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Lecture-3

The document outlines the differences between Linux and Windows operating systems, highlighting aspects such as open-source status, cost, file naming conventions, and security levels. It also discusses the boot process involving BIOS/UEFI, boot loaders, and the Linux kernel, along with the role of Systemd in managing system processes. Additionally, it provides an overview of various Linux distributions and their intended user bases.

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rahul.thakurbk3000
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© © All Rights Reserved
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2 views

Lecture-3

The document outlines the differences between Linux and Windows operating systems, highlighting aspects such as open-source status, cost, file naming conventions, and security levels. It also discusses the boot process involving BIOS/UEFI, boot loaders, and the Linux kernel, along with the role of Systemd in managing system processes. Additionally, it provides an overview of various Linux distributions and their intended user bases.

Uploaded by

rahul.thakurbk3000
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Difference b/w linux and windows

S.NO Linux Windows

While windows are the not the


1. Linux is a open source operating system.
open source operating system.

2. Linux is free of cost. While it is costly.

While it’s file name is


3. It’s file name case-sensitive.
case-insensitive.

While in this, hybrid kernel is


4. In linux, monolithic kernel is used.
used.

Linux is more efficient in comparison of


5. While windows are less efficient.
windows.
There is forward slash is used for While there is back slash is used
6.
Separating the directories. for Separating the directories.

Linux provides more security than While it provides less security


7.
windows. than linux.

Linux is widely used in hacking purpose While windows does not provide
8.
based systems. much efficiency in hacking.

There are 4 types of user account


There are 3 types of user account – –

9.
(1) Regular , (2) Root , (3) Service account (1) Administrator , (2) Standard ,
(3) Child , (4) Guest

Administrator user has all


Root user is the super user and has all
10. administrative privileges of
administrative privileges.
computers.
Linux file naming convention in case
In Windows, you cannot have 2
sensitive. Thus, sample and SAMPLE are
11. files with the same name in the
2 different files in Linux/Unix operating
same folder.
system.

Choosing a Linux Distro


Distribution Why To Use

UBuntu It works like Mac OS and easy to use.

Linux mint It works like windows and should be use by new comers.

Debian It provides stability but not recommended to a new user.

Fedora If you want to use red hat and latest software.

Red hat To be used commercially.

enterprise

CentOS If you want to use red hat but without its trademark.

OpenSUSE It works same as Fedora but slightly older and more stable.

Arch Linux It is not for the beginners because every package has to be installed

by yourself.

Dual Boot :

https://www.onlogic.com/company/io-hub/how-to-dual-boot-windows-11-and-linux/
2. BIOS and UEFI
First, the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) or UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)
program kicks in once the system powers up. Usually, the BIOS contains all the code to gain
initial access to the main machine devices:

keyboard
display screen
disk drives
serial communications
However, most of these devices will have dedicated device drivers taking over once the system
boots fully.

BIOS and UEFI are firmware interfaces that computers use to boot up the operating system
(OS). Yet, the two programs differ in how they store metadata on and about the drive:

BIOS uses the Master Boot Record (MBR)


UEFI uses the GUID Partition Table (GPT)
Next, the BIOS or UEFI runs the power-on self-test (POST). The POST does a series of tasks:

verify the hardware components and peripherals


carry out tests to ensure that the computer is in proper working condition
Further, if this test finds any error, it commonly shows an error message on the screen. In case
the test fails to detect the RAM, POST triggers a beeping sound.

Finally, if the system passes the POST, it signals the start-up process to the next stage.

3. Boot Loader
Now, the BIOS or UEFI has run the POST to check the state of the machine. Moving on, the
BIOS/UEFI selects a boot device depending on the system configuration. Usually, there’s a
default boot order:

Hard drives
USB drives
CD drives
Of course, we can configure the BIOS or UEFI to choose the boot device in any order. Whatever
their order, the computer looks for the boot loader in these devices one by one.

In fact, a BIOS system has the boot loader located in the first sector of the boot device; this is
the MBR. It takes up the first 512 bytes on the disk. On the other hand, a UEFI system stores all
startup data in an .efi file. The file is on the EFI System Partition, which contains the boot loader.

Notably, the boot loader is a small program that loads the operating system. The main job of the
boot loader is to perform three actions with the kernel: locate on the disk, insert into memory,
and execute with the supplied options.
The following are some of the available boot loaders for a Linux system:

LILO
SYSILINUX
GRUB2
In general, once the computer finds the boot loader on a device, it will run it. Consequently, this
loads a larger and more complex program which eventually starts our operating system.

Let’s highlight some of the boot loaders in use with Linux.

3.1. LILO
Initially, LILO (Linux Loader) was one of the most widely used Linux boot loaders. However, it
has lost favor because it has no support for multi-boot environments and for UEFI. Also, it has
limited support for new filesystems.

Officially, the developers of LILO halted its development and support in December 2015. Hence,
the Linux Loader is old and mostly obsolete.

3.2. SYSLINUX
Equally, SYSLINUX is a boot loader for the Linux operating system, which runs on a FAT
filesystem, typical for a Windows system. In short, its goal is to ease the process of installing
Linux for the first time.

Further, SYSLINUX supports several major filesystems:

FAT
ext2
ext3
ext4
In addition, SYSLINUX can support Btrfs and XFS filesystems with some constraints.

3.3. GRUB2
Despite the many choices, almost all (non-embedded) modern Linux distributions use GRUB
(GRand Unified Boot Loader) because it’s very feature-rich:

ability to boot multiple operating systems


boots both a graphical and a text-based interface
allows ease of use over a serial cable
strong command line interface for interactive configuration
network-based diskless booting
Presently, GRUB2 has replaced its past version (GRUB), which is now known as GRUB Legacy.
Importantly, we can check for the GRUB version in our system using the following command:

sudo grub-install -V
4. Kernel
After going through BIOS or UEFI, POST, and using a boot loader to initiate the kernel, the
operating system now controls access to our computer resources.

Here, the Linux kernel follows a predefined procedure:

decompress itself in place


perform hardware checks
gain access to vital peripheral hardware
run the init process
Next, the init process continues the system startup by running init scripts for the parent process.
Also, the init process inserts more kernel modules (like device drivers).

5. Systemd
To reiterate, the kernel initiates the init process, which starts the parent process. Here, the
parent of all Linux processes is Systemd, which replaces the old SysVinit process. Following the
booting steps, Systemd performs a range of tasks:

probe all remaining hardware


mount filesystems
initiate and terminate services
manage essential system processes like user login
run a desktop environment
Indeed, these and other tasks allow users to interact with the system. Lastly, Systemd uses the
/etc/systemd/system/default.target file to decide the state or target the Linux system boots into.

6. Run Levels
In Linux, the run level stands for the current state of the operating system. Run levels define
which system services are running. Previously, SysVinit identified run levels by number.
However, .target files now replace run levels in Systemd.

Further, Systemd activates the default.target unit by default when the system boots. Let’s check
our default target:

# systemctl get-default
graphical.target
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Now, let’s see the link between run level numbers and targets:

poweroff.target, run level 0: turn off (shut down) the computer


rescue.target, run level 1: initiate a rescue shell process
multi-user.target, run level 3: configure the system as a non-graphical (console) multi-user
environment
graphical.target, run level 5: establish a graphical multi-user interface with network services
reboot.target, run level 6: restart the machine
emergency.target: emergency run level
For instance, the target value for a desktop workstation with a graphical user interface (GUI) is
5. This value stands for run level 5 which is graphical.target. Also, the run level for a server
without a GUI is 3 because the default target is multi-user.target.

In addition, we can change the target (run level) while the system runs. This change entails that
only services and other units defined under that target will now run on the system.

For example, to switch to run level 3 from run level 5, we can run the following command:

$ sudo systemctl isolate multi-user.target


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Then, to take the system to run level 5, let’s run the command:

$ sudo systemctl isolate graphical.target


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This command returns the run level to graphical.target, equivalent to level 5 for GUI.
Shell:
✽ It is the outer layer of UNIX operating System.
✽ It is the outer layer of UNIX operating System.
✽ It reads our command, verify syntax and check whether the corresponding command
related application is available or not.
✽ If everything is proper, then shell interprets our command into kernal understandable
form and handover to the kernal.
✽ Shell acts as interface between user and kernal.

Kernal:
✽ It is the core component of UNIX operating system.
✽ It is responsible to execute our commands.
✽ It is responsible to interact with hardware components.
✽ Memory allocation and processor allocation will takes care by kernal

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