turn time.

It is best suited for the It is best suited for the program and
Usage
Production Environment developmentenvironment.

Compiler displays all errors

The interpreter reads a single
and warning at the
Error statement and shows the error if any.
compilation time. Therefore,
execution You must correct the error to
you can't run the program
interpret next line.
without fixing errors

Input It takes an entire program It takes a single line of code.

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Basis of
Compiler Interpreter
difference

Compliers generates Interpreter never generate any

Output
intermediate machnie code. intermediate machnie code.

Display all errors after,

Displays all errors of each line one by
Errors compilation, all at the same
one.
time.

Pertaining
C,C++,C#, Scala, Java all use
Programming PHP, Perl, Ruby uses an interpreter.
complier.
languages

Role of Compiler

 Compliers reads the source code, outputs executable code

 Translates software written in a higher-level language into instructions that

computer can understand. It converts the text that a programmer writes
into a format the CPU can understand.

 The process of compilation is relatively complicated. It spends a lot of time

analyzing and processing the program.

 The executable result is some form of machine-specific binary code.

Role of Interpreter

 The interpreter converts the source code line-by-line during RUN Time.

 Interpret completely translates a program written in a high-level language

into machine level language.

 Interpreter allows evaluation and modification of the program while it is

executing.

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 Relatively less time spent for analyzing and processing the program

 Program execution is relatively slow compared to compiler

HIGH-LEVEL LANGUAGES

High-level languages, like C, C++, JAVA, etc., are very near to English. It makes
programming process easy. However, it must be translated into machine language
before execution. This translation process is either conducted by either a compiler
or an interpreter. Also known as source code.

MACHINE CODE

Machine languages are very close to the hardware. Every computer has its
machine language. A machine language programs are made up of series of binary
pattern. (Eg. 110110) It represents the simple operations which should be
performed by the computer. Machine language programs are executable so that
they can be run directly.

OBJECT CODE

On compilation of source code, the machine code generated for different

processors like Intel, AMD, an ARM is different. tTo make code portable, the
source code is first converted to Object Code. It is an intermediary code (similar to
machine code) that no processor will understand. At run time, the object code is
converted to the machine code of the underlying platform.

Java is both Compiled and Interpreted.

To exploit relative advantages of compilers are interpreters some programming

language like Java are both compiled and interpreted. The Java code itself is
compiled into Object Code. At run time, the JVM interprets the Object code into
machine code of the target computer.

Linking and Loading

Linking and Loading are the utility programs that play a important role in the
execution of a program. Linking intakes the object codes generated by the

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assembler and combines them to generate the executable module. On the other
hand, the loading loads this executable module to the main memory for
execution.

Loading:
Bringing the program from secondary memory to main memory is called Loading.

Linking:
Establishing the linking between all the modules or all the functions of the
program in order to continue the program execution is called linking.

Linker is a program in a system which helps to link a object modules of program

into a single object file. It performs the process of linking. Linker are also called
link editors. Linking is process of collecting and maintaining piece of code and
data into a single file. Linker also link a particular module into system library. It
takes object modules from assembler as input and forms an executable file as
output for loader.

Linking is performed at both compile time, when the source code is translated
into machine code and load time, when the program is loaded into memory by
the loader. Linking is performed at the last step in compiling a program.

Source code -> compiler -> Assembler -> Object code -> Linker -> Executable file ->
Loader

Linking is of two types:

1. Static Linking –

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It is performed during the compilation of source program. Linking is performed

before execution in static linking. It takes collection of relocatable object file and
command-line argument and generate fully linked object file that can be loaded
and run.

Static linker perform two major task:

 Symbol resolution – It associates each symbol reference with exactly one

symbol definition .Every symbol have predefined task.

 Relocation – It relocate code and data section and modify symbol

references to the relocated memory location.

The linker copy all library routines used in the program into executable image. As
a result, it require more memory space. As it does not require the presence of
library on the system when it is run . so, it is faster and more portable. No failure
chance and less error chance.

2. Dynamic linking – Dynamic linking is performed during the run time. This
linking is accomplished by placing the name of a shareable library in the
executable image. There is more chances of error and failure chances. It require
less memory space as multiple program can share a single copy of the library.

Here we can perform code sharing. it means we are using a same object a number
of times in the program. Instead of linking same object again and again into the
library, each module share information of a object with other module having
same object. The shared library needed in the linking is stored in virtual memory
to save RAM. In this linking we can also relocate the code for the smooth running
of code but all the code is not relocatable.It fixes the address at run time.

Differences between Linking and Loading:

1. The key difference between linking and loading is that the linking generates
the executable file of a program whereas, the loading loads the executable
file obtained from the linking into main memory for execution.

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2. The linking intakes the object module of a program generated by the

assembler. However, the loading intakes the executable module generated
by the linking.

3. The linking combines all object modules of a program to generate

executable modules it also links the library function in the object module to
built-in libraries of the high-level programming language. On the other
hand, loading allocates space to an executable module in main memory.

Loading and Linking are further categorized into 2 types:

STATIC DYNAMIC

Loading the entire program into

the main memory before start of Loading the program into the main
the program execution is called as memory on demand is called as
static loading. dynamic loading.

Inefficent utilization of memory

because whether it is required or
not required entire program is
brought into the main memory. Efficent utilization of memory.

Program execution will be faster. Program execution will be slower.

Statically linked program takes

constant load time every time it is
loaded into the memory for Dynamic linking is performed at run
execution. time by the operating system.

If the static loading is used then

accordingly static linking is If the dynamic loading is used then

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STATIC DYNAMIC

applied. accordingly dynamic linking is applied.

In dynamic linking this is not the case

Static linking is performed by and individual shared modules can be
programs called linkers as the last updated and recompiled.This is one of
step in compiling a program. the greatest advantages dynamic
Linkers are also called link editors. linking offers.

In static linking if any of the

external programs has changed
then they have to be recompiled
and re-linked again else the In dynamic linking load time might be
changes won’t reflect in existing reduced if the shared library code is
executable file. already present in memory.

Macros

Writing a macro is another way of ensuring modular programming in assembly

language.
 A macro is a sequence of instructions, assigned by a name and could be
used anywhere in the program.
 In NASM, macros are defined with %macro and %endmacro directives.
 The macro begins with the %macro directive and ends with the %endmacro
directive.
The Syntax for macro definition −
%macro macro_name number_of_params
<macro body>
%endmacro

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Where, number_of_params specifies the number

parameters, macro_name specifies the name of the macro.
The macro is invoked by using the macro name along with the necessary
parameters. When you need to use some sequence of instructions many times in
a program, you can put those instructions in a macro and use it instead of writing
the instructions all the time.
For example, a very common need for programs is to write a string of characters
in the screen. For displaying a string of characters, you need the following
sequence of instructions −
mov edx,len ;message length
mov ecx,msg ;message to write
mov ebx,1 ;file descriptor (stdout)
mov eax,4 ;system call number (sys_write)
int 0x80 ;call kernel
In the above example of displaying a character string, the registers EAX, EBX, ECX
and EDX have been used by the INT 80H function call. So, each time you need to
display on screen, you need to save these registers on the stack, invoke INT 80H
and then restore the original value of the registers from the stack. So, it could be
useful to write two macros for saving and restoring data.
We have observed that, some instructions like IMUL, IDIV, INT, etc., need some
of the information to be stored in some particular registers and even return
values in some specific register(s). If the program was already using those
registers for keeping important data, then the existing data from these registers
should be saved in the stack and restored after the instruction is executed.

Example

Following example shows defining and using macros −

; A macro with two parameters
; Implements the write system call
%macro write_string 2
mov eax, 4
mov ebx, 1
mov ecx, %1
mov edx, %2
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int 80h
%endmacro

section .text
global _start ;must be declared for using gcc

_start: ;tell linker entry point

write_string msg1, len1
write_string msg2, len2
write_string msg3, len3

mov eax,1 ;system call number (sys_exit)

int 0x80 ;call kernel

section .data
msg1 db 'Hello, programmers!',0xA,0xD
len1 equ $ - msg1

msg2 db 'Welcome to the world of,', 0xA,0xD

len2 equ $- msg2

msg3 db 'Linux assembly programming! '

len3 equ $- msg3
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result
−
Hello, programmers!
Welcome to the world of,
Linux assembly programming!

Debugger

A debugger is a software program used to test and find bugs (errors) in other
programs.

A debugger is also known as a debugging tool.

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A debugger is a computer program used by programmers to test and debug a

target program. Debuggers may use instruction-set simulators, rather than
running a program directly on the processor to achieve a higher level of control
over its execution. This allows debuggers to stop or halt the program according to
specific conditions. However, use of simulators decreases execution speed.

When a program crashes, debuggers show the position of the error in the target
program. Most debuggers also are capable of running programs in a step-by-step
mode, besides stopping on specific points. They also can often modify the state of
programs while they are running.

Even the most experienced software programmers usually don't get it right on
their first try. Certain errors, often called bugs, can occur in programs, causing
them to not function as the programmer expected. Sometimes these errors are
easy to fix, while some bugs are very difficult to trace. This is especially true for
large programs that consist of several thousand lines of code.

Fortunately, there are programs called debuggers that help software developers
find and eliminate bugs while they are writing programs. A debugger tells the
programmer what types of errors it finds and often marks the exact lines of code
where the bugs are found. Debuggers also allow programmers to run a program
step by step so that they can determine exactly when and why a program crashes.
Advanced debuggers provide detailed information about threads and memory
being used by the program during each step of execution. You could say a
powerful debugger program is like OFF! with 100% deet.

Operating System

An operating system (OS) is a collection of software that manages computer

hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. The
operating system is a vital component of the system software in a computer
system. This tutorial will take you through step by step approach while learning
Operating System concepts.

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An Operating System (OS) is an interface between a computer user and computer

hardware. An operating system is a software which performs all the basic tasks
like file management, memory management, process management, handling
input and output, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and
printers.

Some popular Operating Systems include Linux Operating System, Windows

Operating System, VMS, OS/400, AIX, z/OS, etc.

Definition

An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the user and
the computer hardware and controls the execution of all kinds of programs.

Why to Learn Operating System?

An Operating System (OS) is an interface between a computer user and computer

hardware. An operating system is a software which performs all the basic tasks
like file management, memory management, process management, handling
input and output, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and
printers.
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Some popular Operating Systems include Linux Operating System, Windows

Operating System, VMS, OS/400, AIX, z/OS, etc.

Following are some of important functions of an operating System.

 Memory Management
 Processor Management
 Device Management
 File Management
 Security
 Control over system performance
 Job accounting
 Error detecting aids
 Coordination between other software and users

Applications of Operating System

Following are some of the important activities that an Operating System performs
−

 Security − By means of password and similar other techniques, it prevents

unauthorized access to programs and data.

 Control over system performance − Recording delays between request for

a service and response from the system.

 Job accounting − Keeping track of time and resources used by various jobs
and users.

 Error detecting aids − Production of dumps, traces, error messages, and

other debugging and error detecting aids.

 Coordination between other softwares and users − Coordination and

assignment of compilers, interpreters, assemblers and other software to
the various users of the computer systems.

Operating System Structure

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An operating system is a construct that allows the user application programs to

interact with the system hardware. Since the operating system is such a complex
structure, it should be created with utmost care so it can be used and modified
easily. An easy way to do this is to create the operating system in parts. Each of
these parts should be well defined with clear inputs, outputs and functions.

Simple Structure

There are many operating systems that have a rather simple structure. These
started as small systems and rapidly expanded much further than their scope. A
common example of this is MS-DOS. It was designed simply for a niche amount
for people. There was no indication that it would become so popular.

An image to illustrate the structure of MS-DOS is as follows −

It is better that operating systems have a modular structure, unlike MS-DOS. That
would lead to greater control over the computer system and its various
applications. The modular structure would also allow the programmers to hide
information as required and implement internal routines as they see fit without
changing the outer specifications.

Layered Structure

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One way to achieve modularity in the operating system is the layered approach.
In this, the bottom layer is the hardware and the topmost layer is the user
interface.

An image demonstrating the layered approach is as follows −

As seen from the image, each upper layer is built on the bottom layer. All the
layers hide some structures, operations etc from their upper layers.

One problem with the layered structure is that each layer needs to be carefully
defined. This is necessary because the upper layers can only use the
functionalities of the layers below them.

Operating System Services

Operating system services are responsible for the management of platform

resources, including the processor, memory, files, and input and output. They
generally shield applications from the implementation details of the machine.
Operating system services include:

 Kernel operations provide low-level services necessary to:

o create and manage processes and threads of execution

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o execute programs
o define and communicate asynchronous events
o define and process system clock operations
o implement security features
o manage files and directories, and
o control input/output processing to and from peripheral devices.

 Some kernel services have analogues described in the paragraph on Object

Services, such as concurrency control services.

 Command interpreter and utility services include mechanisms for services

at the operator level, such as:

o comparing, printing, and displaying file contents

o editing files

o searching patterns

o evaluating expressions

o logging messages

o moving files between directories

o sorting data

o executing command scripts

o local print spooling

o scheduling signal execution processes, and

o accessing environment information.

 Batch processing services support the capability to queue work (jobs) and
manage the sequencing of processing based on job control commands and
lists of data. These services also include support for the management of the
output of batch processing, which frequently includes updated files or

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databases and information products such as printed reports or electronic

documents. Batch processing is performed asynchronously from the user
requesting the job.

 File and directory synchronization services allow local and remote copies
of files and directories to be made identical. Synchronization services are
usually used to update files after periods of off line working on a portable
system.

Operating System Operations

An operating system is a construct that allows the user application programs to

interact with the system hardware. Operating system by itself does not provide
any function but it provides an atmosphere in which different applications and
programs can do useful work.

The major operations of the operating system are process management, memory
management, device management and file management. These are given in detail
as follows:

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Process Management

The operating system is responsible for managing the processes i.e assigning the
processor to a process at a time. This is known as process scheduling. The
different algorithms used for process scheduling are FCFS (first come first served),
SJF (shortest job first), priority scheduling, round robin scheduling etc.

There are many scheduling queues that are used to handle processes in process
management. When the processes enter the system, they are put into the job
queue. The processes that are ready to execute in the main memory are kept in
the ready queue. The processes that are waiting for the I/O device are kept in the
device queue.

Memory Management

Memory management plays an important part in operating system. It deals with

memory and the moving of processes from disk to primary memory for execution
and back again.

The activities performed by the operating system for memory management are −

 The operating system assigns memory to the processes as required. This

can be done using best fit, first fit and worst fit algorithms.

 All the memory is tracked by the operating system i.e. it nodes what
memory parts are in use by the processes and which are empty.

 The operating system deallocated memory from processes as required. This

may happen when a process has been terminated or if it no longer needs
the memory.

Device Management

There are many I/O devices handled by the operating system such as mouse,
keyboard, disk drive etc. There are different device drivers that can be connected
to the operating system to handle a specific device. The device controller is an

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interface between the device and the device driver. The user applications can
access all the I/O devices using the device drivers, which are device specific codes.

File Management

Files are used to provide a uniform view of data storage by the operating system.
All the files are mapped onto physical devices that are usually non volatile so data
is safe in the case of system failure.

The files can be accessed by the system in two ways i.e. sequential access and
direct access −

 Sequential Access

The information in a file is processed in order using sequential access. The files
records are accessed on after another. Most of the file systems such as editors,
compilers etc. use sequential access.

 Direct Access

In direct access or relative access, the files can be accessed in random for read
and write operations. The direct access model is based on the disk model of a file,
since it allows random accesses.

System Calls

In computing, a system call is the programmatic way in which a computer

program requests a service from the kernel of the operating system it is executed
on. A system call is a way for programs to interact with the operating system. A
computer program makes a system call when it makes a request to the operating
system’s kernel. System call provides the services of the operating system to the
user programs via Application Program Interface(API). It provides an interface
between a process and operating system to allow user-level processes to request
services of the operating system. System calls are the only entry points into the
kernel system. All programs needing resources must use system calls.

Services Provided by System Calls :

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1. Process creation and management

2. Main memory management

3. File Access, Directory and File system management

4. Device handling(I/O)

5. Protection

6. Networking, etc.

Types of System Calls : There are 5 different categories of system calls –

1. Process control: end, abort, create, terminate, allocate and free

memory.

2. File management: create, open, close, delete, read file etc.

3. Device management

4. Information maintenance

5. Communication

Examples of Windows and Unix System Calls –

WINDOWS UNIX

CreateProcess() fork()
ExitProcess() exit()
Process Control WaitForSingleObject() wait()

CreateFile() open()
ReadFile() read()
WriteFile() write()
File Manipulation CloseHandle() close()

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SetConsoleMode() ioctl()
ReadConsole() read()
Device Manipulation WriteConsole() write()

GetCurrentProcessID() getpid()
Information SetTimer() alarm()
Maintenance Sleep() sleep()

CreatePipe() pipe()
CreateFileMapping() shmget()
Communication MapViewOfFile() mmap()

SetFileSecurity() chmod()
InitlializeSecurityDescriptor() umask()
Protection SetSecurityDescriptorGroup() chown()

Operating System Design and Implementation

An operating system is a construct that allows the user application programs to

interact with the system hardware. Operating system by itself does not provide
any function but it provides an atmosphere in which different applications and
programs can do useful work.

There are many problems that can occur while designing and implementing an
operating system. These are covered in operating system design and
implementation.

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Operating System Design Goals

It is quite complicated to define all the goals and specifications of the operating
system while designing it.The design changes depending on the type of the
operating system i.e if it is batch system, time shared system, single user system,
multi user system, distributed system etc.

There are basically two types of goals while designing an operating system. These
are −

User Goals

The operating system should be convenient, easy to use, reliable, safe and fast
according to the users. However, these specifications are not very useful as there
is no set method to achieve these goals.

System Goals

The operating system should be easy to design, implement and maintain. These
are specifications required by those who create, maintain and operate the
operating system. But there is not specific method to achieve these goals as well.

Operating System Mechanisms and Policies

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There is no specific way to design an operating system as it is a highly creative

task. However, there are general software principles that are applicable to all
operating systems.

A subtle difference between mechanism and policy is that mechanism shows how
to do something and policy shows what to do. Policies may change over time and
this would lead to changes in mechanism. So, it is better to have a general
mechanism that would require few changes even when a policy change occurs.

For example - If the mechanism and policy are independent, then few changes are
required in mechanism if policy changes. If a policy favours I/O intensive
processes over CPU intensive processes, then a policy change to preference of
CPU intensive processes will not change the mechanism.

Operating System Implementation

The operating system needs to be implemented after it is designed. Earlier they

were written in assembly language but now higher level languages are used. The
first system not written in assembly language was the Master Control Program
(MCP) for Burroughs Computers.

Advantages of Higher Level Language

There are multiple advantages to implementing an operating system using a

higher level language such as: the code is written more fast, it is compact and also
easier to debug and understand. Also, the operating system can be easily moved
from one hardware to another if it is written in a high level language.

Disadvantages of Higher Level Language

Using high level language for implementing an operating system leads to a loss in
speed and increase in storage requirements. However in modern systems only a
small amount of code is needed for high performance, such as the CPU scheduler
and memory manager. Also, the bottleneck routines in the system can be
replaced by assembly language equivalents if required.

System Boot

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The BIOS, operating system and hardware components of a computer system

should all be working correctly for it to boot. If any of these elements fail, it leads
to a failed boot sequence.

Booting the system is done by loading the kernel into main memory, and starting
its execution.

The CPU is given a reset event, and the instruction register is loaded with a
predefined memory location, where execution starts.

o The initial bootstrap program is found in the BIOS read-only memory.

o This program can run diagnostics, initialize all components of the

system, loads and starts the Operating System loader. (Called boot
strapping)

o The loader program loads and starts the operating system.

o When the Operating system starts, it sets up needed data structures

in memory, sets several registers in the CPU, and then creates and
starts the first user level program. From this point, the operating
system only runs in response to interrupts.

System Boot Process

The following diagram demonstrates the steps involved in a system boot process
−

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Here are the steps −

 The CPU initializes itself after the power in the computer is first turned on.
This is done by triggering a series of clock ticks that are generated by the
system clock.

 After this, the CPU looks for the system’s ROM BIOS to obtain the first
instruction in the start-up program. This first instruction is stored in the
ROM BIOS and it instructs the system to run POST (Power On Self Test) in a
memory address that is predetermined.

 POST first checks the BIOS chip and then the CMOS RAM. If there is no
battery failure detected by POST, then it continues to initialize the CPU.

 POST also checks the hardware devices, secondary storage devices such as
hard drives, ports etc. And other hardware devices such as the mouse and
keyboard. This is done to make sure they are working properly.

 After POST makes sure that all the components are working properly, then
the BIOS finds an operating system to load.

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 In most computer system’s, the operating system loads from the C drive
onto the hard drive. The CMOS chip typically tells the BIOS where the
operating system is found.

 The order of the different drives that CMOS looks at while finding the
operating system is known as the boot sequence. This sequence can be
changed by changing the CMOS setup.

 After finding the appropriate boot drive, the BIOS first finds the boot record
which tells it to find the beginning of the operating system.

 After the initialization of the operating system, the BIOS copies the files into
the memory. Then the operating system controls the boot process.

 In the end, the operating system does a final inventory of the system
memory and loads the device drivers needed to control the peripheral
devices.

 The users can access the system applications to perform various tasks.

Without the system boot process, the computer users would have to download all
the software components, including the ones not frequently required. With the
system boot, only those software components need to be downloaded that are
legitimately required and all extraneous components are not required. This
process frees up a lot of space in the memory and consequently saves a lot of
time.

Process

A process is basically a program in execution. The execution of a process must

progress in a sequential fashion.

A process is defined as an entity which represents the basic unit of work to be

implemented in the system.

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To put it in simple terms, we write our computer programs in a text file and when
we execute this program, it becomes a process which performs all the tasks
mentioned in the program.

When a program is loaded into the memory and it becomes a process, it can be
divided into four sections ─ stack, heap, text and data. The following image shows
a simplified layout of a process inside main memory −

S.N. Component & Description

1 Stack

The process Stack contains the temporary data such as method/function

parameters, return address and local variables.

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2 Heap

This is dynamically allocated memory to a process during its run time.

3 Text

This includes the current activity represented by the value of Program

Counter and the contents of the processor's registers.

4 Data

This section contains the global and static variables.

Program

A program is a piece of code which may be a single line or millions of lines. A

computer program is usually written by a computer programmer in a
programming language. For example, here is a simple program written in C
programming language −

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

printf("Hello, World! \n");

return 0;

A computer program is a collection of instructions that performs a specific task

when executed by a computer. When we compare a program with a process, we
can conclude that a process is a dynamic instance of a computer program.

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A part of a computer program that performs a well-defined task is known as

an algorithm. A collection of computer programs, libraries and related data are
referred to as a software.

Process Life Cycle

When a process executes, it passes through different states. These stages may
differ in different operating systems, and the names of these states are also not
standardized.

In general, a process can have one of the following five states at a time.

S.N. State & Description

1 Start

This is the initial state when a process is first started/created.

2 Ready

The process is waiting to be assigned to a processor. Ready processes are

waiting to have the processor allocated to them by the operating system
so that they can run. Process may come into this state after Start state or
while running it by but interrupted by the scheduler to assign CPU to
some other process.

3 Running

Once the process has been assigned to a processor by the OS scheduler,

the process state is set to running and the processor executes its
instructions.

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4 Waiting

Process moves into the waiting state if it needs to wait for a resource,
such as waiting for user input, or waiting for a file to become available.

5 Terminated or Exit

Once the process finishes its execution, or it is terminated by the

operating system, it is moved to the terminated state where it waits to be
removed from main memory.

Process Control Block (PCB)

A Process Control Block is a data structure maintained by the Operating System

for every process. The PCB is identified by an integer process ID (PID). A PCB
keeps all the information needed to keep track of a process as listed below in the
table −

S.N. Information & Description

1 Process State

The current state of the process i.e., whether it is ready, running, waiting,
or whatever.

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2 Process privileges

This is required to allow/disallow access to system resources.

3 Process ID

Unique identification for each of the process in the operating system.

4 Pointer

A pointer to parent process.

5 Program Counter

Program Counter is a pointer to the address of the next instruction to be

executed for this process.

6 CPU registers

Various CPU registers where process need to be stored for execution for
running state.

7 CPU Scheduling Information

Process priority and other scheduling information which is required to

schedule the process.

8 Memory management information

This includes the information of page table, memory limits, Segment table
depending on memory used by the operating system.

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9 Accounting information

This includes the amount of CPU used for process execution, time limits,
execution ID etc.

10 IO status information

This includes a list of I/O devices allocated to the process.

The architecture of a PCB is completely dependent on Operating System and may

contain different information in different operating systems. Here is a simplified
diagram of a PCB −

The PCB is maintained for a process throughout its lifetime, and is deleted once
the process terminates.

Process Scheduling

The process scheduling is the activity of the process manager that handles the
removal of the running process from the CPU and the selection of another
process on the basis of a particular strategy.
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Process scheduling is an essential part of a Multiprogramming operating systems.

Such operating systems allow more than one process to be loaded into the
executable memory at a time and the loaded process shares the CPU using time
multiplexing.

Process Scheduling Queues

The OS maintains all PCBs in Process Scheduling Queues. The OS maintains a

separate queue for each of the process states and PCBs of all processes in the
same execution state are placed in the same queue. When the state of a process
is changed, its PCB is unlinked from its current queue and moved to its new state
queue.

The Operating System maintains the following important process scheduling

queues −

 Job queue − This queue keeps all the processes in the system.

 Ready queue − This queue keeps a set of all processes residing in main
memory, ready and waiting to execute. A new process is always put in this
queue.

 Device queues − The processes which are blocked due to unavailability of

an I/O device constitute this queue.

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The OS can use different policies to manage each queue (FIFO, Round Robin,
Priority, etc.). The OS scheduler determines how to move processes between the
ready and run queues which can only have one entry per processor core on the
system; in the above diagram, it has been merged with the CPU.

Two-State Process Model

Two-state process model refers to running and non-running states which are
described below −

S.N. State & Description

1 Running

When a new process is created, it enters into the system as in the running
state.

2 Not Running

Processes that are not running are kept in queue, waiting for their turn to
execute. Each entry in the queue is a pointer to a particular process. Queue
is implemented by using linked list. Use of dispatcher is as follows. When a
process is interrupted, that process is transferred in the waiting queue. If
the process has completed or aborted, the process is discarded. In either
case, the dispatcher then selects a process from the queue to execute.

Schedulers

Schedulers are special system software which handle process scheduling in

various ways. Their main task is to select the jobs to be submitted into the system
and to decide which process to run. Schedulers are of three types −

 Long-Term Scheduler

 Short-Term Scheduler

 Medium-Term Scheduler

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Long Term Scheduler

It is also called a job scheduler. A long-term scheduler determines which

programs are admitted to the system for processing. It selects processes from the
queue and loads them into memory for execution. Process loads into the memory
for CPU scheduling.

The primary objective of the job scheduler is to provide a balanced mix of jobs,
such as I/O bound and processor bound. It also controls the degree of
multiprogramming. If the degree of multiprogramming is stable, then the average
rate of process creation must be equal to the average departure rate of processes
leaving the system.

On some systems, the long-term scheduler may not be available or minimal.

Time-sharing operating systems have no long term scheduler. When a process
changes the state from new to ready, then there is use of long-term scheduler.

Short Term Scheduler

It is also called as CPU scheduler. Its main objective is to increase system

performance in accordance with the chosen set of criteria. It is the change of
ready state to running state of the process. CPU scheduler selects a process
among the processes that are ready to execute and allocates CPU to one of them.

Short-term schedulers, also known as dispatchers, make the decision of which

process to execute next. Short-term schedulers are faster than long-term
schedulers.

Medium Term Scheduler

Medium-term scheduling is a part of swapping. It removes the processes from the

memory. It reduces the degree of multiprogramming. The medium-term
scheduler is in-charge of handling the swapped out-processes.

A running process may become suspended if it makes an I/O request. A

suspended processes cannot make any progress towards completion. In this
condition, to remove the process from memory and make space for other

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processes, the suspended process is moved to the secondary storage. This

process is called swapping, and the process is said to be swapped out or rolled
out. Swapping may be necessary to improve the process mix.

Comparison among Scheduler

S.N. Long-Term Scheduler Short-Term Scheduler Medium-Term

Scheduler

1 It is a job scheduler It is a CPU scheduler It is a process swapping

scheduler.

2 Speed is lesser than Speed is fastest Speed is in between

short term scheduler among other two both short and long term
scheduler.

3 It controls the degree It provides lesser It reduces the degree of

of multiprogramming control over degree of multiprogramming.
multiprogramming

4 It is almost absent or It is also minimal in It is a part of Time

minimal in time sharing time sharing system sharing systems.
system

5 It selects processes It selects those It can re-introduce the

from pool and loads processes which are process into memory
them into memory for ready to execute and execution can be
execution continued.

Context Switch

A context switch is the mechanism to store and restore the state or context of a
CPU in Process Control block so that a process execution can be resumed from
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the same point at a later time. Using this technique, a context switcher enables
multiple processes to share a single CPU. Context switching is an essential part of
a multitasking operating system features.

When the scheduler switches the CPU from executing one process to execute
another, the state from the current running process is stored into the process
control block. After this, the state for the process to run next is loaded from its
own PCB and used to set the PC, registers, etc. At that point, the second process
can start executing.

Context switches are computationally intensive since register and memory state
must be saved and restored. To avoid the amount of context switching time,

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some hardware systems employ two or more sets of processor registers. When
the process is switched, the following information is stored for later use.

 Program Counter

 Scheduling information

 Base and limit register value

 Currently used register

 Changed State

 I/O State information

 Accounting information

Process Operations

Process operations, also called process manufacturing or process production, is

the mass production method of producing products in a continuous flow. In other
words, this is a conveyer belt system that produces identical, standardized items
at a high rate of speed.

Different Operations on Processes

There are many operations that can be performed on processes. Some of these
are process creation, process preemption, process blocking, and process
termination. These are given in detail as follows −

Process Creation

Processes need to be created in the system for different operations. This can be
done by the following events −

 User request for process creation

 System initialization

 Execution of a process creation system call by a running process

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 Batch job initialization

A process may be created by another process using fork(). The creating process is
called the parent process and the created process is the child process. A child
process can have only one parent but a parent process may have many children.
Both the parent and child processes have the same memory image, open files,
and environment strings. However, they have distinct address spaces.

A diagram that demonstrates process creation using fork() is as follows −

Process Preemption

An interrupt mechanism is used in preemption that suspends the process

executing currently and the next process to execute is determined by the short-
term scheduler. Preemption makes sure that all processes get some CPU time for
execution.

A diagram that demonstrates process preemption is as follows −

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Process Blocking

The process is blocked if it is waiting for some event to occur. This event may be
I/O as the I/O events are executed in the main memory and don't require the
processor. After the event is complete, the process again goes to the ready state.

A diagram that demonstrates process blocking is as follows −

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Process Termination

After the process has completed the execution of its last instruction, it is
terminated. The resources held by a process are released after it is terminated.

A child process can be terminated by its parent process if its task is no longer
relevant. The child process sends its status information to the parent process
before it terminates. Also, when a parent process is terminated, its child
processes are terminated as well as the child processes cannot run if the parent
processes are terminated.

Inter Process Communication (IPC)

A process can be of two types:

 Independent process.

 Co-operating process.

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An independent process is not affected by the execution of other processes while

a co-operating process can be affected by other executing processes. Though one
can think that those processes, which are running independently, will execute
very efficiently, in reality, there are many situations when co-operative nature can
be utilised for increasing computational speed, convenience and modularity. Inter
process communication (IPC) is a mechanism which allows processes to
communicate with each other and synchronize their actions. The communication
between these processes can be seen as a method of co-operation between
them. Processes can communicate with each other through both:

1. Shared Memory

2. Message passing

The Figure 1 below shows a basic structure of communication between processes

via the shared memory method and via the message passing method.

An operating system can implement both method of communication. First, we

will discuss the shared memory methods of communication and then message
passing. Communication between processes using shared memory requires
processes to share some variable and it completely depends on how programmer
will implement it. One way of communication using shared memory can be
imagined like this: Suppose process1 and process2 are executing simultaneously
and they share some resources or use some information from another process.
Process1 generate information about certain computations or resources being
used and keeps it as a record in shared memory. When process2 needs to use the
shared information, it will check in the record stored in shared memory and take
note of the information generated by process1 and act accordingly. Processes can
use shared memory for extracting information as a record from another process
as well as for delivering any specific information to other processes.

an example of communication between processes using shared memory method.

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i) Shared Memory Method

Ex: Producer-Consumer problem

There are two processes: Producer and Consumer. Producer produces some item
and Consumer consumes that item. The two processes share a common space or
memory location known as a buffer where the item produced by Producer is
stored and from which the Consumer consumes the item, if needed. There are
two versions of this problem: the first one is known as unbounded buffer problem
in which Producer can keep on producing items and there is no limit on the size of
the buffer, the second one is known as the bounded buffer problem in which
Producer can produce up to a certain number of items before it starts waiting for
Consumer to consume it. We will discuss the bounded buffer problem. First, the
Producer and the Consumer will share some common memory, then producer will
start producing items. If the total produced item is equal to the size of buffer,
producer will wait to get it consumed by the Consumer. Similarly, the consumer
will first check for the availability of the item. If no item is available, Consumer will
wait for Producer to produce it. If there are items available, Consumer will
consume it. The pseudo code to demonstrate is provided below:

Shared Data between the two Processes

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#define buff_max 25

#define mod %

struct item{

// different member of the produced data

// or consumed data

---------

// An array is needed for holding the items.

// This is the shared place which will be

// access by both process

// item shared_buff [ buff_max ];

// Two variables which will keep track of

// the indexes of the items produced by producer

// and consumer The free index points to

// the next free index. The full index points to

// the first full index.

int free_index = 0;

int full_index = 0;

Producer Process Code

item nextProduced;

while(1){

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// check if there is no space

// for production.

// if so keep waiting.

while((free_index+1) mod buff_max == full_index);

shared_buff[free_index] = nextProduced;

free_index = (free_index + 1) mod buff_max;

Consumer Process Code

item nextConsumed;

while(1){

// check if there is an available

// item for consumption.

// if not keep on waiting for

// get them produced.

while((free_index == full_index);

nextConsumed = shared_buff[full_index];

full_index = (full_index + 1) mod buff_max;

In the above code, the Producer will start producing again when the
(free_index+1) mod buff max will be free because if it it not free, this implies that
there are still items that can be consumed by the Consumer so there is no need to

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produce more. Similarly, if free index and full index point to the same index, this
implies that there are no items to consume.

ii) Messaging Passing Method

Now, We will start our discussion of the communication between processes via
message passing. In this method, processes communicate with each other
without using any kind of shared memory. If two processes p1 and p2 want to
communicate with each other, they proceed as follows:

 Establish a communication link (if a link already exists, no need to establish

it again.)

 Start exchanging messages using basic primitives.

We need at least two primitives:
– send(message, destinaion) or send(message)
– receive(message, host) or receive(message)

The message size can be of fixed size or of variable size. If it is of fixed size, it is
easy for an OS designer but complicated for a programmer and if it is of variable
size then it is easy for a programmer but complicated for the OS designer. A
standard message can have two parts: header and body.
The header part is used for storing message type, destination id, source id,

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message length, and control information. The control information contains

information like what to do if runs out of buffer space, sequence number, priority.
Generally, message is sent using FIFO style.

Message Passing through Communication Link.

Direct and Indirect Communication link

Now, We will start our discussion about the methods of implementing
communication link. While implementing the link, there are some questions
which need to be kept in mind like :

1. How are links established?

2. Can a link be associated with more than two processes?

3. How many links can there be between every pair of communicating

processes?

4. What is the capacity of a link? Is the size of a message that the link can
accommodate fixed or variable?

5. Is a link unidirectional or bi-directional?

A link has some capacity that determines the number of messages that can reside
in it temporarily for which every link has a queue associated with it which can be
of zero capacity, bounded capacity, or unbounded capacity. In zero capacity, the
sender waits until the receiver informs the sender that it has received the
message. In non-zero capacity cases, a process does not know whether a message
has been received or not after the send operation. For this, the sender must
communicate with the receiver explicitly. Implementation of the link depends on
the situation, it can be either a direct communication link or an in-directed
communication link.
Direct Communication links are implemented when the processes uses a specific
process identifier for the communication, but it is hard to identify the sender
ahead of time.
For example: the print server.

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In-direct Communication is done via a shared mailbox (port), which consists of a

queue of messages. The sender keeps the message in mailbox and the receiver
picks them up.

Message Passing through Exchanging the Messages.

Synchronous and Asynchronous Message Passing:

A process that is blocked is one that is waiting for some event, such as a resource
becoming available or the completion of an I/O operation. IPC is possible between
the processes on same computer as well as on the processes running on different
computer i.e. in networked/distributed system. In both cases, the process may or
may not be blocked while sending a message or attempting to receive a message
so message passing may be blocking or non-blocking. Blocking is
considered synchronous and blocking send means the sender will be blocked
until the message is received by receiver. Similarly, blocking receive has the
receiver block until a message is available. Non-blocking is
considered asynchronous and Non-blocking send has the sender sends the
message and continue. Similarly, Non-blocking receive has the receiver receive a
valid message or null. After a careful analysis, we can come to a conclusion that
for a sender it is more natural to be non-blocking after message passing as there
may be a need to send the message to different processes. However, the sender
expects acknowledgement from the receiver in case the send fails. Similarly, it is
more natural for a receiver to be blocking after issuing the receive as the
information from the received message may be used for further execution. At the
same time, if the message send keep on failing, the receiver will have to wait
indefinitely. That is why we also consider the other possibility of message passing.
There are basically three preferred combinations:

 Blocking send and blocking receive

 Non-blocking send and Non-blocking receive

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 Non-blocking send and Blocking receive (Mostly used)

In Direct message passing, The process which want to communicate must

explicitly name the recipient or sender of communication.
e.g. send(p1, message) means send the message to p1.
similarly, receive(p2, message) means receive the message from p2.
In this method of communication, the communication link gets established
automatically, which can be either unidirectional or bidirectional, but one link can
be used between one pair of the sender and receiver and one pair of sender and
receiver should not possess more than one pair of links. Symmetry and
asymmetry between sending and receiving can also be implemented i.e. either
both process will name each other for sending and receiving the messages or only
the sender will name receiver for sending the message and there is no need for
receiver for naming the sender for receiving the message. The problem with this
method of communication is that if the name of one process changes, this
method will not work.

In Indirect message passing, processes use mailboxes (also referred to as ports)

for sending and receiving messages. Each mailbox has a unique id and processes
can communicate only if they share a mailbox. Link established only if processes
share a common mailbox and a single link can be associated with many processes.
Each pair of processes can share several communication links and these links may
be unidirectional or bi-directional. Suppose two process want to communicate
though Indirect message passing, the required operations are: create a mail box,
use this mail box for sending and receiving messages, then destroy the mail box.
The standard primitives used are: send(A, message) which means send the
message to mailbox A. The primitive for the receiving the message also works in
the same way e.g. received (A, message). There is a problem in this mailbox
implementation. Suppose there are more than two processes sharing the same
mailbox and suppose the process p1 sends a message to the mailbox, which
process will be the receiver? This can be solved by either enforcing that only two
processes can share a single mailbox or enforcing that only one process is allowed
to execute the receive at a given time or select any process randomly and notify

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the sender about the receiver. A mailbox can be made private to a single
sender/receiver pair and can also be shared between multiple sender/receiver
pairs. Port is an implementation of such mailbox which can have multiple sender
and single receiver. It is used in client/server applications (in this case the server is
the receiver). The port is owned by the receiving process and created by OS on
the request of the receiver process and can be destroyed either on request of the
same receiver process or when the receiver terminates itself. Enforcing that only
one process is allowed to execute the receive can be done using the concept of
mutual exclusion. Mutex mailbox is create which is shared by n process. Sender is
non-blocking and sends the message. The first process which executes the receive
will enter in the critical section and all other processes will be blocking and will
wait.

Now, lets discuss the Producer-Consumer problem using message passing

concept. The producer places items (inside messages) in the mailbox and the
consumer can consume an item when at least one message present in the
mailbox. The code is given below:

Producer Code

void Producer(void){

int item;

Message m;

while(1){

receive(Consumer, &m);

item = produce();

build_message(&m , item ) ;

send(Consumer, &m);

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Consumer Code

filter_none

edit

play_arrow

brightness_4

void Consumer(void){

int item;

Message m;

while(1){

receive(Producer, &m);

item = extracted_item();

send(Producer, &m);

consume_item(item);

Examples of IPC systems

1. Posix : uses shared memory method.

2. Mach : uses message passing

3. Windows XP : uses message passing using local procedural calls

Communication in client/server Architecture:

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There are various mechanism:

 Pipe

 Socket

 Remote Procedural calls (RPCs)

The above three methods will be discussed in later articles as all of them are quite
conceptual and deserve their own separate articles.

Operating Systems Client/Server Communication

Client/Server communication involves two components, namely a client and a

server. They are usually multiple clients in communication with a single server.
The clients send requests to the server and the server responds to the client
requests.

There are three main methods to client/server communication. These are given as
follows −

Sockets

Sockets facilitate communication between two processes on the same machine or

different machines. They are used in a client/server framework and consist of the
IP address and port number. Many application protocols use sockets for data
connection and data transfer between a client and a server.

Socket communication is quite low-level as sockets only transfer an unstructured

byte stream across processes. The structure on the byte stream is imposed by the
client and server applications.

A diagram that illustrates sockets is as follows −

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Remote Procedure Calls

These are interprocess communication techniques that are used for client-server
based applications. A remote procedure call is also known as a subroutine call or a
function call.

A client has a request that the RPC translates and sends to the server. This
request may be a procedure or a function call to a remote server. When the
server receives the request, it sends the required response back to the client.

A diagram that illustrates remote procedure calls is given as follows −

Pipes

These are interprocess communication methods that contain two end points.
Data is entered from one end of the pipe by a process and consumed from the
other end by the other process.

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The two different types of pipes are ordinary pipes and named pipes. Ordinary
pipes only allow one way communication. For two way communication, two pipes
are required. Ordinary pipes have a parent child relationship between the
processes as the pipes can only be accessed by processes that created or
inherited them.

Named pipes are more powerful than ordinary pipes and allow two way
communication. These pipes exist even after the processes using them have
terminated. They need to be explicitly deleted when not required anymore.

A diagram that demonstrates pipes are given as follows −

Process Synchronization

Process Synchronization means sharing system resources by processes in a such a

way that, Concurrent access to shared data is handled thereby minimizing the
chance of inconsistent data. Maintaining data consistency demands mechanisms
to ensure synchronized execution of cooperating processes.

Process Synchronization was introduced to handle problems that arose while

multiple process executions. Some of the problems are discussed below.

Critical Section Problem

A Critical Section is a code segment that accesses shared variables and has to be
executed as an atomic action. It means that in a group of cooperating processes,
at a given point of time, only one process must be executing its critical section. If
any other process also wants to execute its critical section, it must wait until the
first one finishes.

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Solution to Critical Section Problem

A solution to the critical section problem must satisfy the following three
conditions:

1. Mutual Exclusion

Out of a group of cooperating processes, only one process can be in its critical
section at a given point of time.

2. Progress

If no process is in its critical section, and if one or more threads want to execute
their critical section then any one of these threads must be allowed to get into its
critical section.

3. Bounded Waiting

After a process makes a request for getting into its critical section, there is a limit
for how many other processes can get into their critical section, before this
process's request is granted. So after the limit is reached, system must grant the
process permission to get into its critical section.

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Synchronization Hardware

Many systems provide hardware support for critical section code. The critical
section problem could be solved easily in a single-processor environment if we
could disallow interrupts to occur while a shared variable or resource is being
modified.

In this manner, we could be sure that the current sequence of instructions would
be allowed to execute in order without pre-emption. Unfortunately, this solution
is not feasible in a multiprocessor environment.

Disabling interrupt on a multiprocessor environment can be time consuming as

the message is passed to all the processors.

This message transmission lag, delays entry of threads into critical section and the
system efficiency decreases.

Mutex Locks

As the synchronization hardware solution is not easy to implement for everyone,

a strict software approach called Mutex Locks was introduced. In this approach, in
the entry section of code, a LOCK is acquired over the critical resources modified
and used inside critical section, and in the exit section that LOCK is released.

As the resource is locked while a process executes its critical section hence no
other process can access it.

Classical Problems of Synchronization

Semaphore can be used in other synchronization problems besides Mutual

Exclusion.

Below are some of the classical problem depicting flaws of process

synchronaization in systems where cooperating processes are present.

The following three problems:

1. Bounded Buffer (Producer-Consumer) Problem

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2. Dining Philosophers Problem

3. The Readers Writers Problem

Bounded Buffer Problem

 This problem is generalised in terms of the Producer Consumer problem,

where a finite buffer pool is used to exchange messages between producer
and consumer processes.

Because the buffer pool has a maximum size, this problem is often called
the Bounded buffer problem.

 Solution to this problem is, creating two counting semaphores "full" and
"empty" to keep track of the current number of full and empty buffers
respectively.

Dining Philosophers Problem

 The dining philosopher's problem involves the allocation of limited

resources to a group of processes in a deadlock-free and starvation-free
manner.

 There are five philosophers sitting around a table, in which there are five
chopsticks/forks kept beside them and a bowl of rice in the centre, When a
philosopher wants to eat, he uses two chopsticks - one from their left and
one from their right. When a philosopher wants to think, he keeps down
both chopsticks at their original place.

The Readers Writers Problem

 In this problem there are some processes(called readers) that only read the
shared data, and never change it, and there are other
processes(called writers) who may change the data in addition to reading,
or instead of reading it.

 There are various type of readers-writers problem, most centred on relative

priorities of readers and writers.

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Critical Section Problem

The critical section is a code segment where the shared variables can be accessed.
An atomic action is required in a critical section i.e. only one process can execute
in its critical section at a time. All the other processes have to wait to execute in
their critical sections.

A diagram that demonstrates the critical section is as follows −

In the above diagram, the entry section handles the entry into the critical section.
It acquires the resources needed for execution by the process. The exit section
handles the exit from the critical section. It releases the resources and also
informs the other processes that the critical section is free.

Solution to the Critical Section Problem

The critical section problem needs a solution to synchronize the different

processes. The solution to the critical section problem must satisfy the following
conditions −

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 Mutual Exclusion

Mutual exclusion implies that only one process can be inside the critical section at
any time. If any other processes require the critical section, they must wait until it
is free.

 Progress

Progress means that if a process is not using the critical section, then it should not
stop any other process from accessing it. In other words, any process can enter a
critical section if it is free.

 Bounded Waiting

Bounded waiting means that each process must have a limited waiting time. Itt
should not wait endlessly to access the critical section.

Peterson’s solution

Peterson’s solution provides a good algorithmic description of solving the critical-

section problem and illustrates some of the complexities involved in designing
software that addresses the requirements of mutual exclusion, progress, and
bounded waiting.

do {

flag[i] = true;

turn = j;

while (flag[j] && turn == j);

/* critical section */

flag[i] = false;

/* remainder section */

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while (true);

The structure of process Pi in Peterson’s solution. This solution is restricted to two

processes that alternate execution between their critical sections and remainder
sections. The processes are numbered P0 and P1. We use Pj for convenience to
denote the other process when Pi is present; that is, j equals 1 − I, Peterson’s
solution requires the two processes to share two data items −

int turn;

boolean flag[2];

The variable turn denotes whose turn it is to enter its critical section. I.e., if turn
== i, then process Pi is allowed to execute in its critical section. If a process is
ready to enter its critical section, the flag array is used to indicate that. For E.g., if
flag[i] is true, this value indicates that Pi is ready to enter its critical section. With
an explanation of these data structures complete, we are now ready to describe
the algorithm shown in above. To enter the critical section, process Pi first sets
flag[i] to be true and then sets turn to the value j, thereby asserting that if the
other process wishes to enter the critical section, it can do so. Turn will be set to
both i and j at roughly the same time, if both processes try to enter at the same
time. Only one of these assignments will occur ultimately; the other will occur but
will be overwritten immediately. The final value of turn determines which of the
two processes is allowed to enter its critical section first. We now prove that this
solution is correct. We need to show that −

 Mutual exclusion is preserved.

 The progress requirement is satisfied.

 The bounded-waiting requirement is met.

To prove 1, we note that each Pi enters its critical section only if either flag[j] ==
false or turn == i. Also note that, if both processes can be executing in their critical
sections at the same time, then flag[0] == flag[1] == true. These two observations
indicate that P0 and P1 could not have successfully executed their while

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statements at about the same time, since the value of turn can be either 0 or 1
but cannot be both. Hence, one of the processes — say, Pj — must have
successfully executed the while statement, whereas Pi had to execute at least one
additional statement (“turn == j”). However, at that time, flag[j] == true and turn
== j, and this condition will persist as long as Pj is in its critical section; as a result,
mutual exclusion is preserved.

To prove properties 2 and 3, we note that if a process is stuck in the while loop
with the condition flag[j] == true and turn == j, process Pi can be prevented from
entering the critical section only; this loop is the only one possible. flag[j] will be
== false, and Pi can enter its critical section if Pj is not ready to enter the critical
section. If Pj has set, flag[j] = true and is also executing in its while statement,
then either turn == i or turn == j. If turn == i, Pi will enter the critical section then.
Pj will enter the critical section, If turn == j. Although once Pj exits its critical
section, it will reset flag[j] to false, allowing Pi to enter its critical section. Pj must
also set turn to i, if Pj resets flag[j] to true. Hence, since Pi does not change the
value of the variable turn while executing the while statement, Pi will enter the
critical section (progress) after at most one entry by Pj (bounded waiting).

Disadvantage

 Peterson’s solution works for two processes, but this solution is best
scheme in user mode for critical section.

 This solution is also a busy waiting solution so CPU time is wasted. So

that “SPIN LOCK” problem can come. And this problem can come in any of
the busy waiting solution.

Semaphores

Semaphores are integer variables that are used to solve the critical section
problem by using two atomic operations, wait and signal that are used for process
synchronization.

The definitions of wait and signal are as follows −

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 Wait

The wait operation decrements the value of its argument S, if it is positive. If S is

negative or zero, then no operation is performed.

wait(S)

while (S<=0);

S--;

 Signal

The signal operation increments the value of its argument S.

signal(S)

S++;

Types of Semaphores

There are two main types of semaphores i.e. counting semaphores and binary
semaphores. Details about these are given as follows −

 Counting Semaphores

These are integer value semaphores and have an unrestricted value domain.
These semaphores are used to coordinate the resource access, where the
semaphore count is the number of available resources. If the resources are
added, semaphore count automatically incremented and if the resources are
removed, the count is decremented.

 Binary Semaphores
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The binary semaphores are like counting semaphores but their value is restricted
to 0 and 1. The wait operation only works when the semaphore is 1 and the signal
operation succeeds when semaphore is 0. It is sometimes easier to implement
binary semaphores than counting semaphores.

Advantages of Semaphores

Some of the advantages of semaphores are as follows −

 Semaphores allow only one process into the critical section. They follow the
mutual exclusion principle strictly and are much more efficient than some
other methods of synchronization.

 There is no resource wastage because of busy waiting in semaphores as

processor time is not wasted unnecessarily to check if a condition is fulfilled
to allow a process to access the critical section.

 Semaphores are implemented in the machine independent code of the

microkernel. So they are machine independent.

Disadvantages of Semaphores

Some of the disadvantages of semaphores are as follows −

 Semaphores are complicated so the wait and signal operations must be

implemented in the correct order to prevent deadlocks.

 Semaphores are impractical for last scale use as their use leads to loss of
modularity. This happens because the wait and signal operations prevent
the creation of a structured layout for the system.

 Semaphores may lead to a priority inversion where low priority processes

may access the critical section first and high priority processes later.

Threads

Thread is an execution unit which consists of its own program counter, a stack,
and a set of registers. Threads are also known as Lightweight processes. Threads

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are popular way to improve application through parallelism. The CPU switches
rapidly back and forth among the threads giving illusion that the threads are
running in parallel.

As each thread has its own independent resource for process execution, multpile
processes can be executed parallely by increasing number of threads.

Types of Thread

There are two types of threads:

1. User Threads

2. Kernel Threads

User threads, are above the kernel and without kernel support. These are the
threads that application programmers use in their programs.

Kernel threads are supported within the kernel of the OS itself. All modern OSs
support kernel level threads, allowing the kernel to perform multiple
simultaneous tasks and/or to service multiple kernel system calls simultaneously.

Multithreading Models

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The user threads must be mapped to kernel threads, by one of the following
strategies:

 Many to One Model

 One to One Model

 Many to Many Model

Many to One Model

 In the many to one model, many user-level threads are all mapped onto a
single kernel thread.

 Thread management is handled by the thread library in user space, which is

efficient in nature.

One to One Model

 The one to one model creates a separate kernel thread to handle each and
every user thread.

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 Most implementations of this model place a limit on how many threads can
be created.

 Linux and Windows from 95 to XP implement the one-to-one model for

threads.

Many to Many Model

 The many to many model multiplexes any number of user threads onto an
equal or smaller number of kernel threads, combining the best features of
the one-to-one and many-to-one models.

 Users can create any number of the threads.

 Blocking the kernel system calls does not block the entire process.

 Processes can be split across multiple processors.

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What are Thread Libraries?

Thread libraries provide programmers with API for creation and management of
threads.

Thread libraries may be implemented either in user space or in kernel space. The
user space involves API functions implemented solely within the user space, with
no kernel support. The kernel space involves system calls, and requires a kernel
with thread library support.

Three types of Thread

1. POSIX Pitheads, may be provided as either a user or kernel library, as an

extension to the POSIX standard.

2. Win32 threads, are provided as a kernel-level library on Windows systems.

3. Java threads: Since Java generally runs on a Java Virtual Machine, the
implementation of threads is based upon whatever OS and hardware the
JVM is running on, i.e. either Pitheads or Win32 threads depending on the
system.

Benefits of Multithreading
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1. Responsiveness

2. Resource sharing, hence allowing better utilization of resources.

3. Economy. Creating and managing threads becomes easier.

4. Scalability. One thread runs on one CPU. In Multithreaded processes,

threads can be distributed over a series of processors to scale.

5. Context Switching is smooth. Context switching refers to the procedure

followed by CPU to change from one task to another.

Multithreading Issues

Below we have mentioned a few issues related to multithreading. Well, it's an old
saying, All good things, come at a price.

Thread Cancellation

Thread cancellation means terminating a thread before it has finished working.

There can be two approaches for this, one is Asynchronous cancellation, which
terminates the target thread immediately. The other is Deferred
cancellation allows the target thread to periodically check if it should be
cancelled.

Signal Handling

Signals are used in UNIX systems to notify a process that a particular event has
occurred. Now in when a Multithreaded process receives a signal, to which thread
it must be delivered? It can be delivered to all, or a single thread.

fork() System Call

fork() is a system call executed in the kernel through which a process creates a
copy of itself. Now the problem in Multithreaded process is, if one thread forks,
will the entire process be copied or not?

Security Issues

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Yes, there can be security issues because of extensive sharing of resources

between multiple threads.

There are many other issues that you might face in a multithreaded process, but
there are appropriate solutions available for them. Pointing out some issues here
was just to study both sides of the coin.

Multicore programming

Multicore programming helps to create concurrent systems for deployment on

multicore processor and multiprocessor systems. A multicore processor system is
basically a single processor with multiple execution cores in one chip. It has
multiple processors on the motherboard or chip. A Field-Programmable Gate
Array (FPGA) is might be included in a multiprocessor system. A FPGA is an
integrated circuit containing an array of programmable logic blocks and a
hierarchy of reconfigurable interconnects. Input data is processed by to produce
outputs. It can be a processor in a multicore or multiprocessor system, or a FPGA.

The multicore programming approach has following advantages &minus;

 Multicore and FPGA processing helps to increase the performance of an

embedded system.

 Also helps to achieve scalability, so the system can take advantage of

increasing numbers of cores and FPGA processing power over time.

Concurrent systems that we create using multicore programming have multiple

tasks executing in parallel. This is known as concurrent execution. When multiple
parallel tasks are executed by a processor, it is known as multitasking. A CPU
scheduler, handles the tasks that execute in parallel. The CPU implements tasks
using operating system threads. So that tasks can execute independently but have
some data transfer between them, such as data transfer between a data
acquisition module and controller for the system. Data transfer occurs when
there is a data dependency.

Implicit Threading and Language-based threads

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Implicit Threading
One way to address the difficulties and better support the design of
multithreaded applications is to transfer the creation and management of
threading from application developers to compilers and run-time libraries. This,
termed implicit threading, is a popular trend today.
Implicit threading is mainly the use of libraries or other language support to hide
the management of threads. The most common implicit threading library is
OpenMP, in context of C.
OpenMP is a set of compiler directives as well as an API for programs written in C,
C++, or FORTRAN that provides support for parallel programming in shared-
memory environments. OpenMP identifies parallel regions as blocks of code that
may run in parallel. Application developers insert compiler directives into their
code at parallel regions, and these directives instruct the OpenMP run-time
library to execute the region in parallel. The following C program illustrates a
compiler directive above the parallel region containing the printf() statement:
Example

#include <omp.h>

#include <stdio.h>

int main(int argc, char *argv[]){

/* sequential code */

#pragma omp parallel{

printf("I am a parallel region.");

/* sequential code */

return 0;

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Output
I am a parallel region.

When OpenMP encounters the directive

#pragma omp parallel

It creates as many threads which are processing cores in the system. Thus, for a
dual-core system, two threads are created, for a quad-core system, four are
created; and so forth. Then all the threads simultaneously execute the parallel
region. When each thread exits the parallel region, it is terminated. OpenMP
provides several additional directives for running code regions in parallel,
including parallelizing loops.
In addition to providing directives for parallelization, OpenMP allows developers
to choose among several levels of parallelism. Eg, they can set the number of
threads manually. It also allows developers to identify whether data are shared
between threads or are private to a thread. OpenMP is available on several open-
source and commercial compilers for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X systems.
Grand Central Dispatch (GCD)
Grand Central Dispatch (GCD)—a technology for Apple’s Mac OS X and iOS
operating systems—is a combination of extensions to the C language, an API, and
a run-time library that allows application developers to spot sections of code to
run in parallel. Like OpenMP, GCD also manages most of the details of threading.
It identifies extensions to the C and C++ languages known as blocks. A block is
simply a self-contained unit of work. It is specified by a caret ˆ inserted in front of
a pair of braces { }. A simple example of a block is shown below −

{
ˆprintf("This is a block");
}

It schedules blocks for run-time execution by placing them on a dispatch queue.

When GCD removes a block from a queue, it assigns the block to an available
thread from the thread pool it manages. It identifies two types of dispatch
queues: serial and concurrent. Blocks placed on a serial queue are removed in
FIFO order. Once a block has been removed from the queue, it must complete
execution before another block is removed. Each process has its own serial queue

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(known as main queue). Developer can create additional serial queues that are
local to particular processes. Serial queues are useful for ensuring the sequential
execution of several tasks. Blocks placed on a concurrent queue are also removed
in FIFO order, but several blocks may be removed at a time, thus allowing
multiple blocks to execute in parallel. There are three system-wide concurrent
dispatch queues, and they are distinguished according to priority: low, default,
and high. Priorities represent an estimation of the relative importance of blocks.
Quite simply, blocks with a higher priority should be placed on the high priority
dispatch queue. The following code segment illustrates obtaining the default-
priority concurrent queue and submitting a block to the queue using the dispatch
async() function:

dispatch_queue_t queue =
dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0);
dispatch async(queue, ˆ{ printf("This is a block."); });

Internally, GCD’s thread pool is composed of POSIX threads. GCD actively

manages the pool, allowing the number of threads to grow and shrink according
to application demand and system capacity.
Threads as Objects
In alternative languages, ancient object-oriented languages give explicit
multithreading support with threads as objects. In these forms of languages,
classes area written to either extend a thread class or implement a corresponding
interface. This style resembles the Pthread approach, because the code is written
with explicit thread management. However, the encapsulation of information
inside the classes and extra synchronization options modify the task.
Java Threads
Java provides a Thread category and a Runnable interface that can be used. Each
need to implement a public void run() technique that defines the entry purpose of
the thread. Once an instance of the object is allotted, the thread is started by
invoking the start() technique on that. Like with Pthreads, beginning the thread is
asynchronous, that the temporal arrangement of the execution is non-
deterministic.

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Python Threads
Python additionally provides two mechanisms for multithreading. One approach
is comparable to the Pthread style, wherever a function name is passed to a
library method thread.start_new_thread(). This approach is very much and lacks
the flexibility to join or terminate the thread once it starts. A additional flexible
technique is to use the threading module to outline a class that extends
threading. Thread. almost like the Java approach, the category should have a run()
method that gives the thread's entry purpose. Once an object is instantiated from
this category, it can be explicitly started and joined later.
Concurrency as Language Design
Newer programming languages have avoided race condition by building
assumptions of concurrent execution directly into the language style itself. As an
example, Go combines a trivial implicit threading technique (goroutines) with
channels, a well-defined style of message-passing communication. Rust adopts a
definite threading approach the same as Pthreads. However, Rust has terribly
strong memory protections that need no extra work by the software engineer.
Goroutines
The Go language includes a trivial mechanism for implicit threading: place the
keyword go before a call. The new thread is passed an association to a message-
passing channel. Then, the most thread calls success := <-messages, that performs
a interference scan on the channel. Once the user has entered the right guess of
seven, the keyboard auditor thread writes to the channel, permitting the most
thread to progress.
Channels and goroutines are core components of the Go language, that was
designed beneath the belief that almost all programs would be multithreaded.
This style alternative streamlines the event model, permitting the language itself
up-to-date the responsibility for managing the threads and programing.
Rust Concurrency
Another language is Rust that has been created in recent years, with concurrency
as a central design feature. The following example illustrates the use of
thread::spawn() to create a new thread, which can later be joined by invoking
join() on it. The argument to thread::spawn() beginning at the || is known as a

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closure, which can be thought of as an anonymous function. That is, the child
thread here will print the value of a.
Example

use std::thread;

fn main() {

/* Initialize a mutable variable a to 7 */

let mut a = 7;

/* Spawn a new thread */

let child_thread = thread::spawn(move || {

/* Make the thread sleep for one second, then print a */

a -= 1;

println!("a = {}", a)

});

/* Change a in the main thread and print it */

a += 1;

println!("a = {}", a);

/* Join the thread and print a again */

child_thread.join();

However, there is a subtle point in this code that is central to Rust's design.
Within the new thread (executing the code in the closure), the a variable is
distinct from the a in other parts of this code. It enforces a very strict memory

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model (known as "ownership") which prevents multiple threads from accessing

the same memory. In this example, the move keyword indicates that the spawned
thread will receive a separate copy of a for its own use. Regardless of the
scheduling of the two threads, the main and child threads cannot interfere with
each other's modifications of a, because they are distinct copies. It is not possible
for the two threads to share access to the same memory.
Threading Issues

Multithreaded programs allow the execution of multiple parts of a program at the

same time. These parts are known as threads and are lightweight processes
available within the process.

Threads improve the application performance using parallelism. They share

information like data segment, code segment files etc. with their peer threads
while they contain their own registers, stack, counter etc.

Some of the issues with multithreaded programs are as follows −

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one by one −

 Increased Complexity − Multithreaded processes are quite complicated.

Coding for these can only be handled by expert programmers.

 Complications due to Concurrency − It is difficult to handle concurrency in

multithreaded processes. This may lead to complications and future
problems.

 Difficult to Identify Errors− Identification and correction of errors is much

more difficult in multithreaded processes as compared to single threaded
processes.

 Testing Complications− Testing is a complicated process i multithreaded

programs as compared to single threaded programs. This is because defects
can be timing related and not easy to identify.

 Unpredictable results− Multithreaded programs can sometimes lead to

unpredictable results as they are essentially multiple parts of a program
that are running at the same time.

 Complications for Porting Existing Code − A lot of testing is required for

porting existing code in multithreading. Static variables need to be removed
and any code or function calls that are not thread safe need to be replaced.

CPU Scheduling

CPU scheduling is a process which allows one process to use the CPU while the
execution of another process is on hold(in waiting state) due to unavailability of
any resource like I/O etc, thereby making full use of CPU. The aim of CPU
scheduling is to make the system efficient, fast and fair.

Whenever the CPU becomes idle, the operating system must select one of the
processes in the ready queue to be executed. The selection process is carried out
by the short-term scheduler (or CPU scheduler). The scheduler selects from
among the processes in memory that are ready to execute, and allocates the CPU
to one of them.

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CPU Scheduling: Dispatcher

Another component involved in the CPU scheduling function is the Dispatcher.

The dispatcher is the module that gives control of the CPU to the process selected
by the short-term scheduler. This function involves:

 Switching context

 Switching to user mode

 Jumping to the proper location in the user program to restart that program
from where it left last time.

The dispatcher should be as fast as possible, given that it is invoked during every
process switch. The time taken by the dispatcher to stop one process and start
another process is known as the Dispatch Latency. Dispatch Latency can be
explained using the below figure:

Types of CPU Scheduling

CPU scheduling decisions may take place under the following four circumstances:

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1. When a process switches from the running state to the waiting state(for
I/O request or invocation of wait for the termination of one of the child
processes).

2. When a process switches from the running state to the ready state (for
example, when an interrupt occurs).

3. When a process switches from the waiting state to the ready state(for
example, completion of I/O).

4. When a process terminates.

In circumstances 1 and 4, there is no choice in terms of scheduling. A new

process(if one exists in the ready queue) must be selected for execution. There is
a choice, however in circumstances 2 and 3.

When Scheduling takes place only under circumstances 1 and 4, we say the
scheduling scheme is non-preemptive; otherwise the scheduling scheme
is preemptive.

Non-Preemptive Scheduling

Under non-preemptive scheduling, once the CPU has been allocated to a process,
the process keeps the CPU until it releases the CPU either by terminating or by
switching to the waiting state.

This scheduling method is used by the Microsoft Windows 3.1 and by the Apple
Macintosh operating systems.

It is the only method that can be used on certain hardware platforms, because It
does not require the special hardware(for example: a timer) needed for
preemptive scheduling.

Preemptive Scheduling

In this type of Scheduling, the tasks are usually assigned with priorities. At times it
is necessary to run a certain task that has a higher priority before another task

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although it is running. Therefore, the running task is interrupted for some time
and resumed later when the priority task has finished its execution.

CPU Scheduling: Scheduling Criteria

There are many different criterias to check when considering

the "best" scheduling algorithm, they are:

CPU Utilization

To make out the best use of CPU and not to waste any CPU cycle, CPU would be
working most of the time(Ideally 100% of the time). Considering a real system,
CPU usage should range from 40% (lightly loaded) to 90% (heavily loaded.)

Throughput

It is the total number of processes completed per unit time or rather say total
amount of work done in a unit of time. This may range from 10/second to 1/hour
depending on the specific processes.

Turnaround Time

It is the amount of time taken to execute a particular process, i.e. The interval
from time of submission of the process to the time of completion of the
process(Wall clock time).

Waiting Time

The sum of the periods spent waiting in the ready queue amount of time a
process has been waiting in the ready queue to acquire get control on the CPU.

Load Average

It is the average number of processes residing in the ready queue waiting for their
turn to get into the CPU.

Response Time

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Amount of time it takes from when a request was submitted until the first
response is produced. Remember, it is the time till the first response and not the
completion of process execution(final response).

In general CPU utilization and Throughput are maximized and other factors are
reduced for proper optimization.

Scheduling Algorithms

To decide which process to execute first and which process to execute last to
achieve maximum CPU utilisation, computer scientists have defined some
algorithms, they are:

1. First Come First Serve(FCFS) Scheduling

2. Shortest-Job-First(SJF) Scheduling
3. Priority Scheduling
4. Round Robin(RR) Scheduling
5. Multilevel Queue Scheduling
6. Multilevel Feedback Queue Scheduling

First Come First Serve Scheduling

In the "First come first serve" scheduling algorithm, as the name suggests, the
process which arrives first, gets executed first, or we can say that the process
which requests the CPU first, gets the CPU allocated first.

 First Come First Serve, is just like FIFO(First in First out) Queue data
structure, where the data element which is added to the queue first, is the
one who leaves the queue first.

 This is used in Batch Systems.

 It's easy to understand and implement programmatically, using a Queue

data structure, where a new process enters through the tail of the queue,
and the scheduler selects process from the head of the queue.

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 A perfect real life example of FCFS scheduling is buying tickets at ticket

counter.

Calculating Average Waiting Time

For every scheduling algorithm, Average waiting time is a crucial parameter to

judge it's performance.

AWT or Average waiting time is the average of the waiting times of the processes
in the queue, waiting for the scheduler to pick them for execution.

Lower the Average Waiting Time, better the scheduling algorithm.

Consider the processes P1, P2, P3, P4 given in the below table, arrives for
execution in the same order, with Arrival Time 0, and given Burst Time, let's find
the average waiting time using the FCFS scheduling algorithm.

The average waiting time will be 18.75 ms

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For the above given proccesses, first P1 will be provided with the CPU resources,

 Hence, waiting time for P1 will be 0

 P1 requires 21 ms for completion, hence waiting time for P2 will be 21 ms

 Similarly, waiting time for process P3 will be execution time of P1 +

execution time for P2, which will be (21 + 3) ms = 24 ms.

 For process P4 it will be the sum of execution times of P1, P2 and P3.

The GANTT chart above perfectly represents the waiting time for each process.

Problems with FCFS Scheduling

Below we have a few shortcomings or problems with the FCFS scheduling

algorithm:

1. It is Non Pre-emptive algorithm, which means the process priority doesn't

matter.

If a process with very least priority is being executed, more like daily routine
backup process, which takes more time, and all of a sudden some other high
priority process arrives, like interrupt to avoid system crash, the high priority
process will have to wait, and hence in this case, the system will crash, just
because of improper process scheduling.

2. Not optimal Average Waiting Time.

3. Resources utilization in parallel is not possible, which leads to Convoy

Effect, and hence poor resource(CPU, I/O etc) utilization.

What is Convoy Effect?

Convoy Effect is a situation where many processes, who need to use a resource
for short time are blocked by one process holding that resource for a long time.

This essentially leads to poort utilization of resources and hence poor

performance.

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Completion Time: Time taken for the execution to complete, starting from arrival
time.

Turn Around Time: Time taken to complete after arrival. In simple words, it is the
difference between the Completion time and the Arrival time.

Waiting Time: Total time the process has to wait before it's execution begins. It is
the difference between the Turn Around time and the Burst time of the process.

Shortest Job First(SJF) Scheduling

Shortest Job First scheduling works on the process with the shortest burst
time or duration first.

 This is the best approach to minimize waiting time.

 This is used in Batch Systems.

 It is of two types:

1. Non Pre-emptive

2. Pre-emptive

 To successfully implement it, the burst time/duration time of the processes

should be known to the processor in advance, which is practically not
feasible all the time.

 This scheduling algorithm is optimal if all the jobs/processes are available at

the same time. (either Arrival time is 0 for all, or Arrival time is same for all)

Non Pre-emptive Shortest Job First

Consider the below processes available in the ready queue for execution,
with arrival time as 0 for all and given burst times.

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As we can see in the GANTT chart above, the process P4 will be picked up first as
it has the shortest burst time, then P2, followed by P3 and at last P1.

We scheduled the same set of processes using the First come first serve algorithm
in the previous tutorial, and got average waiting time to be 18.75 ms, whereas
with SJF, the average waiting time comes out 4.5 ms.

Problem with Non Pre-emptive SJF

If the arrival time for processes are different, which means all the processes are
not available in the ready queue at time 0, and some jobs arrive after some time,
in such situation, sometimes process with short burst time have to wait for the
current process's execution to finish, because in Non Pre-emptive SJF, on arrival
of a process with short duration, the existing job/process's execution is not
halted/stopped to execute the short job first.

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This leads to the problem of Starvation, where a shorter process has to wait for a
long time until the current longer process gets executed. This happens if shorter
jobs keep coming, but this can be solved using the concept of aging.

Pre-emptive Shortest Job First

In Preemptive Shortest Job First Scheduling, jobs are put into ready queue as they
arrive, but as a process with short burst time arrives, the existing process is
preempted or removed from execution, and the shorter job is executed first.

As you can see in the GANTT chart above, as P1 arrives first, hence it's execution
starts immediately, but just after 1 ms, process P2 arrives with a burst time of 3
ms which is less than the burst time of P1, hence the process P1(1 ms done, 20 ms
left) is preemptied and process P2 is executed.

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As P2 is getting executed, after 1 ms, P3 arrives, but it has a burst time greater
than that of P2, hence execution of P2 continues. But after another
millisecond, P4 arrives with a burst time of 2 ms, as a result P2(2 ms done, 1 ms
left) is preemptied and P4 is executed.

After the completion of P4, process P2 is picked up and finishes, then P2 will get
executed and at last P1.

The Pre-emptive SJF is also known as Shortest Remaining Time First, because at
any given point of time, the job with the shortest remaining time is executed first.

Priority CPU Scheduling

In the Shortest Job First scheduling algorithm, the priority of a process is generally
the inverse of the CPU burst time, i.e. the larger the burst time the lower is the
priority of that process.

In case of priority scheduling the priority is not always set as the inverse of the
CPU burst time, rather it can be internally or externally set, but yes the scheduling
is done on the basis of priority of the process where the process which is most
urgent is processed first, followed by the ones with lesser priority in order.

Processes with same priority are executed in FCFS manner.

The priority of process, when internally defined, can be decided based

on memory requirements, time limits ,number of open files, ratio of I/O burst to
CPU burst etc.

Whereas, external priorities are set based on criteria outside the operating
system, like the importance of the process, funds paid for the computer resource
use, makrte factor etc.

Types of Priority Scheduling Algorithm

Priority scheduling can be of two types:

1. Preemptive Priority Scheduling: If the new process arrived at the ready

queue has a higher priority than the currently running process, the CPU is

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preempted, which means the processing of the current process is stoped

and the incoming new process with higher priority gets the CPU for its
execution.

2. Non-Preemptive Priority Scheduling: In case of non-preemptive priority

scheduling algorithm if a new process arrives with a higher priority than the
current running process, the incoming process is put at the head of the
ready queue, which means after the execution of the current process it will
be processed.

Example of Priority Scheduling Algorithm

Consider the below table fo processes with their respective CPU burst times and
the priorities.

As you can see in the GANTT chart that the processes are given CPU time just on
the basis of the priorities.

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Problem with Priority Scheduling Algorithm

In priority scheduling algorithm, the chances of indefinite blocking or starvation.

A process is considered blocked when it is ready to run but has to wait for the
CPU as some other process is running currently.

But in case of priority scheduling if new higher priority processes keeps coming in
the ready queue then the processes waiting in the ready queue with lower
priority may have to wait for long durations before getting the CPU for execution.

In 1973, when the IBM 7904 machine was shut down at MIT, a low-priority
process was found which was submitted in 1967 and had not yet been run.

Using Aging Technique with Priority Scheduling

To prevent starvation of any process, we can use the concept of aging where we
keep on increasing the priority of low-priority process based on the its waiting
time.

For example, if we decide the aging factor to be 0.5 for each day of waiting, then
if a process with priority 20(which is comparitively low priority) comes in the
ready queue. After one day of waiting, its priority is increased to 19.5 and so on.

Doing so, we can ensure that no process will have to wait for indefinite time for
getting CPU time for processing.

Round Robin Scheduling

 A fixed time is allotted to each process, called quantum, for execution.

 Once a process is executed for given time period that process is preemptied
and other process executes for given time period.

 Context switching is used to save states of preemptied processes.

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Multilevel Queue Scheduling

Another class of scheduling algorithms has been created for situations in which
processes are easily classified into different groups.

For example: A common division is made between foreground(or interactive)

processes and background (or batch) processes. These two types of processes
have different response-time requirements, and so might have different
scheduling needs. In addition, foreground processes may have priority over
background processes.

A multi-level queue scheduling algorithm partitions the ready queue into several
separate queues. The processes are permanently assigned to one queue,
generally based on some property of the process, such as memory size, process
priority, or process type. Each queue has its own scheduling algorithm.

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For example: separate queues might be used for foreground and background
processes. The foreground queue might be scheduled by Round Robin algorithm,
while the background queue is scheduled by an FCFS algorithm.

In addition, there must be scheduling among the queues, which is commonly

implemented as fixed-priority preemptive scheduling. For example: The
foreground queue may have absolute priority over the background queue.

An example of a multilevel queue-scheduling algorithm with five queues:

1. System Processes

2. Interactive Processes

3. Interactive Editing Processes

4. Batch Processes

5. Student Processes

Each queue has absolute priority over lower-priority queues. No process in the
batch queue, for example, could run unless the queues for system processes,
interactive processes, and interactive editing processes were all empty. If an
interactive editing process entered the ready queue while a batch process was
running, the batch process will be preempted.

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Multilevel Feedback Queue Scheduling

In a multilevel queue-scheduling algorithm, processes are permanently assigned

to a queue on entry to the system. Processes do not move between queues. This
setup has the advantage of low scheduling overhead, but the disadvantage of
being inflexible.

Multilevel feedback queue scheduling, however, allows a process to move

between queues. The idea is to separate processes with different CPU-burst
characteristics. If a process uses too much CPU time, it will be moved to a lower-
priority queue. Similarly, a process that waits too long in a lower-priority queue
may be moved to a higher-priority queue. This form of aging prevents starvation.

An example of a multilevel feedback queue can be seen in the below figure.

In general, a multilevel feedback queue scheduler is defined by the following

parameters:

 The number of queues.

 The scheduling algorithm for each queue.

 The method used to determine when to upgrade a process to a higher-

priority queue.

 The method used to determine when to demote a process to a lower-

priority queue.

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 The method used to determine which queue a process will enter when that
process needs service.

The definition of a multilevel feedback queue scheduler makes it the most general
CPU-scheduling algorithm. It can be configured to match a specific system under
design. Unfortunately, it also requires some means of selecting values for all the
parameters to define the best scheduler. Although a multilevel feedback queue is
the most general scheme, it is also the most complex.

Thread Scheduling

Scheduling of threads involves two boundary scheduling,

 Scheduling of user level threads (ULT) to kernel level threads (KLT) via
leightweight process (LWP) by the application developer.

 Scheduling of kernel level threads by the system scheduler to perform

different unique os functions.

Leightweight Process (LWP) :

Light-weight process are threads in the user space that acts as an interface for the
ULT to access the physical CPU resources. Thread library schedules which thread
of a process to run on which LWP and how long. The number of LWP created by
the thread library depends on the type of application. In the case of an I/O bound
application, the number of LWP depends on the number of user-level threads.
This is because when an LWP is blocked on an I/O operation, then to invoke the
other ULT the thread library needs to create and schedule another LWP. Thus, in
an I/O bound application, the number of LWP is equal to the number of the ULT.
In the case of a CPU bound application, it depends only on the application. Each
LWP is attached to a separate kernel-level thread.

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In real-time, the first boundary of thread scheduling is beyond specifying the

scheduling policy and the priority. It requires two controls to be specified for the
User level threads: Contention scope, and Allocation domain. These are explained
as following below.

1. Contention Scope :
The word contention here refers to the competition or fight among the User level
threads to access the kernel resources. Thus, this control defines the extent to
which contention takes place. It is defined by the application developer using the
thread library. Depending upon the extent of contention it is classified as Process
Contention Scope and System Contention Scope.

1. Process Contention Scope (PCS) –

The contention takes place among threads within a same process. The
thread library schedules the high-prioritized PCS thread to access the

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resources via available LWPs (priority as specified by the application

developer during thread creation).
2. System Contention Scope (SCS) –
The contention takes place among all threads in the system. In this case,
every SCS thread is associated to each LWP by the thread library and are
scheduled by the system scheduler to access the kernel resources.
In LINUX and UNIX operating systems, the POSIX Pthread library provides a
function Pthread_attr_setscope to define the type of contention scope for a
thread during its creation.
int Pthread_attr_setscope(pthread_attr_t *attr, int scope)
The first parameter denotes to which thread within the process the scope is
defined.
The second parameter defines the scope of contention for the thread
pointed. It takes two values.
PTHREAD_SCOPE_SYSTEM
PTHREAD_SCOPE_PROCESS
If the scope value specified is not supported by the system, then the
function returns ENOTSUP.
2. Allocation Domain :
The allocation domain is a set of one or more resources for which a thread is
competing. In a multicore system, there may be one or more allocation domains
where each consists of one or more cores. One ULT can be a part of one or more
allocation domain. Due to this high complexity in dealing with hardware and
software architectural interfaces, this control is not specified. But by default, the
multicore system will have an interface that affects the allocation domain of a
thread.
Consider a scenario, an operating system with three process P1, P2, P3 and 10
user level threads (T1 to T10) with a single allocation domain. 100% of CPU
resources will be distributed among all the three processes. The amount of CPU
resources allocated to each process and to each thread depends on the
contention scope, scheduling policy and priority of each thread defined by the
application developer using thread library and also depends on the system
scheduler. These User level threads are of a different contention scope.

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In this case, the contention for allocation domain takes place as follows,
1. Process P1:
All PCS threads T1, T2, T3 of Process P1 will compete among themselves.
The PCS threads of the same process can share one or more LWP. T1 and T2
share an LWP and T3 are allocated to a separate LWP. Between T1 and T2
allocation of kernel resources via LWP is based on preemptive priority
scheduling by the thread library. A Thread with a high priority will preempt
low priority threads. Whereas, thread T1 of process p1 cannot preempt
thread T3 of process p3 even if the priority of T1 is greater than the priority
of T3. If the priority is equal, then the allocation of ULT to available LWPs is
based on the scheduling policy of threads by the system scheduler(not by
thread library, in this case).
2. Process P2:
Both SCS threads T4 and T5 of process P2 will compete with processes P1 as
a whole and with SCS threads T8, T9, T10 of process P3. The system
scheduler will schedule the kernel resources among P1, T4, T5, T8, T9, T10,
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and PCS threads (T6, T7) of process P3 considering each as a separate

process. Here, the Thread library has no control of scheduling the ULT to the
kernel resources.
3. Process P3:
Combination of PCS and SCS threads. Consider if the system scheduler
allocates 50% of CPU resources to process P3, then 25% of resources is for
process scoped threads and the remaining 25% for system scoped threads.
The PCS threads T6 and T7 will be allocated to access the 25% resources
based on the priority by the thread library. The SCS threads T8, T9, T10 will
divide the 25% resources among themselves and access the kernel
resources via separate LWP and KLT. The SCS scheduling is by the system
scheduler.
Note:
For every system call to access the kernel resources, a Kernel Level thread is
created and associated to separate LWP by the system scheduler.
Number of Kernel Level Threads = Total Number of LWP
Total Number of LWP = Number of LWP for SCS + Number of LWP for PCS
Number of LWP for SCS = Number of SCS threads
Number of LWP for PCS = Depends on application developer
Here,
Number of SCS threads = 5
Number of LWP for PCS = 3
Number of SCS threads = 5
Number of LWP for SCS = 5
Total Number of LWP = 8 (=5+3)
Number of Kernel Level Threads = 8
Advantages of PCS over SCS :
 If all threads are PCS, then context switching, synchronization, scheduling
everything takes place within the userspace. This reduces system calls and
achieves better performance.
 PCS is cheaper than SCS.

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 PCS threads share one or more available LWPs. For every SCS thread, a
separate LWP is associated.For every system call, a separate KLT is created.
 The number of KLT and LWPs created highly depends on the number of SCS
threads created. This increases the kernel complexity of handling scheduling
and synchronization. Thereby, results in a limitation over SCS thread
creation, stating that, the number of SCS threads to be smaller than the
number of PCS threads.
 If the system has more than one allocation domain, then scheduling and
synchronization of resources becomes more tedious. Issues arise when an
SCS thread is a part of more than one allocation domain, the system has to
handle n number of interfaces.
The second boundary of thread scheduling involves CPU scheduling by the system
scheduler. The scheduler considers each kernel-level thread as a separate process
and provides access to the kernel resources.
Multiple-Processor Scheduling

In multiple-processor scheduling multiple CPU’s are available and hence Load

Sharing becomes possible. However multiple processor scheduling is
more complex as compared to single processor scheduling. In multiple processor
scheduling there are cases when the processors are identical i.e. HOMOGENEOUS,
in terms of their functionality, we can use any processor available to run any
process in the queue.

Approaches to Multiple-Processor Scheduling –

One approach is when all the scheduling decisions and I/O processing are handled
by a single processor which is called the Master Server and the other processors
executes only the user code. This is simple and reduces the need of data sharing.
This entire scenario is called Asymmetric Multiprocessing.

A second approach uses Symmetric Multiprocessing where each processor is self

scheduling. All processes may be in a common ready queue or each processor
may have its own private queue for ready processes. The scheduling proceeds
further by having the scheduler for each processor examine the ready queue and
select a process to execute.

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Processor Affinity –

Processor Affinity means a processes has an affinity for the processor on which it
is currently running.
When a process runs on a specific processor there are certain effects on the cache
memory. The data most recently accessed by the process populate the cache for
the processor and as a result successive memory access by the process are often
satisfied in the cache memory. Now if the process migrates to another processor,
the contents of the cache memory must be invalidated for the first processor and
the cache for the second processor must be repopulated. Because of the high cost
of invalidating and repopulating caches, most of the SMP(symmetric
multiprocessing) systems try to avoid migration of processes from one processor
to another and try to keep a process running on the same processor. This is
known as PROCESSOR AFFINITY.

There are two types of processor affinity:

1. Soft Affinity – When an operating system has a policy of attempting to

keep a process running on the same processor but not guaranteeing it will
do so, this situation is called soft affinity.

2. Hard Affinity – Hard Affinity allows a process to specify a subset of

processors on which it may run. Some systems such as Linux implements
soft affinity but also provide some system calls like sched_setaffinity() that
supports hard affinity.

Load Balancing –

Load Balancing is the phenomena which keeps

the workload evenly distributed across all processors in an SMP system. Load
balancing is necessary only on systems where each processor has its own private
queue of process which are eligible to execute. Load balancing is unnecessary
because once a processor becomes idle it immediately extracts a runnable
process from the common run queue. On SMP(symmetric multiprocessing), it is
important to keep the workload balanced among all processors to fully utilize the

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benefits of having more than one processor else one or more processor will sit
idle while other processors have high workloads along with lists of processors
awaiting the CPU.

There are two general approaches to load balancing :

1. Push Migration – In push migration a task routinely checks the load on

each processor and if it finds an imbalance then it evenly distributes load
on each processors by moving the processes from overloaded to idle or less
busy processors.

2. Pull Migration – Pull Migration occurs when an idle processor pulls a

waiting task from a busy processor for its execution.

Multicore Processors –

In multicore processors multiple processor cores are places on the same physical
chip. Each core has a register set to maintain its architectural state and thus
appears to the operating system as a separate physical processor. SMP
systems that use multicore processors are faster and consume less power than
systems in which each processor has its own physical chip.

However multicore processors may complicate the scheduling problems. When

processor accesses memory then it spends a significant amount of time waiting
for the data to become available. This situation is called MEMORY STALL. It occurs
for various reasons such as cache miss, which is accessing the data that is not in
the cache memory. In such cases the processor can spend upto fifty percent of its
time waiting for data to become available from the memory. To solve this
problem recent hardware designs have implemented multithreaded processor
cores in which two or more hardware threads are assigned to each core.
Therefore if one thread stalls while waiting for the memory, core can switch to
another thread.

There are two ways to multithread a processor :

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1. Coarse-Grained Multithreading – In coarse grained multithreading a thread

executes on a processor until a long latency event such as a memory stall
occurs, because of the delay caused by the long latency event, the
processor must switch to another thread to begin execution. The cost of
switching between threads is high as the instruction pipeline must be
terminated before the other thread can begin execution on the processor
core. Once this new thread begins execution it begins filling the pipeline
with its instructions.

2. Fine-Grained Multithreading – This multithreading switches between

threads at a much finer level mainly at the boundary of an instruction cycle.
The architectural design of fine grained systems include logic for thread
switching and as a result the cost of switching between threads is small.

Virtualization and Threading –

In this type of multiple-processor scheduling even a single CPU system acts like a
multiple-processor system. In a system with Virtualization, the virtualization
presents one or more virtual CPU to each of virtual machines running on the
system and then schedules the use of physical CPU among the virtual machines.
Most virtualized environments have one host operating system and many guest
operating systems. The host operating system creates and manages the virtual
machines. Each virtual machine has a guest operating system installed and
applications run within that guest.Each guest operating system may be assigned
for specific use cases,applications or users including time sharing or even real-
time operation. Any guest operating-system scheduling algorithm that assumes a
certain amount of progress in a given amount of time will be negatively impacted
by the virtualization. A time sharing operating system tries to allot 100
milliseconds to each time slice to give users a reasonable response time. A given
100 millisecond time slice may take much more than 100 milliseconds of virtual
CPU time. Depending on how busy the system is, the time slice may take a second
or more which results in a very poor response time for users logged into that
virtual machine. The net effect of such scheduling layering is that individual
virtualized operating systems receive only a portion of the available CPU cycles,

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even though they believe they are receiving all cycles and that they are scheduling
all of those cycles.Commonly, the time-of-day clocks in virtual machines are
incorrect because timers take no longer to trigger than they would on dedicated
CPU’s.

Virtualizations can thus undo the good scheduling-algorithm efforts of the

operating systems within virtual machines.

Scheduling in Real Time Systems

Real-time systems are systems that carry real-time tasks. These tasks need to be
performed immediately with a certain degree of urgency. In particular, these
tasks are related to control of certain events (or) reacting to them. Real-time tasks
can be classified as hard real-time tasks and soft real-time tasks.

A hard real-time task must be performed at a specified time which could

otherwise lead to huge losses. In soft real-time tasks, a specified deadline can be
missed. This is because the task can be rescheduled (or) can be completed after
the specified time,

In real-time systems, the scheduler is considered as the most important

component which is typically a short-term task scheduler. The main focus of this
scheduler is to reduce the response time associated with each of the associated
processes instead of handling the deadline.

If a preemptive scheduler is used, the real-time task needs to wait until its
corresponding tasks time slice completes. In the case of a non-preemptive
scheduler, even if the highest priority is allocated to the task, it needs to wait until
the completion of the current task. This task can be slow (or) of the lower priority
and can lead to a longer wait.

A better approach is designed by combining both preemptive and non-

preemptive scheduling. This can be done by introducing time-based interrupts in
priority based systems which means the currently running process is interrupted
on a time-based interval and if a higher priority process is present in a ready
queue, it is executed by preempting the current process.

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Based on schedulability, implementation (static or dynamic), and the result (self

or dependent) of analysis, the scheduling algorithm are classified as follows.

1. Static table-driven approaches:

These algorithms usually perform a static analysis associated with
scheduling and capture the schedules that are advantageous. This helps in
providing a schedule that can point out a task with which the execution
must be started at run time.

2. Static priority-driven preemptive approaches:

Similar to the first approach, these type of algorithms also uses static
analysis of scheduling. The difference is that instead of selecting a
particular schedule, it provides a useful way of assigning priorities among
various tasks in preemptive scheduling.

3. Dynamic planning-based approaches:

Here, the feasible schedules are identified dynamically (at run time). It
carries a certain fixed time interval and a process is executed if and only if
satisfies the time constraint.

4. Dynamic best effort approaches:

These types of approaches consider deadlines instead of feasible schedules.
Therefore the task is aborted if its deadline is reached. This approach is
used widely is most of the real-time systems.

Deadlock

Deadlocks are a set of blocked processes each holding a resource and waiting to
acquire a resource held by another process.

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How to avoid Deadlocks

Deadlocks can be avoided by avoiding at least one of the four conditions, because
all this four conditions are required simultaneously to cause deadlock.

1. Mutual Exclusion

Resources shared such as read-only files do not lead to deadlocks but resources,
such as printers and tape drives, requires exclusive access by a single process.

2. Hold and Wait

In this condition processes must be prevented from holding one or more

resources while simultaneously waiting for one or more others.

3. No Preemption

Preemption of process resource allocations can avoid the condition of deadlocks,

where ever possible.

4. Circular Wait

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Circular wait can be avoided if we number all resources, and require that
processes request resources only in strictly increasing(or decreasing) order.

Handling Deadlock

The above points focus on preventing deadlocks. But what to do once a deadlock
has occured. Following three strategies can be used to remove deadlock after its
occurrence.

1. Preemption

We can take a resource from one process and give it to other. This will resolve the
deadlock situation, but sometimes it does causes problems.

2. Rollback

In situations where deadlock is a real possibility, the system can periodically make
a record of the state of each process and when deadlock occurs, roll everything
back to the last checkpoint, and restart, but allocating resources differently so
that deadlock does not occur.

3. Kill one or more processes

This is the simplest way, but it works.

What is a Livelock?

There is a variant of deadlock called livelock. This is a situation in which two or

more processes continuously change their state in response to changes in the
other process(es) without doing any useful work. This is similar to deadlock in that
no progress is made but differs in that neither process is blocked or waiting for
anything.

A human example of livelock would be two people who meet face-to-face in a

corridor and each moves aside to let the other pass, but they end up swaying
from side to side without making any progress because they always move the
same way at the same time.

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Deadlock Characterization

A deadlock happens in operating system when two or more processes need some
resource to complete their execution that is held by the other process.

A deadlock occurs if the four Coffman conditions hold true. But these conditions
are not mutually exclusive. They are given as follows −

Mutual Exclusion

There should be a resource that can only be held by one process at a time. In the
diagram below, there is a single instance of Resource 1 and it is held by Process 1
only.

Hold and Wait

A process can hold multiple resources and still request more resources from other
processes which are holding them. In the diagram given below, Process 2 holds
Resource 2 and Resource 3 and is requesting the Resource 1 which is held by
Process 1.

No Preemption

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A resource cannot be preempted from a process by force. A process can only

release a resource voluntarily. In the diagram below, Process 2 cannot preempt
Resource 1 from Process 1. It will only be released when Process 1 relinquishes it
voluntarily after its execution is complete.

Circular Wait

A process is waiting for the resource held by the second process, which is waiting
for the resource held by the third process and so on, till the last process is waiting
for a resource held by the first process. This forms a circular chain. For example:
Process 1 is allocated Resource2 and it is requesting Resource 1. Similarly, Process
2 is allocated Resource 1 and it is requesting Resource 2. This forms a circular wait
loop.

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Deadlock Prevention And Avoidance

Deadlock Prevention

We can prevent Deadlock by eliminating any of the above four conditions.

Eliminate Mutual Exclusion

It is not possible to dis-satisfy the mutual exclusion because some resources, such
as the tape drive and printer, are inherently non-shareable.

Eliminate Hold and wait

1. Allocate all required resources to the process before the start of its
execution, this way hold and wait condition is eliminated but it will lead to
low device utilization. for example, if a process requires printer at a later
time and we have allocated printer before the start of its execution printer
will remain blocked till it has completed its execution.
2. The process will make a new request for resources after releasing the
current set of resources. This solution may lead to starvation.

Eliminate No Preemption
Preempt resources from the process when resources required by other high
priority processes.

Eliminate Circular Wait

Each resource will be assigned with a numerical number. A process can request
the resources increasing/decreasing. order of numbering.

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For Example, if P1 process is allocated R5 resources, now next time if P1 ask for
R4, R3 lesser than R5 such request will not be granted, only request for resources
more than R5 will be granted.

Deadlock Avoidance
Deadlock avoidance can be done with Banker’s Algorithm.
Banker’s Algorithm
Bankers’s Algorithm is resource allocation and deadlock avoidance algorithm
which test all the request made by processes for resources, it checks for the safe
state, if after granting request system remains in the safe state it allows the
request and if there is no safe state it doesn’t allow the request made by the
process.
Inputs to Banker’s Algorithm:
1. Max need of resources by each process.
2. Currently allocated resources by each process.
3. Max free available resources in the system.
The request will only be granted under the below condition:
1. If the request made by the process is less than equal to max need to that
process.
2. If the request made by the process is less than equal to the freely available
resource in the system.
Example:
Total resources in system:
ABCD
6576
Available system resources are:
ABCD
3112
Processes (currently allocated resources):
ABCD
P1 1 2 2 1

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P2 1 0 3 3
P3 1 2 1 0
Processes (maximum resources):
ABCD
P1 3 3 2 2
P2 1 2 3 4
P3 1 3 5 0
Need = maximum resources - currently allocated resources.
Processes (need resources):
ABCD
P1 2 1 0 1
P2 0 2 0 1
P3 0 1 4 0
Note:Deadlock prevention is more strict that Deadlock Avoidance.

Deadlock Detection And Recovery

Deadlock Detection

1. If resources have single instance:

In this case for Deadlock detection we can run an algorithm to check for
cycle in the Resource Allocation Graph. Presence of cycle in the graph is the
sufficient condition for deadlock.

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In the above diagram, resource 1 and resource 2 have single instances. There is a
cycle R1 → P1 → R2 → P2. So, Deadlock is Confirmed.

2. If there are multiple instances of resources:

Detection of the cycle is necessary but not sufficient condition for deadlock
detection, in this case, the system may or may not be in deadlock varies
according to different situations.

Deadlock Recovery
A traditional operating system such as Windows doesn’t deal with deadlock
recovery as it is time and space consuming process. Real-time operating systems
use Deadlock recovery.

Recovery method

1. Killing the process: killing all the process involved in the deadlock. Killing
process one by one. After killing each process check for deadlock again
keep repeating the process till system recover from deadlock.

2. Resource Preemption: Resources are preempted from the processes

involved in the deadlock, preempted resources are allocated to other
processes so that there is a possibility of recovering the system from
deadlock. In this case, the system goes into starvation.

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Memory Management

Memory management is the functionality of an operating system which handles

or manages primary memory and moves processes back and forth between main
memory and disk during execution. Memory management keeps track of each
and every memory location, regardless of either it is allocated to some process or
it is free. It checks how much memory is to be allocated to processes. It decides
which process will get memory at what time. It tracks whenever some memory
gets freed or unallocated and correspondingly it updates the status.

Process Address Space

The process address space is the set of logical addresses that a process references
in its code. For example, when 32-bit addressing is in use, addresses can range
from 0 to 0x7fffffff; that is, 2^31 possible numbers, for a total theoretical size of 2
gigabytes.

The operating system takes care of mapping the logical addresses to physical
addresses at the time of memory allocation to the program. There are three types
of addresses used in a program before and after memory is allocated −

S.N. Memory Addresses & Description

1 Symbolic addresses

The addresses used in a source code. The variable names, constants, and
instruction labels are the basic elements of the symbolic address space.

2 Relative addresses

At the time of compilation, a compiler converts symbolic addresses into

relative addresses.

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3 Physical addresses

The loader generates these addresses at the time when a program is loaded
into main memory.

Virtual and physical addresses are the same in compile-time and load-time
address-binding schemes. Virtual and physical addresses differ in execution-time
address-binding scheme.

The set of all logical addresses generated by a program is referred to as a logical

address space. The set of all physical addresses corresponding to these logical
addresses is referred to as a physical address space.

The runtime mapping from virtual to physical address is done by the memory
management unit (MMU) which is a hardware device. MMU uses following
mechanism to convert virtual address to physical address.

 The value in the base register is added to every address generated by a user
process, which is treated as offset at the time it is sent to memory. For
example, if the base register value is 10000, then an attempt by the user to
use address location 100 will be dynamically reallocated to location 10100.

 The user program deals with virtual addresses; it never sees the real
physical addresses.

Static vs Dynamic Loading

The choice between Static or Dynamic Loading is to be made at the time of

computer program being developed. If you have to load your program statically,
then at the time of compilation, the complete programs will be compiled and
linked without leaving any external program or module dependency. The linker
combines the object program with other necessary object modules into an
absolute program, which also includes logical addresses.

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If you are writing a Dynamically loaded program, then your compiler will compile
the program and for all the modules which you want to include dynamically, only
references will be provided and rest of the work will be done at the time of
execution.

At the time of loading, with static loading, the absolute program (and data) is
loaded into memory in order for execution to start.

If you are using dynamic loading, dynamic routines of the library are stored on a
disk in relocatable form and are loaded into memory only when they are needed
by the program.

Static vs Dynamic Linking

As explained above, when static linking is used, the linker combines all other
modules needed by a program into a single executable program to avoid any
runtime dependency.

When dynamic linking is used, it is not required to link the actual module or
library with the program, rather a reference to the dynamic module is provided at
the time of compilation and linking. Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL) in Windows and
Shared Objects in Unix are good examples of dynamic libraries.

Swapping

Swapping is a mechanism in which a process can be swapped temporarily out of

main memory (or move) to secondary storage (disk) and make that memory
available to other processes. At some later time, the system swaps back the
process from the secondary storage to main memory.

Though performance is usually affected by swapping process but it helps in

running multiple and big processes in parallel and that's the reason Swapping is
also known as a technique for memory compaction.

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The total time taken by swapping process includes the time it takes to move the
entire process to a secondary disk and then to copy the process back to memory,
as well as the time the process takes to regain main memory.

Assume that the user process is of size 2048KB and on a standard hard disk where
swapping will take place has a data transfer rate around 1 MB per second. The
actual transfer of the 1000K process to or from memory will take

2048KB / 1024KB per second

= 2 seconds

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= 2000 milliseconds

Now considering in and out time, it will take complete 4000 milliseconds plus
other overhead where the process competes to regain main memory.

Memory Allocation

Main memory usually has two partitions −

 Low Memory − Operating system resides in this memory.

 High Memory − User processes are held in high memory.

Operating system uses the following memory allocation mechanism.

S.N. Memory Allocation & Description

1 Single-partition allocation

In this type of allocation, relocation-register scheme is used to protect user

processes from each other, and from changing operating-system code and
data. Relocation register contains value of smallest physical address whereas
limit register contains range of logical addresses. Each logical address must
be less than the limit register.

2 Multiple-partition allocation

In this type of allocation, main memory is divided into a number of fixed-

sized partitions where each partition should contain only one process. When
a partition is free, a process is selected from the input queue and is loaded
into the free partition. When the process terminates, the partition becomes
available for another process.

Fragmentation

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As processes are loaded and removed from memory, the free memory space is
broken into little pieces. It happens after sometimes that processes cannot be
allocated to memory blocks considering their small size and memory blocks
remains unused. This problem is known as Fragmentation.

Fragmentation is of two types −

S.N. Fragmentation & Description

1 External fragmentation

Total memory space is enough to satisfy a request or to reside a process in

it, but it is not contiguous, so it cannot be used.

2 Internal fragmentation

Memory block assigned to process is bigger. Some portion of memory is

left unused, as it cannot be used by another process.

The following diagram shows how fragmentation can cause waste of memory and
a compaction technique can be used to create more free memory out of
fragmented memory −

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External fragmentation can be reduced by compaction or shuffle memory

contents to place all free memory together in one large block. To make
compaction feasible, relocation should be dynamic.

The internal fragmentation can be reduced by effectively assigning the smallest

partition but large enough for the process.

Paging

A computer can address more memory than the amount physically installed on
the system. This extra memory is actually called virtual memory and it is a section
of a hard that's set up to emulate the computer's RAM. Paging technique plays an
important role in implementing virtual memory.

A non-contiguous policy with a fixed size partition is called paging. A computer

can address more memory than the amount of physically installed on the system.
This extra memory is actually called virtual memory. Paging technique is very
important in implementing virtual memory. Secondary memory is divided into
equal size partition (fixed) called pages. Every process will have a separate page
table. The entries in the page table are the number of pages a process. At each
entry either we have an invalid pointer which means the page is not in main
memory or we will get the corresponding frame number. When the frame
number is combined with instruction of set D than we will get the corresponding
physical address. Size of a page table is generally very large so cannot be
accommodated inside the PCB, therefore, PCB contains a register value PTBR(
page table base register) which leads to the page table.

Paging is a memory management technique in which process address space is

broken into blocks of the same size called pages (size is power of 2, between 512
bytes and 8192 bytes). The size of the process is measured in the number of
pages.

Similarly, main memory is divided into small fixed-sized blocks of (physical)

memory called frames and the size of a frame is kept the same as that of a page

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to have optimum utilization of the main memory and to avoid external

fragmentation.

Address Translation

Page address is called logical address and represented by page number and
the offset.

Logical Address = Page number + page offset

Frame address is called physical address and represented by a frame number and
the offset.

Physical Address = Frame number + page offset

A data structure called page map table is used to keep track of the relation
between a page of a process to a frame in physical memory.

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When the system allocates a frame to any page, it translates this logical address
into a physical address and create entry into the page table to be used
throughout execution of the program.

When a process is to be executed, its corresponding pages are loaded into any
available memory frames. Suppose you have a program of 8Kb but your memory
can accommodate only 5Kb at a given point in time, then the paging concept will
come into picture. When a computer runs out of RAM, the operating system (OS)
will move idle or unwanted pages of memory to secondary memory to free up
RAM for other processes and brings them back when needed by the program.

This process continues during the whole execution of the program where the OS
keeps removing idle pages from the main memory and write them onto the
secondary memory and bring them back when required by the program.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Paging

Here is a list of advantages and disadvantages of paging −

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 Paging reduces external fragmentation, but still suffer from internal

fragmentation.

 Paging is simple to implement and assumed as an efficient memory

management technique.

 Due to equal size of the pages and frames, swapping becomes very easy.

 Page table requires extra memory space, so may not be good for a system
having small RAM.

Segmentation

Segmentation is a memory management technique in which each job is divided

into several segments of different sizes, one for each module that contains pieces
that perform related functions. Each segment is actually a different logical
address space of the program.

When a process is to be executed, its corresponding segmentation are loaded into

non-contiguous memory though every segment is loaded into a contiguous block
of available memory.

Segmentation memory management works very similar to paging but here

segments are of variable-length where as in paging pages are of fixed size.

A program segment contains the program's main function, utility functions, data
structures, and so on. The operating system maintains a segment map table for
every process and a list of free memory blocks along with segment numbers, their
size and corresponding memory locations in main memory. For each segment, the
table stores the starting address of the segment and the length of the segment. A
reference to a memory location includes a value that identifies a segment and an
offset.

Segmentation is a programmer view of the memory where instead of dividing a

process into equal size partition we divided according to program into partition
called segments. The translation is the same as paging but paging segmentation is
independent of internal fragmentation but suffers from external fragmentation.

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Reason of external fragmentation is program can be divided into segments but

segment must be contiguous in nature.

Segmentation with paging

In segmentation with paging, we take advantages of both segmentation as well as

paging. It is a kind of multilevel paging but in multilevel paging, we divide a page
table into equal size partition but here in segmentation with paging, we divide it
according to segments. All the properties are the same as that of paging because
segments are divided into pages.

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Contiguous memory allocation

In contiguous memory allocation, all the available memory space remain

together in one place. It means freely available memory partitions are not
scattered here and there across the whole memory space.

In the contiguous memory allocation, both the operating system and the user
must reside in the main memory. The main memory is divided into two portions
one portion is for the operating and other is for the user program.

In the contiguous memory allocation when any user process request for the
memory a single section of the contiguous memory block is given to that process
according to its need. We can achieve contiguous memory allocation by dividing
memory into the fixed-sized partition.

A single process is allocated in that fixed sized single partition. But this will
increase the degree of multiprogramming means more than one process in the

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main memory that bounds the number of fixed partition done in memory.
Internal fragmentation increases because of the contiguous memory allocation.

→ Fixed sized partition

In the fixed sized partition the system divides memory into fixed size partition
(may or may not be of the same size) here entire partition is allowed to a process
and if there is some wastage inside the partition is allocated to a process and if
there is some wastage inside the partition then it is called internal fragmentation.

Advantage: Management or book keeping is easy.

Disadvantage: Internal fragmentation

→ Variable size partition

In the variable size partition, the memory is treated as one unit and space
allocated to a process is exactly the same as required and the leftover space can
be reused again.
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Advantage: There is no internal fragmentation.

Disadvantage: Management is very difficult as memory is becoming purely

fragmented after some time.

Demand Paging

According to the concept of Virtual Memory, in order to execute some process,

only a part of the process needs to be present in the main memory which means
that only a few pages will only be present in the main memory at any time.

However, deciding, which pages need to be kept in the main memory and which
need to be kept in the secondary memory, is going to be difficult because we
cannot say in advance that a process will require a particular page at particular
time.

Therefore, to overcome this problem, there is a concept called Demand Paging is

introduced. It suggests keeping all pages of the frames in the secondary memory
until they are required. In other words, it says that do not load any page in the
main memory until it is required.

Whenever any page is referred for the first time in the main memory, then that
page will be found in the secondary memory.

After that, it may or may not be present in the main memory depending upon the
page replacement algorithm which will be covered later in this tutorial.

What is a Page Fault?

If the referred page is not present in the main memory then there will be a miss
and the concept is called Page miss or page fault.

The CPU has to access the missed page from the secondary memory. If the
number of page fault is very high then the effective access time of the system will
become very high.

What is Thrashing?

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If the number of page faults is equal to the number of referred pages or the
number of page faults are so high so that the CPU remains busy in just reading the
pages from the secondary memory then the effective access time will be the time
taken by the CPU to read one word from the secondary memory and it will be so
high. The concept is called thrashing.

If the page fault rate is PF %, the time taken in getting a page from the secondary
memory and again restarting is S (service time) and the memory access time is ma
then the effective access time can be given as;

1. EAT = PF X S + (1 - PF) X (ma)

Page Replacement Algorithms

In an operating system that uses paging for memory management, a page

replacement algorithm is needed to decide which page needs to be replaced
when new page comes in.

Page Fault – A page fault happens when a running program accesses a memory
page that is mapped into the virtual address space, but not loaded in physical
memory.

Since actual physical memory is much smaller than virtual memory, page faults
happen. In case of page fault, Operating System might have to replace one of the
existing pages with the newly needed page. Different page replacement
algorithms suggest different ways to decide which page to replace. The target for
all algorithms is to reduce the number of page faults.

Page Replacement Algorithms :

 First In First Out (FIFO) –

This is the simplest page replacement algorithm. In this algorithm, the
operating system keeps track of all pages in the memory in a queue, the
oldest page is in the front of the queue. When a page needs to be replaced
page in the front of the queue is selected for removal.

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 Example-1Consider page reference string 1, 3, 0, 3, 5, 6 with 3 page

frames.Find number of page faults.

Initially all slots are empty, so when 1, 3, 0 came they are allocated to the
empty slots —> 3 Page Faults.
when 3 comes, it is already in memory so —> 0 Page Faults.
Then 5 comes, it is not available in memory so it replaces the oldest page
slot i.e 1. —>1 Page Fault.
6 comes, it is also not available in memory so it replaces the oldest page
slot i.e 3 —>1 Page Fault.
Finally when 3 come it is not avilable so it replaces 0 1 page fault

Belady’s anomaly – Belady’s anomaly proves that it is possible to have more page
faults when increasing the number of page frames while using the First in First
Out (FIFO) page replacement algorithm. For example, if we consider reference
string 3, 2, 1, 0, 3, 2, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 4 and 3 slots, we get 9 total page faults, but if we
increase slots to 4, we get 10 page faults.

 Optimal Page replacement –

In this algorithm, pages are replaced which would not be used for the
longest duration of time in the future.

Example-2:Consider the page references 7, 0, 1, 2, 0, 3, 0, 4, 2, 3, 0, 3, 2, with 4

page frame. Find number of page fault.

Initially all slots are empty, so when 7 0 1 2 are allocated to the empty slots —> 4
Page faults
0 is already there so —> 0 Page fault.
when 3 came it will take the place of 7 because it is not used for the longest
duration of time in the future.—>1 Page fault.
0 is already there so —> 0 Page fault..
4 will takes place of 1 —> 1 Page Fault.

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Now for the further page reference string —> 0 Page fault because they are
already available in the memory.

Optimal page replacement is perfect, but not possible in practice as the operating
system cannot know future requests. The use of Optimal Page replacement is to
set up a benchmark so that other replacement algorithms can be analyzed against
it.

 Least Recently Used –

In this algorithm page will be replaced which is least recently used.

Example-3Consider the page reference string 7, 0, 1, 2, 0, 3, 0, 4, 2, 3, 0, 3, 2 with

4 page frames.Find number of page faults.

Initially all slots are empty, so when 7 0 1 2 are allocated to the empty slots —> 4
Page faults
0 is already their so —> 0 Page fault.
when 3 came it will take the place of 7 because it is least recently used —>1 Page
fault
0 is already in memory so —> 0 Page fault.
4 will takes place of 1 —> 1 Page Fault
Now for the further page reference string —> 0 Page fault because they are
already available in the memory.

Storage Management

The term storage management encompasses the technologies and processes

organizations use to maximize or improve the performance of their data storage
resources. It is a broad category that includes virtualization, replication, mirroring,
security, compression, traffic analysis, process automation,
storage provisioning and related techniques.

By some estimates, the amount of digital information stored in the world's

computer systems is doubling every year. As a result, organizations feel constant
pressure to expand their storage capacity. However, doubling a company's
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storage capacity every year is an expensive proposition. In order to reduce some

of those costs and improve the capabilities and security of their storage solutions,
organizations turn to a variety of storage management solutions.

Storage Management Benefits

Many storage management technologies, like storage

virtualization, deduplication and compression, allow companies to better utilize
their existing storage. The benefits of these approaches include lower costs --
both the one-time capital expenses associated with storage devices and the
ongoing operational costs for maintaining those devices.

Most storage management techniques also simplify the management of storage

networks and devices. That can allow companies to save time and even reduce
the number of IT workers needed to maintain their storage systems, which in
turn, also reduces overall storage operating costs.

Storage management can also help improve a data center's performance. For
example, compression and technology can enable faster I/Os, and automatic
storage provisioning can speed the process of assigning storage resources to
various applications.

In addition, virtualization and automation technologies can help an organization

improve its agility. These storage management techniques make it possible to
reassign storage capacity quickly as business needs change, reducing wasted
space and improving a company's ability to respond to evolving market
conditions.

Finally, many storage management technologies, such as replication, mirroring

and security, can help a data center improve its reliability and availability. These
techniques are often particularly important for backup and archive storage,
although they also apply to primary storage. IT departments often turn to these
technologies for help in meeting SLAs or achieving compliance goals.

Storage Management: Related Terms

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Storage management is very closely related to Storage Resource Management

(SRM). SRM often refers particularly to software used to manage storage
networks and devices. By contrast, the term "storage management" can refer to
devices and processes, as well as actual software. In addition, SRM usually refers
specifically to software for allocating storage capacity based on company policies
and ongoing events. It may include asset management, charge back, capacity
management, configuration management, data and media migration, event
management, performance and availability management, policy management,
quota management, and media management capabilities. In short, SRM is a
subset of storage management; however, the two terms are sometimes used
interchangeably.

Storage management is also closely associated with networked storage solutions,

such as storage area networks (SANs) and network-attached storage (NAS)
devices. Because using SAN and NAS devices is more complicated than using
direct-attached storage (DAS), many organizations deploy SRM software when
they deploy their storage networking environments. However, storage
management techniques like replication, mirroring, security, compression and
others can be utilized with DAS devices as well as with SANs and NAS arrays.

Storage management is often used in virtualized or cloud computing

environments.

Storage Management Implementation

Because storage management is such a broad category, it's difficult to provide

detailed instructions on how to install or how to use storage management
technologies. In general, storage management technology can be deployed as
software or it can be included in a hardware device. Storage management
techniques can be applied to primary, backup or archived storage. Deployment
and implementation procedures will vary widely depending on the type of storage
management selected and the vendor. In addition, the skills and training of
storage administrators and other personnel add another level to an organization's
storage management capabilities.

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Storage Management Technology

The primary organization involved in establishing storage management standards

is the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). It has put forth several
important storage specifications, including the Storage Management Initiative
Specification (SMI-S) and the Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI). SMI-S
defines the attributes of storage hardware, such as Fibre Channel switches, Fibre
Channel and iSCI arrays, NAS devices, tape libraries and host profiles. It also
addresses storage management software issues, such as configuration discovery,
provisioning and trending, security, asset management, compliance and cost
management, event management and data protection. The CDMI specification
provides standards for cloud storage services, enabling interoperability among
various storage management solutions.

Mass storage

Mass storage refers to various techniques and devices for storing large amounts
of data. The earliest storage devices were punched paper cards, which were used
as early as 1804 to control silk-weaving looms. Modern mass storage devices
include all types of disk drives and tape drives.

Mass storage is distinct from memory, which refers to temporary storage areas
within the computer. Unlike main memory, mass storage devices retain data even
when the computer is turned off.

Examples of Mass Storage Devices (MSD)

Common types of mass storage include the following:

 solid-state drives (SSD)

 hard drives

 external hard drives

 optical drives

 tape drives

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 RAID storage

 USB storage

 flash memory cards

Today, mass storage is measured in gigabytes (1,024 megabytes)

and terabytes(1,024 gigabytes). Older mass storage technology, such as floppy
drives, are measured in kilobytes (1,024 bytes), megabytes (1,024 kilobytes),

Mass storage is sometimes called auxiliary storage.

RAID

RAID is short for redundant array of independent disks.

Originally, the term RAID was defined as redundant array of inexpensive disks, but
now it usually refers to a redundant array of independent disks. RAID storage uses
multiple disks in order to provide fault tolerance, to improve overall performance,
and to increase storage capacity in a system. This is in contrast with older storage
devices that used only a single disk drive to store data.

RAID allows you to store the same data redundantly (in multiple paces) in a
balanced way to improve overall performance. RAID disk drives are used
frequently on servers but aren't generally necessary for personal computers.

How RAID Works

With RAID technology, data can be mirrored on one or more disks in the same
array, so that if one disk fails, the data is preserved. Thanks to a technique known
as striping (a technique for spreading data over multiple disk drives), RAID also
offers the option of reading or writing to more than one disk at the same time in
order to improve performance.

In this arrangement, sequential data is broken into segments which are sent to
the various disks in the array, speeding up throughput. A typical RAID array uses
multiple disks that appear to be a single device so it can provide more storage
capacity than a single disk.

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Standard RAID Levels

RAID devices use many different architectures, called levels, depending on the
desired balance between performance and fault tolerance. RAID levels describe
how data is distributed across the drives. Standard RAID levels include the
following:

Level 0: Striped disk array without fault tolerance

Provides data striping (spreading out blocks of each file across multiple disk
drives) but no redundancy. This improves performance but does not deliver fault
tolerance. If one drive fails then all data in the array is lost.

Level 1: Mirroring and duplexing

Provides disk mirroring. Level 1 provides twice the read transaction rate of single
disks and the same write transaction rate as single disks.

Level 2: Error-correcting coding

Not a typical implementation and rarely used, Level 2 stripes data at the bit level
rather than the block level.

Level 3: Bit-interleaved parity

Provides byte-level striping with a dedicated parity disk. Level 3, which cannot
service simultaneous multiple requests, also is rarely used.

Level 4: Dedicated parity drive

A commonly used implementation of RAID, Level 4 provides block-level striping

(like Level 0) with a parity disk. If a data disk fails, the parity data is used to create
a replacement disk. A disadvantage to Level 4 is that the parity disk can create
write bottlenecks.

Level 5: Block interleaved distributed parity

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Provides data striping at the byte level and also stripe error correction
information. This results in excellent performance and good fault tolerance. Level
5 is one of the most popular implementations of RAID.

Level 6: Independent data disks with double parity

Provides block-level striping with parity data distributed across all disks.

Level 10: A stripe of mirrors

Not one of the original RAID levels, multiple RAID 1 mirrors are created, and a
RAID 0 stripe is created over these.

Non-Standard RAID Levels

Some devices use more than one level in a hybrid or nested arrangement, and
some vendors also offer non-standard proprietary RAID levels. Examples of non-
standard RAID levels include the following:

Level 0+1: A Mirror of Stripes

Not one of the original RAID levels, two RAID 0 stripes are created, and a RAID 1
mirror is created over them. Used for both replicating and sharing data among
disks.

Level 7

A trademark of Storage Computer Corporation that adds caching to Levels 3 or 4.

RAID 1E

A RAID 1 implementation with more than two disks. Data striping is combined
with mirroring each written stripe to one of the remaining disks in the array.

RAID S

Also called Parity RAID, this is EMC Corporation's proprietary striped parity RAID
system used in its Symmetrix storage systems.

RAID History and Alternative Storage Options

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Before RAID devices became popular, most systems used a single drive to store
data. This arrangement is sometimes referred to as a SLED (single large expensive
disk). However, SLEDs have some drawbacks. First, they can create
I/O bottlenecks because the data cannot be read from the disk quickly enough to
keep up with the other components in a system, particularly the processor.
Second, if a SLED fails, all the data is lost unless it has been recently backed up
onto another disk or tape.

In 1987, three University of California, Berkeley, researchers -- David Patterson,

Garth A. Gibson, and Randy Katz -- first defined the term RAID in a paper titled A
Case for Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID). They theorized that
spreading data across multiple drives could improve system performance, lower
costs and reduce power consumption while avoiding the potential reliability
problems inherent in using inexpensive, and less reliable, disks. The paper also
described the five original RAID levels.

Today, RAID technology is nearly ubiquitous among enterprise storage devices

and is also found in many high-capacity consumer storage devices. However,
some non-RAID storage options do exist. One alternative is JBOD (Just a Bunch of
Drives). JBOD architecture utilizes multiple disks, but each disk in the device is
addressed separately. JBOD provides increased storage capacity versus a single
disk, but doesn't offer the same fault tolerance and performance benefits as RAID
devices.

Another RAID alternative is concatenation or spanning. This is the practice of

combining multiple disk drives so that they appear to be a single drive. Spanning
increases the storage capacity of a drive; however, as with JBOD, spanning does
not provide reliability or speed benefits.

RAID Is Not Data Backup

RAID should not be confused with data backup. Although some RAID levels do
provide redundancy, experts advise utilizing a separate storage system for backup
and disaster recovery purposes.

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Setting Up a RAID Array

In order to set up a RAID array, you'll need a group of disk drives and either a
software or a hardware controller. Software RAID runs directly on a server,
utilizing server resources. As a result, it may cause some applications to run more
slowly. Most server operating systems include some built-in RAID management
capabilities.

You can also set up your own RAID array by adding a RAID controller to a server or
a desktop PC. The RAID controller runs essentially the same software, but it uses
its own processor instead of the system's CPU. Some less expensive "fake RAID"
controllers provide RAID management software but don't have a separate
processor.

Alternatively, you can purchase a pre-built RAID array from a storage vendor.
These appliances generally include two RAID controllers and a group of disks in
their own housing.

Using a RAID array is usually no different than using any other kind of primary
storage. The RAID management will be handled by the hardware or software
controller and is generally invisible to the end user.

RAID Technology Standards

The Storage Networking Industry Association has established the Common RAID
Disk Data Format (DDF) specification. In an effort to promote interoperability
among different RAID vendors, it defines how data should be distributed across
the disks in a RAID device.

Another industry group called the RAID Advisory Board worked during the 1990s
to promote RAID technology, but the group is no longer active.

Disk Structure

Secondary Storage

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Secondary storage devices are those devices whose memory is non volatile,
meaning, the stored data will be intact even if the system is turned off. Here are a
few things worth noting about secondary storage.

 Secondary storage is also called auxiliary storage.

 Secondary storage is less expensive when compared to primary memory

like RAMs.

 The speed of the secondary storage is also lesser than that of primary
storage.

 Hence, the data which is less frequently accessed is kept in the secondary
storage.

 A few examples are magnetic disks, magnetic tapes, removable thumb

drives etc.

Magnetic Disk Structure

In modern computers, most of the secondary storage is in the form of magnetic

disks. Hence, knowing the structure of a magnetic disk is necessary to understand
how the data in the disk is accessed by the computer.

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Structure of a magnetic disk

A magnetic disk contains several platters. Each platter is divided into circular
shaped tracks. The length of the tracks near the centre is less than the length of
the tracks farther from the centre. Each track is further divided into sectors, as
shown in the figure.

Tracks of the same distance from centre form a cylinder. A read-write head is
used to read data from a sector of the magnetic disk.

The speed of the disk is measured as two parts:

 Transfer rate: This is the rate at which the data moves from disk to the
computer.

 Random access time: It is the sum of the seek time and rotational latency.

Seek time is the time taken by the arm to move to the required track. Rotational
latency is defined as the time taken by the arm to reach the required sector in the
track.

Even though the disk is arranged as sectors and tracks physically, the data is
logically arranged and addressed as an array of blocks of fixed size. The size of a
block can be 512 or 1024 bytes. Each logical block is mapped with a sector on the
disk, sequentially. In this way, each sector in the disk will have a logical address.

Operating System Input Output I/O

The three main jobs of a computer are Input, Output, and Processing. In most of
the cases, the most important job is Input / Output, and the processing is simply
incidental. For an example, when we browse a web page or edit any file, our
immediate attention is to read or enter some information, not for computing an
answer. The fundamental role of the operating system in computer Input /
Output is to manage and organize I/O operations and all I/O devices.

The various devices that are connected to the computer need to be controlled
and it is a key concern of operating-system designers. This is as I/O devices vary so

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widely in their functionality and speed (for example a mouse, a hard disk and a
CD-ROM), varied methods are required for controlling them. These methods form
the I/O sub-system of the kernel of OS that separates the rest of the kernel from
the complications of managing I/O devices.

File Access Methods

When a file is used, information is read and accessed into computer memory and
there are several ways to access this information of the file. Some systems
provide only one access method for files. Other systems, such as those of IBM,
support many access methods, and choosing the right one for a particular
application is a major design problem.

There are three ways to access a file into a computer system: Sequential-Access,
Direct Access, Index sequential Method.

1. Sequential Access –
It is the simplest access method. Information in the file is processed in
order, one record after the other. This mode of access is by far the most
common; for example, editor and compiler usually access the file in this
fashion.

Read and write make up the bulk of the operation on a file. A read operation -
read next- read the next position of the file and automatically advance a file
pointer, which keeps track I/O location. Similarly, for the writewrite next append
to the end of the file and advance to the newly written material.

Key points:

1.

 Data is accessed one record right after another record in an order.

 When we use read command, it move ahead pointer by one

 When we use write command, it will allocate memory and move the
pointer to the end of the file

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 Such a method is reasonable for tape.

2. Direct Access –
Another method is direct access method also known as relative access
method. A filed-length logical record that allows the program to read and
write record rapidly. in no particular order. The direct access is based on
the disk model of a file since disk allows random access to any file block.
For direct access, the file is viewed as a numbered sequence of block or
record. Thus, we may read block 14 then block 59 and then we can write
block 17. There is no restriction on the order of reading and writing for a
direct access file.

A block number provided by the user to the operating system is normally

a relative block number, the first relative block of the file is 0 and then 1 and so
on.

3. Index sequential method –

It is the other method of accessing a file which is built on the top of the
direct access method. These methods construct an index for the file. The
index, like an index in the back of a book, contains the pointer to the
various blocks. To find a record in the file, we first search the index and
then by the help of pointer we access the file directly.

Key points:

 It is built on top of Sequential access.

 It control the pointer by using index.

Structures of Directory

A directory is a container that is used to contain folders and file. It organizes files
and folders into a hierarchical manner.

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There are several logical structures of a directory, these are given below.

1. Single-level directory –
Single level directory is simplest directory structure.In it all files are
contained in same directory which make it easy to support and understand.

A single level directory has a significant limitation, however, when the number of
files increases or when the system has more than one user. Since all the files are
in the same directory, they must have the unique name . if two users call their
dataset test, then the unique name rule violated.

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Advantages:

 Since it is a single directory, so its implementation is very easy.

 If the files are smaller in size, searching will become faster.

 The operations like file creation, searching, deletion, updating are

very easy in such a directory structure.

Disadvantages:

 There may chance of name collision because two files can not have
the same name.

 Searching will become time taking if the directory is large.

 In this can not group the same type of files together.

2. Two-level directory –
As we have seen, a single level directory often leads to confusion of files
names among different users. the solution to this problem is to create a
separate directory for each user.

In the two-level directory structure, each user has there own user files directory
(UFD). The UFDs has similar structures, but each lists only the files of a single user.
system’s master file directory (MFD) is searches whenever a new user id=s logged
in. The MFD is indexed by username or account number, and each entry points to
the UFD for that user.

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Advantages:

 We can give full path like /User-name/directory-name/.

 Different users can have same directory as well as file name.

 Searching of files become more easy due to path name and user-
grouping.

Disadvantages:

1.

 A user is not allowed to share files with other users.

 Still it not very scalable, two files of the same type cannot be grouped
together in the same user.

2. Tree-structured directory –
Once we have seen a two-level directory as a tree of height 2, the natural
generalization is to extend the directory structure to a tree of arbitrary
height.
This generalization allows the user to create there own subdirectories and
to organize on their files accordingly.

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A tree structure is the most common directory structure. The tree has a root
directory, and every file in the system have a unique path.

Advantages:

 Very generalize, since full path name can be given.

 Very scalable, the probability of name collision is less.

 Searching becomes very easy, we can use both absolute path as well
as relative.

Disadvantages:

 Every file does not fit into the hierarchical model, files may be saved
into multiple directories.

 We can not share files.

 It is inefficient, because accessing a file may go under multiple

directories.

3. Acyclic graph directory –

An acyclic graph is a graph with no cycle and allows to share subdirectories
and files. The same file or subdirectories may be in two different
directories. It is a natural generalization of the tree-structured directory.

It is used in the situation like when two programmers are working on a joint
project and they need to access files. The associated files are stored in a
subdirectory, separating them from other projects and files of other
programmers, since they are working on a joint project so they want the
subdirectories to be into their own directories. The common subdirectories
should be shared. So here we use Acyclic directories.

It is the point to note that shared file is not the same as copy file . If any
programmer makes some changes in the subdirectory it will reflect in both
subdirectories.

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Advantages:

 We can share files.

 Searching is easy due to different-different paths.

Disadvantages:

 We share the files via linking, in case of deleting it may create the
problem,

 If the link is softlink then after deleting the file we left with a dangling
pointer.

 In case of hardlink, to delete a file we have to delete all the reference

associated with it.

4. General graph directory structure –

In general graph directory structure, cycles are allowed within a directory
structure where multiple directories can be derived from more than one
parent directory.

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The main problem with this kind of directory structure is to calculate total
size or space that has been taken by the files and directories.

Advantages:

 It allows cycles.

 It is more flexible than other directories structure.

Disadvantages:

 It is more costly than others.

 It needs garbage collection.

Disk Data Structures

There are various on disk data structures that are used to implement a file
system. This structure may vary depending upon the operating system.

1. Boot Control Block

Boot Control Block contains all the information which is needed to boot an
operating system from that volume. It is called boot block in UNIX file system. In
NTFS, it is called the partition boot sector.
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2. Volume Control Block

Volume control block all the information regarding that volume such as number
of blocks, size of each block, partition table, pointers to free blocks and free FCB
blocks. In UNIX file system, it is known as super block. In NTFS, this information is
stored inside master file table.

3. Directory Structure (per file system)

A directory structure (per file system) contains file names and pointers to
corresponding FCBs. In UNIX, it includes inode numbers associated to file names.

4. File Control Block

File Control block contains all the details about the file such as ownership details,
permission details, file size,etc. In UFS, this detail is stored in inode. In NTFS, this
information is stored inside master file table as a relational database structure. A
typical file control block is shown in the image below.

File system Mounting

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Each filesystem has its own root directory . The filesystem whose root directory is
the root of the system’s directory tree is called root filesystem . Other filesystems
can be mounted on the system’s directory tree; the directories on which they are
inserted are called mount points . A mounted filesystem is the child of the
mounted filesystem to which the mount point directory belongs. For instance,
the /proc virtual filesystem is a child of the root filesystem (and the root
filesystem is the parent of /proc).

In most traditional Unix-like kernels, each filesystem can be mounted only once.
Suppose that an Ext2 filesystem stored in the /dev/fd0 floppy disk is mounted
on /flp by issuing the command:

mount -t ext2 /dev/fd0 /flp

Until the filesystem is unmounted by issuing a umount command, any other

mount command acting on /dev/fd0 fails.

However, Linux 2.4 is different: it is possible to mount the same filesystem several
times. For instance, issuing the following command right after the previous one
will likely succeed in Linux:

mount -t ext2 -o ro /dev/fd0 /flp-ro

As a result, the Ext2 filesystem stored in the floppy disk is mounted both
on /flp and on /flp-ro; therefore, its files can be accessed through
both /flp and /flp-ro (in this example, accesses through /flp-ro are read-only).

Of course, if a filesystem is mounted n times, its root directory can be accessed

through n mount points, one per mount operation. Although the same filesystem
can be accessed ...

File Sharing

File sharing is the practice of sharing or offering access to digital information or

resources, including documents, multimedia (audio/video), graphics, computer
programs, images and e-books. It is the private or public distribution of data or
resources in a network with different levels of sharing privileges.
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File sharing can be done using several methods. The most common techniques for
file storage, distribution and transmission include the following:

 Removable storage devices

 Centralized file hosting server installations on networks

 World Wide Web-oriented hyperlinked documents

 Distributed peer-to-peer networks

Explained File Sharing

File sharing is a multipurpose computer service feature that evolved from

removable media via network protocols, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
Beginning in the 1990s, many remote file-sharing mechanisms were introduced,
including FTP, hotline and Internet relay chat (IRC).

Operating systems also provide file-sharing methods, such as network file sharing
(NFS). Most file-sharing tasks use two basic sets of network criteria, as follows:

 Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing: This is the most popular, but controversial,
method of file sharing because of the use of peer-to-peer software.
Network computer users locate shared data with third-party software. P2P
file sharing allows users to directly access, download and edit files. Some
third-party software facilitates P2P sharing by collecting and segmenting
large files into smaller pieces.

 File Hosting Services: This P2P file-sharing alternative provides a broad

selection of popular online material. These services are quite often used
with Internet collaboration methods, including email, blogs, forums, or
other mediums, where direct download links from the file hosting services
can be included. These service websites usually host files to enable users to
download them.

Once users download or make use of a file using a file-sharing network, their
computer also becomes a part of that network, allowing other users to download

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files from the user's computer. File sharing is generally illegal, with the exception
of sharing material that is not copyrighted or proprietary. Another issue with file-
sharing applications is the problem of spyware or adware, as some file-sharing
websites have placed spyware programs in their websites. These spyware
programs are often installed on users' computers without their consent and
awareness.

File Systems

File system is the part of the operating system which is responsible for file
management. It provides a mechanism to store the data and access to the file
contents including data and programs. Some Operating systems treats everything
as a file for example Ubuntu.

The File system takes care of the following issues

o File Structure

We have seen various data structures in which the file can be stored. The task of
the file system is to maintain an optimal file structure.

o Recovering Free space

Whenever a file gets deleted from the hard disk, there is a free space created in
the disk. There can be many such spaces which need to be recovered in order to
reallocate them to other files.

o disk space assignment to the files

The major concern about the file is deciding where to store the files on the hard
disk. There are various disks scheduling algorithm which will be covered later in
this tutorial.

o tracking data location

A File may or may not be stored within only one block. It can be stored in the non
contiguous blocks on the disk. We need to keep track of all the blocks on which
the part of the files reside.

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File System Structure

File System provide efficient access to the disk by allowing data to be stored,
located and retrieved in a convenient way. A file System must be able to store the
file, locate the file and retrieve the file.

Most of the Operating Systems use layering approach for every task including file
systems. Every layer of the file system is responsible for some activities.

The image shown below, elaborates how the file system is divided in different
layers, and also the functionality of each layer.

 When an application program asks for a file, the first request is directed
to the logical file system. The logical file system contains the Meta data
of the file and directory structure. If the application program doesn't
have the required permissions of the file then this layer will throw an
error. Logical file systems also verify the path to the file.

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 Generally, files are divided into various logical blocks. Files are to be
stored in the hard disk and to be retrieved from the hard disk. Hard disk
is divided into various tracks and sectors. Therefore, in order to store
and retrieve the files, the logical blocks need to be mapped to physical
blocks. This mapping is done by File organization module. It is also
responsible for free space management.
 Once File organization module decided which physical block the
application program needs, it passes this information to basic file
system. The basic file system is responsible for issuing the commands to
I/O control in order to fetch those blocks.
 I/O controls contain the codes by using which it can access hard disk.
These codes are known as device drivers. I/O controls are also
responsible for handling interrupts.

File System Implementation

A file is a collection of related information. The file system resides on secondary

storage and provides efficient and convenient access to the disk by allowing data
to be stored, located, and retrieved.

File system organized in many layers :

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 I/O Control level –

Device drivers acts as interface between devices and Os, they help to
transfer data between disk and main memory. It takes block number a
input and as output it gives low level hardware specific instruction.
/li>

 Basic file system –

It Issues general commands to device driver to read and write physical
blocks on disk.It manages the memory buffers and caches. A block in buffer
can hold the contents of the disk block and cache stores frequently used file
system metadata.

 File organization Module –

It has information about files, location of files and their logical and physical
blocks.Physical blocks do not match with logical numbers of logical block
numbered from 0 to N. It also has a free space which tracks unallocated
blocks.

 Logical file system –

It manages metadata information about a file i.e includes all details about a
file except the actual contents of file. It also maintains via file control
blocks. File control block (FCB) has information about a file – owner, size,
permissions, location of file contents.

Advantages :

1. Duplication of code is minimized.

2. Each file system can have its own logical file system.

Disadvantages :
If we access many files at same time then it results in low performance.

We can implement file system by using two types data structures :

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1. On-disk Structures –
Generally they contain information about total number of disk blocks, free disk
blocks, location of them and etc. Below given are different on-disk structures :

1. Boot Control Block –

It is usually the first block of volume and it contains information
needed to boot an operating system.In UNIX it is called boot block
and in NTFS it is called as partition boot sector.

2. Volume Control Block –

It has information about a particular partition ex:- free block count,
block size and block pointers etc.In UNIX it is called super block and
in NTFS it is stored in master file table.

3. Directory Structure –
They store file names and associated inode numbers.In UNIX,
includes file names and associated file names and in NTFS, it is stored
in master file table.

4. Per-File FCB –
It contains details about files and it has a unique identifier number to
allow association with directory entry. In NTFS it is stored in master
file table.

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2. In-Memory Structure :
They are maintained in main-memory and these are helpful for file system
management for caching. Several in-memory structures given below :

5. Mount Table –
It contains information about each mounted volume.

6. Directory-Structure cache –
This cache holds the directory information of recently accessed
directories.

7. System wide open-file table –

It contains the copy of FCB of each open file.

8. Per-process open-file table –

It contains information opened by that particular process and it maps
with appropriate system wide open-file.

Directory Implementation :

9. Linear List –
It maintains a linear list of filenames with pointers to the data
blocks.It is time-consuming also.To create a new file, we must first
search the directory to be sure that no existing file has the same
name then we add a file at end of the directory.To delete a file, we
search the directory for the named file and release the space.To
reuse the directory entry either we can mark the entry as unused or
we can attach it to a list of free directories.

10. Hash Table –

The hash table takes a value computed from the file name and
returns a pointer to the file. It decreases the directory search time.
The insertion and deletion process of files is easy. The major difficulty
is hash tables are its generally fixed size and hash tables are
dependent on hash function on that size.

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Directory Implementation

There is the number of algorithms by using which, the directories can be

implemented. However, the selection of an appropriate directory implementation
algorithm may significantly affect the performance of the system.

The directory implementation algorithms are classified according to the data

structure they are using. There are mainly two algorithms which are used in these
days.

1. Linear List

In this algorithm, all the files in a directory are maintained as singly lined list. Each
file contains the pointers to the data blocks which are assigned to it and the next
file in the directory.

Characteristics

1. When a new file is created, then the entire list is checked whether the new
file name is matching to a existing file name or not. In case, it doesn't exist,
the file can be created at the beginning or at the end. Therefore, searching
for a unique name is a big concern because traversing the whole list takes
time.

2. The list needs to be traversed in case of every operation (creation, deletion,

updating, etc) on the files therefore the systems become inefficient.

2. Hash Table

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To overcome the drawbacks of singly linked list implementation of directories,

there is an alternative approach that is hash table. This approach suggests to use
hash table along with the linked lists.

A key-value pair for each file in the directory gets generated and stored in the
hash table. The key can be determined by applying the hash function on the file
name while the key points to the corresponding file stored in the directory.

Now, searching becomes efficient due to the fact that now, entire list will not be
searched on every operating. Only hash table entries are checked using the key
and if an entry found then the corresponding file will be fetched using the value.

Allocation Methods

There are various methods which can be used to allocate disk space to the files.
Selection of an appropriate allocation method will significantly affect the
performance and efficiency of the system. Allocation method provides a way in
which the disk will be utilized and the files will be accessed.

There are following methods which can be used for allocation.

1. Contiguous Allocation.

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2. Extents

3. Linked Allocation

4. Clustering

5. FAT

6. Indexed Allocation

7. Linked Indexed Allocation

8. Multilevel Indexed Allocation

9. Inode

Free Space Management

A file system is responsible to allocate the free blocks to the file therefore it has
to keep track of all the free blocks present in the disk. There are mainly two
approaches by using which, the free blocks in the disk are managed.

1. Bit Vector

In this approach, the free space list is implemented as a bit map vector. It contains
the number of bits where each bit represents each block.

If the block is empty then the bit is 1 otherwise it is 0. Initially all the blocks are
empty therefore each bit in the bit map vector contains 1.

LAs the space allocation proceeds, the file system starts allocating blocks to the
files and setting the respective bit to 0.

2. Linked List

It is another approach for free space management. This approach suggests linking
together all the free blocks and keeping a pointer in the cache which points to the
first free block.

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Therefore, all the free blocks on the disks will be linked together with a pointer.
Whenever a block gets allocated, its previous free block will be linked to its next
free block.

File System-Efficiency and Performance

Efficiency

The efficient use of disk space depends heavily on the disk allocation and
directory algorithms in use. For instance, UNIX inodes are preallocated on a
volume. Even an "empty" disk has a percentage of its space lost to inodes.
However, by preallocating the inodes and. spreading them across the volume, we
improve the file system's performance. This improved performance results from
the UNIX allocation and free-space algorithms, which try to keep a file's data
blocks near that file's inode block to reduce seek time. As another example, let's
reconsider the clustering scheme discussed in Section 11.4, which aids in file-seek
and file-transfer performance at the cost of internal fragmentation.

To reduce this fragmentation, BSD UNIX varies the cluster size as a file grows.
Large clusters are used where they can be filled, and small clusters are used for
small files and the last cluster of a file. This system is described in Appendix A. The
types of data normally kept in a file's directory (or inode) entry also require
consideration. Commonly, a 'last write date" is recorded to supply information to
the user and, to determine whether the file needs to be backed up. Some systems
also keep a "last access date," so that a user can determine when the file was last
read.

The result of keeping this information is that, whenever the file is read, a field in
the directory structure must be written to. That means the block must be read
into memory, a section changed, and the block written back out to disk, because
operations on disks occur only in block (or cluster) chunks. So any time a file is
opened for reading, its directory entry must be read and written as well. This
requirement can be inefficient for frequently accessed files, so we must weigh its
benefit against its performance cost when designing a file system. Generally,

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every data item associated with a file needs to be considered for its effect on
efficiency and performance.

As an example, consider how efficiency is affected by the size of the pointers

used to access data. Most systems use either 16- or 32-bit pointers throughout
the operating system. These pointer sizes limit the length of a file to either 2 16
(64 KB) or 232 bytes (4 GB). Some systems implement 64-bit pointers to increase
this limit to 264 bytes, which is a very large number indeed. However, 64-bit
pointers take more space to store and in turn make the allocation and free-space-
management methods (linked lists, indexes, and so on) use more disk space. One
of the difficulties in choosing a pointer size, or indeed any fixed allocation size
within an operating system, is planning for the effects of changing technology.
Consider that the IBM PC XT had a 10-MB hard drive and an MS-DOS file system
that could support only 32 MB. (Each FAT entry was 12 bits, pointing to an 8-KB
cluster.)

As disk capacities increased, larger disks had to be split into 32-MB partitions,
because the file system could not track blocks beyond 32 MB. As hard disks with
capacities of over 100 MB became common, most disk controllers include local
memory to form an on-board cache that is large enough to store entire tracks at a
time. Once a seek is performed, the track is read into the disk cache starting at
the sector under the disk head (reducing latency time).

The disk controller then transfers any sector requests to the operating system.
Once blocks make it from the disk controller into main memory, the operating
system may cache the blocks there. Some systems maintain a separate section of
main memory for a buffer cache, where blocks are kept under the assumption
that they will be used again shortly. Other systems cache file data using a page
cache.

The page cache uses virtual memory techniques to cache file data as pages rather
than as file-system-oriented blocks. Caching file data using virtual addresses is far
more efficient than caching through physical disk blocks, as accesses interface
with virtual memory rather than the file system. Several systems—including

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Solaris, Linux, and Windows NT, 2000, and XP—use page caching to cache both
process pages and file data. This is known as unified virtual memory. Some
versions of UNIX and Linux provide a unified buffer cache. To illustrate the
benefits of the unified buffer cache, consider the two alternatives for opening and
accessing a file. One approach is to use memory mapping (Section 9.7); the
second is to use the standard system calls readO and write 0 . Without a unified
buffer cache, we have a situation similar to Figure 11.11.

Here, the read() and write () system calls go through the buffer cache. The
memory-mapping call, however, requires using two caches—the page cache and
the buffer cache. A memory mapping proceeds by reading in disk blocks from the
file system and storing them in the buffer cache. Because the virtual memory
system does not interface with the buffer cache, the contents of the file in the
buffer cache must be copied into the page cache. This situation is known as
double caching and requires caching file-system data twice. Not only does it
waste memory but it also wastes significant CPU and I/O cycles due to the extra
data movement within, system memory.

In add ition, inconsistencies between the two caches can result in corrupt files. In
contrast, when a unifiedthe disk data structures and algorithms in MS-DOS had to
be modified to allow larger file systems. (Each FAT entry was expanded to 16 bits
and later to 32 bits.) The initial file-system decisions were made for efficiency
reasons; however, with the advent of MS-DOS version 4, millions of computer
users were inconvenienced when they had to switch to the new, larger file
system. Sun's ZFS file system uses 128-bit pointers, which theoretically should
never need to be extended. (The minimum mass of a device capable of storing
2'2S bytes using atomic-level storage would be about 272 trillion kilograms.) As
another example, consider the evolution of Sun's Solaris operating system.

Originally, many data structures were of fixed length, allocated at system startup.
These structures included the process table and the open-file table. When the
process table became full, no more processes could be created. When the file
table became full, no more files could be opened. The system would fail to
provide services to users. Table sizes could be increased only by recompiling the

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kernel and rebooting the system. Since the release of Solaris 2, almost all kernel
structures have been allocated dynamically, eliminating these artificial limits on
system performance. Of course, the algorithms that manipulate these tables are
more complicated, and the operating system is a little slower because it must
dynamically allocate and deallocate table entries; but that price is the usual one
for more general, functionality.

Performance

Even after the basic file-system algorithms have been selected, we can still
improve performance in several ways. As will be discussed in Chapter 13, most
disk controllers include local memory to form an on-board cache that is large
enough to store entire tracks at a time. Once a seek is performed, the track is
read into the disk cache starting at the sector under the disk head (reducing
latency time). The disk controller then transfers any sector requests to the
operating system. Once blocks make it from the disk controller into main
memory, the operating system may cache the blocks there. Some systems
maintain a separate section of main memory for a buffer cache, where blocks are
kept under the assumption that they will be used again shortly. Other systems
cache file data using a page cache.

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The page cache uses virtual memory techniques to cache file data as pages rather
than as file-system-oriented blocks. Caching file data using virtual addresses is far
more efficient than caching through physical disk blocks, as accesses interface
with virtual memory rather than the file system. Several systems—including
Solaris, Linux, and Windows NT, 2000, and XP—use page caching to cache both
process pages and file data. This is known as unified virtual memory. Some
versions of UNIX and Linux provide a unified buffer cache.

To illustrate the benefits of the unified buffer cache, consider the two alternatives
for opening and accessing a file. One approach is to use memory mapping
(Section 9.7); the second is to use the standard system calls readO and write 0 .

Without a unified buffer cache, we have a situation similar to Figure 11.11. Here,
the read() and write () system calls go through the buffer cache. The memory-
mapping call, however, requires using two caches—the page cache and the buffer
cache. A memory mapping proceeds by reading in disk blocks from the file system
and storing them in the buffer cache. Because the virtual memory system does
not interface with the buffer cache, the contents of the file in the buffer cache
must be copied into the page cache.

This situation is known as double caching and requires caching file-system data
twice. Not only does it waste memory but it also wastes significant CPU and I/O
cycles due to the extra data movement within, system memory. In add ition,
inconsistencies between the two caches can result in corrupt files. In contrast,

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when a unified buffer cache is provided, both memory mapping and the read ()
and write () system calls use the same page cache. This has the benefit of avoiding
double caching, and it allows the virtual memory system to manage file-system
data. The unified buffer cache is shown in Figure 11.12. Regardless of whether we
are caching disk blocks or pages (or both), LEU (Section 9.4.4) seems a reasonable
general-purpose algorithm for block or page replacement. However, the evolution
of the Solaris page-caching algorithms reveals the difficulty in choosing an
algorithm. Solaris allows processes and the page cache to share unused inemory.

Versions earlier than Solaris 2.5.1 made no distinction between allocating pages
to a process and allocating them to the page cache. As a result, a system
performing many I/O operations used most of the available memory for caching
pages. Because of the high rates of I/O, the page scanner (Section 9.10.2)
reclaimed pages from processes— rather than from the page cache—when free
memory ran low. Solaris 2.6 and Solaris 7 optionally implemented priority paging,
in which the page scanner gives priority to process pages over the page cache.
Solaris 8 applied a fixed limit to process pages and the file-system page cache,
preventing either from forcing the other out of memory. Solaris 9 and 10 again
changed the algorithms to maximize memory use and minimize thrashing. This
real-world example shows the complexities of performance optimizing and
caching.

There are other issvies that can affect the performance of I/O such as whether
writes to the file system occur synchronously or asynchronously. Synchronous
writes occur in the order in which the disk subsystem receives them, and the
writes are not buffered. Thus, the calling routine must wait for the data to reach
the disk drive before it can proceed. Asynchronous writes are done the majority
of the time. In an asynchronous write, the data are stored in the cache, and
control returns to the caller. Metadata writes, among others, can be synchronous.

Operating systems frequently include a flag in the open system call to allow a
process to request that writes be performed synchronously. For example,
databases use this feature for atomic transactions, to assure that data reach

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stable storage in the required order. Some systems optimize their page cache by
using different replacement algorithms, depending on the access type of the file.

A file being read or written sequentially should not have its pages replaced in LRU
order, because the most 11.7 Recovery 435 recently used page will be used last,
or perhaps never again. Instead, sequential access can be optimized by
techniques known as free-behind and read-ahead. Free-behind removes a page
from the buffer as soon as the next page is requested. The previous pages are not
likely to be used again and waste buffer space. With read-ahead, a requested
page and several subsequent pages are read and cached. These pages are likely to
be requested after the current page is processed.

Retrieving these data from the disk in one transfer and caching them saves a
considerable amount of time. One might think a track cache on the controller
eliminates the need for read-ahead on a multiprogrammed system. However,
because of the high latency and overhead involved in making many small
transfers from the track cache to main memory, performing a read-ahead remains
beneficial. The page cache, the file system, and the disk drivers have some
interesting interactions. When data are written to a disk file, the pages are
buffered in the cache, and the disk driver sorts its output queue according to disk
address. These two actions allow the disk driver to minimize disk-head seeks and
to write data at times optimized for disk rotation.

Unless synchronous writes are required, a process writing to disk simply writes
into the cache, and the system asynchronously writes the data to disk when
convenient. The user process sees very fast writes. When data are read from a
disk file, the block I/O system does some read-ahead; however, writes are much
more nearly asynchronous than are reads. Thus, output to the disk through the
file system is often faster than is input for large transfers, counter to intuition.

File System-Recovery

Recovery

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Files and directories are kept both in main memory and on disk, and care must
taken to ensure that system failure does not result in loss of data or in data
inconsistency. We deal with these issues in the following sections.

Consistency Checking

As discussed in Section 11.3, some directory information is kept in main memory

(or cache) to speed up access. The directory information in main memory is
generally more up to date than is the corresponding information on the disk,
because cached directory information is not necessarily written to disk as soon as
the update takes place.

Magnetic disks sometimes fail, and care must be taken to ensure that the data
lost in such a failure are not lost forever. To this end, system programs can be
used to back up data from disk to another storage device, such as a floppy disk,
magnetic tape, optical disk, or other hard disk.

Recovery from the loss of an individual file, or of an entire disk, may then be a
matter of restoring the data from backup. To minimize the copying needed, we
can use information from each file's directory entry. For instance, if the backup
program knows when the last backup of a file was done, and the file's last write
date in the directory indicates that the file has not changed since that date, then
the file does not need to be copied again. A typical backup schedule may then be
as follows:

• Day 1. Copy to a backup medium all files from the disk. This is called a full
backup.

• Day 2. Copy to another medium all files changed since day 1. This is an
incremental backup.

Day 3. Copy to another medium all files changed since day 2.

• Day N. Copy to another medium all files changed since day N— 1. Then go back
to Day 1. The new cycle can have its backup written over the previous set or onto
a new set of backup media.

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In this manner, we can restore an entire disk by starting restores with the full
backup and continuing through each of the incremental backups. Of course, the
larger the value of N, the greater the number of tapes or disks that must be read
for a complete restore. An added advantage of this backup cycle is that we can
restore any file accidentally deleted during the cycle by retrieving the deleted file
from the backup of the previous day.

The length of the cycle is a compromise between the amount of backup medium
needed and the number of days back from which a restore can be done. To
decrease the number of tapes that must be read, to do a restore, an option is to
perform a full backup and then each day back up all files that have changed since
the full backup. In this way, a restore can be done via the most recent incremental
backup and. the full backup, with no other incremental backups needed. The
trade-off is that more files will be modified each day, so each successive
incremental backup involves more files and more backup media.

A user may notice that a particular file is missing or corrupted long after the
damage was done. For this reason, we usually plan to take a full backup from time
to time that will be saved "forever." It is a good idea to store these permanent
backups far away from the regular backups to protect against hazard, such as a
fire that destroys the computer and all the backups too. And if the backup cycle
reuses media, we must take care not to reuse the media too many times—if the
media wear out, it might not be possible to restore any data from the backups.

I/O Hardware

One of the important jobs of an Operating System is to manage various I/O

devices including mouse, keyboards, touch pad, disk drives, display adapters, USB
devices, Bit-mapped screen, LED, Analog-to-digital converter, On/off switch,
network connections, audio I/O, printers etc.

An I/O system is required to take an application I/O request and send it to the
physical device, then take whatever response comes back from the device and
send it to the application. I/O devices can be divided into two categories −

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 Block devices − A block device is one with which the driver communicates
by sending entire blocks of data. For example, Hard disks, USB cameras,
Disk-On-Key etc.

 Character devices − A character device is one with which the driver

communicates by sending and receiving single characters (bytes, octets).
For example, serial ports, parallel ports, sounds cards etc

Device Controllers

Device drivers are software modules that can be plugged into an OS to handle a
particular device. Operating System takes help from device drivers to handle all
I/O devices.

The Device Controller works like an interface between a device and a device
driver. I/O units (Keyboard, mouse, printer, etc.) typically consist of a mechanical
component and an electronic component where electronic component is called
the device controller.

There is always a device controller and a device driver for each device to
communicate with the Operating Systems. A device controller may be able to
handle multiple devices. As an interface its main task is to convert serial bit
stream to block of bytes, perform error correction as necessary.

Any device connected to the computer is connected by a plug and socket, and the
socket is connected to a device controller. Following is a model for connecting the
CPU, memory, controllers, and I/O devices where CPU and device controllers all
use a common bus for communication.

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Synchronous vs asynchronous I/O

 Synchronous I/O − In this scheme CPU execution waits while I/O proceeds

 Asynchronous I/O − I/O proceeds concurrently with CPU execution

Communication to I/O Devices

The CPU must have a way to pass information to and from an I/O device. There
are three approaches available to communicate with the CPU and Device.

 Special Instruction I/O

 Memory-mapped I/O

 Direct memory access (DMA)

Special Instruction I/O

This uses CPU instructions that are specifically made for controlling I/O devices.
These instructions typically allow data to be sent to an I/O device or read from an
I/O device.

Memory-mapped I/O

When using memory-mapped I/O, the same address space is shared by memory
and I/O devices. The device is connected directly to certain main memory

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locations so that I/O device can transfer block of data to/from memory without
going through CPU.

While using memory mapped IO, OS allocates buffer in memory and informs I/O
device to use that buffer to send data to the CPU. I/O device operates
asynchronously with CPU, interrupts CPU when finished.

The advantage to this method is that every instruction which can access memory
can be used to manipulate an I/O device. Memory mapped IO is used for most
high-speed I/O devices like disks, communication interfaces.

Direct Memory Access (DMA)

Slow devices like keyboards will generate an interrupt to the main CPU after each
byte is transferred. If a fast device such as a disk generated an interrupt for each
byte, the operating system would spend most of its time handling these
interrupts. So a typical computer uses direct memory access (DMA) hardware to
reduce this overhead.

Direct Memory Access (DMA) means CPU grants I/O module authority to read
from or write to memory without involvement. DMA module itself controls
exchange of data between main memory and the I/O device. CPU is only involved

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at the beginning and end of the transfer and interrupted only after entire block
has been transferred.

Direct Memory Access needs a special hardware called DMA controller (DMAC)
that manages the data transfers and arbitrates access to the system bus. The
controllers are programmed with source and destination pointers (where to
read/write the data), counters to track the number of transferred bytes, and
settings, which includes I/O and memory types, interrupts and states for the CPU
cycles.

The operating system uses the DMA hardware as follows −

Step Description

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1 Device driver is instructed to transfer disk data to a buffer address X.

2 Device driver then instruct disk controller to transfer data to buffer.

3 Disk controller starts DMA transfer.

4 Disk controller sends each byte to DMA controller.

5 DMA controller transfers bytes to buffer, increases the memory address,

decreases the counter C until C becomes zero.

6 When C becomes zero, DMA interrupts CPU to signal transfer completion.

Polling vs Interrupts I/O

A computer must have a way of detecting the arrival of any type of input. There
are two ways that this can happen, known as polling and interrupts. Both of these
techniques allow the processor to deal with events that can happen at any time
and that are not related to the process it is currently running.

Polling I/O

Polling is the simplest way for an I/O device to communicate with the processor.
The process of periodically checking status of the device to see if it is time for the
next I/O operation, is called polling. The I/O device simply puts the information in
a Status register, and the processor must come and get the information.

Most of the time, devices will not require attention and when one does it will
have to wait until it is next interrogated by the polling program. This is an
inefficient method and much of the processors time is wasted on unnecessary
polls.
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Compare this method to a teacher continually asking every student in a class, one
after another, if they need help. Obviously the more efficient method would be
for a student to inform the teacher whenever they require assistance.

Interrupts I/O

An alternative scheme for dealing with I/O is the interrupt-driven method. An

interrupt is a signal to the microprocessor from a device that requires attention.

A device controller puts an interrupt signal on the bus when it needs CPU’s
attention when CPU receives an interrupt, It saves its current state and invokes
the appropriate interrupt handler using the interrupt vector (addresses of OS
routines to handle various events). When the interrupting device has been dealt
with, the CPU continues with its original task as if it had never been interrupted.

Application I/O interface

In this section, we discuss structuring techniques and interfaces for the operating
system that enable I/O devices to be treated in a standard, uniform way. We
explain, for instance, how an application can open a file on a disk without
knowing what kind of disk it is and how new disks and other devices can be added
to a computer without disruption of the operating system. Like other complex
software-engineering problems, the approach here involves abstraction,
encapsulation, and software layering. Specifically we can abstract away the
detailed differences in I/O devices by identifying a fewgeneral kinds. Each general
kind is accessed through a standardized set of functions—an interface. The
differences are encapsulated in kernel modules called device drivers that
internally are custom-tailored to each device but that export one of the standard
interfaces.

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Figure 13.6 illustrates how the I/O-related portions of the kernel are structured in
software layers. The purpose of the device-driver layer is to hide the differences
among device controllers from the I/O subsystem of the kernel, much as the I/O
system calls encapsulate the behavior of devices in a few generic classes that hide
hardware differences from applications. Making the I/O subsystem independent
of the hardware simplifies the job of the operating-system developer. It also
benefits the hardware manufacturers. They either design new devices to be
compatible with an existing host controller interface (such as SCSI-2), or they
write device drivers to interface the new hardware to popular operating systems.
Thus, we can attach new peripherals to a computer without waiting for the
operating-system vendor to develop support code. Unfortunately for device-
hardware manufacturers, each type of operating system has its own standards for
the device-driver interface. A given device may ship with multiple device drivers—
for instance, drivers for MS-DOS, Windows 95/98, Windows NT/2000, and Solaris.
Devices vary on many dimensions, as illustrated in Figure 13.7.

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• Character-stream or block. A character-stream, device transfers bytes one by

one, whereas a block device transfers a block of bytes as a unit.

• Sequential or random-access. A sequential device transfers data in a fixed order

determined by the device, whereas the user of a random-access device can
instruct the device to seek to any of the available data storage locations.

• Synchronous or asynchronous. A synchronous device performs data transfers

with predictable response times. An asynchronous device exhibits irregular or
unpredictable response times.

Sharable or dedicated. A sharable device can be used concurrently by several

processes or threads; a dedicated device cannot. 8 Speed of operation. Device
speeds range from a few bytes per second to a few gigabytes per second.

• Read-write, read only, or write only. Some devices perform both input and
output, but others support only one data direction. For the purpose of application
access, many of these differences are hidden by the operating system, and the
devices are grouped into a few conventional types. The resulting styles of device
access have been found to be useful and broadly applicable. Although the exact

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system calls may differ across operating systems, the device categories are fairly
standard. The major access conventions include block I/O, character-stream I/O,
memory-mapped file access, and network sockets. Operating systems also
provide special system calls to access a few additional devices, such as a time-of-
day clock and a timer. Some operating systems provide a set of system calls for
graphical display, video, and audio devices. Most operating systems also have an
escape (or back door) that transparently passes arbitrary commands from an
application to a device driver. In UNIX, this system call is ioctl O (for "I/O" control).
The ioctl O system call enables an application to access any functionality that can
be implemented by any device driver, without the need to invent a new system
call. The ioctl O system call has three arguments.

The first is a file descriptor that connects the application to the driver by referring
to a hardware device managed by that driver. The second is an integer that
selects one of the commands implemented in the driver. The third is a pointer to
an arbitrary data structure in memory that enables the application and driver to
communicate any necessary control information or data.

Block and Character Devices

The block-device interface captures all the aspects necessary for accessing disk
drives and other block-oriented devices. The device is expected to understand
commands such as read () and wr it e (); if it is a random-access device, it is also
expected to have a seek() command to specify which block to transfer next.
Applications normally access such a device through a file-system interface. We
can see that readO, write (), and seekO capture the essential behaviors of block-
storage devices, so that applications are insulated from the low-level differences
among those devices.

The operating system itself, as well as special applications such as

databasemanagement systems, may prefer to access a block device as a simple
linear array of blocks. This mode of access is sometimes called raw I/O. If the
application performs its own buffering, then using a file system would cause
extra, unneeded buffering. Likewise, if an application provides its own locking of

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file blocks or regions, then any operating-system locking services would be

redundant at the least and contradictory at the worst.

To avoid these conflicts, raw-device access passes control of the device directly to
the application, letting the operating system step out of the way. Unfortunately,
no operating-system services are then performed on this device. A compromise
that is becoming common is for the operating system to allow a mode of
operation on a file that disables buffering and locking.

In the UNIX world, this is called direct I/O. Memory-mapped file access can be
layered on top of block-device drivers. Rather than offering read and write
operations, a memory-mapped interface provides access to disk storage via an
array of bytes in main memory. The system call that maps a file into memory
returns the virtual memory address that contains a copy of the file. The actual
data transfers are performed only when needed to satisfy access to the memory
image. Because the transfers are handled by the same mechanism as that used
for demand-paged virtual memory access, memory-mapped I/O is efficient.
Memory mapping is also convenient for programmers—access to a memory-
mapped file is as simple as reading from and writing to memory. Operating
systems that offer virtual memory commonly use the mapping interface for kernel
services. For instance, to execute a program, the operating system maps the
executable into memory and then transfers control to the entry address of the
executable.

The mapping interface is also commonly used for kernel access to swap space on
disk. A keyboard is an example of a device that is accessed through a
characterstream interface. The basic system calls in this interface enable an
application to get() or putO one character. On top of this interface, libraries can
be built that offer line-at-a-time access, with buffering and editing services (for
example, when a user types a backspace, the preceding character is removed
from the input stream). This style of access is convenient for input devices such as
keyboards, mice, and modems that produce data for input "spontaneously" —
that is, at times that cannot necessarily be predicted by the application. This

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access style is also good for output devices such as printers and audio boards,
which naturally fit the concept of a linear stream of bytes.

Network Devices

Because the performance and addressing characteristics of network I/O differ

significantly from, those of disk I/O, most operating systems provide a network
I/O interface that is different from the read 0 -writ e () -seekO interface used for
disks. One interface available in many operating systems, including UNIX and
Windows NT, is the network socket interface. Think of a wall socket for electricity:
Any electrical appliance can be plugged in. By analogy, the system calls in the
socket interface enable an application to create a socket, to connect a local socket
to a remote address (which plugs this application into a socket created by another
application), to 13.3 Application I/O Interface 509 listen for any remote
application to plug into the local socket, and to send and receive packets over the
connection.

To support the implementation of servers, the socket interface also provides a

function called selec t () that manages a set of sockets. A call to selec t () returns
information about which sockets have a packet waiting to be received and which
sockets have room to accept a packet to be sent. The use of selec t () eliminates
the polling and busy waiting that would otherwise be necessary for network I/O.
These functions encapsulate the essential behaviors of networks, greatly
facilitating the creation of distributed applications that can use any underlying
network hardware and protocol stack.

Many other approaches to interprocess communication and network

communication have been implemented. For instance, Windows NT provides one
interface to the network interface card and a second interface to the network
protocols (Section C.6). In UNIX, which has a long history as a proving ground for
network technology, we find half-duplex pipes, full-duplex FIFOs, full-duplex
STREAMS, message queues, and sockets. Information on UNIX networking is given
in Appendix A (Section A.9). Clocks and Timers

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Most computers have hardware clocks and timers that provide three basic
functions:

• Give the current time.

• Give the elapsed time.

Set a timer to trigger operation X at time T. These functions are used heavily by
the operating system, as well as by timesensitive applications. Unfortunately, the
system calls that implement these functions are not standardized across
operating systems. The hardware to measure elapsed time and to trigger
operations is called a programmable interval timer. It can be set to wait a certain
amount of time and then generate an interrupt, and it can be set to do this once
or to repeat the process to generate periodic interrupts. The scheduler uses this
mechanism to generate an interrupt that will preempt a process at the end of its
time slice.

The disk I/O subsystem uses it to invoke the flushing of dirty cache buffers to disk
periodically, and the network subsystem uses it to cancel operations that are
proceeding too slowly because of network congestion or failures. Hie operating
system may also provide an interface for user processes to use timers. The
operating system can support more timer requests than the number of timer
hardware channels by simulating virtual clocks. To do so, the kernel (or the timer
device driver) maintains a list of interrupts wanted by its own routines and by
user requests, sorted in earliest-time-first order. It sets the timer for the earliest
time. When the timer interrupts, the kernel signals the requester and reloads the
timer with the next earliest time.

On many computers, the interrupt rate generated by the hardware clock is

between 18 and 60 ticks per second. This resolution is coarse, since a modern
computer can execute hundreds of millions of instructions per second. The
precision of triggers is limited by the coarse resolution of the timer, together with
the overhead of maintaining virtual clocks. Furthermore, if the timer 510 Chapter
13 I/O Systems ticks are used to maintain the system tiine-of-day clock, the
system? clock can drift. In most computers, the hardware clock is constructed

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from a highfrequency counter. In some computers, the value of this counter can
he read from a device register, in which case the counter can be considered a
highresolution clock. Although this clock does not generate interrupts, it offers
accurate measurements of time intervals.

Blocking and Nonblocking IO

Another aspect of the system-call interface relates to the choice between

blocking I/O and nonblocking I/O. When an application issues a blocking system
call, the execution of the application is suspended. The application is moved from
the operating system's run queue to a wait queue. After the system call
completes, the application is moved back to the run queue, where it is eligible to
resume execution, at which time it will receive the values returned by the system
call. The physical actions performed by I/O devices are generally asynchronous—
they take a varying or unpredictable amount of time. Nevertheless, most
operating systems use blocking system calls for the application interface, because
blocking application code is easier to understand than nonblocking application
code. Some user-level processes need nonblocking I/O.

One example is a user interface that receives keyboard and mouse input while
processing and displaying data on the screen. Another example is a video
application that reads frames from a file on disk while simultaneously
decompressing and displaying the output on the display. One way an application
writer can overlap execution with I/O is to write a multithreaded application.
Some threads can perform blocking system calls, while others continue executing.
The Solaris developers used this technique to implement a user-level library for
asynchronous I/O, freeing the application writer from that task. Some operating
systems provide nonblocking I/O system calls. A nonblocking call does not halt the
execution of the application for an extended time. Instead, it returns quickly, with
a return value that indicates how many bytes were transferred. An alternative to
a nonblocking system call is an asynchronous system call. An asynchronous call
returns immediately, without waiting for the I/O to complete. The application
continues to execute its code.

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The completion of the I/O at some future time is communicated to the

application, either through the setting of some variable in the address space of
the application or through the triggering of a signal or software interrupt or a call-
back routine that is executed outside the linear control flow of the application.
The difference between nonblocking and asynchronous system calls is that a
nonblocking readQ returns immediately with whatever data are available — the
full number of bytes requested, fewer, or none at all. An asynchronous read() call
requests a transfer that will be performed in its entirety but that will complete at
some future time. These two I/O methods are shown in Figure 13.8.

A good example of nonblocking behavior is the selec t () system call for network
sockets. This system call takes an argument that specifies a maximum waiting
time. By setting it to 0, an application can poll for network activity without
blocking. But using select() introduces extra overhead, because the selec t () call
only checks whether I/O is possible. For a data transfer, selectO must be followed
by some kind of readO or writeO command. A variation on this approach, found in
Mach, is a blocking multiple-read call. It specifies desired reads for several devices
in one system call and returns as soon as any one of them completes.

Kernel I/O Subsystem

The kernel provides many services related to I/O. Several services such as
scheduling, caching, spooling, device reservation, and error handling – are
provided by the kernel, s I/O subsystem built on the hardware and device-driver

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infrastructure. The I/O subsystem is also responsible for protecting itself from the
errant processes and malicious users.

1. I/O Scheduling –
To schedule a set of I/O request means to determine a good order in which
to execute them. The order in which application issues the system call are
the best choice. Scheduling can improve the overall performance of the
system, can share device access permission fairly to all the processes,
reduce the average waiting time, response time, turnaround time for I/O to
complete.

OS developers implement scheduling by maintaining a wait queue of the request

for each device. When an application issue a blocking I/O system call, The request
is placed in the queue for that device. The I/O scheduler rearrange the order to
improve the efficiency of the system.

2. Buffering –
A buffer is a memory area that stores data being transferred between two
devices or between a device and an application. Buffering is done for three
reasons.

1. First is to cope with a speed mismatch between producer and

consumer of a data stream.

2. The second use of buffering is to provide adaptation for data that

have different data-transfer sizes.

3. Third use of buffering is to support copy semantics for the

application I/O, “copy semantic ” means, suppose that an application
wants to write data on a disk that is stored in its buffer. it calls
the write() system’s call, providing a pointer to the buffer and the
integer specifying the number of bytes to write.

Q. After the system call returns, what happens if the application of the buffer
changes the content of the buffer?

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Ans. With copy semantic, the version of the data written to the disk is guaranteed
to be the version at the time of the application system call.

3. Caching –
A cache is a region of fast memory that holds a copy of data. Access to the
cached copy is much easier than the original file. For instance, the
instruction of the currently running process is stored on the disk, cached in
physical memory, and copied again in the CPU’s secondary and primary
cache.

The main difference between a buffer and a cache is that a buffer may hold
only the existing copy of a data item, while cache, by definition, holds a
copy on faster storage of an item that resides elsewhere.

4. Spooling and Device Reservation –

A spool is a buffer that holds the output of a device, such as a printer that
cannot accept interleaved data streams. Although a printer can serve only
one job at a time, several applications may wish to print their output
concurrently, without having their output mixes together.

The OS solves this problem by preventing all output continuing to the

printer. The output of all applications is spooled in a separate disk file.
When an application finishes printing then the spooling system queues the
corresponding spool file for output to the printer.

5. Error Handling –
An Os that uses protected memory can guard against many kinds of
hardware and application errors, so that a complete system failure is not
the usual result of each minor mechanical glitch, Devices, and I/O transfers
can fail in many ways, either for transient reasons, as when a network
becomes overloaded or for permanent reasons, as when a disk controller
becomes defective.

6. I/O Protection –
Errors and the issue of protection are closely related. A user process may

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attempt to issue illegal I/O instructions to disrupt the normal function of a

system. We can use the various mechanisms to ensure that such disruption
cannot take place in the system.

To prevent illegal I/O access, we define all I/O instructions to be privileged

instructions. The user cannot issue I/O instruction directly.

Transforming of I/O Requests to Hardware Operations

We know that there is handshaking between device driver and device controller
but here question is that how operating system connects application request or
we can say I/O request to set of network wires or to specific disk sector or we can
say to hardware -operations.

To understand concept example which is as follows.

Example –
We are reading file from disk. The application we request for will refers to data by
file name. Within disk, file system maps from file name through file-system
directories to obtain space allocation for file. In MS-DOS, name of file maps to
number that indicates as entry in file-access table, and that entry to table tells us
that which disk blocks are allocated to file. In UNIX, name maps to inode number,
and inode number contains information about space-allocation. But here
question arises that how connection is made from file name to disk controller?

The method that is used by MS-DOS, is relatively simple operating system. The
first part of MS-DOS file name, is preceding with colon, is string that identifies
that there is specific hardware device.

The UNIX uses different method from MS-DOS. It represents device names in
regular file-system name space. Unlike MS-DOS file name, which has colon
separator, but UNIX path name has no clear separation of device portion. In fact,
no part of path name is name of device. Unix has mount table that associates with
prefixes of path names with specific hardware device names.

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Modern operating systems gain significant flexibility from multiple stages of

lookup tables in path between request and physical device stages controller.
There is general mechanisms is which is used to pass request between application
and drivers. Thus, without recompiling kernel, we can introduce new devices and
drivers into computer. In fact, some operating system have the ability to load
device drivers on demand. At the time of booting, system firstly probes hardware
buses to determine what devices are present. It is then loaded to necessary
drivers, accordingly I/O request.

The typical life cycle of blocking read request, is shown in the following figure.
From figure, we can suggest that I/O operation requires many steps that together
consume large number of CPU cycles.

Figure – The life cycle of I/O request

1. System call –
Whenever, any I/O request comes, process issues blocking read() system
call to previously opened file descriptor of file. Basically, role of system-call
code is to check parameters for correctness in kernel. If data we put in form
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of input is already available in buffer cache, data is going to returned to

process, and in that case I/O request is completed.

2. Alternative approach if input is not available –

If the data is not available in buffer cache then physical I/O must be
performed. The process is removes from run queue and is placed on wait
queue for device, and I/O request is scheduled. After scheduling, I/O
subsystem sends request to device driver via subroutine call or in-kernel
message but it depends upon operating system by which mode request will
send.

3. Role of Device driver –

After receiving the request, device driver have to receive data and it will
receive data by allocating kernel buffer space and after receiving data it will
schedules I/O. After all this, command will be given to device controller by
writing into device-control registers.

4. Role of Device Controller –

Now, device controller operates device hardware. Actually, data transfer is
done by device hardware.

5. Role of DMA controller –

After data transfer, driver may poll for status and data, or it may have set
up DMA transfer into kernel memory. The transfer is managed by DMA
controller. At last when transfers complete, it will generates interrupt.

6. Role of interrupt handler –

The interrupt is send to correct interrupt handler through interrupt-vector
table. It store any necessary data, signals device driver, and returns from
interrupt.

7. Completion of I/O request –

When, device driver receives signal. This signal determines that I/O request
has completed and also determines request’s status, signals kernel I/O
subsystem that request has been completed. After transferring data or

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return codes to address space kernel moves process from wait queue back
to ready queue.

8. Completion of System call –

When process moves to ready queue it means process is unblocked. When
the process is assigned to CPU, it means process resumes execution at
completion of system call.

Operating System Security (OS Security)

Operating system security (OS security) is the process of ensuring OS integrity,

confidentiality and availability.

OS security refers to specified steps or measures used to protect the OS from

threats, viruses, worms, malware or remote hacker intrusions. OS security
encompasses all preventive-control techniques, which safeguard any computer
assets capable of being stolen, edited or deleted if OS security is compromised.

Security refers to providing a protection system to computer system resources

such as CPU, memory, disk, software programs and most importantly
data/information stored in the computer system. If a computer program is run by
an unauthorized user, then he/she may cause severe damage to computer or data
stored in it. So a computer system must be protected against unauthorized
access, malicious access to system memory, viruses, worms etc.

Operating System Security (OS Security)

OS security encompasses many different techniques and methods which ensure

safety from threats and attacks. OS security allows different applications and
programs to perform required tasks and stop unauthorized interference.

OS security may be approached in many ways, including adherence to the

following:

 Performing regular OS patch updates

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 Installing updated antivirus engines and software

 Scrutinizing all incoming and outgoing network traffic through a firewall

 Creating secure accounts with required privileges only (i.e., user

management)

Protection

Protection refers to a mechanism which controls the access of programs,

processes, or users to the resources defined by a computer system. We can take
protection as a helper to multi programming operating system, so that many
users might safely share a common logical name space such as directory or files.

Need of Protection:

 To prevent the access of unauthorized users and

 To ensure that each active programs or processes in the system uses

resources only as the stated policy,

 To improve reliability by detecting latent errors.

Role of Protection:
The role of protection is to provide a mechanism that implement policies which
defines the uses of resources in the computer system.Some policies are defined at
the time of design of the system, some are designed by management of the
system and some are defined by the users of the system to protect their own files
and programs.

Every application has different policies for use of the resources and they may
change over time so protection of the system is not only concern of the designer
of the operating system. Application programmer should also design the
protection mechanism to protect their system against misuse.

Policy is different from mechanism. Mechanisms determine how something will

be done and policies determine what will be done.Policies are changed over time

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and place to place. Separation of mechanism and policy is important for the
flexibility of the system.

Access Matrix

Access Matrix is a security model of protection state in computer system. It is

represented as a matrix. Access matrix is used to define the rights of each process
executing in the domain with respect to each object. The rows of matrix represent
domains and columns represent objects. Each cell of matrix represents set of
access rights which are given to the processes of domain means each entry(i, j)
defines the set of operations that a process executing in domain Di can invoke on
object Oj.

F1 F2 F3 PRINTER

D1 read read

D2 print

D3 read execute

read read
D4 write write

According to the above matrix: there are four domains and four objects- three
files(F1, F2, F3) and one printer. A process executing in D1 can read files F1 and
F3. A process executing in domain D4 has same rights as D1 but it can also write
on files. Printer can be accessed by only one process executing in domain D2. The
mechanism of access matrix consists of many policies and semantic properties.
Specifically, We must ensure that a process executing in domain Di can access
only those objects that are specified in row i.

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Policies of access matrix concerning protection involve which rights should be

included in the (i, j)th entry. We must also decide the domain in which each
process executes. This policy is usually decided by the operating system. The
Users decide the contents of the access-matrix entries.

Association between the domain and processes can be either static or dynamic.
Access matrix provides an mechanism for defining the control for this association
between domain and processes. When we switch a process from one domain to
another, we execute a switch operation on an object(the domain). We can control
domain switching by including domains among the objects of the access matrix.
Processes should be able to switch from one domain (Di) to another domain (Dj) if
and only is a switch right is given to access(i, j).

F1 F2 F3 PRINTER D1 D2 D3 D4

D1 read read switch

D2 print switch switch

D3 read execute

read read
D4 write write switch

According to the matrix: a process executing in domain D2 can switch to domain

D3 and D4. A process executing in domain D4 can switch to domain D1 and
process executing in domain D1 can switch to domain D2.

Access Control

Access control is a method of guaranteeing that users are who they say they are
and that they have the appropriate access to company data.

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At a high level, access control is a selective restriction of access to data. It consists

of two main components: authentication and authorization, says Daniel Crowley,
head of research for IBM’s X-Force Red, which focuses on data security.

Authentication is a technique used to verify that someone is who they claim to

be. Authentication isn’t sufficient by itself to protect data, Crowley notes. What’s
needed is an additional layer, authorization, which determines whether a user
should be allowed to access the data or make the transaction they’re attempting.

Without authentication and authorization, there is no data security, Crowley says.

“In every data breach, access controls are among the first policies investigated,”
notes Ted Wagner, CISO at SAP National Security Services, Inc. “Whether it be the
inadvertent exposure of sensitive data improperly secured by an end user or
the Equifax breach, where sensitive data was exposed through a public-facing
web server operating with a software vulnerability, access controls are a key
component. When not properly implemented or maintained, the result can be
catastrophic.”

Any organization whose employees connect to the internet—in other words,

every organization today—needs some level of access control in place. “That’s
especially true of businesses with employees who work out of the office and
require access to the company data resources and services,” says Avi Chesla, CEO
of cybersecurity firm empow.

Put another way: If your data could be of any value to someone without proper
authorization to access it, then your organization needs strong access control,
Crowley says.

Another reason for strong access control: Access mining

The collection and selling of access descriptors on the dark web is a growing
problem. For example, a new report from Carbon Black describes how one
cryptomining botnet, Smominru, mined not only cryptcurrency, but also sensitive
information including internal IP addresses, domain information, usernames and
passwords. The Carbon Black researchers believe it is "highly plausible" that this

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threat actor sold this information on an "access marketplace" to others who could
then launch their own attacks by remote access.

These access marketplaces "provide a quick and easy way for cybercriminals to
purchase access to systems and organizations.... These systems can be used as
zombies in large-scale attacks or as an entry point to a targeted attack," said the
report's authors. One access marketplace, Ultimate Anonymity Services (UAS)
offers 35,000 credentials with an average selling price of $6.75 per credential.

The Carbon Black researchers believe cybercriminals will increase their use of
access marketplaces and access mining because they can be "highly lucrative" for
them. The risk to an organization goes up if its compromised user credentials
have higher privileges than needed.

Access control policy: Key considerations

Most security professionals understand how critical access control is to their

organization. But not everyone agrees on how access control should be enforced,
says Chesla. “Access control requires the enforcement of persistent policies in a
dynamic world without traditional borders,” Chesla explains. Most of us work in
hybrid environments where data moves from on-premises servers or the cloud to
offices, homes, hotels, cars and coffee shops with open wi-fi hot spots, which can
make enforcing access control difficult.

“Adding to the risk is that access is available to an increasingly large range of

devices,” Chesla says, including PCs, laptops, smart phones, tablets, smart
speakers and other internet of things (IoT) devices. “That diversity makes it a real
challenge to create and secure persistency in access policies.”

In the past, access control methodologies were often static. “Today, network
access must be dynamic and fluid, supporting identity and application-based use
cases,” Chesla says.

A sophisticated access control policy can be adapted dynamically to respond to

evolving risk factors, enabling a company that’s been breached to “isolate the
relevant employees and data resources to minimize the damage,” he says.

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Enterprises must assure that their access control technologies “are supported
consistently through their cloud assets and applications, and that they can be
smoothly migrated into virtual environments such as private clouds,” Chesla
advises. “Access control rules must change based on risk factor, which means that
organizations must deploy security analytics layers using AI and machine learning
that sit on top of the existing network and security configuration. They also need
to identify threats in real-time and automate the access control rules
accordingly.”

4 Types of access control

Organizations must determine the appropriate access control model to adopt

based on the type and sensitivity of data they’re processing, says Wagner. Older
access models include discretionary access control (DAC) and mandatory access
control (MAC), role based access control (RBAC) is the most common model
today, and the most recent model is known as attribute based access
control (ABAC).

Discretionary access control (DAC)

With DAC models, the data owner decides on access. DAC is a means of assigning
access rights based on rules that users specify.

Mandatory access control (MAC)

MAC was developed using a nondiscretionary model, in which people are granted
access based on an information clearance. MAC is a policy in which access rights
are assigned based on regulations from a central authority.

Role Based Access Control (RBAC)

RBAC grants access based on a user’s role and implements key security principles,
such as “least privilege” and “separation of privilege.” Thus, someone attempting
to access information can only access data that’s deemed necessary for their role.

Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC)

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In ABAC, each resource and user are assigned a series of attributes, Wagner
explains. “In this dynamic method, a comparative assessment of the user’s
attributes, including time of day, position and location, are used to make a
decision on access to a resource.”

It’s imperative for organizations to decide which model is most appropriate for
them based on data sensitivity and operational requirements for data access. In
particular, organizations that process personally identifiable information (PII) or
other sensitive information types, including Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) data, must
make access control a core capability in their security architecture, Wagner
advises.

Access control solutions

A number of technologies can support the various access control models. In some
cases, multiple technologies may need to work in concert to achieve the desired
level of access control, Wagner says.

“The reality of data spread across cloud service providers and SaaS applications
and connected to the traditional network perimeter dictate the need to
orchestrate a secure solution,” he notes. “There are multiple vendors providing
privilege access and identity management solutions that can be integrated into a
traditional Active Directory construct from Microsoft. Multifactor authentication
can be a component to further enhance security.”

Why authorization remains a challenge

Today, most organizations have become adept at authentication, says Crowley,

especially with the growing use of multifactor authentication and biometric-based
authentication (such as facial or iris recognition). In recent years, as high-profile
data breaches have resulted in the selling of stolen password credentials on the
dark web, security professionals have taken the need for multi-factor
authentication more seriously, he adds.

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Authorization is still an area in which security professionals “mess up more

often,” Crowley says. It can be challenging to determine and perpetually monitor
who gets access to which data resources, how they should be able to access
them, and under which conditions they are granted access, for starters. But
inconsistent or weak authorization protocols can create security holes that need
to be identified and plugged as quickly as possible.

Speaking of monitoring: However your organization chooses to implement access

control, it must be constantly monitored, says Chesla, both in terms of
compliance to your corporate security policy as well as operationally, to identify
any potential security holes. “You should periodically perform a governance, risk
and compliance review,” he says. “You need recurring vulnerability scans against
any application running your access control functions, and you should collect and
monitor logs on each access for violations of the policy.”

In today’s complex IT environments, access control must be regarded as “a living

technology infrastructure that uses the most sophisticated tools, reflects changes
in the work environment such as increased mobility, recognizes the changes in
the devices we use and their inherent risks, and takes into account the growing
movement toward the cloud,” Chesla says.

Revocation of Access Rights

Revocation of Access Rights

In a dynamic protection system, we may sometimes need to revoke access rights

to objects shared by different users. Various questions about revocation may
arise:

• Immediate versus delayed. Does revocation occur immediately/ or is it delayed?

If revocation is delayed, can we find out when it will take place?

• Selective versus general. When an access right to an object is revoked, does it

affect all the users who have an access right to that object, or can we specify a
select group of users whose access rights should be revoked?

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• Partial versus total. Can a subset of the rights associated with an object be
revoked, or must we revoke all access rights for this object?

• Temporary versus permanent. Can access be revoked permanently (that is, the
revoked access right will never again be available), or can access be revoked and
later be obtained again? With an access-list scheme, revocation is easy.

The access list is searched for any access rights to be revoked, and they are
deleted from the list. Revocation is immediate and can be general or selective,
total or partial, and permanent or temporary. Capabilities, however, present a
much more difficult revocation problem. Since the capabilities are distributed
throughout the system, we must find them before we can revoke them. Schemes
that implement revocation for capabilities include the following:

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Reacquisition. Periodically, capabilities are deleted from each domain. If a process

wants to use a capability, it may find that that capability has been deleted. The
process may then try to reacquire the capability. If access has been revoked, the
process will not be able to reacquire the capability.

• Back-pointers. A list of pointers is maintained with each object, pointing to all

capabilities associated with that object. When revocation is required, we can
follow these pointers, changing the capabilities as necessaryy. This scheme was
adopted in the MULTICS system. It is quite general, but its implementation is
costly.

• Indirection. The capabilities point indirectly, not directly, to the objects. Each
capability points to a unique entry in a global table, which in turn points to the
object. We implement revocation by searching the global table for the desired
entry and deleting it. Then, when an access is attempted, the capability is found
to point to an illegal table entry.

Table entries can be reused for other capabilities without difficulty, since both
the capability and the table entry contain the unique name of the object. The
object for a 14.8 Capability-Based Systems 547 capability and its table entry must
match. This scheme was adopted in the CAL system. It does not allow selective
revocation. Keys. A key is a unique bit pattern that can be associated with a
capability. Tliis key is defined when the capability is created, and it can be neither
modified nor inspected by the process owning the capability.

A master key is associated with each object; it can be defined or replaced with the
set-key operation. When a capability is created, the current value of the master
key is associated with the capability. When the capability is exercised, its key is
compared with the master key. If the keys match, the operation is allowed to
continue; otherwise, an exception condition is raised.

Revocation replaces the master key with a new value via the set-key operation,
invalidating all previous capabilities for this object. This scheme does not allowr
selective revocation, since only one master key is associated with each object. If

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we associate a list of keys with each object, then selective revocation can be
implemented.

Finally, we can group all keys into one global table of keys. A capability is valid
only if its key matches some key in the global table. We implement revocation by
removing the matching key from the table. With this scheme, a key can be
associated with several objects, and several keys can be associated with each
object, providing maximum flexibility. In key-based schemes, the operations of
defining keys, inserting them into lists, and deleting them from lists should not be
available to all users. In particular, it would be reasonable to allow only the owner
of an object to set the keys for that object. This choice, however, is a policy
decision that the protection system can implement but should not define.

Threats

Threats can be classified into the following two categories:

1. Program Threats:
A program written by a cracker to hijack the security or to change the
behaviour of a normal process.

2. System Threats:
These threats involve the abuse of system services. They strive to create a
situation in which operating-system resources and user files are misused.
They are also used as a medium to launch program threats.

System threats refers to misuse of system services and network

connections to put user in trouble. System threats can be used to launch
program threats on a complete network called as program attack. System
threats creates such an environment that operating system resources/ user
files are misused. Following is the list of some well-known system threats.

Types of Program Threats –

1. Virus:
An infamous threat, known most widely. It is a self-replicating and a

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malicious thread which attaches itself to a system file and then rapidly
replicates itself, modifying and destroying essential files leading to a system
breakdown.

Further, Types of computer viruses can be described briefly as follows:

– file/parasitic – appends itself to a file
– boot/memory – infects the boot sector
– macro – written in a high-level language like VB and affects MS Office files
– source code – searches and modifies source codes
– polymorphic – changes in copying each time
– encrypted – encrypted virus + decrypting code
– stealth – avoids detection by modifying parts of the system that can be used to
detect it, like the read system
call
– tunneling – installs itself in the interrupt service routines and device drivers
– multipartite – infects multiple parts of the system

2. Trojan Horse:
A code segment that misuses its environment is called a Trojan Horse. They
seem to be attractive and harmless cover program but are a really harmful
hidden program which can be used as the virus carrier. In one of the
versions of Trojan, User is fooled to enter its confidential login details on an
application. Those details are stolen by a login emulator and can be further
used as a way of information breaches.

Another variance is Spyware, Spyware accompanies a program that the user has
chosen to install and downloads ads to display on the user’s system, thereby
creating pop-up browser windows and when certain sites are visited by the user,
it captures essential information and sends it over to the remote server. Such
attacks are also known as Covert Channels.

3. Trap Door:
The designer of a program or system might leave a hole in the software
that only he is capable of using, the Trap Door works on the similar

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principles. Trap Doors are quite difficult to detect as to analyze them, one
needs to go through the source code of all the components of the system.

4. Logic Bomb:
A program that initiates a security attack only under a specific situation.

Types of System Threats –

Aside from the program threats, various system threats are also endangering the
security of our system:

1. Worm:
An infection program which spreads through networks. Unlike a virus, they
target mainly LANs. A computer affected by a worm attacks the target
system and writes a small program “hook” on it. This hook is further used
to copy the worm to the target computer. This process repeats recursively,
and soon enough all the systems of the LAN are affected. It uses the spawn
mechanism to duplicate itself. The worm spawns copies of itself, using up a
majority of system resources and also locking out all other processes.

The basic functionality of a the worm can be represented as:

2. Port Scanning:
It is a means by which the cracker identifies the vulnerabilities of the
system to attack. It is an automated process which involves creating a
TCP/IP connection to a specific port. To protect the identity of the attacker,

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port scanning attacks are launched from Zombie Systems, that is systems
which were previously independent systems that are also serving their
owners while being used for such notorious purposes.

3. Denial of Service:
Such attacks aren’t aimed for the purpose of collecting information or
destroying system files. Rather, they are used for disrupting the legitimate
use of a system or facility.
These attacks are generally network based. They fall into two categories:
– Attacks in this first category use so many system resources that no useful
work can be performed.

For example, downloading a file from a website that proceeds to use all available
CPU time.
– Attacks in the second category involves disrupting the network of the facility.
These attacks are a result of the abuse of some fundamental TCP/IP principles.
fundamental functionality of TCP/IP.

Security Measures Taken –

To protect the system, Security measures can be taken at the following levels:

 Physical:
The sites containing computer systems must be physically secured against
armed and malicious intruders. The workstations must be carefully
protected.

 Human:
Only appropriate users must have the authorization to access the system.
Phishing(collecting confidential information) and Dumpster
Diving(collecting basic information so as to gain unauthorized access) must
be avoided.

 Operating system:
The system must protect itself from accidental or purposeful security
breaches.

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 Networking System:
Almost all of the information is shared between different systems via a
network. Intercepting these data could be just as harmful as breaking into a
computer. Henceforth, Network should be properly secured against such
attacks.

Usually, Anti Malware programs are used to periodically detect and remove such
viruses and threats. Additionally, to protect the system from the Network
Threats, Firewall is also be used.

Network Security Threats

Types of Network Threats

Network-delivered threats are typically of two basic types:

 Passive Network Threats: Activities such as wiretapping and idle scans that
are designed to intercept traffic traveling through the network.

 Active Network Threats: Activities such as Denial of Service (DoS) attacks

and SQL injection attacks where the attacker is attempting to execute
commands to disrupt the network’s normal operation.

To execute a successful network attack, attackers must typically actively hack a

company’s infrastructure to exploit software vulnerabilities that allow them to
remotely execute commands on internal operating systems. DoS attacks and
shared network hijacking (example: when corporate user is on a public WiFi
network) of communications are exceptions.

Attackers typically gain access to internal operating systems via email-delivered

network threats which first compromise a set of machines, then install attacker
controlled malware, and so provide ability for the attacker to move laterally. This
increases the likelihood of not being detected up front while providing an almost
effortless entry point for the attacker.

According to a recent Microsoft security intelligence report, more than 45% of

malware requires some form of user interaction, suggesting that user-targeted

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email, designed to trick users, is a primary tactic used by attackers to establish

their access.

Some threats are designed to disrupt an organisation’s operations rather than

silently gather information for financial gain or espionage. The most popular
approach is called a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. These attacks overwhelm
network resources such as web and email gateways, routers, switches, etc. and
prevent user and application access, ultimately taking a service offline or severely
degrading the quality of a service. These do not necessarily require active hacking,
but instead rely on attackers’ ability to scale traffic towards an organisation to
take advantage of misconfigured and poorly protected infrastructure. This means
they often make use of a network of compromised computer systems that work
in tandem to overwhelm the target, known as a Distributed Denial of Service
(DDoS) attack. In many cases, attackers will launch DoS and DDoS attacks while
attempting active hacking or sending in malicious email threats to camouflage
their real motives from the information security teams by creating distractions.

While detection, perimeter hardening, and patching processes are required to

mitigate network threats from active and passive network threats, as a basic
starting point organisations need to protect themselves especially from
the email-delivered security threats that subsequently enable network-threats
to be successful.

Cryptography

Cryptography is the science to encrypt and decrypt data that enables the users to
store sensitive information or transmit it across insecure networks so that it can
be read only by the intended recipient.

Data which can be read and understood without any special measures is
called plaintext, while the method of disguising plaintext in order to hide its
substance is called encryption.

Encrypted plaintext is known as cipher text and process of reverting the

encrypted data back to plain text is known as decryption.

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 The science of analyzing and breaking secure communication is known as

cryptanalysis. The people who perform the same also known as attackers.

 Cryptography can be either strong or weak and the strength is measured by

the time and resources it would require to recover the actual plaintext.

 Hence an appropriate decoding tool is required to decipher the strong

encrypted messages.

 There are some cryptographic techniques available with which even a

billion computers doing a billion checks a second, it is not possible to
decipher the text.

 As the computing power is increasing day by day, one has to make the
encryption algorithms very strong in order to protect data and critical
information from the attackers.

How Encryption Works?

A cryptographic algorithm works in combination with a key (can be a word,

number, or phrase) to encrypt the plaintext and the same plaintext encrypts to
different cipher text with different keys.

Hence, the encrypted data is completely dependent couple of parameters such as

the strength of the cryptographic algorithm and the secrecy of the key.

Cryptography Techniques

Symmetric Encryption − Conventional cryptography, also known as conventional

encryption, is the technique in which only one key is used for both encryption and
decryption. For example, DES, Triple DES algorithms, MARS by IBM, RC2, RC4,
RC5, RC6.

Asymmetric Encryption − It is Public key cryptography that uses a pair of keys for
encryption: a public key to encrypt data and a private key for decryption. Public
key is published to the people while keeping the private key secret. For example,
RSA, Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), Elgamal.

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Hashing − Hashing is ONE-WAY encryption, which creates a scrambled output that

cannot be reversed or at least cannot be reversed easily. For example, MD5
algorithm. It is used to create Digital Certificates, Digital signatures, Storage of
passwords, Verification of communications, etc.

Authentication

Authentication refers to identifying each user of the system and associating the
executing programs with those users. It is the responsibility of the Operating
System to create a protection system which ensures that a user who is running a
particular program is authentic. Operating Systems generally
identifies/authenticates users using following three ways −

 Username / Password − User need to enter a registered username and

password with Operating system to login into the system.

 User card/key − User need to punch card in card slot, or enter key
generated by key generator in option provided by operating system to login
into the system.

 User attribute - fingerprint/ eye retina pattern/ signature − User need to

pass his/her attribute via designated input device used by operating system
to login into the system.

One Time passwords

One-time passwords provide additional security along with normal

authentication. In One-Time Password system, a unique password is required
every time user tries to login into the system. Once a one-time password is used,
then it cannot be used again. One-time password are implemented in various
ways.

 Random numbers − Users are provided cards having numbers printed along
with corresponding alphabets. System asks for numbers corresponding to
few alphabets randomly chosen.

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 Secret key − User are provided a hardware device which can create a secret
id mapped with user id. System asks for such secret id which is to be
generated every time prior to login.

 Network password − Some commercial applications send one-time

passwords to user on registered mobile/ email which is required to be
entered prior to login.

Program Threats

Operating system's processes and kernel do the designated task as instructed. If a

user program made these process do malicious tasks, then it is known as Program
Threats. One of the common example of program threat is a program installed in
a computer which can store and send user credentials via network to some
hacker. Following is the list of some well-known program threats.

 Trojan Horse − Such program traps user login credentials and stores them
to send to malicious user who can later on login to computer and can
access system resources.

 Trap Door − If a program which is designed to work as required, have a

security hole in its code and perform illegal action without knowledge of
user then it is called to have a trap door.

 Logic Bomb − Logic bomb is a situation when a program misbehaves only

when certain conditions met otherwise it works as a genuine program. It is
harder to detect.

 Virus − Virus as name suggest can replicate themselves on computer

system. They are highly dangerous and can modify/delete user files, crash
systems. A virus is generatlly a small code embedded in a program. As user
accesses the program, the virus starts getting embedded in other files/
programs and can make system unusable for user

Computer Security Classifications

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As per the U.S. Department of Defense Trusted Computer System's Evaluation

Criteria there are four security classifications in computer systems: A, B, C, and D.
This is widely used specifications to determine and model the security of systems
and of security solutions. Following is the brief description of each classification.

S.N. Classification Type & Description

1 Type A

Highest Level. Uses formal design specifications and verification

techniques. Grants a high degree of assurance of process security.

2 Type B

Provides mandatory protection system. Have all the properties of a class

C2 system. Attaches a sensitivity label to each object. It is of three types.

 B1 − Maintains the security label of each object in the system. Label

is used for making decisions to access control.

 B2 − Extends the sensitivity labels to each system resource, such as

storage objects, supports covert channels and auditing of events.

 B3 − Allows creating lists or user groups for access-control to grant

access or revoke access to a given named object.

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3 Type C

Provides protection and user accountability using audit capabilities. It is of

two types.

 C1 − Incorporates controls so that users can protect their private

information and keep other users from accidentally reading /
deleting their data. UNIX versions are mostly Cl class.

 C2 − Adds an individual-level access control to the capabilities of a

Cl level system.

4 Type D

Lowest level. Minimum protection. MS-DOS, Window 3.1 fall in this

category.

Virtual Machine

A Virtual Machine (VM) is a compute resource that uses software instead of a

physical computer to run programs and deploy apps. One or
more virtual “guest” machines run on a physical “host” machine. Each virtual
machine runs its own operating system and functions separately from the other
VMs, even when they are all running on the same host. This means that, for
example, a virtual MacOS virtual machine can run on a physical PC.

Virtual machine technology is used for many use cases across on-premises and
cloud environments. More recently, public cloud services are using virtual
machines to provide virtual application resources to multiple users at once, for
even more cost efficient and flexible compute.

What are virtual machines used for?

Virtual machines (VMs) allow a business to run an operating system that behaves

like a completely separate computer in an app window on a desktop. VMs may

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be deployed to accommodate different levels of processing power needs, to

run software that requires a different operating system, or to test applications in
a safe, sandboxed environment.

Virtual machines have historically been used for server virtualization,

which enables IT teams to consolidate their computing resources and improve
efficiency. Additionally, virtual machines can perform specific
tasks considered too risky to carry out in a host environment, such as accessing
virus-infected data or testing operating systems. Since the virtual machine
is separated from the rest of the system, the software inside the virtual machine
cannot tamper with the host computer.

How do virtual machines work?

The virtual machine runs as a process in an application window, similar to any

other application, on the operating system of the physical machine. Key files that
make up a virtual machine include a log file, NVRAM setting file, virtual disk file
and configuration file.

Advantages of virtual machines

Virtual machines are easy to manage and maintain, and they offer several
advantages over physical machines:

 VMs can run multiple operating system environments on a single physical

computer, saving physical space, time and management costs.

 Virtual machines support legacy applications, reducing the cost

of migrating to a new operating system. For example, a Linux virtual
machine running a distribution of Linux as the guest operating system can
exist on a host server that is running a non-Linux operating system, such as
Windows.

 VMs can also provide integrated disaster recovery and application

provisioning options.

Disadvantages of virtual machines

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While virtual machines have several advantages over physical machines, there are
also some potential disadvantages:

 Running multiple virtual machines on one physical machine can result

in unstable performance if infrastructure requirements are not met.

 Virtual machines are less efficient and run slower than a full physical
computer. Most enterprises use a combination of physical and virtual
infrastructure to balance the corresponding advantages and
disadvantages.

The two types of virtual machines

Users can choose from two different types of virtual machines—process VMs and
system VMs:

A process virtual machine allows a single process to run as an application on a

host machine, providing a platform-independent programming
environment by masking the information of the underlying hardware or operating
system. An example of a process VM is the Java Virtual Machine, which enables
any operating system to run Java applications as if they were native to
that system.

A system virtual machine is fully virtualized to substitute for a physical

machine. A system platform supports the sharing of a host computer’s physical
resources between multiple virtual machines, each running its own copy of the
operating system. This virtualization process relies on a hypervisor, which can run
on bare hardware, such as VMware ESXi, or on top of an operating system.

What are 5 types of virtualization?

All the components of a traditional data center or IT infrastructure can be

virtualized today, with various specific types of virtualization:

 Hardware virtualization: When virtualizing hardware, virtual versions of

computers and operating systems (VMs) are created and consolidated into
a single, primary, physical server. A hypervisor communicates directly with

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a physical server’s disk space and CPU to manage the VMs. Hardware
virtualization, which is also known as server virtualization, allows hardware
resources to be utilized more efficiently and for one machine
to simultaneously run different operating systems.

 Software virtualization: Software virtualization creates a computer system

complete with hardware that allows one or more guest operating
systems to run on a physical host machine. For example, Android OS can
run on a host machine that is natively using a Microsoft Windows OS,
utilizing the same hardware as the host machine
does. Additionally, applications can be virtualized and delivered from a
server to an end user’s device, such as a laptop or smartphone.
This allows employees to access centrally hosted applications when
working remotely.

 Storage virtualization: Storage can be virtualized by consolidating multiple

physical storage devices to appear as a single storage device. Benefits
include increased performance and speed, load balancing and reduced
costs. Storage virtualization also helps with disaster recovery planning,
as virtual storage data can be duplicated and quickly transferred to another
location, reducing downtime.

 Network virtualization: Multiple sub-networks can be created on the same

physical network by combining equipment into a single, software-
based virtual network resource. Network virtualization also divides
available bandwidth into multiple, independent channels, each of which
can be assigned to servers and devices in real time. Advantages include
increased reliability, network speed, security and better monitoring of data
usage. Network virtualization can be a good choice for companies with
a high volume of users who need access at all times.

 Desktop virtualization: This common type of virtualization separates the

desktop environment from the physical device and stores a desktop on a
remote server, allowing users to access their desktops from anywhere on

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any device. In addition to easy accessibility, benefits of virtual desktops

include better data security, cost savings on software licenses and
updates, and ease of management.

Container vs virtual machine

Like virtual machines, container technology such as Kubernetes is similar in the

sense of running isolated applications on a single platform. While virtual
machines virtualize the hardware layer to create a
“computer,” containers package up just a single app along with its
dependencies. Virtual machines are often managed by a
hypervisor, whereas container systems provide shared operating system services
from the underlying host and isolate the applications using virtual-memory
hardware.

A key benefit of containers is that they have less overhead compared to virtual
machines. Containers include only the binaries, libraries and other required
dependencies, and the application. Containers that are on the same host share
the same operating system kernel, making containers much smaller than virtual
machines. As a result, containers boot faster, maximize server
resources, and make delivering applications easier. Containers have
become popluar for use cases such as web applications, DevOps testing,
microservices and maximizing the number of apps that can be deployed per
server.

Virtual machines are larger and slower to boot than containers. They are logically
isolated from one another, with their own operating system kernel, and offer
the benefits of a completely separate operating system. Virtual machines are best
for running multiple applications together, monolithic applications, isolation
between apps, and for legacy apps running on older operating
systems. Containers and virtual machines may also be used together.

Virtualization

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With the help of OS virtualization nothing is pre-installed or permanently loaded

on the local device and no-hard disk is needed. Everything runs from the network
using a kind of virtual disk. This virtual disk is actually a disk image file stored on a
remote server, SAN (Storage Area Network) or NAS (Non-volatile Attached
Storage). The client will be connected by the network to this virtual disk and will
boot with the Operating System installed on the virtual disk.

How does OS Virtualization works?

Components needed for using OS Virtualization in the infrastructure are given

below:

The first component is the OS Virtualization server. This server is the center point
in the OS Virtualization infrastructure. The server manages the streaming of the
information on the virtual disks for the client and also determines which client will
be connected to which virtual disk (using a database, this information is stored).
Also the server can host the storage for the virtual disk locally or the server is
connected to the virtual disks via a SAN (Storage Area Network). In high
availability environments there can be more OS Virtualization servers to create no
redundancy and load balancing. The server also ensures that the client will be
unique within the infrastructure.

Secondly, there is a client which will contact the server to get connected to the
virtual disk and asks for components stored on the virtual disk for running the
operating system.

The available supporting components are database for storing the configuration
and settings for the server, a streaming service for the virtual disk content, a
(optional) TFTP service and a (also optional) PXE boot service for connecting the
client to the OS Virtualization servers.

As it is already mentioned that the virtual disk contains an image of a physical disk
from the system that will reflect to the configuration and the settings of those
systems which will be using the virtual disk. When the virtual disk is created then
that disk needs to be assigned to the client that will be using this disk for starting.

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The connection between the client and the disk is made through the
administrative tool and saved within the database. When a client has a assigned
disk, the machine can be started with the virtual disk using the following process

Figure: as displayed in the given below

1) Connecting to the OS Virtualization server:

First we start the machine and set up the connection with the OS Virtualization
server. Most of the products offer several possible methods to connect with the
server. One of the most popular and used methods is using a PXE service, but also
a boot strap is used a lot (because of the disadvantages of the PXE service).
Although each method initializes the network interface card (NIC), receiving a
(DHCP-based) IP address and a connection to the server.

2) Connecting the Virtual Disk:

When the connection is established between the client and the server, the server
will look into its database for checking the client is known or unknown and which
virtual disk is assigned to the client. When more than one virtual disk are
connected then a boot menu will be displayed on the client side. If only one disk is
assigned, that disk will be connected to the client which is mentioned in step
number 3.

3) VDisk connected to the client:

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After the desired virtual disk is selected by the client, that virtual disk is connected
through the OS Virtualization server . At the back-end, the OS Virtualization server
makes sure that the client will be unique (for example computer name and
identifier) within the infrastructure.

4) OS is "streamed" to the client:

As soon the disk is connected the server starts streaming the content of the
virtual disk. The software knows which parts are necessary for starting the
operating system smoothly, so that these parts are streamed first. The
information streamed in the system should be stored somewhere (i.e. cached).
Most products offer several ways to cache that information. For examples on the
client hard disk or on the disk of the OS Virtualization server.

5) Additional Streaming:

After that the first part is streamed then the operating system will start to run as
expected. Additional virtual disk data will be streamed when required for running
or starting a function called by the user (for example starting an application
available within the virtual disk).

Linux

Linux is one of popular version of UNIX operating System. It is open source as its
source code is freely available. It is free to use. Linux was designed considering
UNIX compatibility. Its functionality list is quite similar to that of UNIX.

Components of Linux System

Linux Operating System has primarily three components

 Kernel − Kernel is the core part of Linux. It is responsible for all major
activities of this operating system. It consists of various modules and it
interacts directly with the underlying hardware. Kernel provides the
required abstraction to hide low level hardware details to system or
application programs.

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 System Library − System libraries are special functions or programs using

which application programs or system utilities accesses Kernel's features.
These libraries implement most of the functionalities of the operating
system and do not requires kernel module's code access rights.

 System Utility − System Utility programs are responsible to do specialized,

individual level tasks.

Kernel Mode vs User Mode

Kernel component code executes in a special privileged mode called kernel

mode with full access to all resources of the computer. This code represents a
single process, executes in single address space and do not require any context
switch and hence is very efficient and fast. Kernel runs each processes and
provides system services to processes, provides protected access to hardware to
processes.

Support code which is not required to run in kernel mode is in System Library.
User programs and other system programs works in User Mode which has no
access to system hardware and kernel code. User programs/ utilities use System
libraries to access Kernel functions to get system's low level tasks.

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Basic Features

Following are some of the important features of Linux Operating System.

 Portable − Portability means software can works on different types of

hardware in same way. Linux kernel and application programs supports
their installation on any kind of hardware platform.

 Open Source − Linux source code is freely available and it is community

based development project. Multiple teams work in collaboration to
enhance the capability of Linux operating system and it is continuously
evolving.

 Multi-User − Linux is a multiuser system means multiple users can access

system resources like memory/ ram/ application programs at same time.

 Multiprogramming − Linux is a multiprogramming system means multiple

applications can run at same time.

 Hierarchical File System − Linux provides a standard file structure in which

system files/ user files are arranged.

 Shell − Linux provides a special interpreter program which can be used to

execute commands of the operating system. It can be used to do various
types of operations, call application programs. etc.

 Security − Linux provides user security using authentication features like

password protection/ controlled access to specific files/ encryption of data.

Architecture

The following illustration shows the architecture of a Linux system −

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The architecture of a Linux System consists of the following layers −

 Hardware layer − Hardware consists of all peripheral devices (RAM/ HDD/

CPU etc).

 Kernel − It is the core component of Operating System, interacts directly

with hardware, provides low level services to upper layer components.

 Shell − An interface to kernel, hiding complexity of kernel's functions from

users. The shell takes commands from the user and executes kernel's
functions.

 Utilities − Utility programs that provide the user most of the functionalities
of an operating systems.

Linux Design Principles

In its overall design, Linux resembles another non-microkernel

UNIX implementation. It is a multi-user, multi-tasking system with complete
UNIX-compatible tools. The Linux file system follows the traditional UNIX
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semantics, and the UNIX standard network model is implemented as a whole. The
internal characteristics of Linux design have been influenced by the history of the
development of this operating system.

Although Linux can run on a variety of platforms, at first it was developed

exclusively on PC architecture. Most of the initial development was carried out by
individual enthusiasts, not by large funded research facilities, so that from the
start Linux tried to include as much functionality as possible with very limited
funds. Currently, Linux can run well on multi-processor machines with very large
main memory and disk space that is also very large, but still capable of operating
in a useful amount of RAM smaller than 4 MB.

1. Linux Design Principles

As a result of the development of PC technology, the Linux kernel is also

becoming more complete in implementing UNIX functions. Fast and efficient are
important design goals, but lately the concentration of Linux development has
focused more on the third design goal, standardization. The POSIX standard
consists of a collection of specifications from different aspects of operating
system behavior. There are POSIX documents for ordinary operating system
functions and for extensions such as processes for threads and real-time
operations. Linux is designed to fit the relevant POSIX documents; there are at
least two Linux distributions that have received POSIX official certification.

Because Linux provides a standard interface to programmers and users, Linux

does not make many surprises to anyone who is familiar with UNIX. But the Linux
programming interface refers to the UNIX SVR4 semantics rather than BSD
behavior. A different collection of libraries is available to implement the BSD
semantics in places where the two behaviors are very different.

There are many other standards in the UNIX world, but Linux’s full certification of
other UNIX standards sometimes becomes slow because it is more often available
at a certain price (not freely), and there is a price to pay if it involves certification
of approval or compatibility of an operating system with most standards .
Supporting broad applications is important for all operating systems so that the

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implementation of the standard is the main goal of developing Linux even though
its implementation is not formally valid. In addition to the POSIX standard, Linux
currently supports POSIX thread extensions and subsets of extensions for POSIX
real-time process control.

2. Linux System Components

The Linux system consists of three important code parts:

1. Kernel: Responsible for maintaining all important abstractions of the

operating system, including things like processes and virtual memory.

2. System library: defines a set of standard functions where applications can

interact with the kernel, and implements almost all operating system
functions that do not require full rights to the kernel.

3. System Utility: is a program that performs management work individually

and specifically.

2.1. Kernel

Although various modern operating systems have adopted a message-passing

architecture for their internal kernel, Linux uses the historical UNIX model: the
kernel was created as a single, monolithic binary. The main reason is to improve
performance: Because all data structures and kernel code are stored in one
address space, context switching is not needed when a process calls an operating
system function or when a hardware interrupt is sent. Not only scheduling core
and virtual memory code occupies this address space; all kernel code, including all
device drivers, file systems, and network code, come in the same address space.

The Linux kernel forms the core of the Linux operating system. It provides all the
functions needed to run the process, and is provided with system services to
provide settings and protection for access to hardware resources. The kernel
implements all the features needed to work as an operating system. However, if
alone, the operating system provided by the Linux kernel is not at all similar to
UNIX systems. It does not have many extra UNIX features, and the features

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provided are not always in the format expected by the UNIX application. The
interface of the operating system that is visible to the running application is not
maintained directly by the kernel. Instead, the application makes calls to the
system library, which then invokes the operating system services that are needed.

2.2. System Library

The system library provides many types of functions. At the easiest level, they
allow applications to make requests to the kernel system services. Making a
system call involves transferring controls from non-essential user mode to
important kernel mode; the details of this transfer are different for each
architecture. The library has the duty to collect system-call arguments and, if
necessary, arrange those arguments in the special form needed to make system
calls.

Libraries can also provide more complex versions of basic system calls. For
example, the buffered file-handling functions of the C language are all
implemented in the system library, which results in better control of file I / O than
those provided by the basic kernel system call. The library also provides routines
that have nothing to do with system calls, such as sorting algorithms,
mathematical functions, and string manipulation routines. All functions needed to
support the running of UNIX or POSIX applications are implemented in the system
library.

2.3. System Utilities

Linux systems contain many user-mode programs: system utilities and user
utilities. The system utilities include all the programs needed to initialize the
system, such as programs for configuring network devices or for loading kernel
modules. Server programs that are running continuously are also included as
system utilities; This kind of program manages user login requests, incoming
network connections, and printer queues.

Not all standard utilities perform important system administration functions. The
UNIX user environment contains a large number of standard utilities for doing

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daily work, such as making directory listings, moving and deleting files, or showing
the contents of a file. More complex utilities can perform text-processing
functions, such as compiling textual data or performing pattern-searches on text
input. When combined, these utilities form the standard toolset expected by
users on any UNIX system; even if it doesn’t perform any operating system
functions, utilities are still an important part of a basic Linux system.

Linux Process Management

In this article we will cover the basics of process management in Linux. This topic
is of particular importance if you are responsible for administering a system which
has not yet been proven stable, that is not fully tested in its configuration. You
may find that as you run software, problems arise requiring administrator
intervention. This is the world of process management

Process Management

Any application that runs on a Linux system is assigned a process ID or PID. This is
a numerical representation of the instance of the application on the system. In
most situations this information is only relevant to the system administrator who
may have to debug or terminate processes by referencing the PID. Process
Management is the series of tasks a System Administrator completes to monitor,
manage, and maintain instances of running applications.

Multitasking

Process Management beings with an understanding concept of Multitasking.

Linux is what is referred to as a preemptive multitasking operating system.
Preemptive multitasking systems rely on a scheduler. The function of the
scheduler is to control the process that is currently using the CPU. In contrast,
symmetric multitasking systems such as Windows 3.1 relied on each running
process to voluntary relinquish control of the processor. If an application in this
system hung or stalled, the entire computer system stalled. By making use of an
additional component to pre-empt each process when its “turn” is up, stalled
programs do not affect the overall flow of the operating system.

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Each “turn” is called a time slice, and each time slice is only a fraction of a second
long. It is this rapid switching from process to process that allows a computer to
“appear’ to be doing two things at once, in much the same way a movie
“appears” to be a continuous picture.

Types of Processes

There are generally two types of processes that run on Linux. Interactive
processes are those processes that are invoked by a user and can interact with
the user. VI is an example of an interactive process. Interactive processes can be
classified into foreground and background processes. The foreground process is
the process that you are currently interacting with, and is using the terminal as its
stdin (standard input) and stdout (standard output). A background process is not
interacting with the user and can be in one of two states – paused or running.

The following exercise will illustrate foreground and background processes.

1. Logon as root.
2. Run [cd \]
3. Run [vi]
4. Press [ctrl + z]. This will pause vi
5. Type [jobs]
6. Notice vi is running in the background
7. Type [fg %1]. This will bring the first background process to the foreground.
8. Close vi.

The second general type of process that runs on Linux is a system process or
Daemon (day-mon). Daemon is the term used to refer to process’ that are running
on the computer and provide services but do not interact with the console. Most
server software is implemented as a daemon. Apache, Samba, and inn are all
examples of daemons.

Any process can become a daemon as long as it is run in the background, and
does not interact with the user. A simple example of this can be achieved using
the [ls –R] command. This will list all subdirectories on the computer, and is
similar to the [dir /s] command on Windows. This command can be set to run in

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the background by typing [ls –R &], and although technically you have control
over the shell prompt, you will be able to do little work as the screen displays the
output of the process that you have running in the background. You will also
notice that the standard pause (ctrl+z) and kill (ctrl+c) commands do little to help
you.

Linux Scheduling

The Linux scheduler is a priority based scheduler that schedules tasks based upon
their static and dynamic priorities. When these priorities are combined they form
a task's goodness . Each time the Linux scheduler runs, every task on the run
queue is examined and its goodness value is computed. The task with the
highest goodness is chosen to run next.

When there are cpu bound tasks running in the system, the Linux scheduler may
not be called for intervals of up to .40 seconds. This means that the currently
running task has the CPU to itself for periods of up to .40 seconds (how long
depends upon the task's priority and whether it blocks or not). This is good for
throughput because there are few computationally uneccessary context switches.
However it can kill interactivity because Linux only reschedules when a task blocks
or when the task's dynamic priority (counter) reaches zero. Thus under Linux's
default priority based scheduling method, long scheduling latencies can occur.

Looking at the scheduling latency in finer detail, the Linux scheduler makes use of
a timer that interrupts every 10 msec. This timer erodes the currently running
task's dynamic priority (decrements its counter). A task's counter starts out at the
same value its priority contains. Once its dynamic priority (counter) has eroded to
0 it is again reset to that of its static priority (priority). It is only after the counter
reaches 0 that a call to schedule() is made. Thus a task with the default priority of
20 may run for .200 secs (200 msecs) before any other task in the system gets a
chance to run. A task at priority 40 (the highest priority allowed) can run for .400
secs without any scheduling occurring as long as it doesn't block or yield.

Linux scheduler has been gone through some big improvements since kernel
version 2.4. There were a lot of complaints about the interactivity of the

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scheduler in kernel 2.4. During this version, the scheduler was implemented with
one running queue for all available processors. At every scheduling, this queue
was locked and every task on this queue got its timeslice update. This
implementation caused poor performance in all aspects. The scheduler algorithm
and supporting code went through a large rewrite early in the 2.5 kernel
development series. The new scheduler was arisen to achieveO(1 ) run-time
regardless number of runnable tasks in the system. To achieve this, each
processor has its own running queue. This helps a lot in reducing lock contention.
The priority array was introduced which used active array and expired array to
keep track running tasks in the system. TheO(1 ) running time is primarily drawn
from this new data structure. The scheduler puts all expired processes into
expired array. When there is no active process available in active array, it swaps
active array with expired array, which makes active array becomes expired array
and expired array becomes active array. There were some twists made into this
scheduler to optimize further by putting expired task back to active array instead
of expired array in some cases.O(1 ) scheduler uses a heuristic calculation to
update dynamic priority of tasks based on their interactivity (I/O bound versus
CPU bound) The industry was happy with this new scheduler until Con Kolivas
introduced his new scheduler named Rotating Staircase Deadline (RSDL) and then
later Staircase Deadline (SD). His new schedulers proved the fact that fair
scheduling among processes can be achieved without any complex computation.
His scheduler was designed to run inO(n ) but its performance exceeded the
currentO(1 ) scheduler.

The result achieved from SD scheduler surprised all kernel developers and
designers. The fair scheduling approach in SD scheduler encouraged Igno Molnar
to re-implement the new Linux scheduler named Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS).
CFS scheduler was a big improvement over the existing scheduler not only in its
performance and interactivity but also in simplifying the scheduling logic and
putting more modularized code into the scheduler. CFS scheduler was merged
into mainline version 2.6.23. Since then, there have been some minor
improvements made to CFS scheduler in some areas such as optimization, load
balancing and group scheduling feature.

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Kernel 2.4 Major Features

 An O(n) scheduler - Goes through the entire “ global runqueue” to

determine the next task to be run. This is an O(n) algorithm where 'n' is the
number of processes. The time taken was proportional to the number of
active processes in the system

 A Global runqueue - All CPUs had to wait for other CPUs to finish execution.
A Global runqueue for all processors in a symmetric multiprocessing system
(SMP). This meant a task could be scheduled on any processor -- which can
be good for load balancing but bad for memory caches. For example,
suppose a task executed on CPU-1, and its data was in that processor's
cache. If the task got rescheduled to CPU-2, its data would need to be
invalidated in CPU-1 and brought into CPU-2 .

 This lead to large performance hits during heavy workload

Kernel 2.4 Scheduler Policies:

 SCHED_FIFO - A First-In, First-Out real-time process. When the scheduler

assigns the CPU to the process, it leaves the process descriptor in its
current position in the runqueue list. If no other higher-priority realtime
process is runnable, the process will continue to use the CPU as long as it
wishes, even if other real-time processes having the same priority are
runnable

 SCHED_RR - A Round Robin real-time process. When the scheduler assigns

the CPU to the process, it puts the process descriptor at the end of the
runqueue list. This policy ensures a fair assignment of CPU time to all
SCHED_RR real-time processes that have the same priority

 SCHED_OTHER - A conventional, time-shared process. The policy field also

encodes a SCHED_YIELD binary flag. This flag is set when the process
invokes the sched_ yield( ) system call (a way of voluntarily relinquishing
the processor without the need to start an I/O operation or go to sleep. The
scheduler puts the process descriptor at the bottom of the runqueue list.

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O(1) Algorithm ( Constant time algorithm )

 Choose the task on the highest priority list to execute

 To make this process more efficient, a bitmap is used to define when tasks
are on a given priority list

 On most architectures, a find-first-bit-set instruction is used to find the

highest priority bit set in one of five 32-bit words (for the 140 priorities

 The time it takes to find a task to execute depends not on the number of
active tasks but instead on the number of priorities

 This makes the 2.6 scheduler an O(1) process because the time to schedule
is both fixed and deterministic regardless of the number of active tasks

Kernel 2.6 - Major Features

 The 2.6 scheduler was designed and implemented by Ingo Molnar. His
motivation in working on the new scheduler was to create a completely
O(1) scheduler for wakeup, context-switch, and timer interrupt overhead

 One of the issues that triggered the need for a new scheduler was the use
of Java virtual machines (JVMs). The Java programming model uses many
threads of execution, which results in lots of overhead for scheduling in an
O(n) scheduler

 Each CPU has a runqueue made up of 140 priority lists that are serviced in
FIFO order. Tasks that are scheduled to execute are added to the end of
their respective runqueue's priority list

 Each task has a time slice that determines how much time it's permitted to
execute

 The first 100 priority lists of the runqueue are reserved for real-time tasks,
and the last 40 are used for user tasks (MAX_RT_PRIO=100 and
MAX_PRIO=140)

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 In addition to the CPU's runqueue, which is called the active runqueue,

there's also an expired runqueue

 When a task on the active runqueue uses all of its time slice, it's moved to
the expired runqueue. During the move, its time slice is recalculated (and
so is its priority)

 If no tasks exist on the active runqueue for a given priority, the pointers for
the active and expired runqueues are swapped, thus making the expired
priority list the active one

Kernel 2.6 Scheduler Policies:

 SCHED_NORMAL - A conventional, time-shared process (used to be called

SCHED_OTHER), for normal tasks

1. Each task assigned a “Nice” value

2. PRIO = MAX_RT_PRIO + NICE + 20

3. Assigned a time slice

4. Tasks at the same prio(rity) are round-robined

5. Ensures Priority + Fairness

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 SCHED_FIFO - A First-In, First-Out real-time process

1. Run until they relinquish the CPU voluntarily

2. Priority levels maintained

3. Not pre-empted !!

 SCHED_RR - A Round Robin real-time process

1. Assigned a timeslice and run till the timeslice is exhausted.

2. Once all RR tasks of a given prio(rity) level exhaust their timeslices, their
timeslices are refilled and they continue running

3. Prio(rity) levels are maintained

 SCHED_BATCH - for "batch" style execution of processes

1. For computing-intensive tasks

2. Timeslices are long and processes are round robin scheduled

3. lowest priority tasks are batch-processed (nice +19)

 SCHED_IDLE - for running very low priority background job

1. nice value has no influence for this policy

2. extremely low priority (lower than +19 nice)

Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS)

 The main idea behind the CFS is to maintain balance (fairness) in providing
processor time to tasks. This means processes should be given a fair
amount of the processor. When the time for tasks is out of balance
(meaning that one or more tasks are not given a fair amount of time
relative to others), then those out-of-balance tasks should be given time to
execute.

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To determine the balance, the CFS maintains the amount of time provided to a
given task in what's called the virtual runtime. The smaller a task's virtual
runtime—meaning the smaller amount of time a task has been permitted access
to the processor—the higher its need for the processor. The CFS also includes the
concept of sleeper fairness to ensure that tasks that are not currently runnable
(for example, waiting for I/O) receive a comparable share of the processor when
they eventually need it.

But rather than maintain the tasks in a run queue, as has been done in prior Linux
schedulers, the CFS maintains a time-ordered red-black tree (see Figure below).
A red-black tree is a tree with a couple of interesting and useful properties. First,
it's self-balancing, which means that no path in the tree will ever be more than
twice as long as any other. Second, operations on the tree occur in O(log n) time
(where n is the number of nodes in the tree). This means that you can insert or
delete a task quickly and efficiently.

Concrete view of Linux Kernel Scheduler

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Linux scheduler contains:

 A Running Queue : A running queue (rq) is created for each processor

(CPU). It is defined in kernel/sched.c as struct _runqueue. Each rq contains
a list of runnable processes on a given processor. Thestruct_runqueue is
defined in sched.c notsched.h to abstract the internal data structure of the
scheduler.

 Schedule Class : schedule class was introduced in 2.6.23. It is an extensible

hierarchy of scheduler modules. These modules encapsulate scheduling
policy details and are called from the scheduler core without the core code
assuming too much about them. Scheduling classes are implemented
through thesched_class structure, which contains hooks to functions that
must be called whenever an interesting event occurs. Tasks refer to their
schedule policy through struct task_struct and sched_class. There are two
schedule classes implemented in 2.6.32:

1. Completely Fair Schedule class: schedules tasks following Completely Fair

Scheduler (CFS) algorithm. Tasks which have policy set to SCHED_ NORMA L

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(SCHED_OTHER), SCHED_BATCH, SCHED_IDLE are scheduled by this

schedule class. The implementation of this class is in kernel /sched_fai r.c

2. RT schedule class: schedules tasks following real-time mechanism defined

in POSIX standard. Tasks which have policy set to SCHED_FIFO, SCHED_RR
are scheduled using this schedule class. The implementation of this class is
kernel/sched_rt.c

 Load balancer: In SMP environment, each CPU has its own rq. These
queues might be unbalanced from time to time. A running queue with
empty task pushes its associated CPU to idle, which does not take full
advantage of symmetric multiprocessor systems. Load balancer is to
address this issue. It is called every time the system requires scheduling
tasks. If running queues are unbalanced, load balancer will try to pull idle
tasks from busiest processors to idle processor.

Interactivity

Interactivity is an important goal for the Linux scheduler, especially given the
growing effort to optimize Linux for desktop environments. Interactivity often
flies in the face of efficiency, but it is very important nonetheless. An example of
interactivity might be a keystroke or mouse click. Such events usually require a
quick response (i.e. the thread handling them should be allowed to execute very
soon) because users will probably notice and be annoyed if they do not see some
result from their action almost immediately. Users don’t expect a quick response
when, for example, they are compiling programs or rendering high-resolution
images. They are unlikely to notice if something like compiling the Linux kernel
takes an extra twenty seconds. Schedulers used for interactive computing should
be designed in such a way that they respond to user interaction within a certain
time period. Ideally, this should be a time period that is imperceptible to users
and thus gives the impression of an immediate response.

Interactivity estimator

 Dynamically scales a tasks priority based on it's interactivity

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 Interactive tasks receive a prio bonus

 Hence a larger timeslice

 CPU bound tasks receive a prio penalty

 Interactivity estimated using a running sleep average.

 Interactive tasks are I/O bound. They wait for events to occur.

 Sleeping tasks are I/O bound or interactive !!

 Actual bonus/penalty is determined by comparing the sleep average

against a constant maximum sleep average.

 Does not apply to RT tasks

When a task finishes it's timeslice :

 It's interactivity is estimated

 Interactive tasks can be inserted into the 'Active' array again

 Else, priority is recalculated

 Inserted into the NEW priority level in the 'Expired' array

Re-inserting interactive tasks

 To avoid delays, interactive tasks may be re-inserted into the 'active' array
after their timeslice has expired

 Done only if tasks in the 'expired' array have run recently

 Done to prevent starvation of tasks

 Decision to re-insert depends on the task's priority level

Timeslice distribution:

 Priority is recalculated only after expiring a timeslice

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 Interactive tasks may become non-interactive during their LARGE

timeslices, thus starving other processes

 To prevent this, time-slices are divided into chunks of 20ms

 A task of equal priority may preempt the running task every 20ms

 The preempted task is requeued and is round-robined in it's priority level.

 Also, priority recalculation happens every 20ms

Memory Management

Linux memory management subsystem is responsible, as the name implies, for

managing the memory in the system. This includes implemnetation of virtual
memory and demand paging, memory allocation both for kernel internal
structures and user space programms, mapping of files into processes address
space and many other cool things.

The memory management in Linux is a complex system that evolved over the
years and included more and more functionality to support a variety of systems
from MMU-less microcontrollers to supercomputers. The memory management
for systems without an MMU is called nommu and it definitely deserves a
dedicated document, which hopefully will be eventually written. Yet, although
some of the concepts are the same, here we assume that an MMU is available
and a CPU can translate a virtual address to a physical address.

Linux File System

A Linux file system is a structured collection of files on a disk drive or a partition. A

partition is a segment of memory and contains some specific data. In our
machine, there can be various partitions of the memory. Generally, every
partition contains a file system.

The general-purpose computer system needs to store data systematically so that

we can easily access the files in less time. It stores the data on hard disks (HDD) or

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some equivalent storage type. There may be below reasons for maintaining the
file system:

o Primarily the computer saves data to the RAM storage; it may lose the data
if it gets turned off. However, there is non-volatile RAM (Flash RAM and
SSD) that is available to maintain the data after the power interruption.

o Data storage is preferred on hard drives as compared to standard RAM as

RAM costs more than disk space. The hard disks costs are dropping
gradually comparatively the RAM.

The Linux file system contains the following sections:

o The root directory (/)

o A specific data storage format (EXT3, EXT4, BTRFS, XFS and so on)

o A partition or logical volume having a particular file system.

What is the Linux File System?

Linux file system is generally a built-in layer of a Linux operating system used to
handle the data management of the storage. It helps to arrange the file on the
disk storage. It manages the file name, file size, creation date, and much more
information about a file.

If we have an unsupported file format in our file system, we can download

software to deal with it.

Linux File System Structure

Linux file system has a hierarchal file structure as it contains a root directory and
its subdirectories. All other directories can be accessed from the root directory. A
partition usually has only one file system, but it may have more than one file
system.

A file system is designed in a way so that it can manage and provide space for
non-volatile storage data. All file systems required a namespace that is a naming

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and organizational methodology. The namespace defines the naming process,

length of the file name, or a subset of characters that can be used for the file
name. It also defines the logical structure of files on a memory segment, such as
the use of directories for organizing the specific files. Once a namespace is
described, a Metadata description must be defined for that particular file.

The data structure needs to support a hierarchical directory structure; this

structure is used to describe the available and used disk space for a particular
block. It also has the other details about the files such as file size, date & time of
creation, update, and last modified.

Also, it stores advanced information about the section of the disk, such as
partitions and volumes.

The advanced data and the structures that it represents contain the information
about the file system stored on the drive; it is distinct and independent of the file
system metadata.

Linux file system contains two-part file system software implementation

architecture. Consider the below image:

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The file system requires an API (Application programming interface) to access the
function calls to interact with file system components like files and
directories. API facilitates tasks such as creating, deleting, and copying the files. It
facilitates an algorithm that defines the arrangement of files on a file system.

The first two parts of the given file system together called a Linux virtual file
system. It provides a single set of commands for the kernel and developers to
access the file system. This virtual file system requires the specific system driver
to give an interface to the file system.

Linux File System Features

In Linux, the file system creates a tree structure. All the files are arranged as a
tree and its branches. The topmost directory called the root (/) directory. All
other directories in Linux can be accessed from the root directory.

Some key features of Linux file system are as following:

o Specifying paths: Linux does not use the backslash (\) to separate the
components; it uses forward slash (/) as an alternative. For example, as in
Windows, the data may be stored in C:\ My Documents\ Work, whereas, in
Linux, it would be stored in /home/ My Document/ Work.

o Partition, Directories, and Drives: Linux does not use drive letters to
organize the drive as Windows does. In Linux, we cannot tell whether we
are addressing a partition, a network device, or an "ordinary" directory and
a Drive.

o Case Sensitivity: Linux file system is case sensitive. It distinguishes between

lowercase and uppercase file names. Such as, there is a difference between
test.txt and Test.txt in Linux. This rule is also applied for directories and
Linux commands.

o File Extensions: In Linux, a file may have the extension '.txt,' but it is not
necessary that a file should have a file extension. While working with Shell,
it creates some problems for the beginners to differentiate between files

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and directories. If we use the graphical file manager, it symbolizes the files
and folders.

o Hidden files: Linux distinguishes between standard files and hidden files,
mostly the configuration files are hidden in Linux OS. Usually, we don't
need to access or read the hidden files. The hidden files in Linux are
represented by a dot (.) before the file name (e.g., .ignore). To access the
files, we need to change the view in the file manager or need to use a
specific command in the shell.

Types of Linux File System

When we install the Linux operating system, Linux offers many file systems such
as Ext, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS, btrfs, and swap.

1. Ext, Ext2, Ext3 and Ext4 file system

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The file system Ext stands for Extended File System. It was primarily developed
for MINIX OS. The Ext file system is an older version, and is no longer used due to
some limitations.

Ext2 is the first Linux file system that allows managing two terabytes of data. Ext3
is developed through Ext2; it is an upgraded version of Ext2 and contains
backward compatibility. The major drawback of Ext3 is that it does not support
servers because this file system does not support file recovery and disk snapshot.

Ext4 file system is the faster file system among all the Ext file systems. It is a very
compatible option for the SSD (solid-state drive) disks, and it is the default file
system in Linux distribution.

2. JFS File System

JFS stands for Journaled File System, and it is developed by IBM for AIX Unix. It is
an alternative to the Ext file system. It can also be used in place of Ext4, where
stability is needed with few resources. It is a handy file system when CPU power is
limited.

3. ReiserFS File System

ReiserFS is an alternative to the Ext3 file system. It has improved performance

and advanced features. In the earlier time, the ReiserFS was used as the default
file system in SUSE Linux, but later it has changed some policies, so SUSE returned
to Ext3. This file system dynamically supports the file extension, but it has some
drawbacks in performance.

4. XFS File System

XFS file system was considered as high-speed JFS, which is developed for parallel
I/O processing. NASA still using this file system with its high storage server (300+
Terabyte server).

5. Btrfs File System

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Btrfs stands for the B tree file system. It is used for fault tolerance, repair system,
fun administration, extensive storage configuration, and more. It is not a good
suit for the production system.

6. Swap File System

The swap file system is used for memory paging in Linux operating system during
the system hibernation. A system that never goes in hibernate state is required to
have swap space equal to its RAM size.

Linux-Input & output

Input and Output

To the user, the I/O system in Linux looks much like that in any UNIX system. That
is, to the extent possible, all device drivers appear as normal files. A user can open
an access channel to a device in the same way she opens any other file—devices
can appear as objects within the file system.

The system administrator can create special files within a file system that contain
references to a specific device driver, and a user opening such a file will be able to
read from and write to the device referenced. By using the normal file-protection
system, which determines who can access which file, the administrator can set
access permissions for each device. Linux splits all devices into three classes: block
devices, character devices, and network devices.

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Figure 21.10 illustrates the overall structure of the device-driver system. Block
devices include all devices that allow random access to completely independent,
fixed-sized blocks of data, including hard disks and floppy disks, CD-ROMs, and
flash memory. Block devices are typically used to store file systems, but direct
access to a block device is also allowed so that programs can create and repair the
file system that the device contains.

Applications can also access these block devices directly if they wish; for example,
a database application may prefer to perform its own, fine-tuned laying out of
data onto the disk, rather than using the general-purpose file system. Character
devices include most other devices, such as mice and keyboards. The fundamental
difference between block and character devices is random access—block devices
may be accessed randomly, while character devices are only accessed serially.

For example, seeking to a certain position in a file might be supported for a DVD
but makes no sense to a pointing device such as a mouse. Network devices are
dealt with differently from block and character devices. Users cannot directly
transfer data to network devices; instead, they must communicate indirectly by
opening a connection to the kernel's networking subsystem. We discuss the
interface to network devices separately in Section 21.10.

Block Devices

Block devices provide the main interface to all disk devices in a system.
Performance is particularly important for disks, and the block-device system must
provide functionality to ensure that disk access is as fast as possible. This
functionality is achieved through the scheduling of I/O operations In the context
of block devices, a block represents the unit with which the kernel performs I/O.
When a block is read into memory, it is stored in a buffer. The request manager is
the layer of software that manages the reading and writing of buffer contents to
and from a block-device driver. A separate list of requests is kept for each block-
device driver. Traditionally, these requests have been scheduled according to a
unidirectional-elevator (C-SCAN) algorithm that exploits the order in which
requests are inserted in and removed from the per-device lists. The request lists

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are maintained in sorted order of increasing starting-sector number. When a

request is accepted for processing by a block-device driver, it is not removed from
the list. It is removed only after the I/O is complete, at which point the driver
continues with the next request in the list, even if new requests have been
inserted into the list before the active request. As new I/O requests are made, the
request manager attempts to merge requests in the per-device lists. The
scheduling of I/O operations changed somewhat with version 2.6 of the kernel.
The fundamental problem with the elevator algorithm is that I/O operations
concentrated in a specific region of the disk can result in starvation of requests
that need to occur in other regions of the disk.

The deadline I/O scheduler used in version 2.6 works similarly to the elevator
algorithm except that it also associates a deadline with each request, thus
addressing the starvation issue. By default, the deadline for read requests is 0.5
second and that for write requests is 5 seconds. The deadline scheduler maintains
a sorted queue of pending I/O operations sorted by sector number. However, it
also maintains two other queues—a read queue for read operations and a write
queue for write operations. These two queues are ordered according to deadline.

Every I/O request is placed in both the sorted queue and either the read or the
write queue, as appropriate. Ordinarily, I/O operations occur from the sorted
queue. However, if a deadline expires for a request in either the read or the write
queue, I/O operations are scheduled from the queue containing the expired
request. This policy ensures that an I/O operation will wait no longer than its
expiration time

Character Devices

A character-device driver can be almost any device driver that does not offer
random access to fixed blocks of data. Any character-device drivers registered to
the Linux kernel must also register a set of functions that implement the file I/O
operations that the driver can handle. The kernel performs almost no
preprocessing of a file read or write request to a character device; it simply passes
the request to the device in question and lets the device deal with the request.

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The main exception to this rule is the special subset of character-device drivers
that implement terminal devices. The kernel maintains a standard interface to
these drivers by means of a set of tty_struc t structures. Each of these structures
provides buffering and flow control on the data stream from the terminal device
and feeds those data to a line discipline.

A line discipline is an interpreter for the information from the terminal device.
The most common line discipline is the tt y discipline, which glues the terminal's
data stream onto the standard input and output streams of a user's running
processes, allowing those processes to communicate directly with user's terminal.
This job is complicated by the fact that several such processes may be running
simultaneously, and the tt y line discipline is responsible for attaching and
detaching the terminal's input and output from the various processes connected
to it as those processes are suspended or awakened by the user.

Other line disciplines also are implemented that have nothing to do with I/O to a
user process. The PPP and SLIP networking protocols are ways of encoding a
networking connection over a terminal device such as a serial line. These
protocols are implemented under Linux as drivers that at one end appear to the
terminal system as line disciplines and at the other end appear to the networking
system as network-device drivers. After one of these line disciplines has been
enabled on a terminal device, any data appearing on that terminal will be routed
directly to the appropriate network-device driver.

Methods in Interprocess Communication

Inter-process communication (IPC) is set of interfaces, which is usually

programmed in order for the programs to communicate between series of
processes. This allows running programs concurrently in an Operating System.
These are the methods in IPC:

1. Pipes (Same Process) –

This allows flow of data in one direction only. Analogous to simplex systems
(Keyboard). Data from the output is usually buffered until input process
receives it which must have a common origin.

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2. Names Pipes (Different Processes) –

This is a pipe with a specific name it can be used in processes that don’t
have a shared common process origin. E.g. is FIFO where the details written
to a pipe is first named.

3. Message Queuing –
This allows messages to be passed between processes using either a single
queue or several message queue. This is managed by system kernel these
messages are coordinated using an API.

4. Semaphores –
This is used in solving problems associated with synchronization and to
avoid race condition. These are integer values which are greater than or
equal to 0.

5. Shared memory –
This allows the interchange of data through a defined area of memory.
Semaphore values have to be obtained before data can get access to
shared memory.

6. Sockets –
This method is mostly used to communicate over a network between a
client and a server. It allows for a standard connection which is computer
and OS independent.

Network Structure in Linux Operating System

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Discussing the network structure in a Linux operating system gets a bit

complicated. By itself, Linux does not address networking; it is, after all, a server
operating system intended to run applications, not networks. OpenStack,
however, does provide a networking service that’s meant to be used with Linux.

OpenStack is a combination of open source software tools for building and

managing virtualized cloud computing services, providing services including
compute, storage and identity management. There’s also a networking
component, Neutron, which enables all the other OpenStack components to
communicate with one another. Given that OpenStack was designed to run on a
Linux kernel, it could be said that Neutron is a networking service for Linux – but
only when used in an OpenStack cloud environment.

Neutron enables network virtualization in an OpenStack environment, providing

software-defined network services through a series of plug-ins. It is intended to
enable organizations to spin up network services on demand, including virtual
LANS and virtual private networks (VPNs), as well as services such as firewalls,
intrusion detection and load balancing.

In practice, the networking capabilities of Neutron are somewhat limited, with its
main drawback being a lack of scalability. While companies may use Neutron in a
lab environment, when it comes to production they typically look for other
options.

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A number of companies have developed SDN and network virtualization software

that is more enterprise-ready. Pica8, for example, offers PICOS, an open network
operating system built on a Debian Linux kernel. PICOS is a white box NOS
intended to run on white box network switches and be used in a virtualized, SDN
environment. But it provides the scalability required to extend to hundreds or
thousands of white box switches, making it a viable option for enterprise use.

Windows Operating Systems

Windows is a graphical operating system developed by Microsoft. It allows users

to view and store files, run the software, play games, watch videos, and provides
a way to connect to the internet. It was released for both home computing and
professional works.

Windows is a general name for Microsoft Windows. It is developed and marketed

by an American multinational company Microsoft. Microsoft Windows is a
collection of several proprietary graphical operating systems that provide a
simple method to store files, run the software, play games, watch videos, and
connect to the Internet.

What is an Operating System?

An operating system or OS is system software. It provides an interface between

computer user and computer hardware. An operating system is used to perform
all the basic tasks like file management, process management, memory
management, handling input and output devices, and controlling peripheral
devices such as disk drives and printers.

History of Windows

Windows was first introduced by Microsoft on 20 November 1985. After that, it

was gaining popularity day by day. Now, it is the most dominant desktop
operating system around the world, with a market share of around 82.74%. The
macOS Operating system by Apple Inc. is the second most popular with the share
of 13.23%, and all varieties of Linux operating systems are collectively in third
place with the market share of 1.57%.

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Early History

Bill Gates is known as the founder of Windows. Microsoft was founded by Bill
Gates and Paul Allen, the childhood friends on 4 April 1975 in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, U.S.

The first project towards the making of Windows was Interface Manager.
Microsoft was started to work on this program in 1981, and in November 1983, it
was announced under the name "Windows," but Windows 1.0 was not released
until November 1985. It was the time of Apple's Macintosh, and that's the reason
Windows 1.0 was not capable of competing with Apple's operating system, but it
achieved little popularity. Windows 1.0 was just an extension of MS-DOS (an
already released Microsoft's product), not a complete operating system. The first
Microsoft Windows was a graphical user interface for MS-DOS. But, in the later
1990s, this product was evolved as a fully complete and modern operating
system.

Windows Versions

The versions of Microsoft Windows are categorized as follows:

Early versions of Windows

The first version of Windows was Windows 1.0. It cannot be called a complete
operating system because it was just an extension of MS-DOS, which was already
developed by Microsoft. The shell of Windows 1.0 was a program named MS-DOS
Executive. Windows 1.0 had introduced some components like Clock, Calculator,
Calendar, Clipboard viewer, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Terminal, and Write,
etc.

In December 1987, Microsoft released its second Windows version as Windows

2.0. It got more popularity than its previous version Windows 2.0. Windows 2.0
has some improved features in user interface and memory management.

The early versions of Windows acted as graphical shells because they ran on top
of MS-DOS and used it for file system services.

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Windows 3.x

The third major version of Windows was Windows 3.0. It was released in 1990
and had an improved design. Two other upgrades were released as Windows 3.1
and Windows 3.2 in 1992 and 1994, respectively. Microsoft tasted its first broad
commercial success after the release of Windows 3.x and sold 2 million copies in
just the first six months of release.

Windows 9x (Windows 95, Windows 98)

Windows 9x was the next release of Windows. Windows 95 was released on 24

August 1995. It was also the MS-DOS-based Windows but introduced support for
native 32-bit applications. It provided increased stability over its predecessors,
added plug and play hardware, preemptive multitasking, and also long file names
of up to 255 characters.

It had two major versions Windows 95 and Windows 98

Windows NT (3.1/3.5/3.51/4.0/2000)

Windows NT was developed by a new development team of Microsoft to make it

a secure, multi-user operating system with POSIX compatibility. It was designed
with a modular, portable kernel with preemptive multitasking and support for
multiple processor architectures.

Windows XP

Windows XP was the next major version of Windows NT. It was first released on
25 October 2001. It was introduced to add security and networking features.
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It was the first Windows version that was marketed in two main editions: the
"Home" edition and the "Professional" edition.

The "Home" edition was targeted towards consumers for personal computer use,
while the "Professional" edition was targeted towards business environments and
power users. It included the "Media Center" edition later, which was designed for
home theater PCs and provided support for DVD playback, TV tuner cards, DVR
functionality, and remote controls, etc.

Windows XP was one of the most successful versions of Windows.

Windows Vista

After Windows XP's immense success, Windows Vista was released on 30

November 2006 for volume licensing and 30 January 2007 for consumers. It had
included a lot of new features such as a redesigned shell and user interface to
significant technical changes. It extended some security features also.

Windows 7

Windows 7 and its Server edition Windows Server 2008 R2 were released as RTM
on 22 July 2009. Three months later, Windows 7 was released to the public.
Windows 7 had introduced a large number of new features, such as a redesigned
Windows shell with an updated taskbar, multi-touch support, a home networking
system called HomeGroup, and many performance improvements.

Windows 7 was supposed to be the most popular version of Windows to date.

Windows 8 and 8.1

Windows 8 was released as the successor to Windows 7. It was released on 26

October, 2012. It had introduced a number of significant changes such as the
introduction of a user interface based around Microsoft's Metro design language
with optimizations for touch-based devices such as tablets and all-in-one PCs. It
was more convenient for touch-screen devices and laptops.

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Microsoft released its newer version Windows 8.1 on 17 October 2013 and
includes features such as new live tile sizes, deeper OneDrive integration, and
many other revisions.

Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 were criticized for the removal of the Start menu.

Windows 10

Microsoft announced Windows 10 as the successor to Windows 8.1 on 30

September 2014. Windows 10 was released on 29 July 2015. Windows 10 is the
part of the Windows NT family of operating systems.

Microsoft has not announced any newer version of Windows after Windows 10.

Design Principles

Microsoft's design goals for Windows XP include security, reliability, Windows and
POSIX application compatibility, high performance, extensibility, portability, and
international support.

Security

Windows XP security goals required more than just adherence to the design
standards that enabled Windows NT 4.0 to receive a C-2 security classification
from the U.S. government (which signifies a moderate level of protection from
defective software and malicious attacks).

Extensive code review and testing were combined with sophisticated automatic
analysis tools to identify and investigate potential defects that might represent
security vulnerabilities.

Reliability

Windows 2000 was the most reliable, stable operating system Microsoft had ever
shipped to that point. Much of this reliability came from maturity in the source
code, extensive stress testing of the system, and automatic detection of many
serious errors in drivers.

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The reliability requirements for Windows XP were even more stringent. Microsoft
used extensive manual and automatic code review to identify over 63,000 lines in
the source files that might contain issues not detected by testing and then set
about reviewing each area to verify that the code was indeed correct.

Windows XP extends driver verification to catch more subtle bugs, improves the
facilities for catching programming errors in user-level code, and subjects third-
party applications, drivers, and devices to a rigorous certification process.

Furthermore, Windows XP adds new facilities for monitoring the health of the PC,
including downloading fixes for problems before they are encountered by users.
The perceived reliability of Windows XP was also improved by making the
graphical user interface easier to use through better visual design, simpler menus,
and measured improvements in the ease with which users can discover how to
perform common tasks.

Windows and POSIX Application Compatibility

Windows XP is not only an update of Windows 2000; it is a replacement for

Windows 95/98. Windows 2000 focused primarily on compatibility for business
applications. The requirements for Windows XP include a much higher
compatibility with consumer applications that run on Windows 95/98. Application
compatibility is difficult to achieve because each application checks for a
particular version of Windows, may have some dependence on the quirks of the
implementation of APIs, may have latent application bugs that were masked in
the previous system, and so forth.

Windows XP introduces a compatibility layer that falls between applications and

the Win32 APIs. This layer makes Windows XP look (almost) bug-for-bug
compatible with previous versions of Windows. Windows XP, like earlier NT
releases, maintains support for running many 16-bit applications using a thunking,
or conversion, layer that translates 16-bit API calls into equivalent 32-bit calls.
Similarly, the 64-bit version of Windows XP provides a thunking layer that
translates 32-bit API calls into native 64-bit calls.

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POSIX support in Windows XP is much improved. A new POSIX subsystem called

Interix is now available. Most available UNIX-compatible software compiles and
runs under Interix without modification.

High Performance

Windows XP is designed to provide high performance on desktop systems (which

are largely constrained by I/O performance), server systems (where the CPU is
often the bottleneck), and large multithreaded and multiprocessor environments
(where locking and cache-line management are key to scalability). High
performance has been an increasingly important goal for Windows XP. Windows
2000 with SQL 2000 on Compaq hardware achieved top TPC-C numbers at the
time it shipped.

To satisfy performance requirements, NT uses a variety of techniques, such as

asynchronous I/O, optimized protocols for networks (for example, optimistic
locking of distributed data, batching of requests), kernel-based graphics, and
sophisticated caching of file-system data. The memory-management and
synchronization algorithms are designed with an awareness of the performance
considerations related to cache lines and multiprocessors.

Windows XP has further improved performance by reducing the code-path length

in critical functions, using better algorithms and per-processor data structures,
using memory coloring for NUMA (non-uniform memory access) machines, and
implementing more scalable locking protocols, such as queued spinlocks. The new
locking protocols help reduce system bus cycles and include lock-free lists and
queues, use of atomic read-modify-write operations (like interlocked increment),
and other advanced locking techniques.

The subsystems that constitute Windows XP communicate with one another

efficiently by a local procedure call (LPC) facility that provides highperformance
message passing. Except while executing in the kernel dispatcher, threads in the
subsystems of Windows XP can be preempted by higher-priority threads. Thus,
the system responds quickly to external events. In addition, Windows XP is

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designed for symmetrical multiprocessing; on a multiprocessor computer, several

threads can run at the same time.

Extensibility

Extensibility refers to the capacity of an operating system to keep up with

advances in computing technology. So that changes over time are facilitated, the
developers implemented Windows XP using a layered architecture. The Windows
XP executive runs in kernel or protected mode and provides the basic system
services. On top of the executive, several server subsystems operate in user
mode. Among them are environmental subsystems that emulate different
operating systems. Thus, programs written for MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, and
POSIX all run on Windows XP in the appropriate environment. Because of the
modular structure, additional environmental subsystems can be added without
affecting the executive.

In addition, Windows XP uses loadable drivers in the I/O system, so new file
systems, new kinds of I/O devices, and new kinds of networking can be added
while the system is running. Windows XP uses a client-server model like the Mach
operating system and supports distributed processing by remote procedure calls
(RPCs) as defined by the Open Software Foundation.

Portability

An operating system is portable if it can be moved from one hardware

architecture to another with relatively few changes. Windows XP is designed to be
portable. As is true of the UNIX operating system, the majority of the system is
written in C and C++. Most processor-dependent code is isolated in a dynamic link
library (DLL) called the hardware-abstraction layer (HAL).

A DLL is a file that is mapped into a process's address space such that any
functions in the DLL appear to be part of the process. The upper layers of the
Windows XP kernel depend on the HAL interfaces rather than on the underlying
hardware, bolstering Windows XP portability. The HAL manipulates hardware

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directly, isolating the rest of Windows XP from hardware differences among the
platforms on which it runs.

Although for market reasons Windows 2000 shipped only on Intel IA32-
compatible platforms, it was also tested on IA32 and DEC Alpha platforms until
just prior to release to ensure portability. Windows XP runs on IA32-compatible
and IA64 processors. Microsoft recognizes the importance of multiplatform
development and testing, since, as a practical matter, maintaining portability is a
matter of use it or lose it.

International Support

Windows XP is also designed for international and multinational use. It provides

support for different locales via the national-language-support (NLS) API. The NLS
API provides specialized routines to format dates, time, and money in accordance
with various national customs.

String comparisons are specialized to account for varying character sets. UNICODE
is Windows XP's native character code. Windows XP supports ANSI characters by
converting them to UNICODE characters before manipulating them (8-bit to 16-bit
conversion). System text strings are kept in resource files that can be replaced to
localize the system for different languages. Multiple locales can be used
concurrently, which is important to multilingual individuals and businesses.

Main Components of Windows

The main components of the Windows Operating System are the following:

 Configuration and maintenance

 User interface
 Applications and utilities
 Windows Server components
 File systems
 Core components
 Services
 DirectX
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 Networking
 Scripting and command-line
 Kernel
 NET Framework
 Security
 Deprecated components and apps
 APIs

Fast User Switching

Fast user switching is a feature Microsoft implemented within Windows XP Home

Edition and Windows XP Professional that allows users to switch between users
without having to log out of their user accounts. It allows applications to remain
open and in the same state, despite someone new logging in. This allows the
previous user to get back to his or her tasks more quickly.

Explained Fast User Switching

Windows allows multiple users to have their own profile set-ups associated with
their account. These profiles are usually password protected, and their settings,
files and other information are set up to meet each individual user's needs.
Setting up different profiles allows multiple users to share one computer.
However, there is often a delay when logging in and out of different accounts.
This is where fast user switching comes in.

Fast users switching allows multiple users to be logged in simultaneously and

switch between their open accounts while other applications are running and
network connections are preserved.

Terminal Services

Terminal Services is a component in Microsoft Windows that allows a user to

access applications and data on a remote computer over a network. Terminal
Services is a thin-client terminal server sort of computing environment developed
by Microsoft.

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Terminal Services allows Windows applications or even the entire desktop of a

computer running terminal services to be accessible from a remote client
computer.

Widely used these days with Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Terminal
Services provides the ability to host multiple, simultaneous client sessions.

What is Terminal Services good for?

Terminal Services lets administrators install, configure, manage, and maintain

applications centrally on a few servers.

Time is money...

This goes in hand with IT budgets and staffing. Managing software in a central
location is usually much faster, easier, and cheaper than deploying applications to
end-users' desktops. Centrally-deployed applications are also easier to maintain,
especially as related to patching and upgrading.

Running applications from one central location also can be beneficial for the
configuration of desktops. Since a terminal server hosts all the application logic
which also runs on the server, the processing and storage requirements for client
machines are minimal.

Terminal Services history

Terminal Services was first introduced in Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server

Edition. Unfortunately, this early implementation of Terminal Services in
Windows NT did not gain too much popularity. Terminal Services has been
significantly improved in Windows 2000 and even more in Windows Server 2003.

Both the underlying protocol as well as the service was again fundamentally
overhauled for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Are there any limitations on the network connection?

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In general, there are no explicit limitations for network connectivity related to

terminal services. It can be used over a Local Area Network (LAN) as well as over a
Wide Area Network (WAN).

Terminal Services in Windows XP

Windows includes the following two client applications which utilize Terminal
Services:

 Remote Assistance

 Remote Desktop

The Remote Assistance component is available in all versions of Windows.

Remote Assistance allows one user to assist another user.

The Remote Desktop application is available in Windows XP Professional, Media

Center Edition, Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate. Remote
Desktop allows a user to log into a remote system and access the desktop,
applications, and data. Remote Desktop can also be used to control the system
remotely.

Terminal Services on client versions of Windows versus server Windows

In the client versions of Windows, that is for example Windows XP, Terminal
Services supports only one logged in user at a time. On the other hand,
concurrent remote sessions are allowed in a server Windows operating system,
for example the Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

What are the disadvantages of Terminal Services?

As one may expect, running an application from a central location also has some
disadvantages.

 The terminal server needs to be powerful enough to be able to handle all

connections.

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 The network needs to be sized appropriately so that it is not the bottleneck

when terminal server sessions are established.

 The terminal server is the major source of risk of downtime. If the terminal
server fails, the whole system fails unless a fail-over terminal server is in
place.

 The functionality of the system as a whole is also affected by the network

reliability. If the network is down, the whole system is down as well.

 Running applications from a terminal server can also be an issue from

performance perspective. In some cases, no matter how good the network
is, the performance associated with running an application locally on a
desktop workstation can still overshadow the benefits of a terminal server
environment.

Another disadvantage can be the availability of skilled administrator. Support

for a terminal server needs to have the necessary knowledge and be available as
the business needs commands.

What Microsoft Terminal Services has to offer?

Terminal Services is a built-in component in Windows Server 2003. Terminal

Services provides especially the following functionality:

Terminal Services and Group Policy

Terminal Services can be configured and managed through Group Policy settings.
This is a new feature in Windows Server 2003 which allows administrators to take
advantage of the flexibility and power of the Group Policy component to simplify
the configuration and management of Windows Terminal servers. User accounts
can be assigned permissions based on group policies.

Remote Administration Built in...

The remote administration mode is already built into the operating system and no
longer requires installation of additional components. Allowing users to remotely

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connect to a server requires just a simple step of selecting a checkbox on

the Remote tab of the System tool in Control Panel.

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)...

The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) has been very much enhanced in Windows
Server 2003. The display and device redirection as well as the security have been
enhanced. Terminal Services does not need a VPN tunnel anymore when
connecting to it over a public network.

Session Directory component...

The terminal server can be configured with so called Session Directory

component. This add-in allows to scale Terminal Services upwards. This is used by
large enterprises that need a load-balanced terminal server network.

Windows File System

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What is file system?

In computing, file system controls how data is stored and retrieved. In other
words, it is the method and data structure that an operating system uses to keep
track of files on a disk or partition.

It separates the data we put in computer into pieces and gives each piece a name,
so the data is easily isolated and identified.

Without file system, information saved in a storage media would be one large
body of data with no way to tell where the information begins and ends.

Types of Windows File System

There are five types of Windows file system, such as FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS
and exFAT. Most of us like to choose the latter three, and I would like to
introduce them respectively for you.

FAT32 in Windows

In order to overcome the limited volume size of FAT16 (its supported maximum
volume size is 2GB) Microsoft designed a new version of the file system FAT32,
which then becomes the most frequently used version of the FAT (File Allocation
Table) file system.

NTFS in Windows

NTFS is the newer drive format. Its full name is New Technology File System.
Starting with Windows NT 3.1, it is the default file system of the Windows
NT family.

Microsoft has released five versions of NTFS, namely v1.0, v1.1, v1.2, v3.0, and
v3.1.

exFAT in Windows

exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) was designed by Microsoft back in 2006
and was a part of the company's Windows CE 6.0 operating system.

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This file system was created to be used on flash drives like USB memory sticks and
SD cards, which gives a hint for its precursors: FAT32 and FAT16.

Comparisons among the Three Types of Windows File System

Everything comes in advantages and shortcomings. Comparisons among the three

types of Windows File System will be showed in following content to help you
make a choice about selecting one type of file system.

Compatibility

The three types can work in all versions of Windows.

For FAT32, it also works in game consoles and particularly anything with a USB
port; for exFAT, it requires additional software on Linux; for NTFS, it is read only
by default with Mac, and may be read only by default with some Linux
distributions.

With respect to the ideal use, FAT32 is used on removable drives like USB and
Storage Card; exFAT is used for USB flash drives and other external drivers,
especially if you need files of more than 4 GB in size; NTFS can be used for servers.

Security

The files belonging to FAT32 and NTFS can be encrypted, but the flies belong to
the latter can be compressed.

The encryption and compression in Windows are very useful. If other users do not
use your user name to login Windows system, they will fail to open the encrypted
and compressed files that created with your user name.

In other word, after some files are encrypted, such files only can be opened when
people use our account to login Windows system.

Distributed Systems

A distributed system contains multiple nodes that are physically separate but
linked together using the network. All the nodes in this system communicate with

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each other and handle processes in tandem. Each of these nodes contains a small
part of the distributed operating system software.

A diagram to better explain the distributed system is −

Types of Distributed Systems

The nodes in the distributed systems can be arranged in the form of client/server
systems or peer to peer systems. Details about these are as follows −

Client/Server Systems

In client server systems, the client requests a resource and the server provides
that resource. A server may serve multiple clients at the same time while a client
is in contact with only one server. Both the client and server usually communicate
via a computer network and so they are a part of distributed systems.

Peer to Peer Systems

The peer to peer systems contains nodes that are equal participants in data
sharing. All the tasks are equally divided between all the nodes. The nodes

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interact with each other as required as share resources. This is done with the help
of a network.

Advantages of Distributed Systems

Some advantages of Distributed Systems are as follows −

 All the nodes in the distributed system are connected to each other. So
nodes can easily share data with other nodes.

 More nodes can easily be added to the distributed system i.e. it can be
scaled as required.

 Failure of one node does not lead to the failure of the entire distributed
system. Other nodes can still communicate with each other.

 Resources like printers can be shared with multiple nodes rather than being
restricted to just one.

Disadvantages of Distributed Systems

Some disadvantages of Distributed Systems are as follows −

 It is difficult to provide adequate security in distributed systems because

the nodes as well as the connections need to be secured.

 Some messages and data can be lost in the network while moving from one
node to another.

 The database connected to the distributed systems is quite complicated

and difficult to handle as compared to a single user system.

 Overloading may occur in the network if all the nodes of the distributed
system try to send data at once.

NETWORK BASED OPERATING SYSTEM

Unlike operating systems, such as Windows, that are designed for single users to
control one computer, network operating systems (NOS) coordinate the activities

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of multiple computers across a network. The network operating system acts as a

director to keep the network running smoothly

Network Based Operating System

The term network operating system is used to refer to two rather different
concepts:

1. A specialized operating system for a network device such as a router , switch or

firewall

2. An operating system oriented to computer networking, to allow shared file and

printer access among multiple computers in a network, to enable the sharing of
data, users, groups, security, applications, and other networking functions,
typically over a local area network (LAN), or private network. This sense is now
largely historical, as common operating systems generally now have such features
included

Network operating systems can be embedded in a router or hardware firewall

that operates the functions in the network layer(layer 3)

NETWORK DEVICE OPERATING SYSTEM

Examples:

 pfSense, a fork of M0n0wall uses Pf

 IPOS, used in routers from Ericsson

 FortiOS, used in Fortigates from Fortinet

 TiMOS used in routers from Alcatel-Lucent

 Versatile Routing Platform (VRP), used in routers from Huawei

 RouterOS, software which turns a PC or MikroTik hardware into a dedicated

router

 Extensible Operating System used in switches from Arista

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 ExtremeXOS(EXOS), used in network devices made by Extreme Networks

There are two types of network operating system

Historical Network Operating System

We can think a client as a computer in your network, where a network user is

performing some network activity. For Example: Downloading a file from a File
Server, Browsing Intranet/Internet etc. The network user normally uses a client
computer to perform his day to day work

CLIENT SERVER (NOS)

The client–server model is a distributed application structure that partitions tasks

or workloads between the providers of a resource or service, called servers, and
service requesters, called clients. Often clients and servers communicate over a
computer network on separate hardware, but both client and server may reside
in the same system. A server host runs one or more server programs which share
their resources with clients. A client does not share any of its resources, but
requests a server's content or service function. Clients therefore initiate
communication sessions with servers which await incoming requests. Examples of
computer applications that use the client–server model are Email, network
printing, and the World Wide Web

Advantages

 Centralized servers are more stable.

 Security is provided through the server.

 New technology and hardware can be easily integrated into the system.

 Hardware and the operating system can be specialized, with a focus on

performance.

 Servers are able to be accessed remotely from different locations and types
of systems.

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 Buying and running a server raises costs.

 Dependence on a central location for operation.

 Requires regular maintenance and updates.

Disadvantages

We can think a client as a computer in your network, where a network user is

performing some network activity. For Example: Downloading a file from a File
Server, Browsing Intranet/Internet etc. The network user normally uses a client
computer to perform his day to day work

Peer to Peer (Nos)

In a peer-to-peer network operating system users are allowed to share resources

and files located on their computers and access shared resources from others.
This system is not based with having a file server or centralized management
source. A peer-to-peer network sets all connected computers equal; they all share
the same abilities to use resources available on the network.

 Ease of setup

 Less hardware needed, no server need be acquired

Advantages

 No central location for storage

 Less security than the client–server model

Disadvantages

Why build a distributed system?

 Microprocessors are getting more and more powerful.

 A distributed system combines (and increases) the computing power of

individual computer.

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 Some advantages include:

o Resource sharing
(but not as easily as if on the same machine)

o Enhanced performance
(but 2 machines are not as good as a single machine that is 2 times as
fast)

o Improved reliability & availability

(but probability of single failure increases, as does difficulty of
recovery)

o Modular expandability

 Distributed OS's have not been economically successful!!!

System models:

 the minicomputer model (several minicomputers with each computer

supporting multiple users and providing access to remote resources).

 the workstation model (each user has a workstation, the system provides
some common services, such as a distributed file system).

 the processor pool model (the model allocates processor to a user

according to the user's needs).

Where is the knowledge of distributed operating systems likely to be useful?

 custom OS's for high performance computer systems

 OS subsystems, like NFS, NIS

 distributed ``middleware'' for large computations

 distributed applications

Lack of Global Knowledge

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 Communication delays are at the core of the problem

 Information may become false before it can be acted upon

 these create some fundamental problems:

o no global clock -- scheduling based on fifo queue?

o no global state -- what is the state of a task? What is a correct

program?

Naming

 named objects: computers, users, files, printers, services

 namespace must be large

 unique (or at least unambiguous) names are needed

 logical to physical mapping needed

 mapping must be changeable, expandable, reliable, fast

Scalability

 How large is the system designed for?

 How does increasing number of hosts affect overhead?

 broadcasting primitives, directories stored at every computer -- these

design options will not work for large systems.

Compatibility

 Binary level: same architecture (object code)

 Execution level: same source code can be compiled and executed (source
code).

 Protocol level: only requires all system components to support a common

set of protocols.

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Process synchronization

 test-and-set instruction won't work.

 Need all new synchronization mechanisms for distributed systems.

Distributed Resource Management

 Data migration: data are brought to the location that needs them.

o distributed filesystem (file migration)

o distributed shared memory (page migration)

 Computation migration: the computation migrates to another location.

o remote procedure call: computation is done at the remote machine.

o processes migration: processes are transferred to other processors.

Security

 Authetication: guaranteeing that an entity is what it claims to be.

 Authorization: deciding what privileges an entity has and making only those
privileges available.

Structuring

 the monolithic kernel: one piece

 the collective kernel structure: a collection of processes

 object oriented: the services provided by the OS are implemented as a set

of objects.

 client-server: servers provide the services and clients use the services.

Communication Networks

 WAN and LAN

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 traditional operating systems implement the TCP/IP protocol stack: host to

network layer, IP layer, transport layer, application layer.

 Most distributed operating systems are not concerned with the lower layer
communication primitives.

Communication Models

 message passing

 remote procedure call (RPC)

Message Passing Primitives

 Send (message, destination), Receive (source, buffer)

 buffered vs. unbuffered

 blocking vs. nonblocking

 reliable vs. unreliable

 synchronous vs. asynchronous

Example: Unix socket I/O primitives

#include <sys/socket.h>

ssize_t sendto(int socket, const void *message,

size_t length, int flags,

const struct sockaddr *dest_addr, size_t dest_len);

ssize_t recvfrom(int socket, void *buffer,

size_t length, int flags, struct sockaddr *address,

size_t *address_len);

int poll(struct pollfd fds[], nfds_t nfds,

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int timeout);

int select(int nfds, fd_set *readfds, fd_set *writefds,

fd_set *errorfds, struct timeval *timeout);

RPC

With message passing, the application programmer must worry about many
details:

 parsing messages

 pairing responses with request messages

 converting between data representations

 knowing the address of the remote machine/server

 handling communication and system failures

RPC is introduced to help hide and automate these details.

RPC is based on a ``virtual'' procedure call model

 client calls server, specifying operation and arguments

 server executes operation, returning results

RPC Issues

 Stubs (See Unix rpcgen tool, for example.)

o are automatically generated, e.g. by compiler

o do the ``dirty work'' of communication

 Binding method

o server address may be looked up by service-name

o or port number may be looked up

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 Parameter and result passing

 Error handling semantics

RPC Diagram

Communication Protocols

When we are designing a communication network, we must deal with the

inherent complexity of coordinating asynchronous operations communicating in a
potentially slow and error-prone environment. In addition, the systems on the
network must agree on a protocol or a set of protocols for determining host
names, locating hosts on the network, establishing connections, and so on.

We can simplify the design problem (and related implementation) by partitioning

the problem into multiple layers. Each layer on one system communicates with

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the equivalent layer on other systems. Typically, each layer has its own protocols,
and communication takes place between peer layers using a specific protocol. The
protocols may be implemented in hardware or software.

For instance, Figure 16.6 shows the logical communications between two
computers, with the three lowest-level layers implemented in hardware.
Following the International Standards Organization (ISO), we refer to the layers as
follows:

1. Physical layer. The physical layer is responsible for handling both the
mechanical and the electrical details of the physical transmission of a bit
stream. At the physical layer, the communicating systems must agree on
the electrical representation of a binary 0 and 1, so that when data are

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2.
Figure 16.7 summarizes the ISO protocol stack—a set of cooperating protocols—
showing the physical flow of data. As mentioned, logically each layer of a protocol
stack communicates with the equivalent layer on other systems. But physically, a
message starts at or above the application layer and is passed through each lower
level in turn. Each layer may modify the message and include message-header
data for the equivalent layer on the receiving side. Ultimately, the message
reaches the data-network layer and is transferred as one or more packets (Figure
16.8).

The data-link layer of the target system receives these data, and the message is
moved up through the protocol stack; it is analyzed, modified, and stripped of
headers as it progresses. It finally reaches the application layer for use by the
receiving process.

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The ISO model formalizes some of the earlier work done in network protocols but
was developed in the late 1970s and is currently not in widespread use. Perhaps
the most widely adopted protocol stack is the TCP/IP model, which has been
adopted by virtually all Internet sites. The TCP/IP protocol stack has fewer layers
than does the ISO model. Theoretically, because it combines several functions in
each layer, it is more difficult to implement but more efficient than ISO
networking. The relationship between the ISO and TCP/IP models is shown in
Figure 16.9.

The TCP/IP application layer identifies several protocols in widespread use in the
Internet, including HTTP, FTP, Telnet, DNS, and SMTP. The transport layer
identifies the unreliable, connectionless user datagram protocol (UDP) and the
reliable, connection-oriented transmission control protocol (TCP). The Internet
protocol (IP) is responsible for routing IP datagrams through the Internet. The
TCP/IP model does not formally identify a link or physical layer, allowing TCP/IP
traffic to run across any physical network. In Section 16.9, we consider the TCP/IP
model running over an Ethernet network.

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Design Issues of Distributed System

The distributed information system is defined as “a number of interdependent

computers linked by a network for sharing information among them”. A
distributed information system consists of multiple autonomous computers that
communicate or exchange information through a computer network.

Design issues of distributed system –

1. Heterogeneity : Heterogeneity is applied to the network, computer

hardware, operating system and implementation of different developers. A
key component of the heterogeneous distributed system client-server
environment is middleware. Middleware is a set of service that enables
application and end-user to interacts with each other across a
heterogeneous distributed system.

2. Openness: The openness of the distributed system is determined primarily

by the degree to which new resource sharing services can be made
available to the users. Open systems are characterized by the fact that their
key interfaces are published. It is based on a uniform communication
mechanism and published interface for access to shared resources. It can
be constructed from heterogeneous hardware and software.

3. Scalability: Scalability of the system should remain efficient even with a

significant increase in the number of users and resources connected.

4. Security : Security of information system has three components

Confidentially, integrity and availability. Encryption protects shared
resources, keeps sensitive information secrets when transmitted.

5. Failure Handling : When some faults occur in hardware and the software
program, it may produce incorrect results or they may stop before they
have completed the intended computation so corrective measures should
to implemented to handle this case.

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Failure handling is difficult in distributed systems because the failure is

partial i, e, some components fail while others continue to function.

6. Concurrency: There is a possibility that several clients will attempt to access

a shared resource at the same time. Multiple users make requests on the
same resources, i.e read, write, and update. Each resource must be safe in
a concurrent environment. Any object that represents a shared resource a
distributed system must ensure that it operates correctly in a concurrent
environment.

7. Transparency : Transparency ensures that the distributes system should be

perceived as the single entity by the users or the application programmers
rather than the collection of autonomous systems, which is cooperating.
The user should be unaware of where the services are located and the
transferring from a local machine to a remote one should be transparent.

Distributed File System (DFS)

A distributed file system (DFS) is a file system with data stored on a server. The
data is accessed and processed as if it was stored on the local client machine. The
DFS makes it convenient to share information and files among users on a network
in a controlled and authorized way. The server allows the client users to share
files and store data just like they are storing the information locally. However, the
servers have full control over the data and give access control to the clients.

Distributed file system (DFS) is a method of storing and accessing files based in
a client/server architecture. In a distributed file system, one or more central
servers store files that can be accessed, with proper authorization rights, by any
number of remote clients in the network.

Much like an operating system organizes files in a hierarchical file management

system, the distributed system uses a uniform naming convention and a mapping
scheme to keep track of where files are located. When the client device retrieves
a file from the server, the file appears as a normal file on the client machine, and
the user is able to work with the file in the same ways as if it were

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stored locally on the workstation. When the user finishes working with the file, it
is returned over the network to the server, which stores the now-altered file for
retrieval at a later time.

Distributed file systems can be advantageous because they make it easier to

distribute documents to multiple clients and they provide a centralized storage
system so that client machines are not using their resources to store files.

Explained Distributed File System (DFS)

There has been exceptional growth in network-based computing recently and

client/server-based applications have brought revolutions in this area. Sharing
storage resources and information on the network is one of the key elements in
both local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). Different
technologies have been developed to bring convenience to sharing resources and
files on a network; a distributed file system is one of the processes used regularly.

One process involved in implementing the DFS is giving access control and storage
management controls to the client system in a centralized way, managed by the
servers. Transparency is one of the core processes in DFS, so files are accessed,
stored, and managed on the local client machines while the process itself is
actually held on the servers. This transparency brings convenience to the end user
on a client machine because the network file system efficiently manages all the
processes. Generally, a DFS is used in a LAN, but it can be used in a WAN or over
the Internet.

A DFS allows efficient and well-managed data and storage sharing options on a
network compared to other options. Another option for users in network-based
computing is a shared disk file system. A shared disk file system puts the access
control on the client’s systems so the data is inaccessible when the client system
goes offline. DFS is fault-tolerant and the data is accessible even if some of the
network nodes are offline.

A DFS makes it possible to restrict access to the file system depending on access

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lists or capabilities on both the servers and the clients, depending on how the
protocol is designed.

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System Software and Operating

System Unit – 5 MCQs
As per updated syllabus
DIWAKAR EDUCATION HUB

2020

THE LEARN WITH EXPERTIES

 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

1. The physical devices of a computer : a) 256

a) Software b) 124
b) Package c) 4096
c) Hardware d) 3096
d) System Software
Answer: c
Answer: c Explanation: The memory unit is made up of
Explanation: Hardware refers to the 4,096 bytes. Memory unit is responsible for
physical devices of a computer system. the storage of data. It is an important entity
Software refers to a collection of programs. in the computer system.
A program is a sequence of instructions.
5. Which of the following is not an example
2. Software Package is a group of programs of system software?
that solve multiple problems. a) Language Translator
a) True b) Utility Software
b) False c) Communication Software
d) Word Processors
Answer: b
Explanation: The statement is false. The Answer: d
software package is a group of programs Explanation: A system software is
that solve a specific problem or perform a responsible for controlling the operations of
specific type of job. a computer system. Word Processor is an
application software since it is specific to its
3. ____________ refer to renewing or
purpose.
changing components like increasing the
main memory, or hard disk capacities, or 6. A person who designs the programs in a
adding speakers, or modems, etc. software package is called :
a) Grades a) User
b) Prosody b) Software Manager
c) Synthesis c) System Developer
d) Upgrades d) System Programmer

Answer: d Answer: d
Explanation: Upgrades is the right term to Explanation: The programs included in a
be used. Upgrades are installed to renew or system software package are called system
implement a new feature. Except for programs. The programmers who design
upgrades, hardware is normally one-time them and prepare them are called system
expense. programmers.

4. The memory unit is made up of _____ 7. ___________________ is designed to

bytes. solve a specific problem or to do a specific
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

task. c) Blocked
a) Application Software d) Execution
b) System Software
Answer: c
c) Utility Software
Explanation: There is no blocked state in a
d) User
process model. The different states are
Answer: a ready, running, executing, waiting and
Explanation: An application software is terminated.
specific to solving a specific problem.
11. The language made up of binary coded
System software is designed for controlling
instructions.
the operations of a computer system.
a) Machine
8. Assembler is used as a translator for? b) C
a) Low level language c) BASIC
b) High Level Language d) High level
c) COBOL
Answer: a
d) C
Explanation: The language made up of
Answer: a binary coded instructions built into the
Explanation: Assembler is used in case of hardware of a particular computer and used
low level languages. It is generally used to directly by the computer is machine
make the binary code into an language.
understandable format. Interpreter is used
12. Binary code comprises of digits from 0
with the high level languages similarly.
to 9.
9. What do you call a program in execution? a) True
a) Command b) False
b) Process
Answer: b
c) Task
Explanation: The statement is false. Binary
d) Instruction
as the word suggests contains only 2 digits :
Answer: b 0 and 1.
Explanation: Option Process is correct. A 0 denotes false and 1 denotes a truth value.
program is a set of instructions. A program
13. The ___________ contains the address
in execution is called a process.
of the next instruction to be executed.
10. Which of the following is not a process a) IR
state? b) PC
a) Terminated c) Accumulator
b) Running d) System counter

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

Answer: b Answer: a
Explanation: PC stands for program counter Explanation: The statement is true.
(It contains the address of the next Advantages of using assembly language are:
instruction to be executed). • It requires less memory and execution
time.
14. A document that specifies how many
• It allows hardware-specific complex jobs
times and with what data the program must
in an easier way.
be run in order to thoroughly test it.
• It is suitable for time-critical jobs.
a) addressing plan
b) test plan 17. The data size of a word is _________
c) validation plan a) 2-byte
d) verification plan b) 4-byte
c) 8-byte
Answer: b
d)16-byte
Explanation: Test plan is the A document
that specifies how many times and with Answer: a
what data the program must be run in Explanation: The processor supports the
order to thoroughly test it. It comes under following data sizes:
testing. • Word: a 2-byte data item
• Double word: a 4-byte (32 bit) data item,
15. Each personal computer has a
etc.
_________ that manages the computer’s
arithmetical, logical and control activities. 18. A direct reference of specific location.
a) Microprocessor a) Segment Address
b) Assembler b) Absolute Address
c) Microcontroller c) Offset
d) Interpreter d) Memory Address

Answer: a Answer: b
Explanation: Microprocessor handles all Explanation: There are two kinds of
these activities. Each family of processors memory addresses:
has its own set of instructions for handling • An absolute address – a direct reference
various operations like getting input from of specific location.
keyboard, displaying information on a • The segment address (or offset) – starting
screen and performing various other jobs. address of a memory segment with the
offset value.
16. Assembly Language requires less
memory and execution time. 19. A Borland Turbo Assembler.
a) True a) nasm
b) False b) tasm

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

c) gas “directly,” without first being translated

d) asm into machine language.

Answer: b 23. Executables might be called ________

Explanation: Tasm is the borland turbo a) native code
assembler. Nasm is used with linux b) executable code
generally. Gas is the GNU assembler. c) complex code
d) machine code
20. Prolog comes under ___________
a) Logic Programming Answer: a
b) Procedural Programming Explanation: The executables are
c) OOP sometimes called native code. HLL are
d) Functional translated to Machine language called the
native code.
Answer: a
Explanation: Prolog stands for Programming 24. Source program is compiled to an
in Logic. The options mentioned are the intermediate form called ___________
four categories of programming. Prolog is a a) Byte Code
type of logic programming. b) Smart code
c) Executable code
21. Java is procedural programming.
d) Machine code
a) True
b) False Answer: a
Explanation: The Source program is
Answer: b
compiled to an intermediate form called
Explanation: The statement is false. Java is a
byte code. For each supported platform,
type of object oriented programming
write a “virtual machine” emulator that
language. It involves solving real-life
reads byte code and emulates its execution.
problems as well.
25. What is operating system?
22. A program that can execute high-level
a) collection of programs that manages
language programs.
hardware resources
a) Compiler
b) system service provider to the
b) Interpreter
application programs
c) Sensor
c) link to interface the hardware and
d) Circuitry
application programs
Answer: b d) all of the mentioned
Explanation: Interpreter is a program that
Answer: d
can execute high-level language programs
Explanation: None.

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

26. To access the services of operating c) to handle the files in operating system
system, the interface is provided by the d) none of the mentioned
___________
Answer: a
a) System calls
Explanation: None.
b) API
c) Library 30. By operating system, the resource
d) Assembly instructions management can be done via __________
a) time division multiplexing
Answer: a
b) space division multiplexing
Explanation: None.
c) time and space division multiplexing
27. Which one of the following is not true? d) none of the mentioned
a) kernel is the program that constitutes the
Answer: c
central core of the operating system
Explanation: None.
b) kernel is the first part of operating
system to load into memory during booting 31. If a process fails, most operating system
c) kernel is made of various modules which write the error information to a ______
can not be loaded in running operating a) log file
system b) another running process
d) kernel remains in the memory during the c) new file
entire computer session d) none of the mentioned
Answer: c Answer: a
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.
28. Which one of the following error will be 32. Which facility dynamically adds probes
handle by the operating system? to a running system, both in user processes
a) power failure and in the kernel?
b) lack of paper in printer a) DTrace
c) connection failure in the network b) DLocate
d) all of the mentioned c) DMap
d) DAdd
Answer: d
Explanation: None. Answer: a
Explanation: None.
29. What is the main function of the
command interpreter? 33. Which one of the following is not a real
a) to get and execute the next user- time operating system?
specified command a) VxWorks
b) to provide the interface between the API b) Windows CE
and application program
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

c) RTLinux an error
d) Palm OS b) software generated interrupt caused by
an error
Answer: d
c) user generated interrupt caused by an
Explanation: None.
error
34. The OS X has ____________ d) none of the mentioned
a) monolithic kernel
Answer: b
b) hybrid kernel
Explanation: None.
c) microkernel
d) monolithic kernel with modules 38. What is an ISR?
a) Information Service Request
Answer: b
b) Interrupt Service Request
Explanation: None.
c) Interrupt Service Routine
35. The initial program that is run when the d) Information Service Routine
computer is powered up is called
Answer: c
__________
Explanation: None.
a) boot program
b) bootloader 39. What is an interrupt vector?
c) initializer a) It is an address that is indexed to an
d) bootstrap program interrupt handler
b) It is a unique device number that is
Answer: d
indexed by an address
Explanation: None.
c) It is a unique identity given to an
36. How does the software trigger an interrupt
interrupt? d) None of the mentioned
a) Sending signals to CPU through bus
Answer: a
b) Executing a special operation called
Explanation: None.
system call
c) Executing a special program called 40. The systems which allow only one
system program process execution at a time, are called
d) Executing a special program called __________
interrupt trigger program a) uniprogramming systems
b) uniprocessing systems
Answer: b
c) unitasking systems
Explanation: None.
d) none of the mentioned
37. What is a trap/exception?
Answer: b
a) hardware generated interrupt caused by
Explanation: Those systems which allows

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

more than one process execution at a time, c) when process is using the CPU
are called multiprogramming systems. d) none of the mentioned
Uniprocessing means only one processor.
Answer: a
41. In operating system, each process has Explanation: When process is unable to run
its own __________ until some task has been completed, the
a) address space and global variables process is in blocked state and if process is
b) open files using the CPU, it is in running state.
c) pending alarms, signals and signal
45. What is interprocess communication?
handlers
a) communication within the process
d) all of the mentioned
b) communication between two process
Answer: d c) communication between two threads of
Explanation: None. same process
d) none of the mentioned
42. In Unix, Which system call creates the
new process? Answer: b
a) fork Explanation: None.
b) create
46. A set of processes is deadlock if
c) new
__________
d) none of the mentioned
a) each process is blocked and will remain
Answer: a so forever
Explanation: None. b) each process is terminated
c) all processes are trying to kill each other
43. A process can be terminated due to
d) none of the mentioned
__________
a) normal exit Answer: a
b) fatal error Explanation: None.
c) killed by another process
47. A process stack does not contain
d) all of the mentioned
__________
Answer: d a) Function parameters
Explanation: None. b) Local variables
c) Return addresses
44. What is the ready state of a process?
d) PID of child process
a) when process is scheduled to run after
some execution Answer: d
b) when process is unable to run until some Explanation: None.
task has been completed

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48. Which system call returns the process 52. What will happen when a process
identifier of a terminated child? terminates?
a) wait a) It is removed from all queues
b) exit b) It is removed from all, but the job queue
c) fork c) Its process control block is de-allocated
d) get d) Its process control block is never de-
allocated
Answer: a
Explanation: None. Answer: a
Explanation: None.
49. The address of the next instruction to
be executed by the current process is 53. Which process can be affected by other
provided by the __________ processes executing in the system?
a) CPU registers a) cooperating process
b) Program counter b) child process
c) Process stack c) parent process
d) Pipe d) init process

Answer: b Answer: a
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

50. Which of the following do not belong to 54. When several processes access the
queues for processes? same data concurrently and the outcome of
a) Job Queue the execution depends on the particular
b) PCB queue order in which the access takes place, is
c) Device Queue called?
d) Ready Queue a) dynamic condition
b) race condition
Answer: b
c) essential condition
Explanation: None.
d) critical condition
51. When the process issues an I/O request
Answer: b
__________
Explanation: None.
a) It is placed in an I/O queue
b) It is placed in a waiting queue 55. If a process is executing in its critical
c) It is placed in the ready queue section, then no other processes can be
d) It is placed in the Job queue executing in their critical section. This
condition is called?
Answer: a
a) mutual exclusion
Explanation: None.
b) critical exclusion

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

c) synchronous exclusion __________

d) asynchronous exclusion a) priority inversion
b) priority removal
Answer: a
c) priority exchange
Explanation: None.
d) priority modification
56. Which one of the following is a
Answer: a
synchronization tool?
Explanation: None.
a) thread
b) pipe 60. Process synchronization can be done on
c) semaphore __________
d) socket a) hardware level
b) software level
Answer: c
c) both hardware and software level
Explanation: None.
d) none of the mentioned
57. A semaphore is a shared integer
Answer: c
variable __________
Explanation: None.
a) that can not drop below zero
b) that can not be more than zero 61. What is Inter process communication?
c) that can not drop below one a) allows processes to communicate and
d) that can not be more than one synchronize their actions when using the
same address space
Answer: a
b) allows processes to communicate and
Explanation: None.
synchronize their actions without using the
58. Mutual exclusion can be provided by the same address space
__________ c) allows the processes to only synchronize
a) mutex locks their actions without communication
b) binary semaphores d) none of the mentioned
c) both mutex locks and binary semaphores
Answer: b
d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: c
62. Message passing system allows
Explanation: Binary Semaphores are known
processes to __________
as mutex locks.
a) communicate with one another without
59. When high priority task is indirectly resorting to shared data
preempted by medium priority task b) communicate with one another by
effectively inverting the relative priority of resorting to shared data
the two tasks, the scenario is called c) share data

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d) name the recipient or sender of the b) A communication link can be associated

message with exactly two processes
c) Exactly N/2 links exist between each pair
Answer: a
of processes(N = max. number of processes
Explanation: None.
supported by system)
63. Which of the following two operations d) Exactly two link exists between each pair
are provided by the IPC facility? of processes
a) write & delete message
Answer: b
b) delete & receive message
Explanation: None.
c) send & delete message
d) receive & send message 67. In indirect communication between
processes P and Q __________
Answer: d
a) there is another process R to handle and
Explanation: None.
pass on the messages between P and Q
64. Messages sent by a process __________ b) there is another machine between the
a) have to be of a fixed size two processes to help communication
b) have to be a variable size c) there is a mailbox to help communication
c) can be fixed or variable sized between P and Q
d) None of the mentioned d) none of the mentioned

Answer: c Answer: c
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

65. The link between two processes P and Q 68. In the non blocking send __________
to send and receive messages is called a) the sending process keeps sending until
__________ the message is received
a) communication link b) the sending process sends the message
b) message-passing link and resumes operation
c) synchronization link c) the sending process keeps sending until it
d) all of the mentioned receives a message
d) none of the mentioned
Answer: a
Explanation: None. Answer: b
Explanation: None.
66. Which of the following are TRUE for
direct communication? 69. In the Zero capacity queue __________
a) A communication link can be associated a) the queue can store at least one message
with N number of process(N = max. number b) the sender blocks until the receiver
of processes supported by system) receives the message
c) the sender keeps sending and the
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

messages don’t wait in the queue 73. The interval from the time of
d) none of the mentioned submission of a process to the time of
completion is termed as ____________
Answer: b
a) waiting time
Explanation: None.
b) turnaround time
70. The Zero Capacity queue __________ c) response time
a) is referred to as a message system with d) throughput
buffering
Answer: b
b) is referred to as a message system with
Explanation: None.
no buffering
c) is referred to as a link 74. Which scheduling algorithm allocates
d) none of the mentioned the CPU first to the process that requests
the CPU first?
Answer: b
a) first-come, first-served scheduling
Explanation: None.
b) shortest job scheduling
71. Which module gives control of the CPU c) priority scheduling
to the process selected by the short-term d) none of the mentioned
scheduler?
Answer: a
a) dispatcher
Explanation: None.
b) interrupt
c) scheduler 75. In priority scheduling algorithm
d) none of the mentioned ____________
a) CPU is allocated to the process with
Answer: a
highest priority
Explanation: None.
b) CPU is allocated to the process with
72. The processes that are residing in main lowest priority
memory and are ready and waiting to c) Equal priority processes can not be
execute are kept on a list called scheduled
_____________ d) None of the mentioned
a) job queue
Answer: a
b) ready queue
Explanation: None.
c) execution queue
d) process queue 76. In priority scheduling algorithm, when a
process arrives at the ready queue, its
Answer: b
priority is compared with the priority of
Explanation: None.
____________
a) all process
b) currently running process
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

c) parent process c) money

d) init process d) all of the mentioned

Answer: b Answer: a
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

77. Which algorithm is defined in Time 81. What are the two steps of a process
quantum? execution?
a) shortest job scheduling algorithm a) I/O & OS Burst
b) round robin scheduling algorithm b) CPU & I/O Burst
c) priority scheduling algorithm c) Memory & I/O Burst
d) multilevel queue scheduling algorithm d) OS & Memory Burst

Answer: b Answer: b
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

78. Process are classified into different 82. An I/O bound program will typically
groups in ____________ have ____________
a) shortest job scheduling algorithm a) a few very short CPU bursts
b) round robin scheduling algorithm b) many very short I/O bursts
c) priority scheduling algorithm c) many very short CPU bursts
d) multilevel queue scheduling algorithm d) a few very short I/O bursts

Answer: d Answer: c
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

79. CPU scheduling is the basis of 83. A process is selected from the ______
___________ queue by the ________ scheduler, to be
a) multiprocessor systems executed.
b) multiprogramming operating systems a) blocked, short term
c) larger memory sized systems b) wait, long term
d) none of the mentioned c) ready, short term
d) ready, long term
Answer: b
Explanation: None. Answer: c
Explanation: None.
80. With multiprogramming ______ is used
productively. 84. Round robin scheduling falls under the
a) time category of ____________
b) space a) Non-preemptive scheduling
b) Preemptive scheduling

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

c) All of the mentioned c) use many resources

d) None of the mentioned d) all of the mentioned

Answer: b Answer: a
Explanation: None. Explanation: Large computers are
overloaded with a greater number of
85. With round robin scheduling algorithm
processes.
in a time shared system ____________
a) using very large time slices converts it 88. What is FIFO algorithm?
into First come First served scheduling a) first executes the job that came in last in
algorithm the queue
b) using very small time slices converts it b) first executes the job that came in first in
into First come First served scheduling the queue
algorithm c) first executes the job that needs minimal
c) using extremely small time slices processor
increases performance d) first executes the job that has maximum
d) using very small time slices converts it processor needs
into Shortest Job First algorithm
Answer: b
Answer: a Explanation: None.
Explanation: All the processes will be able
89. The strategy of making processes that
to get completed.
are logically runnable to be temporarily
86. The portion of the process scheduler in suspended is called ____________
an operating system that dispatches a) Non preemptive scheduling
processes is concerned with ____________ b) Preemptive scheduling
a) assigning ready processes to CPU c) Shortest job first
b) assigning ready processes to waiting d) First come First served
queue
Answer: b
c) assigning running processes to blocked
Explanation: None.
queue
d) all of the mentioned 90. What is Scheduling?
a) allowing a job to use the processor
Answer: a
b) making proper use of processor
Explanation: None.
c) all of the mentioned
87. Complex scheduling algorithms d) none of the mentioned
____________
Answer: a
a) are very appropriate for very large
Explanation: None.
computers
b) use minimal resources
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

91. Which is the most optimal scheduling P3 7

algorithm?
P4 3
a) FCFS – First come First served
b) SJF – Shortest Job First Assuming the above process being
c) RR – Round Robin scheduled with the SJF scheduling
d) None of the mentioned algorithm.
a) The waiting time for process P1 is 3ms
Answer: b
b) The waiting time for process P1 is 0ms
Explanation: None.
c) The waiting time for process P1 is 16ms
92. The real difficulty with SJF in short term d) The waiting time for process P1 is 9ms
scheduling is ____________
Answer: a
a) it is too good an algorithm
Explanation: None.
b) knowing the length of the next CPU
request 95. Preemptive Shortest Job First scheduling
c) it is too complex to understand is sometimes called ____________
d) none of the mentioned a) Fast SJF scheduling
b) EDF scheduling – Earliest Deadline First
Answer: b
c) HRRN scheduling – Highest Response
Explanation: None.
Ratio Next
93. The FCFS algorithm is particularly d) SRTN scheduling – Shortest Remaining
troublesome for ____________ Time Next
a) time sharing systems
Answer: d
b) multiprogramming systems
Explanation: None.
c) multiprocessor systems
d) operating systems 96. An SJF algorithm is simply a priority
algorithm where the priority is
Answer: b
____________
Explanation: In a time sharing system, each
a) the predicted next CPU burst
user needs to get a share of the CPU at
b) the inverse of the predicted next CPU
regular intervals.
burst
94. Consider the following set of processes, c) the current CPU burst
the length of the CPU burst time given in d) anything the user wants
milliseconds.
Answer: a
Process Burst time Explanation: The larger the CPU burst, the
lower the priority.
P1 6

P2 8

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

97. Choose one of the disadvantages of the c) non – critical section

priority scheduling algorithm? d) synchronizing
a) it schedules in a very complex manner
Answer: b
b) its scheduling takes up a lot of time
Explanation: None.
c) it can lead to some low priority process
waiting indefinitely for the CPU 101. Which of the following conditions must
d) none of the mentioned be satisfied to solve the critical section
problem?
Answer: c
a) Mutual Exclusion
Explanation: None.
b) Progress
98. Concurrent access to shared data may c) Bounded Waiting
result in ____________ d) All of the mentioned
a) data consistency
Answer: d
b) data insecurity
Explanation: None.
c) data inconsistency
d) none of the mentioned 102. Mutual exclusion implies that
____________
Answer: c
a) if a process is executing in its critical
Explanation: None.
section, then no other process must be
99. A situation where several processes executing in their critical sections
access and manipulate the same data b) if a process is executing in its critical
concurrently and the outcome of the section, then other processes must be
execution depends on the particular order executing in their critical sections
in which access takes place is called c) if a process is executing in its critical
____________ section, then all the resources of the system
a) data consistency must be blocked until it finishes execution
b) race condition d) none of the mentioned
c) aging Answer: a
d) starvation Explanation: None.

Answer: b 103. Bounded waiting implies that there

Explanation: None. exists a bound on the number of times a
process is allowed to enter its critical
100. The segment of code in which the
section ____________
process may change common variables,
a) after a process has made a request to
update tables, write into files is known as
enter its critical section and before the
____________
request is granted
a) program
b) when another process is in its critical
b) critical section
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

section a) hardware for a system

c) before a process has made a request to b) special program for a system
enter its critical section c) integer variable
d) none of the mentioned d) none of the mentioned

Answer: a Answer: c
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

105. A minimum of _____ variable(s) is/are 109. What are the two atomic operations
required to be shared between processes to permissible on semaphores?
solve the critical section problem. a) wait
a) one b) stop
b) two c) hold
c) three d) none of the mentioned
d) four
Answer: a
Answer: b Explanation: None.
Explanation: None.
110. What are Spinlocks?
106. An un-interruptible unit is known as a) CPU cycles wasting locks over critical
____________ sections of programs
a) single b) Locks that avoid time wastage in context
b) atomic switches
c) static c) Locks that work better on multiprocessor
d) none of the mentioned systems
d) All of the mentioned
Answer: b
Explanation: None. Answer: d
Explanation: None.
107. TestAndSet instruction is executed
____________ 111. What is the main disadvantage of
a) after a particular process spinlocks?
b) periodically a) they are not sufficient for many process
c) atomically b) they require busy waiting
d) none of the mentioned c) they are unreliable sometimes
d) they are too complex for programmers
Answer: c
Explanation: None. Answer: b
Explanation: None.
108. Semaphore is a/an _______ to solve
the critical section problem.

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

112. The wait operation of the semaphore Answer: b

basically works on the basic _______ Explanation: None.
system call.
116. What is a mutex?
a) stop()
a) is a binary mutex
b) block()
b) must be accessed from only one process
c) hold()
c) can be accessed from multiple processes
d) wait()
d) none of the mentioned
Answer: b
Answer: b
Explanation: None.
Explanation: None.
113. What will happen if a non-recursive
117. At a particular time of computation the
mutex is locked more than once?
value of a counting semaphore is 7.Then 20
a) Starvation
P operations and 15 V operations were
b) Deadlock
completed on this semaphore. The resulting
c) Aging
value of the semaphore is?
d) Signaling
a) 42
Answer: b b) 2
Explanation: If a thread which had already c) 7
locked a mutex, tries to lock the mutex d) 12
again, it will enter into the waiting list of
Answer: b
that mutex, which results in a deadlock. It is
Explanation: P represents Wait and V
because no other thread can unlock the
represents Signal. P operation will decrease
mutex.
the value by 1 every time and V operation
114. What is a semaphore? will increase the value by 1 every time.
a) is a binary mutex
118. The bounded buffer problem is also
b) must be accessed from only one process
known as ____________
c) can be accessed from multiple processes
a) Readers – Writers problem
d) none of the mentioned
b) Dining – Philosophers problem
Answer: c c) Producer – Consumer problem
Explanation: None. d) None of the mentioned

15. What are the two kinds of semaphores? Answer: c

a) mutex & counting Explanation: None.
b) binary & counting
119. In the bounded buffer problem, there
c) counting & decimal
are the empty and full semaphores that
d) decimal & binary
____________

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

a) count the number of empty and full Answer: a

buffers Explanation: None.
b) count the number of empty and full
123. A deadlock free solution to the dining
memory spaces
philosophers problem ____________
c) count the number of empty and full
a) necessarily eliminates the possibility of
queues
starvation
d) none of the mentioned
b) does not necessarily eliminate the
Answer: a possibility of starvation
Explanation: None. c) eliminates any possibility of any kind of
problem further
120. In the bounded buffer problem
d) none of the mentioned
____________
a) there is only one buffer Answer: b
b) there are n buffers ( n being greater than Explanation: None.
one but finite)
124. What is a reusable resource?
c) there are infinite buffers
a) that can be used by one process at a time
d) the buffer size is bounded
and is not depleted by that use
Answer: b b) that can be used by more than one
Explanation: None. process at a time
c) that can be shared between various
121. To ensure difficulties do not arise in
threads
the readers – writers problem _______ are
d) none of the mentioned
given exclusive access to the shared object.
a) readers Answer: a
b) writers Explanation: None.
c) readers and writers
125. Which of the following condition is
d) none of the mentioned
required for a deadlock to be possible?
Answer: b a) mutual exclusion
Explanation: None. b) a process may hold allocated resources
while awaiting assignment of other
122. The dining – philosophers problem will
resources
occur in case of ____________
c) no resource can be forcibly removed
a) 5 philosophers and 5 chopsticks
from a process holding it
b) 4 philosophers and 5 chopsticks
d) all of the mentioned
c) 3 philosophers and 5 chopsticks
d) 6 philosophers and 5 chopsticks Answer: d
Explanation: None.

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126. A system is in the safe state if Answer: d

____________ Explanation: None.
a) the system can allocate resources to each
130. For an effective operating system,
process in some order and still avoid a
when to check for deadlock?
deadlock
a) every time a resource request is made
b) there exist a safe sequence
b) at fixed time intervals
c) all of the mentioned
c) every time a resource request is made at
d) none of the mentioned
fixed time intervals
Answer: a d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: c
127. The circular wait condition can be Explanation: None.
prevented by ____________
131. A problem encountered in multitasking
a) defining a linear ordering of resource
when a process is perpetually denied
types
necessary resources is called ____________
b) using thread
a) deadlock
c) using pipes
b) starvation
d) all of the mentioned
c) inversion
Answer: a d) aging
Explanation: None.
Answer: b
128. Which one of the following is the Explanation: None.
deadlock avoidance algorithm?
132. Which one of the following is a visual (
a) banker’s algorithm
mathematical ) way to determine the
b) round-robin algorithm
deadlock occurrence?
c) elevator algorithm
a) resource allocation graph
d) karn’s algorithm
b) starvation graph
Answer: a c) inversion graph
Explanation: None. d) none of the mentioned

129. What is the drawback of banker’s Answer: a

algorithm? Explanation: None.
a) in advance processes rarely know how
133. To avoid deadlock ____________
much resource they will need
a) there must be a fixed number of
b) the number of processes changes as time
resources to allocate
progresses
b) resource allocation must be done only
c) resource once available can disappear
once
d) all of the mentioned
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

c) all deadlocked processes must be 137. For a deadlock to arise, which of the
aborted following conditions must hold
d) inversion technique can be used simultaneously?
a) Mutual exclusion
Answer: a
b) No preemption
Explanation: None.
c) Hold and wait
134. The number of resources requested by d) All of the mentioned
a process ____________
Answer: d
a) must always be less than the total
Explanation: None.
number of resources available in the system
b) must always be equal to the total 138. For Mutual exclusion to prevail in the
number of resources available in the system system ____________
c) must not exceed the total number of a) at least one resource must be held in a
resources available in the system non sharable mode
d) must exceed the total number of b) the processor must be a uniprocessor
resources available in the system rather than a multiprocessor
c) there must be at least one resource in a
Answer: c
sharable mode
Explanation: None.
d) all of the mentioned
135. The request and release of resources
Answer: a
are ___________
Explanation: If another process requests
a) command line statements
that resource (non – shareable resource),
b) interrupts
the requesting process must be delayed
c) system calls
until the resource has been released.
d) special programs
139. For a Hold and wait condition to
Answer: c
prevail ____________
Explanation: None.
a) A process must be not be holding a
136. What are Multithreaded programs? resource, but waiting for one to be freed,
a) lesser prone to deadlocks and then request to acquire it
b) more prone to deadlocks b) A process must be holding at least one
c) not at all prone to deadlocks resource and waiting to acquire additional
d) none of the mentioned resources that are being held by other
processes
Answer: b c) A process must hold at least one resource
Explanation: Multiple threads can compete and not be waiting to acquire additional
for shared resources. resources
d) None of the mentioned

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

Answer: b c) operating system

Explanation: None. d) resources

140. Each request requires that the system Answer: a

consider the _____________ to decide Explanation: Resource allocation states are
whether the current request can be used to maintain the availability of the
satisfied or must wait to avoid a future already and current available resources.
possible deadlock.
143. A state is safe, if ____________
a) resources currently available
a) the system does not crash due to
b) processes that have previously been in
deadlock occurrence
the system
b) the system can allocate resources to each
c) resources currently allocated to each
process in some order and still avoid a
process
deadlock
d) future requests and releases of each
c) the state keeps the system protected and
process
safe
Answer: a d) all of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: b
141. Given a priori information about the Explanation: None.
________ number of resources of each type
144. A system is in a safe state only if there
that maybe requested for each process, it is
exists a ____________
possible to construct an algorithm that
a) safe allocation
ensures that the system will never enter a
b) safe resource
deadlock state.
c) safe sequence
a) minimum
d) all of the mentioned
b) average
c) maximum Answer: c
d) approximate Explanation: None.
Answer: c 145. All unsafe states are ____________
Explanation: None. a) deadlocks
b) not deadlocks
142. A deadlock avoidance algorithm
c) fatal
dynamically examines the __________ to
d) none of the mentioned
ensure that a circular wait condition can
never exist. Answer: b
a) resource allocation state Explanation: None.
b) system storage state

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146. The wait-for graph is a deadlock c) rarely & frequently

detection algorithm that is applicable when d) none of the mentioned
____________
Answer: b
a) all resources have a single instance
Explanation: None.
b) all resources have multiple instances
c) all resources have a single 7 multiple 150. What is the disadvantage of invoking
instances the detection algorithm for every request?
d) all of the mentioned a) overhead of the detection algorithm due
to consumption of memory
Answer: a
b) excessive time consumed in the request
Explanation: None.
to be allocated memory
147. An edge from process Pi to Pj in a wait c) considerable overhead in computation
for graph indicates that ____________ time
a) Pi is waiting for Pj to release a resource d) all of the mentioned
that Pi needs
Answer: c
b) Pj is waiting for Pi to release a resource
Explanation: None.
that Pj needs
c) Pi is waiting for Pj to leave the system 151. A deadlock can be broken by
d) Pj is waiting for Pi to leave the system ____________
View Answer a) abort one or more processes to break the
circular wait
Answer: a
b) abort all the process in the system
Explanation: None.
c) preempt all resources from all processes
148. If the wait for graph contains a cycle d) none of the mentioned
____________
Answer: a
a) then a deadlock does not exist
Explanation: None.
b) then a deadlock exists
c) then the system is in a safe state 152. The two ways of aborting processes
d) either deadlock exists or system is in a and eliminating deadlocks are
safe state ____________
a) Abort all deadlocked processes
Answer: b
b) Abort all processes
Explanation: None.
c) Abort one process at a time until the
149. If deadlocks occur frequently, the deadlock cycle is eliminated
detection algorithm must be invoked d) All of the mentioned
________
Answer: c
a) rarely
Explanation: None.
b) frequently
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

153. Those processes should be aborted on Answer: b

occurrence of a deadlock, the termination Explanation: None.
of which?
157. To _______ to a safe state, the system
a) is more time consuming
needs to keep more information about the
b) incurs minimum cost
states of processes.
c) safety is not hampered
a) abort the process
d) all of the mentioned
b) roll back the process
Answer: b c) queue the process
Explanation: None. d) none of the mentioned

154. The process to be aborted is chosen on Answer: b

the basis of the following factors? Explanation: None.
a) priority of the process
158. If the resources are always preempted
b) process is interactive or batch
from the same process __________ can
c) how long the process has computed
occur.
d) all of the mentioned
a) deadlock
Answer: d b) system crash
Explanation: None. c) aging
d) starvation
155. Cost factors for process termination
include ____________ Answer: d
a) Number of resources the deadlock Explanation: None.
process is not holding
159. What is the solution to starvation?
b) CPU utilization at the time of deadlock
a) the number of rollbacks must be included
c) Amount of time a deadlocked process has
in the cost factor
thus far consumed during its execution
b) the number of resources must be
d) All of the mentioned
included in resource preemption
Answer: c c) resource preemption be done instead
Explanation: None. d) all of the mentioned

156. If we preempt a resource from a Answer: a

process, the process cannot continue with Explanation: None.
its normal execution and it must be
160. CPU fetches the instruction from
____________
memory according to the value of
a) aborted
____________
b) rolled back
a) program counter
c) terminated
b) status register
d) queued
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

c) instruction register a) fragmentation

d) program status word b) paging
c) mapping
Answer: a
d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: b
161. A memory buffer used to
Explanation: None.
accommodate a speed differential is called
____________ 165. The address of a page table in memory
a) stack pointer is pointed by ____________
b) cache a) stack pointer
c) accumulator b) page table base register
d) disk buffer c) page register
d) program counter
Answer: b
Explanation: None. Answer: b
Explanation: None.
162. Which one of the following is the
address generated by CPU? 166. Program always deals with
a) physical address ____________
b) absolute address a) logical address
c) logical address b) absolute address
d) none of the mentioned c) physical address
d) relative address
Answer: c
Explanation: None. Answer: a
Explanation: None.
163. Run time mapping from virtual to
physical address is done by ____________ 167. The page table contains ____________
a) Memory management unit a) base address of each page in physical
b) CPU memory
c) PCI b) page offset
d) None of the mentioned c) page size
d) none of the mentioned
Answer: a
Explanation: None. Answer: a
Explanation: None.
164. Memory management technique in
which system stores and retrieves data 168. What is compaction?
from secondary storage for use in main a) a technique for overcoming internal
memory is called? fragmentation

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

b) a paging technique contiguous section of memory

c) a technique for overcoming external b) all processes are contained in a single
fragmentation contiguous section of memory
d) a technique for overcoming fatal error c) the memory space is contiguous
d) none of the mentioned
Answer: c
Explanation: None. Answer: a
Explanation: None.
169. Operating System maintains the page
table for ____________ 173. The relocation register helps in
a) each process ____________
b) each thread a) providing more address space to
c) each instruction processes
d) each address b) a different address space to processes
c) to protect the address spaces of
Answer: a
processes
Explanation: None.
d) none of the mentioned
170. The main memory accommodates
Answer: c
____________
Explanation: None.
a) operating system
b) cpu 174. With relocation and limit registers,
c) user processes each logical address must be _______ the
d) all of the mentioned limit register.
a) less than
Answer: a
b) equal to
Explanation: None.
c) greater than
171. What is the operating system? d) none of the mentioned
a) in the low memory
Answer: a
b) in the high memory
Explanation: None.
c) either low or high memory (depending on
the location of interrupt vector) 175. The operating system and the other
d) none of the mentioned processes are protected from being
modified by an already running process
Answer: c
because ____________
Explanation: None.
a) they are in different memory spaces
172. In contiguous memory allocation b) they are in different logical addresses
____________ c) they have a protection algorithm
a) each process is contained in a single d) every address generated by the CPU is

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being checked against the relocation and 179. If relocation is static and is done at
limit registers assembly or load time, compaction
_________
Answer: d
a) cannot be done
Explanation: None.
b) must be done
176. In internal fragmentation, memory is c) must not be done
internal to a partition and ____________ d) can be done
a) is being used
Answer: a
b) is not being used
Explanation: None.
c) is always used
d) none of the mentioned 180. The disadvantage of moving all process
to one end of memory and all holes to the
Answer: b
other direction, producing one large hole of
Explanation: None.
available memory is ____________
177. A solution to the problem of external a) the cost incurred
fragmentation is ____________ b) the memory used
a) compaction c) the CPU used
b) larger memory space d) all of the mentioned
c) smaller memory space
Answer: a
d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: a
181. __________ is generally faster than
Explanation: None.
_________ and _________
178. Another solution to the problem of a) first fit, best fit, worst fit
external fragmentation problem is to b) best fit, first fit, worst fit
____________ c) worst fit, best fit, first fit
a) permit the logical address space of a d) none of the mentioned
process to be noncontiguous
Answer: a
b) permit smaller processes to be allocated
Explanation: None.
memory at last
c) permit larger processes to be allocated 182. Physical memory is broken into fixed-
memory at last sized blocks called ________
d) all of the mentioned a) frames
b) pages
Answer: a
c) backing store
Explanation: None.
d) none of the mentioned

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

Answer: a Answer: c
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

183. Logical memory is broken into blocks 187. The size of a page is typically
of the same size called _________ ____________
a) frames a) varied
b) pages b) power of 2
c) backing store c) power of 4
d) none of the mentioned d) none of the mentioned

Answer: b Answer: b
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

184. Every address generated by the CPU is 188. Each entry in a translation lookaside
divided into two parts. They are buffer (TLB) consists of ____________
____________ a) key
a) frame bit & page number b) value
b) page number & page offset c) bit value
c) page offset & frame bit d) constant
d) frame offset & page offset
Answer: a
Answer: b Explanation: None.
Explanation: None.
189. If a page number is not found in the
185. The __________ is used as an index TLB, then it is known as a ____________
into the page table. a) TLB miss
a) frame bit b) Buffer miss
b) page number c) TLB hit
c) page offset d) All of the mentioned
d) frame offset
Answer: a
Answer: b Explanation: None.
Explanation: None.
190. An ______ uniquely identifies
186. The _____ table contains the base processes and is used to provide address
address of each page in physical memory. space protection for that process.
a) process a) address space locator
b) memory b) address space identifier
c) page c) address process identifier
d) frame d) none of the mentioned

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

Answer: b c) a value & segment number

Explanation: None. d) a key & value

191. The percentage of times a page Answer: a

number is found in the TLB is known as Explanation: None.
____________
195. In paging the user provides only
a) miss ratio
________ which is partitioned by the
b) hit ratio
hardware into ________ and ______
c) miss percent
a) one address, page number, offset
d) none of the mentioned
b) one offset, page number, address
Answer: b c) page number, offset, address
Explanation: None. d) none of the mentioned

192. Memory protection in a paged Answer: a

environment is accomplished by Explanation: None.
____________
196. Each entry in a segment table has a
a) protection algorithm with each page
____________
b) restricted access rights to users
a) segment base
c) restriction on page visibility
b) segment peak
d) protection bit with each page
c) segment value
Answer: d d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: a
193. When the valid – invalid bit is set to Explanation: None.
valid, it means that the associated page
197. The segment base contains the
____________
____________
a) is in the TLB
a) starting logical address of the process
b) has data in it
b) starting physical address of the segment
c) is in the process’s logical address space
in memory
d) is the system’s physical address space
c) segment length
Answer: c d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: b
194. In segmentation, each address is Explanation: None.
specified by ____________
198. The segment limit contains the
a) a segment number & offset
____________
b) an offset & value
a) starting logical address of the process

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

b) starting physical address of the segment 202. The protection bit is 0/1 based on
in memory ____________
c) segment length a) write only
d) none of the mentioned b) read only
c) read – write
Answer: c
d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: c
199. The offset ‘d’ of the logical address
Explanation: None.
must be ____________
a) greater than segment limit 203. If there are 32 segments, each of size
b) between 0 and segment limit 1Kb, then the logical address should have
c) between 0 and the segment number ____________
d) greater than the segment number a) 13 bits
b) 14 bits
Answer: b
c) 15 bits
Explanation: None.
d) 16 bits
200. If the offset is legal ____________
Answer: a
a) it is used as a physical memory address
Explanation: To specify a particular
itself
segment, 5 bits are required. To select a
b) it is subtracted from the segment base to
particular byte after selecting a page, 10
produce the physical memory address
more bits are required. Hence 15 bits are
c) it is added to the segment base to
required.
produce the physical memory address
d) none of the mentioned 204. If one or more devices use a common
set of wires to communicate with the
Answer: a
computer system, the connection is called
Explanation: None.
______
201. When the entries in the segment a) CPU
tables of two different processes point to b) Monitor
the same physical location ____________ c) Wirefull
a) the segments are invalid d) Bus
b) the processes get blocked
Answer: d
c) segments are shared
Explanation: None.
d) all of the mentioned
205. A ____ a set of wires and a rigidly
Answer: c
defined protocol that specifies a set of
Explanation: None.
messages that can be sent on the wires.
a) port
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

b) node Answer: a
c) bus Explanation: None.
d) none of the mentioned
209. An I/O port typically consists of four
Answer: c registers status, control, ________ and
Explanation: None. ________ registers.
a) system in, system out
206. When device A has a cable that plugs
b) data in, data out
into device B, and device B has a cable that
c) flow in, flow out
plugs into device C and device C plugs into a
d) input, output
port on the computer, this arrangement is
called a _________ Answer: b
a) port Explanation: None.
b) daisy chain
210. The ______ register is read by the host
c) bus
to get input.
d) cable
a) flow in
Answer: b b) flow out
Explanation: None. c) data in
d) data out
207. The _________ present a uniform
device-access interface to the I/O Answer: c
subsystem, much as system calls provide a Explanation: None.
standard interface between the application
211. The ______ register is written by the
and the operating system.
host to send output.
a) Devices
a) status
b) Buses
b) control
c) Device drivers
c) data in
d) I/O systems
d) data out
Answer: c
Answer: d
Explanation: None.
Explanation: None.
208. A ________ is a collection of
212. The hardware mechanism that allows a
electronics that can operate a port, a bus,
device to notify the CPU is called _______
or a device.
a) polling
a) controller
b) interrupt
b) driver
c) driver
c) host
d) controlling
d) bus

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

Answer: b c) priority does not depend on the duration

Explanation: None. of the job
d) none of the mentioned
213. The CPU hardware has a wire called
__________ that the CPU senses after Answer: a
executing every instruction. Explanation: None.
a) interrupt request line
217. In which scheduling certain amount of
b) interrupt bus
CPU time is allocated to each process?
c) interrupt receive line
a) earliest deadline first scheduling
d) interrupt sense line
b) proportional share scheduling
Answer: a c) equal share scheduling
Explanation: None. d) none of the mentioned

214. In real time operating system Answer: b

____________ Explanation: None.
a) all processes have the same priority
218. The problem of priority inversion can
b) a task must be serviced by its deadline
be solved by ____________
period
a) priority inheritance protocol
c) process scheduling can be done only once
b) priority inversion protocol
d) kernel is not required
c) both priority inheritance and inversion
Answer: b protocol
Explanation: None. d) none of the mentioned

215. For real time operating systems, Answer: a

interrupt latency should be ____________ Explanation: None.
a) minimal
219. Earliest deadline first algorithm assigns
b) maximum
priorities according to ____________
c) zero
a) periods
d) dependent on the scheduling
b) deadlines
Answer: a c) burst times
Explanation: Interrupt latency is the time d) none of the mentioned
duration between the generation of
Answer: b
interrupt and execution of its service.
Explanation: None.
216. In rate monotonic scheduling
220. A process P1 has a period of 50 and a
____________
CPU burst of t1 = 25, P2 has a period of 80
a) shorter duration job has higher priority
and a CPU burst of 35. The total CPU
b) longer duration job has higher priority

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utilization is ____________ c) power consumption

a) 0.90 d) all of the mentioned
b) 0.74
Answer: a
c) 0.94
Explanation: None.
d) 0.80
224. T shares of time are allocated among
Answer: c
all processes out of N shares in __________
Explanation: None.
scheduling algorithm.
221. A process P1 has a period of 50 and a a) rate monotonic
CPU burst of t1 = 25, P2 has a period of 80 b) proportional share
and a CPU burst of 35., the priorities of P1 c) earliest deadline first
and P2 are? d) none of the mentioned
a) remain the same throughout
Answer: b
b) keep varying from time to time
Explanation: None.
c) may or may not be change
d) none of the mentioned 225. If there are a total of T = 100 shares to
be divided among three processes, A, B and
Answer: b
C. A is assigned 50 shares, B is assigned 15
Explanation: None.
shares and C is assigned 20 shares.
222. A process P1 has a period of 50 and a A will have ______ percent of the total
CPU burst of t1 = 25, P2 has a period of 80 processor time.
and a CPU burst of 35., can the two a) 20
processes be scheduled using the EDF b) 15
algorithm without missing their respective c) 50
deadlines? d) none of the mentioned
a) Yes
Answer: c
b) No
Explanation: None.
c) Maybe
d) None of the mentioned 226. If there are a total of T = 100 shares to
be divided among three processes, A, B and
Answer: a
C. A is assigned 50 shares, B is assigned 15
Explanation: None.
shares and C is assigned 20 shares.
223. Using EDF algorithm practically, it is B will have ______ percent of the total
impossible to achieve 100 percent processor time.
utilization due to __________ a) 20
a) the cost of context switching b) 15
b) interrupt handling c) 50
d) none of the mentioned
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

Answer: b 230. If the period of a process is ‘p’, then

Explanation: None. what is the rate of the task?
a) p2
227. If there are a total of T = 100 shares to
b) 2*p
be divided among three processes, A, B and
c) 1/p
C. A is assigned 50 shares, B is assigned 15
d) p
shares and C is assigned 20 shares.
C will have ______ percent of the total Answer: c
processor time. Explanation: None.
a) 20
231. The scheduler admits a process using
b) 15
__________
c) 50
a) two phase locking protocol
d) none of the mentioned
b) admission control algorithm
Answer: a c) busy wait polling
Explanation: None. d) none of the mentioned

228. If there are a total of T = 100 shares to Answer: c

be divided among three processes, A, B and Explanation: None.
C. A is assigned 50 shares, B is assigned 15
232. The ____________ scheduling
shares and C is assigned 20 shares.
algorithm schedules periodic tasks using a
If a new process D requested 30 shares, the
static priority policy with preemption.
admission controller would __________
a) earliest deadline first
a) allocate 30 shares to it
b) rate monotonic
b) deny entry to D in the system
c) first cum first served
c) all of the mentioned
d) priority
d) none of the mentioned
Answer: b
Answer: b
Explanation: None.
Explanation: None.
233. Rate monotonic scheduling assumes
229. To schedule the processes, they are
that the __________
considered _________
a) processing time of a periodic process is
a) infinitely long
same for each CPU burst
b) periodic
b) processing time of a periodic process is
c) heavy weight
different for each CPU burst
d) light weight
c) periods of all processes is the same
Answer: b d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.

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Answer: a a) errors
Explanation: None. b) exceptions
c) interrupt handlers
234. The ________ can be turned off by the
d) all of the mentioned
CPU before the execution of critical
instruction sequences that must not be Answer: b
interrupted. Explanation: None.
a) nonmaskable interrupt
238. For large data transfers, _________ is
b) blocked interrupt
used.
c) maskable interrupt
a) dma
d) none of the mentioned
b) programmed I/O
Answer: c c) controller register
Explanation: None. d) none of the mentioned

235. The __________ is used by device Answer: a

controllers to request service. Explanation: None.
a) nonmaskable interrupt
239. Buffering is done to ____________
b) blocked interrupt
a) cope with device speed mismatch
c) maskable interrupt
b) cope with device transfer size mismatch
d) none of the mentioned
c) maintain copy semantics
Answer: c d) all of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: d
236. The interrupt vector contains Explanation: None.
____________
240. Caching is ________ spooling.
a) the interrupts
a) same as
b) the memory addresses of specialized
b) not the same as
interrupt handlers
c) all of the mentioned
c) the identifiers of interrupts
d) none of the mentioned
d) the device addresses
Answer: b
Answer: b
Explanation: None.
Explanation: None.
241. Caching ____________
237. Division by zero, accessing a protected
a) holds a copy of the data
or non existent memory address, or
b) is fast memory
attempting to execute a privileged
c) holds the only copy of the data
instruction from user mode are all
d) holds output for a device
categorized as ________

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Answer: a 246. A ________ is a full duplex connection

Explanation: None. between a device driver and a user level
process.
242. Spooling ____________
a) Bus
a) holds a copy of the data
b) I/O operation
b) is fast memory
c) Stream
c) holds the only copy of the data
d) Flow
d) holds output for a device
Answer: c
Answer: c
Explanation: None.
Explanation: None.
247. The process of dividing a disk into
243. The ________ keeps state information
sectors that the disk controller can read and
about the use of I/O components.
write, before a disk can store data is known
a) CPU
as ____________
b) OS
a) partitioning
c) kernel
b) swap space creation
d) shell
c) low-level formatting
Answer: c d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: c
244. The kernel data structures include Explanation: None.
____________
249. The header and trailer of a sector
a) process table
contain information used by the disk
b) open file table
controller such as _________ and
c) close file table
_________
d) all of the mentioned
a) main section & disk identifier
Answer: b b) error correcting codes (ECC) & sector
Explanation: None. number
c) sector number & main section
245. Windows NT uses a __________ d) disk identifier & sector number
implementation for I/O.
a) message – passing Answer: b
b) draft – passing Explanation: None.
c) secondary memory
250. The two steps the operating system
d) cache
takes to use a disk to hold its files are
Answer: a _______ and ________
Explanation: None. a) partitioning & logical formatting
b) swap space creation & caching
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

c) caching & logical formatting a) magnetic disks

d) logical formatting & swap space creation b) electrical disks
c) assemblies
Answer: a
d) cylinders
Explanation: None.
Answer: a
251. The _______ program initializes all
Explanation: None.
aspects of the system, from CPU registers to
device controllers and the contents of main 255. The heads of the magnetic disk are
memory, and then starts the operating attached to a _____ that moves all the
system. heads as a unit.
a) main a) spindle
b) bootloader b) disk arm
c) bootstrap c) track
d) rom d) none of the mentioned

Answer: c Answer: b
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

252. For most computers, the bootstrap is 256. The set of tracks that are at one arm
stored in ________ position make up a ___________
a) RAM a) magnetic disks
b) ROM b) electrical disks
c) Cache c) assemblies
d) Tertiary storage d) cylinders

Answer: b Answer: d
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

253. A disk that has a boot partition is called 257. The time taken to move the disk arm
a _________ to the desired cylinder is called the
a) start disk ____________
b) end disk a) positioning time
c) boot disk b) random access time
d) all of the mentioned c) seek time
d) rotational latency
Answer: c
Explanation: None. Answer: c
Explanation: None.
254. In _______ information is recorded
magnetically on platters.

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258. Whenever a process needs I/O to or Considering SSTF (shortest seek time first)
from a disk it issues a ______________ scheduling, the total number of head
a) system call to the CPU movements is, if the disk head is initially at
b) system call to the operating system 53 is?
c) a special procedure a) 224
d) all of the mentioned b) 236
c) 245
Answer: b
d) 240
Explanation: None.
Answer: b
259. If a process needs I/O to or from a disk,
Explanation: None.
and if the drive or controller is busy then
____________ 262. Random access in magnetic tapes is
a) the request will be placed in the queue of _________ compared to magnetic disks.
pending requests for that drive a) fast
b) the request will not be processed and will b) very fast
be ignored completely c) slow
c) the request will be not be placed d) very slow
d) none of the mentioned
Answer: d
Answer: a Explanation: None.
Explanation: None.
263. I/O hardware contains ____________
260. Consider a disk queue with requests a) Bus
for I/O to blocks on cylinders. b) Controller
98 183 37 122 14 124 65 67 c) I/O port and its registers
Considering FCFS (first cum first served) d) All of the mentioned
scheduling, the total number of head
Answer: d
movements is, if the disk head is initially at
Explanation: None.
53 is?
a) 600 264. The data-in register of I/O port is
b) 620 ____________
c) 630 a) Read by host to get input
d) 640 b) Read by controller to get input
c) Written by host to send output
Answer: d
d) Written by host to start a command
Explanation: None.
Answer: a
261. Consider a disk queue with requests
Explanation: None.
for I/O to blocks on cylinders.
98 183 37 122 14 124 65 67
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

265. The host sets _____ bit when a Answer: a

command is available for the controller to Explanation: None.
execute.
269. The device-status table contains
a) write
____________
b) status
a) each I/O device type
c) command-ready
b) each I/O device address
d) control
c) each I/O device state
Answer: c d) all of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: d
266. When hardware is accessed by reading Explanation: None.
and writing to the specific memory
270. The model in which one kernel thread
locations, then it is called ____________
is mapped to many user-level threads is
a) port-mapped I/O
called ___________
b) controller-mapped I/O
a) Many to One model
c) bus-mapped I/O
b) One to Many model
d) none of the mentioned
c) Many to Many model
Answer: d d) One to One model
Explanation: It is called memory-mapped
Answer: a
I/O.
Explanation: None.
267. Device drivers are implemented to
271. The model in which one user-level
interface ____________
thread is mapped to many kernel level
a) character devices
threads is called ___________
b) block devices
a) Many to One model
c) network devices
b) One to Many model
d) all of the mentioned
c) Many to Many model
Answer: d d) One to One model
Explanation: None.
Answer: b
268. Which hardware triggers some Explanation: None.
operation after certain programmed count?
272. In the Many to One model, if a thread
a) programmable interval timer
makes a blocking system call ___________
b) interrupt timer
a) the entire process will be blocked
c) programmable timer
b) a part of the process will stay blocked,
d) none of the mentioned
with the rest running

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c) the entire process will run 275. When is the Many to One model at an
d) none of the mentioned advantage?
a) When the program does not need
Answer: a
multithreading
Explanation: None.
b) When the program has to be multi-
273. In the Many to One model, multiple threaded
threads are unable to run in parallel on c) When there is a single processor
multiprocessors because of ___________ d) None of the mentioned
a) only one thread can access the kernel at
Answer: a
a time
Explanation: None.
b) many user threads have access to just
one kernel thread 276. In the Many to Many model true
c) there is only one kernel thread concurrency cannot be gained because
d) none of the mentioned ___________
a) the kernel can schedule only one thread
Answer: a
at a time
Explanation: None.
b) there are too many threads to handle
273. The One to One model allows c) it is hard to map threads with each other
___________ d) none of the mentioned
a) increased concurrency
Answer: a
b) decreased concurrency
Explanation: None.
c) increased or decreased concurrency
d) concurrency equivalent to other models 277. In the Many to Many models when a
thread performs a blocking system call
Answer: a
___________
Explanation: None.
a) other threads are strictly prohibited from
274. In the One to One model when a running
thread makes a blocking system call b) other threads are allowed to run
___________ c) other threads only from other processes
a) other threads are strictly prohibited from are allowed to run
running d) none of the mentioned
b) other threads are allowed to run
Answer: b
c) other threads only from other processes
Explanation: None.
are allowed to run
d) none of the mentioned 278. 1. Thread pools are useful when
____________
Answer: b a) when we need to limit the number of threads
Explanation: None. running in the application at the same time

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs
b) when we need to limit the number of threads Answer: d
running in the application as a whole Explanation: None.
c) when we need to arrange the ordering of
threads 282. What is a valid network topology?
d) none of the mentioned a) Multiaccess bus
b) Ring
Answer: a
c) Star
Explanation: None.
d) All of the mentioned
279. Instead of starting a new thread for
Answer: d
every task to execute concurrently, the task
Explanation: None.
can be passed to a ___________
a) process 283. What are sites in network topology
b) thread pool compared?
c) thread queue a) Basic cost
d) none of the mentioned b) Communication cost
c) Reliability
Answer: b
d) All of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: d
280. Each connection arriving at multi
Explanation: None.
threaded servers via network is generally
____________ 284. Which design features of a
a) is directly put into the blocking queue communication network are important?
b) is wrapped as a task and passed on to a a) Naming and name resolution
thread pool b) Routing strategies
c) is kept in a normal queue and then sent c) Connection strategies
to the blocking queue from where it is d) All of the mentioned
dequeued
Answer: d
d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: b
285. What are the characteristics of Naming
Explanation: None.
and Name resolution?
281. What are the parts of network a) name systems in the network
structure? b) address messages with the process-id
a) Workstation c) virtual circuit
b) Gateway d) message switching
c) Laptop
Answer: b
d) All of the mentioned
Explanation: None.

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286. What are routing strategies which is 290. If one site fails in distributed system
not used in distributed systems? then ___________
a) Fixed routing a) the remaining sites can continue
b) Token routing operating
c) Virtual circuit b) all the sites will stop working
d) Dynamic routing c) directly connected sites will stop working
d) none of the mentioned
Answer: c
Explanation: None. Answer: a
Explanation: None.
287. What are the connection strategies not
used in distributed systems? 291. Network operating system runs on
a) Circuit switching ___________
b) Message switching a) server
c) Token switching b) every system in the network
d) Packet switching c) both server and every system in the
network
Answer: c
d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: a
288. How is are collisions avoided in
Explanation: None.
network?
a) Carrier sense with multiple access 292. Which technique is based on compile-
(CSMA); collision detection (CD) time program transformation for accessing
b) Carrier sense multiple access with remote data in a distributed-memory
collision avoidance parallel system?
c) Message slots a) cache coherence scheme
d) All of the mentioned b) computation migration
c) remote procedure call
Answer: d
d) message passing
Explanation: None.
Answer: b
289. In distributed system, each processor
Explanation: None.
has its own ___________
a) local memory 293. Logical extension of computation
b) clock migration is ___________
c) both local memory and clock a) process migration
d) none of the mentioned b) system migration
c) thread migration
Answer: c
d) data migration
Explanation: None.

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

Answer: a Answer: b
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

294. Processes on the remote systems are 298. What are the characteristics of
identified by ___________ processor in distributed system?
a) host ID a) They vary in size and function
b) host name and identifier b) They are same in size and function
c) identifier c) They are manufactured with single
d) process ID purpose
d) They are real-time devices
Answer: b
Explanation: None. Answer: a
Explanation: None.
295. Which routing technique is used in a
distributed system? 299. What are the characteristics of a
a) fixed routing distributed file system?
b) virtual routing a) Its users, servers and storage devices are
c) dynamic routing dispersed
d) all of the mentioned b) Service activity is not carried out across
the network
Answer: d
c) They have single centralized data
Explanation: None.
repository
296. In distributed systems, link and site d) There are multiple dependent storage
failure is detected by ___________ devices
a) polling
Answer: a
b) handshaking
Explanation: None.
c) token passing
d) none of the mentioned 300. What is not a major reason for building
distributed systems?
Answer: b
a) Resource sharing
Explanation: None.
b) Computation speedup
297. What is not true about a distributed c) Reliability
system? d) Simplicity
a) It is a collection of processor
Answer: d
b) All processors are synchronized
Explanation: None.
c) They do not share memory
d) None of the mentioned 301. What are the types of distributed
operating system?
a) Network Operating system

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b) Zone based Operating system (CSMA); collision detection (CD)

c) Level based Operating system b) Carrier sense multiple access with
d) All of the mentioned collision avoidance
c) Message slots
Answer: a
d) All of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: d
302. What are characteristic of Network
Explanation: None.
Operating Systems?
a) Users are aware of multiplicity of 306. What is a common problem found in
machines distributed system?
b) They are transparent a) Process Synchronization
c) They are simple to use b) Communication synchronization
d) All of the mentioned c) Deadlock problem
d) Power failure
Answer: a
Explanation: None. Answer: c
Explanation: None.
303. What are routing strategies which is
not used in distributed systems? 307. How many layers does the Internet
a) Fixed routing model ISO consist of?
b) Token routing a) Three
c) Virtual circuit b) Five
d) Dynamic routing c) Seven
d) Eight
Answer: c
Explanation: None. Answer: c
Explanation: None.
304. What are the connection strategies not
used in distributed systems? 308. Which layer is responsible for The
a) Circuit switching process-to-process delivery?
b) Message switching a) Network
c) Token switching b) Transport
d) Packet switching c) Application
d) Physical
Answer: c
Explanation: None. Answer: b
Explanation: None.
305. How is are collisions avoided in
network? 309. Which layer is the layer closest to the
a) Carrier sense with multiple access transmission medium?

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a) Physical a) Servers may not run on dedicated

b) Data link machines
c) Network b) Servers and clients can be on same
d) Transport machines
c) Distribution cannot be interposed
Answer: a
between a OS and the file system
Explanation: None.
d) OS cannot be distributed with the file
310. Header are ______ when data packet system a part of that distribution
moves from upper to the lower layers?
Answer: b
a) Modified
Explanation: None.
b) Removed
c) Added 314. What are not the characteristics of a
d) All of the mentioned DFS?
a) login transparency and access
Answer: c
transparency
Explanation: None.
b) Files need not contain information about
311. Which layer lies between the transport their physical location
layer and data link layer? c) No Multiplicity of users
a) Physical d) No Multiplicity if files
b) Network
Answer: c
c) Application
Explanation: None.
d) Session
315. What are characteristic of a DFS?
Answer: b
a) Fault tolerance
Explanation: None.
b) Scalability
312. Which of the following is an c) Heterogeneity of the system
application layer service? d) Upgradation
a) Mail service
Answer: d
b) File transfer
Explanation: None.
c) Remote access
d) All of the mentioned 316. What are the different ways file
accesses take place?
Answer: d
a) sequential access
Explanation: None.
b) direct access
313. What are the different ways in which c) indexed sequential access
clients and servers are dispersed across d) all of the mentioned
machines?

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Answer: d Answer: a
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

317. Which is not a major component of a 321. What are characteristic of NFS
file system? protocol?
a) Directory service a) Search for file within directory
b) Authorization service b) Read a set of directory entries
c) Shadow service c) Manipulate links and directories
d) System service d) All of the mentioned

Answer: c Answer: d
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

318. What are the different ways mounting 322. The file once created can not be
of the file system? changed is called ___________
a) boot mounting a) immutable file
b) auto mounting b) mutex file
c) explicit mounting c) mutable file
d) all of the mentioned d) none of the mentioned

Answer: d Answer: a
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

319. Implementation of a stateless file 323. ______ of the distributed file system
server must not follow? are dispersed among various machines of
a) Idempotency requirement distributed system.
b) Encryption of keys a) Clients
c) File locking mechanism b) Servers
d) Cache consistency c) Storage devices
d) All of the mentioned
Answer: b
Explanation: None. Answer: d
Explanation: None.
320. What are the advantages of file
replication? 324. _______ is not possible in distributed
a) Improves availability & performance file system.
b) Decreases performance a) File replication
c) They are consistent b) Migration
d) Improves speed c) Client interface
d) Remote access

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Answer: b b) less than the time required to create a

Explanation: None. new process
c) equal to the time required to create a
325. Which one of the following hides the
new process
location where in the network the file is
d) none of the mentioned
stored?
a) transparent distributed file system Answer: b
b) hidden distributed file system Explanation: None.
c) escaped distribution file system
329. When the event for which a thread is
d) spy distributed file system
blocked occurs?
Answer: a a) thread moves to the ready queue
Explanation: None. b) thread remains blocked
c) thread completes
326. A process can be ___________
d) a new thread is provided
a) single threaded
b) multithreaded Answer: a
c) both single threaded and multithreaded Explanation: None.
d) none of the mentioned
330. A thread is also called ___________
Answer: c a) Light Weight Process(LWP)
Explanation: None. b) Heavy Weight Process(HWP)
c) Process
327. If one thread opens a file with read
d) None of the mentioned
privileges then ___________
a) other threads in the another process can Answer: a
also read from that file Explanation: None.
b) other threads in the same process can
331. A thread shares its resources(like data
also read from that file
section, code section, open files, signals)
c) any other thread can not read from that
with ___________
file
a) other process similar to the one that the
d) all of the mentioned
thread belongs to
Answer: b b) other threads that belong to similar
Explanation: None. processes
c) other threads that belong to the same
328. The time required to create a new
process
thread in an existing process is
d) all of the mentioned
___________
a) greater than the time required to create Answer: c
a new process Explanation: None.

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332. A heavy weight process ___________ c) reduce the address space that a process
a) has multiple threads of execution could potentially use
b) has a single thread of execution d) all of the mentioned
c) can have multiple or a single thread for
Answer: d
execution
Explanation: None.
d) none of the mentioned
336. Multithreading on a multi – CPU
Answer: b
machine ___________
Explanation: None.
a) decreases concurrency
333. A process having multiple threads of b) increases concurrency
control implies ___________ c) doesn’t affect the concurrency
a) it can do more than one task at a time d) can increase or decrease the concurrency
b) it can do only one task at a time, but
Answer: b
much faster
Explanation: None.
c) it has to use only one thread per process
d) none of the mentioned 337. The kernel is _______ of user threads.
a) a part of
Answer: a
b) the creator of
Explanation: None.
c) unaware of
334. Multithreading an interactive program d) aware of
will increase responsiveness to the user by
Answer: c
___________
Explanation: None.
a) continuing to run even if a part of it is
blocked 338. ______ is a unique tag, usually a
b) waiting for one part to finish before the number identifies the file within the file
other begins system.
c) asking the user to decide the order of a) File identifier
multithreading b) File name
d) none of the mentioned c) File type
d) None of the mentioned
Answer: a
Explanation: None. Answer: a
Explanation: None.
335. Resource sharing helps ___________
a) share the memory and resources of the 339. To create a file ____________
process to which the threads belong a) allocate the space in file system
b) an application have several different b) make an entry for new file in directory
threads of activity all within the same c) allocate the space in file system & make
address space
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

an entry for new file in directory directory structure

d) none of the mentioned d) removing the portion of the file system
into a directory structure
Answer: c
Explanation: None. Answer: c
Explanation: None.
340. By using the specific system call, we
can ____________ 344. Mapping of file is managed by
a) open the file ____________
b) read the file a) file metadata
c) write into the file b) page table
d) all of the mentioned c) virtual memory
d) file system
Answer: d
Explanation: None. Answer: a
Explanation: None.
341. File type can be represented by
____________ 345. Mapping of network file system
a) file name protocol to local file system is done by
b) file extension ____________
c) file identifier a) network file system
d) none of the mentioned b) local file system
c) volume manager
Answer: b
d) remote mirror
Explanation: None.
Answer: a
342. Which file is a sequence of bytes
Explanation: None.
organized into blocks understandable by
the system’s linker? 346. Which one of the following explains
a) object file the sequential file access method?
b) source file a) random access according to the given
c) executable file byte number
d) text file b) read bytes one at a time, in order
c) read/write sequentially by record
Answer: a
d) read/write randomly by record
Explanation: None.
Answer: b
343. What is the mounting of file system?
Explanation: None.
a) crating of a filesystem
b) deleting a filesystem 347. When will file system fragmentation
c) attaching portion of the file system into a occur?

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a) unused space or single file are not Answer: b

contiguous Explanation: None.
b) used space is not contiguous
351. A process _____ lower the priority of
c) unused space is non-contiguous
another process if both are owned by the
d) multiple files are non-contiguous
same owner.
Answer: a a) must
Explanation: None. b) can
c) cannot
348. What is the mount point?
d) none of the mentioned
a) an empty directory at which the mounted
file system will be attached Answer: b
b) a location where every time file systems Explanation: None.
are mounted
352. In distributed file system
c) is the time when the mounting is done
________________ directories are visible
d) none of the mentioned
from the local machine.
Answer: a a) protected
Explanation: None. b) local
c) private
349. When a file system is mounted over a
d) remote
directory that is not empty then
_____________ Answer: d
a) the system may not allow the mount Explanation: None.
b) the system must allow the mount
353. In the world wide web, a ____ is
c) the system may allow the mount and the
needed to gain access to the remote files,
directory’s existing files will then be made
and separate operations are used to
obscure
transfer files.
d) all of the mentioned
a) laptop
Answer: c b) plugin
Explanation: None. c) browser
d) player
350. In UNIX, exactly which operations can
be executed by group members and other Answer: c
users is definable by _____________ Explanation: None.
a) the group’s head
354. Anonymous access allows a user to
b) the file’s owner
transfer files _____________
c) the file’s permissions
a) without having an account on the remote
d) all of the mentioned
system

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

b) only if he accesses the system with a translations for the entire internet
guest account c) binary to hex translations for the entire
c) only if he has an account on the remote internet
system d) all of the mentioned
d) none of the mentioned
Answer: a
Answer: a Explanation: None.
Explanation: The world wide web uses
358. Reliability of files can be increased by
anonymous file exchange almost
_____________
exclusively.
a) keeping the files safely in the memory
355. The machine containing the files is the b) making a different partition for the files
_______ and the machine wanting to access c) by keeping them in external storage
the files is the ______ d) by keeping duplicate copies of the file
a) master, slave
Answer: d
b) memory, user
Explanation: None.
c) server, client
d) none of the mentioned 359. Protection is only provided at the
_____ level.
Answer: c
a) lower
Explanation: None.
b) central
356. Distributed naming c) higher
services/Distributed information systems d) none of the mentioned
have been devised to _____________
Answer: a
a) provide information about all the
Explanation: None.
systems
b) provide unified access to the information 360. What is the main problem with access
needed for remote computing control lists?
c) provide unique names to all systems in a a) their maintenance
network b) their length
d) all of the mentioned c) their permissions
d) all of the mentioned
Answer: b
Explanation: None. Answer: b
Explanation: None.
357. Domain name system provides
_____________ 361. Many systems recognize three
a) host-name-to-network-address classifications of users in connection with
translations for the entire internet each file (to condense the access control
b) network-address-to-host-name
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

list). Answer: b
a) Owner Explanation: None.
b) Group
365. In indexed allocation _____________
c) Universe
a) each file must occupy a set of contiguous
d) All of the mentioned
blocks on the disk
Answer: d b) each file is a linked list of disk blocks
Explanation: None. c) all the pointers to scattered blocks are
placed together in one location
362. The three major methods of allocating
d) none of the mentioned
disk space that are in wide use are
_____________ Answer: c
a) contiguous Explanation: None.
b) linked
366. On systems where there are multiple
c) indexed
operating system, the decision to load a
d) all of the mentioned
particular one is done by _____________
Answer: d a) boot loader
Explanation: None. b) bootstrap
c) process control block
363. In contiguous allocation
d) file control block
_____________
a) each file must occupy a set of contiguous Answer: a
blocks on the disk Explanation: None.
b) each file is a linked list of disk blocks
367. The VFS (virtual file system) activates
c) all the pointers to scattered blocks are
file system specific operations to handle
placed together in one location
local requests according to their _______
d) none of the mentioned
a) size
Answer: a b) commands
Explanation: None. c) timings
d) file system types
364. In linked allocation _____________
a) each file must occupy a set of contiguous Answer: d
blocks on the disk Explanation: None.
b) each file is a linked list of disk blocks
368. A device driver can be thought of like a
c) all the pointers to scattered blocks are
translator. Its input consists of _____
placed together in one location
commands and output consists of _______
d) none of the mentioned
instructions.
a) high level, low level

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b) low level, high level 372. For processes to request access to file
c) complex, simple contents, they need _____________
d) low level, complex a) to run a seperate program
b) special interrupts
Answer: a
c) to implement the open and close system
Explanation: None.
calls
369. The file organization module knows d) none of the mentioned
about _____________
Answer: c
a) files
Explanation: None.
b) logical blocks of files
c) physical blocks of files 373. A better way of contiguous allocation
d) all of the mentioned to extend the file size is _____________
a) adding an extent (another chunk of
Answer: d
contiguous space)
Explanation: None.
b) adding an index table to the first
370. Metadata includes _____________ contiguous block
a) all of the file system structure c) adding pointers into the first contiguous
b) contents of files block
c) both file system structure and contents d) none of the mentioned
of files
Answer: a
d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
Answer: c
374. If the extents are too large, then what
Explanation: None.
is the problem that comes in?
371. For each file there exists a a) internal fragmentation
___________ that contains information b) external fragmentation
about the file, including ownership, c) starvation
permissions and location of the file d) all of the mentioned
contents.
Answer: a
a) metadata
Explanation: None.
b) file control block
c) process control block 375. The FAT is used much as a _________
d) all of the mentioned a) stack
b) linked list
Answer: b
c) data
Explanation: None.
d) pointer

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

Answer: b Answer: a
Explanation: None. Explanation: None.

376. _______ tend to represent a major 380. A consistency checker

bottleneck in system performance. __________________ and tries to fix any
a) CPUs inconsistencies it finds.
b) Disks a) compares the data in the secondary
c) Programs storage with the data in the cache
d) I/O b) compares the data in the directory
structure with the data blocks on disk
Answer: b
c) compares the system generated output
Explanation: None.
and user required output
377. In UNIX, even an ’empty’ disk has a d) all of the mentioned
percentage of its space lost to ______
Answer: b
a) programs
Explanation: None.
b) inodes
c) virtual memory 381. Each set of operations for performing a
d) stacks specific task is a _________
a) program
Answer: b
b) code
Explanation: None.
c) transaction
378. Some directory information is kept in d) all of the mentioned
main memory or cache to ___________
Answer: c
a) fill up the cache
Explanation: None.
b) increase free space in secondary storage
c) decrease free space in secondary storage 382. Once the changes are written to the
d) speed up access log, they are considered to be ________
a) committed
Answer: d
b) aborted
Explanation: None.
c) completed
379. A systems program such as fsck in d) none of the mentioned
______ is a consistency checker.
Answer: a
a) UNIX
Explanation: None.
b) Windows
c) Macintosh 383. When an entire committed transaction
d) Solaris is completed, ___________
a) it is stored in the memory
b) it is removed from the log file

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c) it is redone ____________
d) none of the mentioned a) Compile time
b) Load time
Answer: b
c) Execution time
Explanation: None.
d) All of the mentioned
384. A machine in Network file system (NFS)
Answer: d
can be ________
Explanation: None.
a) client
b) server Explanation: None.
c) both client and server
388. Which one of the following is a process
d) neither client nor server
that uses the spawn mechanism to revage
Answer: c the system performance?
Explanation: None. a) worm
b) trojan
385. A _________ directory is mounted
c) threat
over a directory of a _______ file system.
d) virus
a) local, remote
b) remote, local Answer: a
c) local, local Explanation: None.
d) none of the mentioned
389. What is true regarding ‘Fence’?
Answer: d a) Its a method to confine users to one side
Explanation: None. of a boundary
b) It can protect Operating system from one
386. What is Address Binding?
user
a) going to an address in memory
c) It cannot protect users from each other
b) locating an address with the help of
d) All of the mentioned
another address
c) binding two addresses together to form a Answer: d
new address in a different memory space Explanation: None.
d) a mapping from one address space to
390. What is not true regarding ‘Fence’?
another
a) It is implemented via hardware register
View Answer
b) It doesn’t protect users from each other
Answer: d c) It good to protect OS from abusive users
Explanation: None. d) Its implementation is unrestricted and
can take any amount of space in Operating
387. Binding of instructions and data to
system.
memory addresses can be done at

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

Answer: d b) Pointers are maintained for each object

Explanation: None. which can be used to revoke
c) Indirect pointing is done to revoke
391. What is correct regarding ‘relocation’
object’s capabilities
w.r.t protecting memory?
d) Master key can be used compare and
a) It is a process of taking a program as if it
revoke.
began at address 0
b) It is a process of taking a program as if it Answer: a
began at address 0A Explanation: None.
c) Fence cannot be used within relocation
395. What is false regarding Back-Pointers
process
scheme to revoke capability?
d) All of the mentioned
a) List of pointers is maintained with each
Answer: a object
Explanation: None. b) When revocation is required these
pointers are followed
392. What are the incorrect methods of
c) This scheme is not adopted in MULTICS
revocation of access rights?
system
a) Immediate/Delayed
d) These point to all capabilities associated
b) Selective/General
with that object
c) Partial/total
d) Crucial Answer: c
Explanation: None.
Answer: d
Explanation: None. 396. From the following, which is not a
common file permission?
393. Why is it difficult to revoke
a) Write
capabilities?
b) Execute
a) They are too many
c) Stop
b) They are not defined precicely
d) Read
c) They are distributed throughout the
system Answer: c
d) None of the mentioned Explanation: None.

Answer: c 397. Which of the following is a good

Explanation: None. practice?
a) Give full permission for remote
394. What is the reacquisition scheme to
transferring
revoke capability?
b) Grant read only permission
a) When a process capability is revoked
c) Grant limited permission to specified
then it won’t be able to reacquire it
account
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

d) Give both read and write permission but 401. Which mechanism is used by worm
not execute process?
a) Trap door
Answer: c
b) Fake process
Explanation: Limited access is a key method
c) Spawn Process
to circumvent unauthorized access and
d) VAX process
exploits.
Answer: c
398. What is breach of availability?
Explanation: None.
a) This type of violation involves
unauthorized reading of data 402. Which of the following is not a
b) This violation involves unauthorized characteristic of a virus?
modification of data a) Virus destroy and modify user data
c) This violation involves unauthorized b) Virus is a standalone program
destruction of data c) Virus is a code embedded in a legitimate
d) This violation involves unauthorized use program
of resources d) Virus cannot be detected

Answer: c Answer: d
Explanation: None. Explanation: Virus can be detected by
having an antivirus program.
399. What is Trojan horse?
a) It is a useful way to encrypt password 403. What is not an important part of
b) It is a user which steals valuable security protection?
information a) Large amount of RAM to support
c) It is a rogue program which tricks users antivirus
d) It’s a brute force attack algorithm b) Strong passwords
c) Audit log periodically
Answer: c
d) Scan for unauthorized programs in
Explanation: None.
system directories
400. What is trap door?
Answer: a
a) IT is trap door in WarGames
Explanation: RAM has no effect on security
b) It is a hole in software left by designer
of a system. System’s protection remains
c) It is a Trojan horse
unchanged in increasing or decreasing
d) It is a virus which traps and locks user
amount of RAM.
terminal
404. What is used to protect network from
Answer: b
outside internet access?
Explanation: None.
a) A trusted antivirus
b) 24 hours scanning for virus
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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

c) Firewall to separate trusted and 407. A process is thrashing if ____________

untrusted network a) it spends a lot of time executing, rather
d) Deny users access to websites which can than paging
potentially cause security leak b) it spends a lot of time paging than
executing
Answer: c
c) it has no memory allocated to it
Explanation: Firewall create a protective
d) none of the mentioned
barrier to secure internal network. An
antivirus can only detect harmful viruses Answer: b
but cannot stop illegal access by remote Explanation: None.
attacker.
408. Thrashing _______ the CPU utilization.
405. What is the best practice in the firewall a) increases
domain environment? b) keeps constant
a) Create two domain trusted and untrusted c) decreases
domain d) none of the mentioned
b) Create strong policy in firewall to support View Answer
different types of users
Answer: c
c) Create a Demilitarized zone
Explanation: None.
d) Create two DMZ zones with one
untrusted domain 409. RAID level 3 supports a lower number
of I/Os per second, because
Answer: c
_______________
Explanation: All live servers or workstations
a) Every disk has to participate in every I/O
are kept in a separate zone than inside and
request
outside to enhance protection.
b) Only one disk participates per I/O
406. Which direction access cannot happen request
using DMZ zone by default? c) I/O cycle consumes a lot of CPU time
a) Company computer to DMZ d) All of the mentioned
b) Internet to DMZ
Answer: a
c) Internet to company computer
Explanation: None.
d) Company computer to internet
410. RAID level _____ is also known as block
Answer: c
interleaved parity organisation and uses
Explanation: Connection from internet is
block level striping and keeps a parity block
never allowed to directly access internal PCs
on a separate disk.
but is routed through DMZ zone to prevent
a) 1
atta
b) 2

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c) 3 multiple processes
d) 4 b) for tasks where absolute priorities are
more important than fairness
Answer: d
c) all of the mentioned
Explanation: None.
d) none of the mentioned
411. A performance problem with
Answer: a
_________ is the expense of computing and
Explanation: None.
writing parity.
a) non-parity based RAID levels 415. The first linux kernel which supports
b) parity based RAID levels the SMP hardware?
c) all RAID levels a) linux 0.1
d) none of the mentioned b) linux 1.0
c) linux 1.2
Answer: b
d) linux 2.0
Explanation: None.
Answer: d
412. In RAID level 4, one block read,
Explanation: None.
accesses __________
a) only one disk 416. What is Linux?
b) all disks simultaneously a) single user, single tasking
c) all disks sequentially b) single user, multitasking
d) none of the mentioned c) multi user, single tasking
d) multi user, multitasking
Answer: a
Explanation: Other requests are allowed to Answer: d
be processed by other disks. Explanation: None.

413. The overall I/O rate in RAID level 4 is 417. Which one of the following is not a
____________ linux distribution?
a) low a) debian
b) very low b) gentoo
c) high c) open SUSE
d) none of the mentioned d) multics

Answer: c Answer: d
Explanation: All disks can be read in parallel. Explanation: None.

414. Linux uses a time-sharing algorithm 418. In distributed systems, a logical clock is
___________ associated with ______________
a) to pair preemptive scheduling between a) each instruction

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 System Software and Operating System Unit – 5 MCQs

b) each process 422. For proper synchronization in

c) each register distributed systems ____________
d) none of the mentioned a) prevention from the deadlock is must
b) prevention from the starvation is must
Answer: b
c) prevention from the deadlock &
Explanation: None.
starvation is must
419. If timestamps of two events are same, d) none of the mentioned
then the events are ____________
Answer: c
a) concurrent
Explanation: None.
b) non-concurrent
c) monotonic
d) non-monotonic

Answer: a
Explanation: None.

420. If a process is executing in its critical

section ____________
a) any other process can also execute in its
critical section
b) no other process can execute in its
critical section
c) one more process can execute in its
critical section
d) none of the mentioned

Answer: b
Explanation: None.

421. A process can enter into its critical

section ____________
a) anytime
b) when it receives a reply message from its
parent process
c) when it receives a reply message from all
other processes in the system
d) none of the mentioned

Answer: c
Explanation: None.

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