Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Lecture No: 1

Objectives:
• To know about operating system.
• To versatile about computer system and its structure.
• To know the components of computer system.

Key terms:
Operating systems, hardware, software, system, application program, compiler, assembler,
text editor, database, resource allocator and control programs

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

Components of a Computer System

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

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 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
• 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
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Possible Two Marks Questions:

1. What is operating system?

2. List out the components of a computer system.

3. Give the usage of bootstrap loader.

4. Discuss the important components of computer system.

Lecture No: 2

Objectives:
• To know about the computer system organization and architecture.
• To expertise about the various computer system operations.
• To explain about interrupts.
• To define I/O structure and storage structure.

Key Terms:
Interrupt vector, device types, trap, system call, system, device status table, direct memory access, sector,
tracks, disk control, caching and clustered system.

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
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

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
• Incoming interrupts are disabled while another interrupt is being processed to prevent a lost interrupt
• A trap 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 operating system 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
• Operating system indexes into I/O device table to determine device status and to modify table entry to
include interrupt

Direct Memory Access Structure

• Used for high-speed I/O devices able to transmit information at close to memory speeds
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• 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

Storage Structure

• Main memory – only large storage media that the CPU can access directly
• Secondary storage – extension of main memory that provides large nonvolatile storage capacity
• Magnetic 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

Storage Hierarchy
• Storage systems organized in hierarchy
• Speed
• Cost
• Volatility

Caching – copying information into faster storage system; main memory can be viewed as a last cache for
secondary storage

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
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• Cache size and replacement policy

Computer-System Architecture
• Most systems use a single general-purpose processor (PDAs through mainframes)
• 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
3. Increased reliability – graceful degradation or fault tolerance
Two types
1. Asymmetric Multiprocessing
2. Symmetric Multiprocessing

How a Modern Computer Works

Symmetric Multiprocessing Architecture

A Dual-Core Design
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

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
Possible two mark question:

1. Define interrupt handling.

2. Give the classification of storage structure.

3. What is caching.

Lecture No: 3

Objectives:
• To understand the structure of an operating system.
• To be able to differentiate between kernel and shell.
• To have a knowledge about different operations of operating systems.
• To know about the storage mechanism.

Key Terms:
Multiprogramming, job scheduling, swapping, virtual memory, kernel, mass storage, disk, register,
distributed system, GUI , CLI ,file , client , server, open source operating system, peer to peer and web-
based application.
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Operating System Structure

• Multiprogramming 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 by hardware

• Software error or request creates exception or trap
• 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

Transition from User to Kernel Mode

• Timer to prevent infinite loop / process hogging resources
• Set interrupt after specific period
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• Operating system decrements counter

• When counter zero generate an interrupt
• Set up before scheduling process to regain control or terminate program that exceeds allotted time

Operating System Functions

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

• All data in memory before and after processing

• All instructions in memory in order to execute
• Memory management determines what is in memory 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
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

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 directives.
• 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
• Mass storage 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
• Varies between WORM (write-once, read-many-times) and RW (read-write)

Performance of Various Levels of Storage

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Migration of Integer 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

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
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 more rights
Distributed Systems

Computing Environments
Traditional computer
• Blurring over time
• Office environment
PCs connected to a network, terminals attached to mainframe or minicomputers providing batch
and timesharing
Now portals allowing networked and remote systems access to same resources
• Home networks
Used to be single system, then modems
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Now firewalled, networked

• Client-Server Computing
• Dumb terminals supplanted by smart PCs
• Many systems now servers, responding to requests generated by clients
Compute-server provides an interface to client to request services (i.e. database)
File-server provides interface for clients to store and retrieve files

Peer-to-Peer Computing

• Another model of distributed system

• P2P does not distinguish clients and servers
• Instead all nodes are considered peers
• May each act as client, server or both
• Node must join P2P network
Registers its service with central lookup service on network, or
Broadcast request for service and respond to requests for service via discovery protocol
• Examples include Napster and Gnutella
Web-Based Computing
• Web has become ubiquitous
• PCs most prevalent devices
• More devices becoming networked to allow web access
• New category of devices to manage web traffic among similar servers: load balancers
• Use of operating systems like Windows 95, client-side, have evolved into Linux and Windows XP,
which can be clients and servers

Open-Source Operating Systems

• Operating systems made available in source-code format rather than just binary closed-source
• Counter to the copy protection and Digital Rights Management (DRM) movement
• Started by Free Software Foundation (FSF), which has “copyleft” GNU Public License (GPL)
• Examples include GNU/Linux, BSD UNIX (including core of Mac OS X), and Sun Solaris
•
Operating System Services

• One set of operating-system services provides functions that are helpful to the user:
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• User interface - Almost all operating systems have a user interface (UI)
• Varies between Command-Line (CLI), Graphics User Interface (GUI), Batch
• Program execution - The system must be able to load a program into memory and to run that program,
end execution, either normally or abnormally (indicating error)
• I/O operations - A running program may require I/O, which may involve a file or an I/O device
• File-system manipulation - The file system is of particular interest. Obviously, programs need to read
and write files and directories, create and delete them, search them, list file Information, permission
management.

A View of Operating System Services

Operating System Services

• One set of operating-system services provides functions that are helpful to the user
(Cont):communications – Processes may exchange information, on the same computer or between
computers over a network
Communications may be via shared memory or through message passing (packets moved by the OS)
• Error detection – OS needs to be constantly aware of possible errors
May occur in the CPU and memory hardware, in I/O devices, in user program
For each type of error, OS should take the appropriate action to ensure correct and consistent
computing
Debugging facilities can greatly enhance the user’s and programmer’s abilities to efficiently use the
system

• Another set of OS functions exists for ensuring the efficient operation of the system itself via resource
sharing
• Resource allocation - When multiple users or multiple jobs running concurrently, resources must be
allocated to each of them
• Many types of resources - Some (such as CPU cycles, main memory, and file storage) may have
special allocation code, others (such as I/O devices) may have general request and release code
• Accounting - To keep track of which users use how much and what kinds of computer resources
• Protection and security - The owners of information stored in a multiuser or networked computer
system may want to control use of that information, concurrent processes should not interfere with each
other
• Protection involves ensuring that all access to system resources is controlled
• Security of the system from outsiders requires user authentication, extends to defending external I/O
devices from invalid access attempts
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• If a system is to be protected and secure, precautions must be instituted throughout it. A chain is only
as strong as its weakest link.
User Operating System Interface - CLI
• Command Line Interface (CLI) or command interpreter allows direct command entry
Sometimes implemented in kernel, sometimes by systems program
Sometimes multiple flavors implemented – shells
Primarily fetches a command from user and executes it
• Sometimes commands built-in, sometimes just names of programs
• If the latter, adding new features doesn’t require shell modification
User Operating System Interface - GUI
• User-friendly desktop metaphor interface
• Usually mouse, keyboard, and monitor
• Icons represent files, programs, actions, etc
• Various mouse buttons over objects in the interface cause various actions (provide information, options,
execute function, open directory (known as a folder)
• Invented at Xerox PARC
• Many systems now include both CLI and GUI interfaces
• Microsoft Windows is GUI with CLI “command” shell
• Apple Mac OS X as “Aqua” GUI interface with UNIX kernel underneath and shells available
• Solaris is CLI with optional GUI interfaces (Java Desktop, KDE)
Possible two mark question:

1. List out the operation of operating systems.

2. What are the functions of operating systems?

3. Differentiate storage and memory management.

4. Give the services of operating system.

Possible sixteen mark question:

1. Explain about operating system functions and features.

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Lecture No: 4

Objectives:
• To know about how system respond to their call.
• To understand the parameters for system call.
• To differentiate between UNIX and windows system call.
• To give a framework of operating systems programs.

Key Terms:
API, Process control, file management, device management, information maintenance, communications,
Protection, UNIX, MS-DOS.

System Calls
• Programming interface to the services provided by the OS
• Typically written in a high-level language (C or C++)
• Mostly accessed by programs via a high-level Application Program Interface (API) rather than direct
system call use
• Three most common APIs are Win32 API for Windows, POSIX API for POSIX-based systems
(including virtually all versions of UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X), and Java API for the Java virtual
machine (JVM)
• Why use APIs rather than system calls?

• (Note that the system-call names used throughout this text are generic)

Example of System Calls

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Example of Standard API

Consider the Read File () function in the Win32 API—a function for reading from a file

A description of the parameters passed to Read File ()

• HANDLE file—the file to be read
• LPVOID buffer—a buffer where the data will be read into and written from
• DWORD bytes To Read—the number of bytes to be read into the buffer
• LPDWORD bytes Read—the number of bytes read during the last read
• LPOVERLAPPED —indicates if overlapped I/O is being used

System Call Implementation

• Typically, a number associated with each system call

• System-call interface maintains a table indexed according to these
• Numbers
• The system call interface invokes intended system call in OS kernel and returns status of the system call
and any return values
• The caller need know nothing about how the system call is implemented
• Just needs to obey API and understand what OS will do as a result call
• Most details of OS interface hidden from programmer by API
Managed by run-time support library (set of functions built into libraries included with compiler)

API – System Call – OS Relationship

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Standard C Library Example

System Call Parameter Passing

• Often, more information is required than simply identity of desired system call
• Exact type and amount of information vary according to OS and call
• Three general methods used to pass parameters to the OS
• Simplest: pass the parameters in registers
 In some cases, may be more parameters than registers
• Parameters stored in a block, or table, in memory, and address of block passed as a parameter in a
register
This approach taken by Linux and Solaris
• Parameters placed, or pushed, onto the stack by the program and popped off the stack by the operating
system
• Block and stack methods do not limit the number or length of parameters being passed

Parameter Passing via Table

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Types of System Calls

• Process control
• File management
• Device management
• Information maintenance
• Communications
• Protection
Examples of Windows and UNIX System Calls

MS-DOS execution

(a) At system startup (b) running a program

FreeBSD Running Multiple Programs

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

System Programs
System programs provide a convenient environment for program development and execution. The can be
divided into:
• File manipulation
• Status information
• File modification
• Programming language support
• Program loading and execution
• Communications
• Application programs
Most users’ view of the operation system is defined by system programs, not the actual system calls
• Provide a convenient environment for program development and execution
• Some of them are simply user interfaces to system calls; others are considerably more complex
• File management - Create, delete, copy, rename, print, dump, list, and generally manipulate files and
directories
• Status information
• Some ask the system for info - date, time, amount of available memory, disk space, number of users
• Others provide detailed performance, logging, and debugging information
• Typically, these programs format and print the output to the terminal or other output devices
• Some systems implement a registry - used to store and retrieve configuration information
File modification
• Text editors to create and modify files
• Special commands to search contents of files or perform transformations of the text
• Programming-language support - Compilers, assemblers, debuggers and interpreters sometimes
provided
• Program loading and execution- Absolute loaders, relocatable loaders, linkage editors, and overlay-
loaders, debugging systems for higher-level and machine language
• Communications - Provide the mechanism for creating virtual connections among processes, users, and
computer systems
• Allow users to send messages to one another’s screens, browse web pages, send electronic-mail
messages, log in remotely, transfer files from one machine to another
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Operating System Design and Implementation

• Design and Implementation of OS not “solvable”, but some approaches have proven successful
• Internal structure of different Operating Systems can vary widely
• Start by defining goals and specifications
• Affected by choice of hardware, type of system
• User goals and System goals
• User goals – operating system should be convenient to use, easy to learn, reliable, safe, and fast
• System goals – operating system should be easy to design, implement, and maintain, as well as flexible,
reliable, error-free, and efficient
• Important principle to separate
• Policy: What will be done?
Mechanism: How to do it?
• Mechanisms determine how to do something, policies decide what will be done
• The separation of policy from mechanism is a very important principle, it allows maximum flexibility if
policy decisions are to be changed later

Possible two mark question:

1. What is system call and give its types.

2. Define system programs.

3. Write about operating system implementation.

Possible sixteen mark question:

1. Describe in detail about system call types and its mechanism.

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Lecture No: 5

Objectives:
• To know about kernel and their functionalities.
• To understand the concept of layered operating system.
• To distinguish between micro kernel and mac-os.
• To define about the core Solaris kernel.

Key Terms:
ROM, BIOS, BSD, application program, layer, user, mach, modules, streams and file system.

System Structure

• MS-DOS – written to provide the most functionality in the least space

• Not divided into modules
• Although MS-DOS has some structure, its interfaces and levels of Functionality are not well separated

MS-DOS Layer Structure

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Layered Approach

• The operating system is divided into a number of layers (levels), each built on top of lower layers. The
bottom layer (layer 0), is the hardware; the highest (layer N) is the user interface.
• With modularity, layers are selected such that each uses functions (operations) and services of only
lower-level layers

Traditional UNIX System Structure

UNIX

• UNIX – limited by hardware functionality, the original UNIX operating system had limited structuring.
The UNIX OS consists of two separable parts
• Systems programs
• The kernel
Consists of everything below the system-call interface and above the physical hardware
Provides the file system, CPU scheduling, memory management, and other operating-system
functions; a large number of functions for one level
Layered Operating System

Micro kernel System Structure

• Moves as much from the kernel into “user” space

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• Communication takes place between user modules using message passing

• Benefits:
• Easier to extend a microkernel
• Easier to port the operating system to new architectures
• More reliable (less code is running in kernel mode)
• More secure
• Detriments:
• Performance overhead of user space to kernel space communication
Mac OS X Structure

Modules

• Most modern operating systems implement kernel modules

• Uses object-oriented approach
• Each core component is separate
• Each talks to the others over known interfaces
• Each is loadable as needed within the kernel
• Overall, similar to layers but with more flexible

Solaris Modular Approach

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Possible two mark question:

1. Define layered approach.

2. What is micro kernel system structure?

3. Define modules.

Lecture No: 6

Objectives:
• To understand the concept of virtual machines.
• To know about Para-virtualization.
• To differentiate between VMware and JVM architecture.
• To have an idea of different generation of operating system.

Key Terms:
Virtual machine, JVM, mainframe, kernel, network address, i/o device, class loader, booting, boot
block, boot strap and firmware.

Virtual Machines

• A virtual machine takes the layered approach to its logical conclusion. It treats hardware and the
operating system kernel as though they were all hardware
• A virtual machine provides an interface identical to the underlying bare hardware
• The operating system host creates the illusion that a process has its own processor and (virtual memory)
• Each guest provided with a (virtual) copy of underlying computer

Virtual Machines History and Benefits

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• First appeared commercially in IBM mainframes in 1972

• Fundamentally, multiple execution environments (different operating systems) can share the same
hardware
• Protect from each other
• Some sharing of file can be permitted, controlled
• Commutate with each other, other physical systems via networking
• Useful for development, testing
• Consolidation of many low-resource use systems onto fewer busier systems
• “Open Virtual Machine Format”, standard format of virtual machines, allows a VM to run within many
different virtual machine (host) platforms

Para-virtualization

• Presents guest with system similar but not identical to hardware

• Guest must be modified to run on paravirtualized hardware
• Guest can be an OS, or in the case of Solaris 10 applications running in containers
Solaris 10 with Two Containers

VMware Architecture
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

The Java Virtual Machine

Operating-System Debugging

• Debugging is finding and fixing errors, or bugs

• OS’s generate log files containing error information
• Failure of an application can generate core dump file capturing memory of the process
• Operating system failure can generate crash dump file containing kernel memory
• Beyond crashes, performance tuning can optimize system performance
• Kernighan’s Law: “Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the rst place. Therefore, if you
write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.”
• DTrace tool in Solaris, FreeBSD, Mac OS X allows live instrumentation on production systems
• Probes fire when code is executed, capturing state data and sending it to consumers of those probes

Solaris 10 trace Following System Call

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Operating System Generation

• Operating systems are designed to run on any of a class of machines; the system must be configured for
each specific computer site
• SYSGEN program obtains information concerning the specific configuration of the hardware system
• Booting – starting a computer by loading the kernel
• Bootstrap program – code stored in ROM that is able to locate the kernel, load it into memory, and start
its execution
System Boot

• Operating system must be made available to hardware so hardware can start it

• Small piece of code – bootstrap loader, locates the kernel, loads it into memory, and starts it
• Sometimes two-step process where boot block at fixed location loads bootstrap loader
• When power initialized on system, execution starts at a fixed memory location
Firmware used to hold initial boot code

Possible two mark question:

1. What are virtual machines?

2. Define Para-virtualization.

3. List the debugging methods for operating systems.

Lecture No: 7

Objectives:
• To define about process.
• To know about scheduling and process scheduling.
• To understand the different operation of process.
• To classify the concept of context switching.

Key Terms:
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Process , program counter , stack, data section, process state , PCB , job queue , ready queue ,device
queue, scheduler , pid , fork , exec and abort.

Process Concept

• An operating system executes a variety of programs:

• Batch system – jobs
• Time-shared systems – user programs or tasks
• Textbook uses the terms job and process almost interchangeably
Process – a program in execution; process execution must progress in sequential fashion
A process includes:
• program counter
• stack
• data section

Process in Memory

Process State

As a process executes, it changes stat

e
• new: The process is being created
• running: Instructions are being executed
• waiting: The process is waiting for some event to occur
• ready: The process is waiting to be assigned to a processor
• terminated: The process has finished execution

Diagram of Process State

Process Control Block (PCB)

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Information associated with each process

• Process state
• Program counter
• CPU registers
• CPU scheduling information
• Memory-management information
• Accounting information
• I/O status information

CPU Switch from Process to Process

Process Scheduling Queues

• Job queue – set of all processes in the system

• Ready queue – set of all processes residing in main memory, ready and waiting to execute
• Device queues – set of processes waiting for an I/O device
• Processes migrate among the various queues

Ready Queue and Various I/O Device Queues

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Representation of Process Scheduling

Schedulers
• Long-term scheduler (or job scheduler) – selects which processes should be brought into the ready
queue
• Short-term scheduler (or CPU scheduler) – selects which process should be executed next and
allocates CPU

Addition of Medium Term Scheduling

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• Short-term scheduler is invoked very frequently (milliseconds) Þ (must be fast)

• Long-term scheduler is invoked very infrequently (seconds, minutes) Þ (may be slow)
• The long-term scheduler controls the degree of multiprogramming
• Processes can be described as either:
• I/O-bound process – spends more time doing I/O than computations, many short CPU bursts
• CPU-bound process – spends more time doing computations; few very long CPU bursts

Context Switch
• When CPU switches to another process, the system must save the state of the old process and load the
saved state for the new process via a context switch
• Context of a process represented in the PCB
• Context-switch time is overhead; the system does no useful work while switching
• Time dependent on hardware support
•
Process Creation
• Parent process create children processes, which, in turn create other processes, forming a tree of
processes
• Generally, process identified and managed via a process identifier (pid)
• Resource sharing
• Parent and children share all resources
• Children share subset of parent’s resources
• Parent and child share no resources
• Execution
• Parent and children execute concurrently
• Parent waits until children terminate
• Address space
• Child duplicate of parent
• Child has a program loaded into it
• UNIX examples
• fork system call creates new process
• exec system call used after a fork to replace the process’ memory space with a new program

Process Creation
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

C Program Forking Separate Process

int main()
{
pid_t pid;
/* fork another process */
pid = fork();
if (pid < 0) { /* error occurred */
fprintf(stderr, "Fork Failed");
exit(-1);
}
else if (pid == 0) { /* child process */
execlp("/bin/ls", "ls", NULL);
}
else { /* parent process */
/* parent will wait for the child to complete */
wait (NULL);
printf ("Child Complete");
exit(0);
}
}

A tree of processes on a typical Solaris

Process Termination
• Process executes last statement and asks the operating system to delete it (exit)
• Output data from child to parent (via wait)
• Process’ resources are deallocated by operating system
• Parent may terminate execution of children processes (abort)
• Child has exceeded allocated resources
• Task assigned to child is no longer required
• If parent is exiting
Some operating system do not allow child to continue if its parent terminates
All children terminated - cascading termination
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Interprocess Communication
• Processes within a system may be independent or cooperating
• Cooperating process can affect or be affected by other processes, including sharing data
• Reasons for cooperating processes:
• Information sharing
• Computation speedup
• Modularity
• Convenience
• Cooperating processes need Interprocess Communication (IPC)
• Two models of IPC
• Shared memory
• Message passing

Communications Models

Possible two mark question:

1. Define process concept.

2. List out the process states.

3. Give the components of PCB.

Lecture No: 8
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Objectives:
• To learn about cooperating processes.
• To clear the producer and consumer problem.
• To differentiate between independent and cooperating process.
• To understand the concept of how communication are passed between processes.
• To differentiate between direct and indirect communication.
• To know about the usage of buffering.

Key Terms:
Bounded buffer, unbounded buffer, shared memory, modularity, information, producer and consumer,
IPC, send, receive, mail-box, direct and indirect, zero capacity, bounded capacity, unbounded capacity,
client, server and communication port.

Cooperating Processes

• Independent process cannot affect or be affected by the execution of another process

• Cooperating process can affect or be affected by the execution of another process
Advantages of process cooperation
• Information sharing
• Computation speed-up
• Modularity
• Convenience
Producer-Consumer Problem

• Paradigm for cooperating processes, producer process produces information that is consumed by a
consumer process
• unbounded-buffer places no practical limit on the size of the buffer
• bounded-buffer assumes that there is a fixed buffer size
Bounded-Buffer – Shared-Memory Solution

Shared data
#define BUFFER_SIZE 10
typedef struct {
...
} item;
item buffer[BUFFER_SIZE];
int in = 0;
int out = 0;
Solution is correct, but can only use BUFFER_SIZE-1 elements

Bounded-Buffer – Producer
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

while (true) {
/* Produce an item */
while (((in = (in + 1) % BUFFER SIZE count) == out)
; /* do nothing -- no free buffers */
buffer[in] = item;
in = (in + 1) % BUFFER SIZE;
}

Bounded Buffer – Consumer

while (true) {
while (in == out)
; // do nothing -- nothing to consume
// remove an item from the buffer
item = buffer[out];
out = (out + 1) % BUFFER SIZE;
return item;
}

Interprocess Communication – Message Passing

• Mechanism for processes to communicate and to synchronize their actions

• Message system – processes communicate with each other without resorting to shared variables
• IPC facility provides two operations:
• send(message) – message size fixed or variable
• receive(message)
• If P and Q wish to communicate, they need to:
• establish a communication link between them
• exchange messages via send/receive
• Implementation of communication link
• physical (e.g., shared memory, hardware bus)
• logical (e.g., logical properties)
Direct Communication
• Processes must name each other explicitly:
• send (P, message) – send a message to process P
• receive(Q, message) – receive a message from process Q
• Properties of communication link
• Links are established automatically
• A link is associated with exactly one pair of communicating processes
• Between each pair there exists exactly one link
• The link may be unidirectional, but is usually bi-directional

Indirect Communication
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• Messages are directed and received from mailboxes (also referred to as ports)
• Each mailbox has a unique id
• Processes can communicate only if they share a mailbox
• Properties of communication link
• Link established only if processes share a common mailbox
• A link may be associated with many processes
• Each pair of processes may share several communication links
• Link may be unidirectional or bi-directional
• Operations
• create a new mailbox
• send and receive messages through mailbox
• destroy a mailbox
• Primitives are defined as:
• send(A, message) – send a message to mailbox A
• receive(A, message) – receive a message from mailbox A
• Mailbox sharing
• P1, P2, and P3 share mailbox A
• P1, sends; P2 and P3 receive
• Who gets the message?
• Solutions
• Allow a link to be associated with at most two processes
• Allow only one process at a time to execute a receive operation
• Allow the system to select arbitrarily the receiver. Sender is notified who the receiver was.
Synchronization

• Message passing may be either blocking or non-blocking

• Blocking is considered synchronous
• Blocking send has the sender block until the message is received
• Blocking receive has the receiver block until a message is available
• Non-blocking is considered asynchronous
• Non-blocking send has the sender send the message and continue
• Non-blocking receive has the receiver receive a valid message or null

Buffering
Queue of messages attached to the link; implemented in one of three ways
1. Zero capacity – 0 messages
Sender must wait for receiver (rendezvous)
2. Bounded capacity – finite length of n messages
Sender must wait if link full
3. Unbounded capacity – infinite length
Sender never waits
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Examples of IPC Systems - POSIX

• POSIX Shared Memory
• Process first creates shared memory segment
• segment id = shmget(IPC PRIVATE, size, S IRUSR | S IWUSR);
• Process wanting access to that shared memory must attach to it
• shared memory = (char *) shmat(id, NULL, 0);
• Now the process could write to the shared memory
• printf(shared memory, "Writing to shared memory");
• When done a process can detach the shared memory from its address space
• shmdt(shared memory);
Examples of IPC Systems - Mach

• Mach communication is message based

• Even system calls are messages
• Each task gets two mailboxes at creation- Kernel and Notify
• Only three system calls needed for message transfer
• msg_send(), msg_receive(), msg_rpc()
• Mailboxes needed for communication, created via
• port_allocate()
Examples of IPC Systems – Windows XP
• Message-passing centric via local procedure call (LPC) facility
• Only works between processes on the same system
• Uses ports (like mailboxes) to establish and maintain communication channels
• Communication works as follows:
The client opens a handle to the subsystem’s connection port object
The client sends a connection request
The server creates two private communication ports and returns the handle to one of them to the client
The client and server use the corresponding port handle to send messages or callbacks and to listen for
replies

Local Procedure Calls in Windows XP

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Possible two mark questions:

1. What is cooperating process?

2. List out the steps in interprocess communication.

3. Define IPC.

Possible sixteen mark question:

1. Explain about interprocess communication.

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Lecture No: 9

Objectives:
• To know how data is transferred between client and server.
• To define the importance of socket in communication.
• To understand RMI and remote procedure call.

Key Terms
Sockets, RPC , RMI, IP address, port , java, host address , web server, stubs , client , server, marshal ,
skeleton and boolean values.

Communications in Client-Server Systems

• Sockets
• Remote Procedure Calls
• Remote Method Invocation (Java) Sockets
• A socket is defined as an endpoint for communication
•
• Concatenation of IP address and port
• The socket 161.25.19.8:1625 refers to port 1625 on host 161.25.19.8
• Communication consists between a pair of sockets
Socket Communication

Remote Procedure Calls

• Remote procedure call (RPC) abstracts procedure calls between processes on networked systems
• Stubs – client-side proxy for the actual procedure on the server
• The client-side stub locates the server and marshalls the parameters
• The server-side stub receives this message, unpacks the marshaled parameters, and performs the
procedure on the server

Execution of RPC
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Remote Method Invocation

• Remote Method Invocation (RMI) is a Java mechanism similar to RPCs
• RMI allows a Java program on one machine to invoke a method on a remote object

Marshalling Parameters

Possible two mark question:

1. Define socket communication.

2. What is RPC and give its usage.

3. List out the parameters for marshalling.

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Lecture No: 10
Objectives:
• To understand the importance and usage of threads.
• To differentiate between single and multi threads.
• To know about single core and multi core programming.
• To versatile on multithreading models.

Key Terms
• Threads, kernel, API , code , data , stack , registers, file, testing , debugging, solaris , IRIX
HP-UX, Tru64 UNIX and Thread fiber.

Threads
• To introduce the notion of a thread — a fundamental unit of CPU utilization that forms the basis of
multithreaded computer systems
• To discuss the APIs for the Pthreads, Win32, and Java thread libraries
• To examine issues related to multithreaded programming
Single and Multithreaded Processes

Benefits
• Responsiveness
• Resource Sharing

• Economy

• Scalability

Multicore Programming

Multicore systems putting pressure on programmers, challenges include

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• Dividing activities
• Balance
• Data splitting
• Data dependency
• Testing and debugging

Multithreaded Server Architecture

Concurrent Execution on a Single-core System

Parallel Execution on a Multicore System

User Threads
• Thread management done by user-level threads library
• Three primary thread libraries:
• POSIX Pthreads
• Win32 threads
• Java threads
Kernel Threads

Supported by the Kernel

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Examples
• Windows XP/2000
• Solaris
• Linux
• Tru64 UNIX
• Mac OS X
Multithreading Models

• Many-to-One
• One-to-One
• Many-to-Many
Many-to-One
Many user-level threads mapped to single kernel thread
Examples:
• Solaris Green Threads
• GNU Portable Threads

One-to-One
Each user-level thread maps to kernel thread
Examples
Windows NT/XP/2000
Linux
Solaris 9 and later

Many-to-Many Model
• Allows many user level threads to be mapped to many kernel threads
• Allows the operating system to create a sufficient number of kernel threads
• Solaris prior to version 9
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Windows NT/2000 with the Thread Fiber package

Two-level Model

Similar to M:M, except that it allows a user thread to be bound to kernel thread
Examples
• IRIX
• HP-UX
• Tru64 UNIX
• Solaris 8 and earlier

Possible two mark question:

1. What is threads and give its usage.

2. Differentiate single and multiple threads.

3. List out the usage of multicore programming.

Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

Lecture No: 11
Objectives:
• To understand thread and its library function.
• To know about threading issues.
• To capitalize on thread cancellation.
Key Terms
API, OD, JVM, UNIX, fork, exec, signal , thread pool, cancellation , deferred , kernel space, user space,
TEB , KTHREAD, ETHREAD.
Thread Libraries
• Thread library provides programmer with API for creating and managing threads
• Two primary ways of implementing
• Library entirely in user space
• Kernel-level library supported by the OS
Pthreads

• May be provided either as user-level or kernel-level

• A POSIX standard (IEEE 1003.1c) API for thread creation and synchronization
• API specifies behavior of the thread library, implementation is up to development of the library
• Common in UNIX operating systems (Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X)
Java Threads

• Java threads are managed by the JVM

• Typically implemented using the threads model provided by underlying OS
• Java threads may be created by:
• Extending Thread class
• Implementing the Runnable interface

Threading Issues

• Semantics of fork() and exec() system calls

• Thread cancellation of target thread
• Asynchronous or deferred
• Signal handling
• Thread pools
• Thread-specific data
• Scheduler activations
Thread Cancellation

• Terminating a thread before it has finished

• Two general approaches:
• Asynchronous cancellation terminates the target thread immediately
• Deferred cancellation allows the target thread to periodically check if it should be cancelled
Signal Handling
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• Signals are used in UNIX systems to notify a process that a particular event has occurred
• A signal handler is used to process signals
• 1.Signal is generated by particular event
• 2.Signal is delivered to a process
• 3.Signal is handled
• Deliver the signal to the thread to which the signal applies
• Deliver the signal to every thread in the process
• Deliver the signal to certain threads in the process

Thread Pools
• Create a number of threads in a pool where they await work
• Advantages:
• Usually slightly faster to service a request with an existing thread than create a new thread
• Allows the number of threads in the application(s) to be bound to the size of the pool
Thread Specific Data
• Allows each thread to have its own copy of data
• Useful when you do not have control over the thread creation process (i.e., when using a thread pool)
Scheduler Activations
• Both M:M and Two-level models require communication to maintain the appropriate number of kernel
threads allocated to the application
• Scheduler activations provide up calls - a communication mechanism from the kernel to the thread
library
• This communication allows an application to maintain the correct number kernel threads

Windows XP Threads

Implements the one-to-one mapping, kernel-level

• Each thread contains
• A thread id
• Register set
• Separate user and kernel stacks
• Private data storage area
• The register set, stacks, and private storage area are known as the context of the threads
Operating Systems Lecture Notes: Unit-I [Processes and Threads]

• The primary data structures of a thread include:

• ETHREAD (executive thread block)
• KTHREAD (kernel thread block)
• TEB (thread environment block
• )
•
•


Possible two mark question:

1. Differentiate Pthread and java threads.

2. List out the issues of threading.

3. Give the importance of thread pools.

Lecture No: 12
o



Revision