Computer Architecture and Operating Systems

Lecture 1: Operating System Architecture

Andrei Tatarnikov
atatarnikov@hse.ru
@andrewt0301
 Operating System
A program that controls the execution of application
programs
An interface between applications and hardware

Main Objectives of an OS
Convenience
Efficiency
Ability to evolve
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 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
 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 3
Computer Hardware and Software Structure

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 Operating System Services
Program development
Program execution
Access I/O devices
Controlled access to files
System access
Error detection and response
Accounting

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 Key Interfaces
Instruction set architecture (ISA)
Application binary interface (ABI)
Application programming interface (API)

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Operating System as Resource Manager

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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 8
Memory Layout for Multiprogrammed System

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 Kernel Data Structures
Singly linked list
Doubly linked list
Circular linked list
Binary search tree
Hash function and hash map
Bitmap

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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
 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 /
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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
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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 15
 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 16
 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) 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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 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 19
more rights
 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. RISC-V 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 VirtualBox running Windows 7 guests, each running
applications, all on native Windows 7 host OS
 VMM (virtual machine Manager) provides virtualization services 20
 Virtualization
Use cases involve laptops and desktops running
multiple OSes for exploration or compatibility
 Apple laptop running Mac OS X host, Windows as a guest
 Developing apps for multiple OSes without having
multiple systems
 QA testing applications without having multiple systems
 Executing and managing compute environments within
data centers
VMM can run natively, in which case they are also the
host
 There is no general purpose host then (VMware ESX and
Citrix XenServer) 21
Virtualization

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 Different Architectural Approaches
 Demands on operating systems require new ways of
organizing the OS
Different approaches and design elements have been
tried:
 microkernel architecture
 multithreading
 symmetric multiprocessing
 distributed operating systems
 object-oriented design

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Any Questions?

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