CH 1

Chapter 1: Introduction
Operating System Concepts – 9th Edit9on Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2013
Chapter 1: Introduction
 What Operating Systems Do
 Computer-System Organization
 Computer-System Architecture
 Operating-System Structure
 Operating-System Operations
 Process Management
 Memory Management
 Storage Management
 Protection and Security
 Kernel Data Structures
 Computing Environments
 Open-Source Operating Systems
Operating System Concepts – 9th Edition 1.2 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
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
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
Four Components of a Computer System
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 Definition
 OS is a resource allocator
 Manages all resources
 Decides between conflicting requests for efficient and
fair resource use
 OS is a control program
 Controls execution of programs to prevent errors and
improper use of the computer
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
 “The one program running at all times on the computer” is the
kernel.
 Everything else is either
 a system program (ships with the operating system) , or
 an application program.
Computer Startup
 bootstrap program is loaded at power-up or reboot

 Typically stored in ROM or EPROM, generally known
as firmware
 Initializes all aspects of system
 Loads operating system kernel and starts execution
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
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
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
 A trap or exception is a software-generated interrupt
caused either by an error or a user request
 An operating system is interrupt driven
Interrupt Handling
 The operating system preserves the state of the CPU by

storing registers and the program counter
 Determines which type of interrupt has occurred:
 polling
 vectored interrupt system
 Separate segments of code determine what action should
be taken for each type of interrupt
Interrupt Timeline
I/O Structure
 After I/O starts, control returns to user program only upon I/O
completion
 Wait instruction idles the CPU until the next interrupt
 Wait loop (contention for memory access)
 At most one I/O request is outstanding at a time, no
simultaneous I/O processing
 After I/O starts, control returns to user program without waiting
for I/O completion
 System call – request to the OS to allow user to wait for
I/O completion
 Device-status table contains entry for each I/O device
indicating its type, address, and state
 OS indexes into I/O device table to determine device
status and to modify table entry to include interrupt
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).
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
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
Storage-Device Hierarchy
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
Direct Memory Access Structure
 Used for high-speed I/O devices able to transmit

information at close to memory speeds
 Device controller transfers blocks of data from buffer
storage directly to main memory without CPU
intervention
 Only one interrupt is generated per block, rather than
the one interrupt per byte
How a Modern Computer Works
A von Neumann architecture
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
 Advantages include:
1. Increased throughput
2. Economy of scale ( parallel system )
3. Increased reliability – graceful degradation or fault tolerance
Provide service although error is occurrence ‫بنسبة األجزاء الصحيحة‬
 Two types:
1. Asymmetric Multiprocessing – each processor is assigned a
specie task.
2. Symmetric Multiprocessing – each processor performs all tasks
Symmetric Multiprocessing Architecture
A Dual-Core Design
 Multi-chip and multicore
 Systems containing all chips
 Chassis containing multiple separate systems
Clustered Systems
 Like multiprocessor systems, but multiple systems working together

 Usually sharing storage via a storage-area network (SAN)
 Provides a high-availability service which survives failures
 Asymmetric clustering has one machine in hot-standby mode
 Symmetric clustering has multiple nodes running applications,
monitoring each other
 Some clusters are for high-performance computing (HPC)
 Applications must be written to use parallelization
 Some have distributed lock manager (DLM) to avoid conflicting
operations
Clustered Systems
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
Memory Layout for Multiprogrammed System
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)
Performance of Various Levels of Storage
Movement between levels of storage hierarchy can be explicit or implicit
Migration of data “A” from Disk to Register
 Multitasking environments must be careful to use most recent

value, no matter where it is stored in the storage hierarchy
 Multiprocessor environment must provide cache coherency in

hardware such that all CPUs have the most recent value in their
cache
 Distributed environment situation even more complex
 Several copies of a datum can exist
 Various solutions covered in Chapter 17
I/O Subsystem
 One purpose of OS is to hide peculiarities of hardware devices
from the user
 I/O subsystem responsible for
 Memory management of I/O including buffering (storing data
temporarily while it is being transferred), caching (storing parts
of data in faster storage for performance), spooling (the
overlapping of output of one job with input of other jobs)
 General device-driver interface
 Drivers for specific hardware devices

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Chapter 1: Introduction

 To describe the basic organization of computer systems

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

 Depends on the point of view

 No universally accepted definition

 bootstrap program is loaded at power-up or reboot

 I/O devices and the CPU can execute concurrently

 Interrupt transfers control to the interrupt service routine

 The operating system preserves the state of the CPU by

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

 Storage systems organized in hierarchy

 Important principle, performed at many levels in a computer

 Used for high-speed I/O devices able to transmit

A von Neumann architecture

 Most systems use a single general-purpose processor

 Like multiprocessor systems, but multiple systems working together

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

The operating system is responsible for the following activities in

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

Movement between levels of storage hierarchy can be explicit or implicit

 Multitasking environments must be careful to use most recent

 Multiprocessor environment must provide cache coherency in

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