Chapter 1: Introduction

Operating System Concepts – 9th Edit9on Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2013
 Objectives

 To describe the basic organization of computer systems

 To provide a grand tour of the major components of
operating systems
 To give an overview of the many types of computing
environments
 To explore several open-source operating systems

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 What is an Operating System?

 A program that acts as an intermediary between a user of a

computer and the computer hardware
 Operating system goals:
 Execute user programs and make solving user problems
easier
 Make the computer system convenient to use
 Use the computer hardware in an efficient manner

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 Computer System Structure
 Computer system can be divided into four components:
 Hardware – provides basic computing resources
 CPU, memory, I/O devices
 Operating system
 Controls and coordinates use of hardware among various
applications and users
 Application programs – define the ways in which the system
resources are used to solve the computing problems of the
users
 Word processors, compilers, web browsers, database
systems, video games
 Users
 People, machines, other computers

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 Four Components of a Computer System

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 What Operating Systems Do

 Depends on the point of view

 Users want convenience, ease of use and good performance
 Don’t care about resource utilization
 But shared computer such as mainframe or minicomputer must
keep all users happy
 Users of dedicate systems such as workstations have dedicated
resources but frequently use shared resources from servers
 Handheld computers are resource poor, optimized for usability
and battery life
 Some computers have little or no user interface, such as
embedded computers in devices and automobiles

Operating System Concepts – 9th Edition 1.6 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2013
 Operating System Definition

 OS is a resource allocator
 Manages all resources
 Decides between conflicting requests for efficient and
fair resource use
 OS is a control program
 Manages the execution of user programs to prevent
errors and improper use of the computer

Operating System Concepts – 9th Edition 1.7 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2013
 Operating System Definition (Cont.)

 No universally accepted definition

 “Everything a vendor ships when you order an operating
system” is a good approximation
 But varies wildly
 OS is “The one program running at all times on the computer”
usually called the kernel.
 Everything else is either
 a system program (ships with the operating system) , or
 an application program.

Operating System Concepts – 9th Edition 1.8 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2013
 Computer Startup

 For a computer to start running, when it is powered up, it

needs to have an initial program to run.
 bootstrap program is loaded at power-up or reboot
 Typically stored in ROM, generally known as
firmware
 Initializes all aspects of the system (CPU registers to
device controllers)
 Loads operating system kernel and starts execution

Operating System Concepts – 9th Edition 1.9 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2013
 Computer System Organization
 Computer-system operation
 One or more CPUs, device controllers connect through common
bus providing access to shared memory
 Concurrent execution of CPUs and devices competing for
memory cycles

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 Computer-System Operation

 I/O devices and the CPU can execute concurrently

 Each device controller is in charge of a particular device type
 Each device controller has a local buffer
 CPU moves data from/to main memory to/from local buffers
 I/O is from the device to local buffer of controller
 Device controller informs CPU that it has finished its
operation by causing an interrupt

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 Common Functions of Interrupts

 Interrupt transfers control to the interrupt service routine

generally, through the interrupt vector, which contains the
addresses of all the service routines
 Interrupt architecture must save the address of the
interrupted instruction
 An operating system is interrupt-driven

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 Interrupt Handling

 The operating system preserves the state of the CPU by

storing registers and the program counter
 Separate segments of code determine what action should
be taken for each type of interrupt

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 Interrupt Timeline

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 Storage Definitions and Notation Review
The basic unit of computer storage is the bit. A bit can contain one of two
values, 0 and 1. All other storage in a computer is based on collections of bits.
Given enough bits, it is amazing how many things a computer can represent:
numbers, letters, images, movies, sounds, documents, and programs, to name a
few. A byte is 8 bits, and on most computers it is the smallest convenient chunk
of storage. For example, most computers don’t have an instruction to move a bit
but do have one to move a byte. A less common term is word, which is a given
computer architecture’s native unit of data. A word is made up of one or more
bytes. For example, a computer that has 64-bit registers and 64-bit memory
addressing typically has 64-bit (8-byte) words. A computer executes many
operations in its native word size rather than a byte at a time.

Computer storage, along with most computer throughput, is generally measured

and manipulated in bytes and collections of bytes.
A kilobyte, or KB, is 1,024 bytes
a megabyte, or MB, is 1,0242 bytes
a gigabyte, or GB, is 1,0243 bytes
a terabyte, or TB, is 1,0244 bytes
a petabyte, or PB, is 1,0245 bytes

Computer manufacturers often round off these numbers and say that a
megabyte is 1 million bytes and a gigabyte is 1 billion bytes. Networking
measurements are an exception to this general rule; they are given in bits
(because networks move data a bit at a time).

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 Storage Structure
 Main memory – only large storage media that the CPU can access
directly
 Random access
 Typically volatile
 Secondary storage – extension of main memory that provides large
nonvolatile storage capacity
 Hard disks – rigid metal or glass platters covered with magnetic
recording material
 Disk surface is logically divided into tracks, which are subdivided into
sectors
 The disk controller determines the logical interaction between the device
and the computer
 Solid-state disks – faster than hard disks, nonvolatile
 Various technologies
 Becoming more popular

Operating System Concepts – 9th Edition 1.16 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2013
 Storage Hierarchy

 Storage systems organized in hierarchy

 Speed
 Cost
 Volatility
 Caching – copying information into faster storage system;
main memory can be viewed as a cache for secondary
storage
 Device Driver for each device controller to manage I/O
 Provides uniform interface between controller and
kernel

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 Storage-Device Hierarchy

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 Caching

 Important principle, performed at many levels in a computer

(in hardware, operating system, software)
 Information in use copied from slower to faster storage
temporarily
 Faster storage (cache) checked first to determine if
information is there
 If it is, information used directly from the cache (fast)
 If not, data copied to cache and used there
 Cache smaller than storage being cached
 Cache management important design problem
 Cache size and replacement policy

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 Computer-System Architecture

 Most systems use a single general-purpose processor

 Most systems have special-purpose processors as well
 Multiprocessors systems growing in use and importance
 Also known as parallel systems, tightly-coupled systems
 Two types:
1. Asymmetric Multiprocessing – each processor is assigned a
specie task.
2. Symmetric Multiprocessing – each processor performs all tasks

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 Symmetric Multiprocessing Architecture

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 A Dual-Core Design
 Multi-chip and multicore
 Systems containing all chips
 Chassis containing multiple separate systems

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 Operating System Structure
 Multiprogramming (Batch system) needed for efficiency
 Single user cannot keep CPU and I/O devices busy at all times
 Multiprogramming organizes jobs (code and data) so CPU always has one to
execute
 A subset of total jobs in system is kept in memory
 One job selected and run via job scheduling
 When it has to wait (for I/O for example), OS switches to another job

 Timesharing (multitasking) is logical extension in which CPU switches jobs

so frequently that users can interact with each job while it is running, creating
interactive computing
 Response time should be < 1 second
 Each user has at least one program executing in memory process
 If several jobs ready to run at the same time  CPU scheduling
 If processes don’t fit in memory, swapping moves them in and out to run
 Virtual memory allows execution of processes not completely in memory

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 Memory Layout for Multiprogrammed System

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 Operating-System Operations
 Interrupt driven (hardware and software)
 Hardware interrupt by one of the devices
 Software interrupt (exception or trap):
 Software error (e.g., division by zero)
 Request for operating system service
 Other process problems include infinite loop, processes
modifying each other or the operating system

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 Operating-System Operations (cont.)
 Dual-mode operation allows OS to protect itself and other system
components
 User mode and kernel mode
 Mode bit provided by hardware
 Provides ability to distinguish when system is running user
code or kernel code
 Some instructions designated as privileged, only
executable in kernel mode
 System call changes mode to kernel, return from call resets
it to user
 Increasingly CPUs support multi-mode operations
 i.e. virtual machine manager (VMM) mode for guest VMs

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 Transition from User to Kernel Mode
 Timer to prevent infinite loop / process hogging resources
 Timer is set to interrupt the computer after some time period
 Keep a counter that is decremented by the physical clock.
 Operating system set the counter (privileged instruction)
 When counter zero generate an interrupt
 Set up before scheduling process to regain control or terminate
program that exceeds allotted time

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 Process Management
 A process is a program in execution. It is a unit of work within the
system. Program is a passive entity, process is an active entity.
 Process needs resources to accomplish its task
 CPU, memory, I/O, files
 Initialization data
 Process termination requires reclaim of any reusable resources
 Single-threaded process has one program counter specifying
location of next instruction to execute
 Process executes instructions sequentially, one at a time,
until completion
 Multi-threaded process has one program counter per thread
 Typically system has many processes, some user, some
operating system running concurrently on one or more CPUs
 Concurrency by multiplexing the CPUs among the
processes / threads

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 Process Management Activities

The operating system is responsible for the following activities in

connection with process management:
 Creating and deleting both user and system processes
 Suspending and resuming processes
 Providing mechanisms for process synchronization
 Providing mechanisms for process communication
 Providing mechanisms for deadlock handling

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 Memory Management

 To execute a program all (or part) of the instructions must be in

memory
 All (or part) of the data that is needed by the program must be in
memory.
 Memory management determines what is in memory and when
 Optimizing CPU utilization and computer response to users
 Memory management activities
 Keeping track of which parts of memory are currently being
used and by whom
 Deciding which processes (or parts thereof) and data to
move into and out of memory
 Allocating and deallocating memory space as needed

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 Storage Management
 OS provides uniform, logical view of information storage
 Abstracts physical properties to logical storage unit - file
 Each medium is controlled by device (i.e., disk drive, tape drive)
 Varying properties include access speed, capacity, data-
transfer rate, access method (sequential or random)

 File-System management
 Files usually organized into directories
 Access control on most systems to determine who can access
what
 OS activities include
 Creating and deleting files and directories
 Primitives to manipulate files and directories
 Mapping files onto secondary storage
 Backup files onto stable (non-volatile) storage media

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 Mass-Storage Management
 Usually disks used to store data that does not fit in main memory or
data that must be kept for a “long” period of time
 Proper management is of central importance
 Entire speed of computer operation hinges on disk subsystem and its
algorithms
 OS activities
 Free-space management
 Storage allocation
 Disk scheduling
 Some storage need not be fast
 Tertiary storage includes optical storage, magnetic tape
 Still must be managed – by OS or applications
 Varies between WORM (write-once, read-many-times) and RW
(read-write)

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 Performance of Various Levels of Storage

Movement between levels of storage hierarchy can be explicit or implicit

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 Protection and Security
 Protection – any mechanism for controlling access of processes or
users to resources defined by the OS
 Security – defense of the system against internal and external attacks
 Huge range, including denial-of-service, worms, viruses, identity
theft, theft of service
 Systems generally first distinguish among users, to determine who
can do what
 User identities (user IDs, security IDs) include name and
associated number, one per user
 User ID then associated with all files, processes of that user to
determine access control
 Group identifier (group ID) allows set of users to be defined and
controls managed, then also associated with each process, file
 Privilege escalation allows user to change to effective ID with
more rights

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 Computing Environments – Client-Server

 Client-Server Computing
 Dumb terminals supplanted by smart PCs
 Many systems now servers, responding to requests generated
by clients
 Compute-server system provides an interface to client to
request services (i.e., database)
 File-server system provides interface for clients to store
and retrieve files

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 Computing Environments - Peer-to-Peer

 Another model of distributed system

 P2P does not distinguish clients and servers
 Instead all nodes are considered peers
 May each act as client, server or both
 Node must join P2P network
 Registers its service with central
lookup service on network, or
 Broadcast request for service and
respond to requests for service via
discovery protocol
 Examples include Napster and Gnutella,
Voice over IP (VoIP) such as Skype

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 Computing Environments - Virtualization

 Allows operating systems to run applications within other OSes

 Vast and growing industry
 Emulation used when source CPU type different from target
type (i.e. PowerPC to Intel x86)
 Generally slowest method
 When computer language not compiled to native code –
Interpretation
 Virtualization – OS natively compiled for CPU, running guest
OSes also natively compiled
 Consider VMware running WinXP guests, each running
applications, all on native WinXP host OS
 VMM (virtual machine Manager) provides virtualization
services

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 Computing Environments – Real-Time Embedded Systems

 Real-time embedded systems most prevalent form of computers

 Vary considerable, special purpose, limited purpose OS,
real-time OS
 Use expanding
 Many other special computing environments as well
 Some have OSes, some perform tasks without an OS
 Real-time OS has well-defined fixed time constraints
 Processing must be done within constraint
 Correct operation only if constraints met

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 End of Chapter 1

Operating System Concepts – 9th Edit9on Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2013