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Linux & Windows Operating Systems

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Journal of Engineering, Computers & Applied Sciences ISSN No: 2319-5606
(JEC&AS)
Volume 2, No.6, June 2013

Linux & Windows Operating Systems

Ms. Monali Chim, M.Tech. Compter Science Dept., VJTI, Mumbai
Ms. Vasundhara Rathod , M.Tech, Computer. Science Dept., VJTI, Mumbai
Mrs. Pramila Chawan, Assistant Prefessor, Computer Science Dept., VJTI, Mumbai
Abstract
Comparisons between the Microsoft Windows and Linux computer operating systems are a long-running discussion
topic within the personal computer industry. Throughout the entire period of the Windows 9x systems through the
introduction of Windows 7, Windows has retained an extremely large retail sales majority among operating systems
for personal desktop use, while Linux has sustained its status as the most prominent Free Software and Open Source
operating system. After their initial clash, both operating systems moved beyond the user base of the personal
computer market and share a rivalry on a variety of other devices, with offerings for the server and embedded
systems markets, and mobile internet access.
Linux and Microsoft Windows differ in philosophy, cost, versatility and stability, with each seeking to improve in
their perceived weaker areas. Comparisons of the two operating systems tend to reflect their origins, historic user
bases and distribution models.
Keywords: Kernel, Linux, Operating Systems, Windows

Introduction
Linux is a Unix-like operating system that was “/media/partition-name”. This makes more sense
designed to provide personal computer users a free or because in. Linux, there is a single filesystem layout,
very low-cost operating system comparable to starting at root (“/”or “slash”) and everything is
traditional and usually more expensive Unix systems. located beneath it; for example, user files go in /home
Linux has a reputation as a very efficient and fast- (“slash home”). If you want to keep your user files on
performing system. Linux's kernel (the central part of a separate disk or partition, you don’t have an E:
the operating system) was developed by Linus drive; instead you simply mount your separate disk
Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland. To as/home.
complete the operating system, Torvalds and other
team members made use of system components II. There is no registry
developed by members of the Free Software Linux doesn’t use a single database of configuration
Foundation for the GNU Project. The researcher tried options, the way Windows does with its registry.
to give the main differences between the previous Instead, there are many individual configuration files,
operating system and windows from many view typically in a simple text format (but increasingly in
points. XML), that can be edited by hand using a text editor
if need-be. You’ll find the system-wide configuration
The Essential Differences Between Linux files in the /etc directory; your user-specific
& Windows (Beginners Level) configuration files will typically be located in hidden
directories in your home folder. This is better than
I. Drives Don’t Have Letters, They Have Windows because it means that there is no single
Mountpoints point of failure for system configuration. If one
The first thing that usually trips up people who come configuration file becomes corrupt, only that function
from Windows to Linux is that file systems aren’t breaks and everything else works fine. It also makes
assigned letters the way they are in Windows. it easy to backup configuration files — it’s the same
Instead, there is a single root filesystem whose path is as copying all other files — and to troubleshoot
“/”. If you must use the Windows analogy to help you problems: often if you ask for help on the internet,
conceptualize it, you can think of this as the C:\ the first thing people will ask for is a copy of your
drive; it’s the top of the filesystem. The Disk configuration files..
Analyzer shows your Filesystem Usage and Layout
Linux mounts new drives in folders inside the root III. Software comes from the repos, not CDs or
filesystem. You’ll notice that if you plug in a USB websites
key, it will be mounted to a path like In the Windows world, if you need to find a program
to perform a task you’ll typically have to Google for
m Blue Ocean Research 15
Journals
 it and install it using its own installer. Or, you can go
to the store and browse the CDs in the software isle. Main Differences Between Linux &
You wind up hoping that it uninstalls correctly later, Windows (Programmers Level)
and that you don’t pick up viruses from some
unknown program you found on an obscure website. I. Full access vs. no access
Popular Linux distributions, by contrast, have done Having access to the source code is probably the
away with this “hunt and peck” style of software single most significant difference between Linux and
installation, and replaced it with the concept of Windows. The fact that Linux belongs to the GNU
“software repositories.” Public License ensures that users (of all sorts) can
access (and alter) the code to the very kernel that
IV. Add/Remove Programs in Fedora serves as the foundation of the Linux operating
When you want to install a program, you simply fire system. You want to peer at the Windows code?
up the add/remove programs utility, search for the Good luck. Unless you are a member of a very select
program you need, and install it. The package (and elite, to many) group, you will never lay eyes on
manager will figure out all the requirements and do code making up the Windows operating system.
the work for you — and the same goes for when you
want to uninstall the program, too. This keeps your II. Licensing Freedom Vs. Licensing Restrictions
computer clean of unnecessary programs, and helps Along with access comes the difference between the
to make sure you don’t wind up installing some licenses. I’m sure that every IT professional could go
program that is going to steal all your personal data. on and on about licensing of PC software. But let’s
just look at the key aspect of the licenses (without
V. Don’t login as root getting into legalese). With a Linux GPL-licensed
It’s common practice for Windows users to login as operating system, you are free to modify that
the system administrator all the time. This is one of software and use and even republish or sell it (so long
the major reasons why Windows computers are so as you make the code available). Also, with the GPL,
easily infected with viruses and malware; you are you can download a single copy of a Linux
always playing God, and any program can do distribution (or application) and install it on as many
anything it wants. In Linux, the administrator is machines as you like. With the Microsoft license, you
called “root”, and you should use root access only can do none of the above. You are bound to the
when you absolutely need it. Modern distributions number of licenses you purchase, so if you purchase
and interfaces will prompt you for the root password 10 licenses, you can legally install that operating
when it’s required, such as when you try to install system (or application) on only 10 machines.
programs or modify system settings. Aside from this,
you should always log in as a regular user. You’ll III. Online Peer Support Vs. Paid Help-Desk
find that you don’t need to be an administrator user Support
all the time, and that your system survives much This is one issue where most companies turn their
longer because of it! backs on Linux. But it’s really not necessary. With
Linux, you have the support of a huge community via
VI. Help is available — and it’s free! forums, online search, and plenty of dedicated Web
Changing to Linux can be fun and educational — but sites. And of course, if you feel the need, you can
it can also be frustrating when you find something purchase support contracts from some of the bigger
that doesn’t work quite right, or when you can’t Linux companies (Red Hat and Novell for instance).
figure out how to do something you need to get done. However, when you use the peer support inherent in
One of the best parts about switching to Linux is that Linux, you do fall prey to time. You could have an
there are plenty of people who have done it before, issue with something, send out e-mail to a mailing
and who were once in the same place you are now, list or post on a forum, and within 10 minutes be
and they are more than happy to help you out. Don’t flooded with suggestions. On the other side of the
hesitate to ask for help — see my article on eight coin is support for Windows. Yes, you can go the
ways to get help with Linux for tips on where to ask same route with Microsoft and depend upon your
and how to get your questions answered. [1] peers for solutions. There are just as many help
sites/lists/forums for Windows as there are for Linux.
And you can purchase support from Microsoft itself.
Most corporate higher-ups easily fall victim to the
safety net that having a support contract brings.
IV. Full Vs. Partial Hardware Support either movable or not. With Linux, you have a room
One issue that is slowly becoming nonexistent is where the floor and ceiling can be raised or lowered,
hardware support. Years ago, if you wanted to install at will, as high or low as you want to make them.
Linux on a machine you had to make sure you hand- With Windows, that floor and ceiling are immovable.
picked each piece of hardware or your installation You can’t go further than Microsoft has deemed it
would not work 100 percent. With Windows, you necessary to go. Take, for instance, the desktop.
know that most every piece of hardware will work Unless you are willing to pay for and install a third-
with the operating system. Of course, there are times party application that can alter the desktop
when you will wind up spending much of the day appearance, with Windows you are stuck with what
searching for the correct drivers for that piece of Microsoft has declared is the ideal desktop for you.
hardware you no longer have the install disk for. But With Linux, you can pretty much make your desktop
you can go out and buy that 10-cent Ethernet card look and feel exactly how you want/need.[1]
and know it’ll work on your machine (so long as you
have, or can find, the drivers). VIII. Multilayered run levels vs. a single-layered
run level
V. Command Line Vs. No Command Line I couldn’t figure out how best to title this point, so I
No matter how far the Linux operating system has went with a description. What I’m talking about is
come and how amazing the desktop environment Linux’ inherent ability to stop at different run levels.
becomes, the command line will always be an With this, you can work from either the command
invaluable tool for administration purposes. You line (run level 3) or the GUI (run level 5). This can
could use a Linux machine for years and never touch really save your socks when X Windows is fubared
the command line. Same with Windows. You can and you need to figure out the problem. You can do
still use the command line with Windows, but not this by booting into run level 3, logging in as root,
nearly to the extent as with Linux. And Microsoft and finding/fixing the problem. With Windows,
tends to obfuscate the command prompt from users. you’re lucky to get to a command line via safe mode
Without going to Run and entering cmd (or — and then you may or may not have the tools you
command, or whichever it is these days), the user need to fix the problem. In Linux, even in run level 3,
won’t even know the command-line tool exists. you can still get and install a tool to help you out. [2]
VI. Centralized Vs. Non Centralized Application
Installation Main Differnces Between Windows &
The heading for this point might have thrown you for Linux Operating Systems (Administrator
a loop. But let’s think about this for a second. With Level)
Linux you have (with nearly every distribution) a 1- User interface
centralized location where you can search for, add, or I. Graphical user interface
remove software. I’m talking about package In Linux, a number of desktop environments are
management systems, such as Synaptic. With available, of which GNOME and KDE are the most
Synaptic, you can open up one tool, search for an widely used. In windows, window manager is the
application (or group of applications), and install that Desktop Window Manager on Windows Vista, and a
application without having to do any Web searching Stacking window manager built on top of GDI in
(or purchasing). Windows has nothing like this. With older versions. The desktop environment may be
Windows, you must know where to find the software modified by a variety of third party products such as
you want to install, download the software (or put the Window Blinds; or completely replaced, for example
CD into your machine), and run setup.exe or by Black box for Windows, or Lite Step. [3]
install.exe with a simple double-click. For many
years, it was thought that installing applications on II. Command-line interface
Windows was far easier than on Linux. And for many Linux is strongly integrated with the system console.
years, that thought was right on target. Not so much The command line can be used to recover the system
now. Installation under Linux is simple, painless, and if the graphics subsystem fails. In Windows, The
centralized. Command Prompt exists to provide direct
communication between the user and the operating
VII. Flexibility Vs. Rigidity system. A .NET-based command line environment
I always compare Linux (especially the desktop) and called Windows PowerShell has been developed. [4]
Windows to a room where the floor and ceiling are
2- Installation
 I. Ease of Installation older versions do not properly protect the kernel's
In Linux, most distributions intended for new or data structures. [7]
intermediate users provide simple graphical
installers. On Windows Server 2003 and prior, the
installation is divided into two stages; the first, text-
4- Performance
mode; the second, graphical. On Windows Vista and
1. Process Scheduling
newer, the installation is single stage and graphical.
Linux kernel 2.6 once used a scheduling algorithm
II. Device drivers
favoring interactive processes. Here "interactive" is
Linux kernels in most distributions include the
defined as a process that has short bursts of CPU
majority of drivers available as modules. They are
usage rather than long ones. It is said that a process
loaded at boot without user interaction. Most drivers
without root privilege can take advantage of this to
are included in the kernel source tree, however there
monopolize the CPU, when the CPU time accounting
are several manufacturers which distribute
precision is low. NT-based versions of Windows use
proprietary drivers. The Windows installation media
a CPU scheduler based on a multilevel feedback
usually contains enough drivers to make the
queue, with 32 priority levels defined. The kernel
operating system functional. To this end, "generic"
may change the priority level of a thread depending
drivers may be used to provide basic functionality.
on its I/O and CPU usage and whether it is interactive
[5]
(i. e. accepts and responds to input from the user),
III. Installation via Live Environments
raising the priority of interactive and I/O bounded
Almost all Linux distributions now have a live CD
processes and lowering that of CPU bound processes,
that may be used for testing, install or recovery. In
to increase the responsiveness of interactive
Windows, May be installed through the Windows
applications.[8]
Preinstallation Environment or BartPE, but only the
former is endorsed by Microsoft.
2. Memory Management Disk (Paging)
IV. Partitioning
Most hard drive installations of Linux utilize a "swap
In Linux, Most file systems support resizing
partition", a partition dedicated exclusively for
partitions without losing data. LVM provide dynamic
paging operations. This reduces slowdown due to
partitioning. All Linux distributions have bundled
disk fragmentation from general use. Windows NT
partitioning software such as fdisk or gparted. In
family (including 2000, XP, Vista, Win7) most
Windows, expanding NTFS partitions is possible
commonly employs a dynamically allocated page file
without problems, and on Vista it is possible to
for memory management. A page file is allocated on
shrink partitions as well. Dynamic Disks provide
disk, for less frequently accessed objects in memory,
dynamic partitioning.
leaving more RAM available to actively used objects.
V. File Systems
[9]
In Linux, Supported: ext2, ext3, ext4, ReiserFS, FAT,
ISO 9660, UDF, NFS, NTFS, JFS, XFS, Minux and
3. Default File Systems
GmailFS. Archives and FTP sites also can be
Linux most commonly uses the Ext4 filesystem,
mounted as filesystems. Windows supported: NTFS,
which is unsupported by Windows. Ext4 avoids
FAT, ISO 9660, UDF, and others; 3rd-party drivers
fragmenting the disk as much as possible, far more so
available for ext2, reiserfs, HFS and the Dokan (a
than NTFS. Linux can, if desired by the user, install
FUSE equivalent) User Space filesystem, which
and run on an NTFS file system - though no
allows user-space programs to mount drives. [6]
mainstream distributions do this by default. The way
the default Windows' file system NTFS works causes
3- Stability files to become fragmented, degrading the
In Linux, there are several indirection levels since all performance of the system significantly over time
applications are separated from the graphic and it requires regular defragmenting to combat this.
subsystem (X Server) which itself is detached from [10]
the Linux kernel. As a result of that and because most
device drivers are integral parts of the Linux kernel,
5- Emulation and virtualization
it almost never crashes. Windows operating systems
1. Hardware emulation and virtualization
based on the NT kernel (including all currently
VMware, Virtual Box, Xen, Parallels, Win4Lin.
supported versions of desktop Windows) are
KVM and QEMU can be used to run other operating
technically much more stable than some older
systems within Linux. VMware, Virtual Box, Virtual
versions (including Windows 3.1 and 95/98), as these
PC, Virtual Server, Hyper-V (only available on 64-bit
versions of Vista SP2, Windows 7, and Windows related elements such as capabilities versus privileges
Server 2008), Parallels, QEMU can be used to run between the Linux and Windows operating systems.
other operating systems within Windows. While the research was being conducted, we realized
that a set of common metrics is lacking to quantify
2. Binary emulation, alternative API In Linux, the security risks in general among different
Several projects including Bordeaux, Cedega, Cross operating systems. We decided to focus on the aspect
Over, and Wine attempt to implement Windows API of measurement of security risks. Specifically, this
on top of Linux. In Windows, Several projects study will examine features in the operating systems,
attempt to set up Unix-like environments in which could potentially lead to privilege escalation. It
Windows. Only Microsoft Windows Services for further proposes a set of metrics to assess this
UNIX is supported by Microsoft. Unsupported potential. The goal is to show that there is a need to
alternatives are LINA, and Cygwin. [9] quantify and measure this type potential in a much
broader domain of security issues, and to use this as a
6- Security prototype to demonstrate what can be done. A
formula is developed in the study to measure the
1. Malware severity of security risks, which exist in certain
More than 800 pieces of Linux malware had been features of different operating systems. The result is
discovered. Some malware has propagated through called the risk factor, which can be used to predict the
the Internet. However, in practice, reports of bonafide level of risks associated with the underlying
malware presence on Linux based systems are operating system features. This provides a clear and
extremely rare. Nonetheless, anti-malware tools such easy approach to assess risks involved, so that the
as ClamAV and Panda Security's Desktop Secure for responsible information technology staff can be
Linux do exist. Once malicious software is present on better informed. As an example to demonstrate how
a Windows-based system, it can sometimes be this set of metrics can help quantify the severity of
incredibly difficult to locate and remove. [11] the potential security risks, a specific feature in
Windows is examined.
2. Open vs. Closed
In Linux, Claims its platform is more secure because The essence of this study is to demonstrate a set of
all of its code is reviewed by so many people that proposed metrics for quantifying the security risks
bugs are detected (referred to as Linus's law). Anyone involved in different operating systems, and
with programming experience is free to fix bugs and comparing the risks between operating systems. The
submit them for inclusion in future releases and proof of concept code implemented generates and
updates. In Windows, Claims its platform is more demonstrates a scenario of how such risks can
secure because of a comprehensive approach to be measured using the metrics developed. The paper
security using the Security Development Lifecycle. also shows that the same set of metrics and formula
However, because Windows is closed-source, only can be used for other operating systems such as
Microsoft-employed programmers (or licensed third- Linux. Therefore, the comparison is not limited to
parties) can fix bugs. [12] only within Windows, but similar features across the
multiple operating systems can be compared. [17]
3. User Account
In Linux, Users typically run as limited accounts, Conclusion
having created both administrator (named "root") and This study strongly suggests that IT professionals
at least one user account during installation. In who are considering deployment of the workloads
Windows Vista, all logged-in sessions (even for those evaluated should consider far more than the
of "administrator" users) run with standard user acquisition costs of the technologies that they are
permissions, preventing malicious programs (and investigating. Other factors, such as strategic IT
inexperienced users) from gaining total control of the choices, company standards, IT staff skills and
system. [13] competencies, application availability, application
deployment, and performance considerations, should
Related Works be considered as part of a total platform evaluation.
Windows and Linux security models IT professionals who are considering the broader
The intent of this study, "An Approach to Analyzing strategic deployment of Linux within their IT
the Windows and Linux Security Models", was to environments, in particular, should carefully consider
provide a comparison research study of the security these findings and examine all aspects of the cost
Journal of Engineering, Computers & Applied Sciences ISSN No: 2319-5606
(JEC&AS)
Volume 2, No.6, June 2013

associated with Linux server systems. Many drivers [9] "Swap Faq". Community Ubuntu Documentation.
of cost need to be uncovered in such an examination help.ubuntu.com. 26 November 2010.
and evaluation, and the "risk/return" trade-offs of https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwapFaq.
Linux versus Windows may not be as obvious as they [10] "Why doesn't Linux need defragmenting?". 17
appear at first glance. August 2006.
http://geekblog.oneandoneis2.org/index.php/20
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[1] Jonathan DePrizio, "5 Things New Linux ing. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
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[2] http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10- [12] "Microsoft issues Vista security scorecard, gives
fundam- ental- differencesbetween-linux-and- itself an Aplus".
windows/406 http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.d
[3] "Linux vs Windows (a comparison)". 20 June o?command=view
2005. ArticleBasic&articleId=9014080&pageNumber
http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/Linux.vs.Windows =2.
.html#agui. [13] Chris Paget, “Next-Generation Win32 exploits
[5] "Nvidia driver installation procedure". fundamental API flaws”
help.ubuntu.com. [15] Oliver Lavery, “Win32 Message
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Linux Security Models"

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 Journal of Engineering, Computers & Applied Sciences ISSN No: 2319-5606
(JEC&AS)
Volume 2, No.6, June 2013
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