...NT1110_StudentName_Module1_Lab.doc 3/21/15 An operating system takes input in the form of zeros and ones -- bits -- and runs them through various circuits and processors, the hardware behaves according to built in rules. We define these rules using gates, which take input and produce an output in a structured way. The operating system allows complex programs to access hardware to get results. Only the hardware's physical properties can limit what programs can do. You could design an operating system by physically programming it into a computer's circuits. This would require building electrical pathways using millions of gates. But such an operating system would be slow and you would need the patience of Jonah to use it. That's why operating systems like Mac OS X and Windows are software. Software is flexible and hardware is not -- you can make changes to software with updates. To do the same with hardware would mean switching out physical chips and circuit boards. Operating systems are like the manager for a computer, it’s the job of the OS to monitor what software needs and what the hardware can provide. When you run applications on your computer, the OS allocates the resources necessary to complete the task. That can include processing power, memory and computer storage access, among other things. Ideally the OS will make sure that your computer's hardware is never overtaxed. ...
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...ZETECH UNIVERSITY NAME: RUTERE JOAN WANJA REG. NO: DBIT-02-0035/2015 SCHOOL: I.T COURSE: DBIT UNIT NAME: OPERATING SYSTEMS TASK: CAT 2 LECTURER: MR FRED 1. Context Switching It is the process of storing of storing and restoring the state (context) of a process or thread so that the execution can be resumed from the same point at a later time. There are three potential triggers for a context switch: • Multitasking: Most commonly, within some scheduling scheme, one process needs to be switched out of the CPU so another process can run.This context switch can be triggered by the process making itself unrunnable, such as by waiting for an I/O or synchronization operation to complete. On a pre-emptive multitasking system, the scheduler may also switch out processes from being starved of CPU time, preemptive schedulers often configure a timer interrupt to fire when a process exceeds its time slice.This interrupt ensures that the scheduler will gain control to perform a context switch. • Interrupt Handling Modern architectures are interrupt driven.This means that if the CPU requests data from a disk, for example, it does not need to busy-wait until the read is over, it can issue the request and continue with some other execution. When the read is over, the CPU can be interrupted and presented with the read. For interrupts, a program called an interrupt handler that handles the interrupt from the disk. When an interrupt occurs...
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...Researching operating systems I am choosing Windows XP for the basic low end computer because the system requirements are fairly low and it will work on just about any personal computer that is being used today. The operating system I am choosing for the high end computer is Windows 7. Its requirements are tailor-made more for the newer and higher end computers. Some of the computers that are out there will not be able to run windows 7. Windows XP system requirements are a Pentium 233 megahertz processor, at least 64 megabytes of system memory, at least 1.5 gigabytes of hard disk space, CD-ROM or DVD drive, video adaptor, and a monitor with a screen resolution of 800x600 or higher. Windows XP doesn’t have a very memory intensive graphical user interface either. If you are upgrading from Windows 2000 you probably won’t notice too much of a difference as far as the general look and feel of the operating system. You will have to activate it soon after you install the program to keep it from deactivating. Windows XP also has better security and protection than previous versions. Windows 7 system requirements are 1 gigahertz or faster processor, 1 gigabyte of system memory for 32 bit systems and 2 gigabytes of system memory for 64 bit systems, 16 gigabytes of hard disk space for 32 bit systems and 20 gigabytes of hard disk space for 64 bit systems, support for DirectX 9 with windows display driver model 1.0 and 128 megabytes of memory for the Aero theme desktop, a monitor...
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...Operating Systems Vulnerabilities NAME POS 355 18 Mar 15 Carol Eichling Operating Systems Vulnerabilities As the reported number of security vulnerabilities continued to spike in the 20th century let us define a security flaw. A security flaw according to "Apple Security Flaw: What You Need To Know" (2014), "The flaw is in the way the operating system provides the essential services, known as secure sockets layer (SSL) or transport layer security (TLS). These two layers of security allow information to be transmitted worry-free between browsers and web servers, or between a mail server and mail client. SSL is in the form of encryption, which scrambles data sent over a network to keep it private. The second layer involves verification that the server is authentic." With the heighten computer security regarding vulnerabilities, the increase of user awareness and training users to not click on particular links is difficult yet feasible. Although most operating system has computer security protection, the tasks of protecting the systems from vulnerabilities are a daunting task because the operating systems are unique. Security flaw in Microsoft and Mac OS X® A known security flaw in Windows is called the Freak. The Freak security flaw allowed hackers to create a simulated middle person attacks on the encrypted secure sockets layer and transport layer of a security connections. It was discovered that hackers could force websites to weaken the system encryption...
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...Operating systems What an operating system does The operating system is software, an operating system makes a computer come alive. When a computer is first built it is effectively cut-off from the world as it cannot receive input or provide output. Without an operating system a computer cannot work efficiently. The operating system has three main tasks to do: Manage the computer resources: Input and output functions of the computer are controlled by the operating system. The operating system has to manage the CPU, how memory is allocation , access to disk drives, and many other tasks. Interact with the user: All computers need someone to interact with it, to control it . It is the operating system's task to provide a means of doing this which is easy, consistent, flexible and structured. An operating system also allows the user of the computer to make changes as well. Run applications: Application packages, such as word processors or spreadsheets, are what most users use on their computers, for most it is essential for their daily use of computers . The operating system provides a means of executing them, and provides the programs with tools and services. These include commands from retrieving data from a hard disk, or even to send data to a printer. LINUX The history of Linux began in 1991 with the commencement of a personal project by a student who was called Linus Torvalds. He studied at the University or Helsinki and this is where he created the...
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...------------------------------------------------- BCN 2053 – OPERATING SYSTEMS – Assignment 1 ------------------------------------------------- Top of Form INSTRUCTIONS – Detail instructions is given below, please follow accordingly. This assignment carries a total of 10 marks. When we talk about operating systems, the most popular words are Windows and Linux. This assignment is all about exploring both types of operating systems. Each group require to: 1. Draw and explain in brief the evolution of both operating systems from the beginning up to today. Explanations may include : a. Year of release b. Version release c. Features 2. Compare between this two very popular Operating Systems, Windows VS Linux in terms of : a. Memory management 1. Focus on how both operating systems handle their memory management especially on virtual memory. To support your research, you may include relevant scenario of how memory being access. 2. Explain any limitation of maximum or minimum memory required by each operating systems especially on 64bit or 32bit architecture 3. Compare and recommend which operating systems utilize its memory more efficient in terms of: i. Normal usage (everyday usage by normal user) ii. Server usage (server environment) b. Process management 4. Focus on how both operating systems handle their process management when it comes to many processes request for CPU resources. You...
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...Operating Systems Christy Kegley IT/282 3/2/2014 Carlton Foster Operating Systems * Provide a brief history of three operating systems. The top three operating systems are; Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Linux. “Windows XP is the first Windows OS to allow multiple users to log on simultaneously to the OS, each with their own applications open. Although Windows XP was first released with some bugs, the second service pack (Service Pack 2) resolved most of these problems. XP underwent three service packs. It is an extremely stable OS and was popular in both the home and corporate markets” (Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Eighth Edition, Andrews, pg. 1116). This programs allows users to do many things that others might not allow like older versions of Windows. Windows Vista is the newest version of Windows. This program is not very popular with some people because there is a lack of compatibility with other programs, also it slows performance. “The first problem is partly caused by hardware manufacturers not providing Vista drivers for their devices that were originally sold with XP drivers. The second problem means that many low end desktop and laptop computers can’t run Vista. And the slow performance of Vista is partly due to the many unnecessary features (fluff) it offers; these features weigh heavy on system resources. Vista comes in five versions: Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate. (Vista Starter...
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...DENIS In a multiprogramming and time-sharing environment, several users share the system simultaneously. This situation can result in various security problems. What are two such problems? A time sharing environment or multi programming is one in which a computer system provides direct communication between the user and the system. It allows many users to share the computer at the same time. One of the problems that may result from the fact that resources are being shared is information theft, this is because all the users are able to access the files that are being shared on the system and so one can easily copy a file and modify it without the knowledge of all the other parties. Such scenarios can result into loss of security confidentiality and integrity since the owner of a file Without being aware of the system used as time-sharing and multiprogramming, may insert or have a secret or confidential data that he wants to remain at the file and also other users may change, add, or even remove some information in the file if they want to, since they have access to all files running on the system The other problem resulting from using such systems is the fact that there could be loss of storage space. Since users have equal privileges to create and access files on the system, then there could be a possibility that the users will create numerous files and eat up the storage space on the system without the other users’ knowledge, so as time goes by, each user will occupy some...
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...The purpose and function of an operating system is, to manage software that manages the computer hardware and software resources. It also provides common services for the computer programs, an operating system is a vital part of a computer system, and most applications require an operating system. An operating system acts as a middle component between the applications and you the person who is using it, and the hardware or applications that are trying to perform any function. An operating systems starts when, you first turn on your computer and ends when you turn your computer off. Some of the functions of an operating system are, booting your computer up, an operating system manages input and output devices that you are using on your computer. An operating system also provides a graphical user interface to create a user- friendly environment for the person who is running the operating system. An operating system also manages system resources and manages data. One difference among Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems is, Mac OS X operating system is, Mac OS is the operating system used by apple for their Macintosh computers. Mac OS has an Intel processors however, it is not compatible with regular PC-hardware and PC- based operating systems, such as windows or Linux. A second difference among Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating system is, Linux is an open source program that is ever expanding. This means anyone is able to change it if they have the knowledge...
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...Operating Systems Brittany E. Best Dr. Biswajit Panja Strayer University CIS 155 December 10, 2011 Operating System You may have heard of UNIX, or maybe not. Where did this so called UNIX come from? What exactly is an operating system you ask and what is it comprised of? Read on to find out more. Birth of a New Creation: UNIX is the creation and brain child of Bell Laboratory researchers Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson. Ken Thompson was working with Space Travel. Space Travel was a program that simulated the motion of the planets in our solar system. The Space Travel program was under the operating system called Multics (Multics is one of the first operating systems that provided a multiuser environment, and ran on a General Electric 6000 Electric Computer) (Afzal, 2008). Multics was a slow and very large and required a substantial amount of computer resources. Ken Thompson found a small little PDP-7 computer (created by the...
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...Paper: Operating Systems Analysis Paper POS/355 November 7, 2011 Jeff Rugg Introduction The operating system, commonly known as OS, is the brain or the center of all computer systems. It controls the input/output and controls various tasks of the hardware. Apart from serving as a go-between for application programs and the hardware of the computer, the OS also consists of information and programs while providing general services to make sure that several software applications can operate accordingly. Operating systems can be found in almost any type of a computer device such as personal computers, supercomputers, cellular telephones, and video game consoles as stated by Linux Systems (2011). As the research was being conducted for this paper, it raised a question whether the internet uses the operating system? It proved to be a challenge to actually pin point the most common operating systems on the Internet, but as the research continued, it was obvious that these three, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux are considered to be the most common operating systems used on the Internet today. Background of each Operating System Windows Privately owned operating systems, Microsoft Windows is generally used on personal computers and as of today, the most commonly used version is Windows XP with the new version of Windows 7 for personal computers and Windows Server 2008 R2 for servers is entering the market. Mac OS X Mac OS X is a graphical operating system which is...
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...Program Execution The purpose of a computer systems is to allow the user to execute programs. So the operating systems provides an environment where the user can conveniently run programs. The user does not have to worry about the memory allocation or multitasking or anything. These things are taken care of by the operating systems. Running a program involves the allocating and deallocating memory, CPU scheduling in case of multiprocess. These functions cannot be given to the user-level programs. So user-level programs cannot help the user to run programs independently without the help from operating systems. I/O Operations Each program requires an input and produces output. This involves the use of I/O. The operating systems hides the user the details of underlying hardware for the I/O. All the user sees is that the I/O has been performed without any details. So the operating systems by providing I/O makes it convenient for the users to run programs. For efficiently and protection users cannot control I/O so this service cannot be provided by user-level programs. File System Manipulation The output of a program may need to be written into new files or input taken from some files. The operating systems provides this service. The user does not have to worry about secondary storage management. User gives a command for reading or writing to a file and sees his her task accomplished. Thus operating systems makes it easier for user programs to accomplished their task. This...
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...Operating Systems Paul Cannizzaro Jr NT1110 Week One Short Answer THE PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF AN OPERATING SYSTEM The purpose of an operating system is to provide a user interface as well as be the broker between software applications and a computer’s hardware (Rager 2013). According to Rager (2013) at a basic level operating systems allow a computer to complete simple tasks, such as connecting to a keyboard or mouse, maintaining files on a hard drive, or managing connected devices such as a printer. An operating system will make a computer secure to each different user and user specific by requiring a password for each user. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WINDOWS, MAC OS X, AND LINUX Microsoft Windows is the most preferred operating system among computer users. Microsoft Windows consists of different operating systems developed and sold by Microsoft. Windows is available on desktops, laptops, phones, servers, and tablets. The first Microsoft operating system was released in 1985 and MS-DOS was the only Graphical User Interface. The small Microsoft Company skyrocketed through the 90's and millennium with the massive growth of computers around the workplace and eventually at home. The latest Microsoft Windows operating system is Microsoft Windows 10 and was released in late 2014. Many desktops and laptops received a free upgrade courtesy of Microsoft. Microsoft 10 upgraded to stylish icons like Mac OSX. The Mac OS X is Apple specific...
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...Troubleshooting Operating Systems Arron CIS/296 Febuary 15, 2016 Steven Kernan Troubleshooting Operating Systems I have recently started in a new technical support role within the IT department of a major manufacturing organization. I am going to go through two scenarios in which I will help callers with problems occurring while using Windows XP and Windows Vista. The organization I am a part of doesn’t have a standard operating system in use. There are numerous products and versions in use across the whole company. I am going to discuss which of the operating systems I would recommend that the company makes standard between Windows XP and Windows Vista. I will also make a recommendation of which of the operating systems I would replace if I was in charge of the organization. My first scenario is that I receive a call from a user that using a Windows XP operating system and has encountered stability problems. The first thing I am going to do in order to gain more knowledge of the problem at hand is investigate the situation. I need this knowledge so I can properly troubleshoot the problem the user is having with the operating system they are using. The second thing I will do is establish a theory from the information I got from interviewing the user then I will test my theory. If my theory isn’t accurate then I will rethink the problem and figure out what occurring symptoms could be caused by, if my theory is correct I will resolve the problem. Taking preventative measures...
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...List and explain how operating system are classified (25) 2. Give a brief discussion on the structures of an operating system, monolithic and layered (25) (1).List and explain how operating system are classified (25) The operating system is the most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs. Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as: * recognizing input from the keyboard, * sending output to the display screen, * keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and * Controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. Operating systems can be classified as follows: Multi-user : Multi-user allows two or more users to run programs at the same time. Some operating systems permit hundreds or even thousands of concurrent users. This type of operating systems allows multiple users to use the system resources simultaneously. A multi-user operating system allows multiple users to access a computer system concurrently. Time-sharing systems can be classified as multi-user systems as they enable multiple-user access to a computer through the sharing of time. : Windows vista, Mac X tiger etc. Single-user: Single-user operating systems, as opposed to multi-user operating systems, are usable by a single user at a time. Being able to use multiple accounts on a Windows operating system does not make it a...
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