Operating System Syllabus Organization

UNIT I: Introduction to Operating Systems

1. Introduction to Operating Systems

o Definition and Objectives of an Operating System

 What is an operating system?

 Primary functions: abstraction, resource management, interaction with hardware

o Functions of an Operating System

 Process management, memory management, file systems, I/O management, security, and
protection

o Components of an Operating System

 Kernel, Shell, System Calls, User Interface, Device Drivers

2. Evolution of Operating Systems

o Historical context: From early mainframes to modern systems

o Key milestones in OS evolution: Batch processing, time-sharing, multi-programming, distributed

systems, cloud computing

3. Types of Operating Systems

o Batch Systems: Characteristics, jobs submitted in batches

o Interactive Systems: User interaction through commands, immediate responses

o Time-Sharing Systems: Multi-user systems with time-slicing for fair resource allocation

o Embedded Operating Systems: Specialized for specific hardware with real-time constraints

o Real-Time Operating Systems: Hard vs. soft real-time systems, timing constraints

4. Protection in Operating Systems

o Importance of security and protection in multi-user environments

o Mechanisms: User authentication, access control, auditing

UNIT II: Process Management [CO2] (8 Hrs)

1. Process Management Concepts

o Definition of a Process

 What is a process?

 Difference between a program and a process

o Process States: New, ready, running, waiting, terminated

o Process State Transitions: How processes move between states

2. Process Control Block (PCB)

 o Structure and role of the PCB in process management

3. Operations on Processes

o Suspend and Resume: Temporarily halting and restarting processes

o Interrupt Processing: How the OS handles interrupts and switches context

4. Mutual Exclusion and Concurrency

o Critical Section Problem

 Shared resources and process synchronization

 Methods for achieving mutual exclusion

o Producer/Consumer Problem: Example of synchronization

o Semaphores: Definition, usage for process synchronization

5. Inter-process Communication (IPC)

o Message Passing: Sending and receiving messages between processes

o Shared Memory: Communicating through a common memory space

6. CPU Scheduling

o Scheduling Concepts: Objectives of CPU scheduling, scheduling queue

o Scheduling Algorithms

 FCFS (First-Come, First-Served)

 SJF (Shortest Job First)

 Round Robin, Priority Scheduling, Multilevel Queue

o Algorithm Evaluation: Metrics like waiting time, turnaround time, throughput

7. Deadlocks

o System Model: Resource allocation graph

o Deadlock Characterization: Necessary conditions for deadlock

o Deadlock Handling

 Prevention: Ensure one or more deadlock conditions are violated

 Avoidance: Resource allocation policies like the Banker's algorithm

 Detection: Identifying deadlock after it occurs

 Recovery: Killing processes or rolling back resources

o Combined Approach: Using a combination of techniques for better results

UNIT III: Memory Management

1. Multiprogramming Techniques

o Fixed Partitioning: Dividing memory into fixed-size partitions

o Variable Partitioning: Allocating partitions dynamically

 2. Memory Management Techniques

o Paging: Concept of pages and page tables

o Segmentation: Dividing memory into segments based on logical divisions (e.g., code, data)

o Paged Segmentation: Combining paging and segmentation to avoid fragmentation

3. Virtual Memory Concepts

o Demand Paging: Loading pages into memory only when needed

o Page Replacement Algorithms

 FIFO (First-In-First-Out)

 LRU (Least Recently Used)

 Optimal Algorithm

o Thrashing: When too many pages are being swapped in and out, degrading performance

4. Memory Allocation Techniques

o Frame Allocation: How memory is allocated to processes

o Cache Memory Organization: Techniques for improving memory access speeds

UNIT IV: I/O Management

1. I/O Devices and Organization

o I/O Function: Interfacing with hardware, handling input and output

o I/O Buffering: Using buffers to smooth out discrepancies between I/O speeds and CPU speeds

o Direct Memory Access (DMA): Enabling devices to directly transfer data to/from memory without
involving the CPU

2. File System Management

o File Concepts: File attributes, file types

o File Organization and Access Mechanisms

 Sequential, direct, and indexed access

o File Directories and Sharing: Structuring files and sharing access

o File Implementation Issues: File allocation, management of space on disk

3. Disk Scheduling Algorithms

o FCFS (First-Come, First-Served)

o SSTF (Shortest Seek Time First)

o SCAN and C-SCAN (Elevator algorithms)

UNIT V: Case Study: The Unix/Linux System

1. Unix/Linux System Architecture and Features

o Overview of Unix/Linux architecture

o Multi-user, multitasking design

2. Unix File System Layout

o Boot Block: First block, containing startup information

o Super Block: Metadata for file system (size, free blocks, etc.)

o Inode Block: Stores metadata about files

o Data Block: Stores actual file data

o Inode Concept: Structure and function of inodes in Unix/Linux

3. Unix/Linux Commands and Utilities

o Basic commands: PATH, who, date, pwd, mkdir, cd, ls, cp, mv, rm, etc.

o File Handling: cat, more, cp, mv, rm, chmod

o Pipes and Redirection: |, >, >>, <, and file manipulation

o Filters: grep, uniq, cmp, tr, etc.

o Writing and Executing Shell Scripts: Basics of creating and running simple shell scripts

Study Plan Tips:

 Start with Definitions and Concepts: For each unit, begin with understanding the fundamental definitions
and core concepts.

 Practice with Examples: For topics like CPU scheduling and memory management, work through examples or
problems to get a deeper understanding.

 Hands-on Practice: Try using Unix/Linux commands and write simple shell scripts as you go through the last
unit. This will give you practical experience with the OS.

 Diagramming: For complex topics like memory management (paging, segmentation) and deadlock handling,
sketch diagrams or flowcharts to visualize the processes.

Let me know if you need further clarification on any topic or specific subtopics, and I’d be happy to help with study
resources or practice problems!