Unit 530: Operating Systems Fundamentals

1. Introduction to Operating Systems

• Definition and purpose of operating systems
• Roles and responsibilities
• Types of operating systems:
  • Batch
  • Time-sharing
  • Distributed
  • Real-time
  • Mobile OS
• Key functions:
  • Resource management
  • User interface
  • File management

2. Process Management

• Definition of a process
• Process states and lifecycle
• Process creation and termination
• Process scheduling algorithms:
  • First-Come, First-Served (FCFS)
  • Shortest Job Next (SJN)
  • Round Robin (RR)
  • Priority Scheduling
• Process synchronization:
  • Critical section problem
  • Semaphores
  • Mutex
• Inter-process communication (IPC):
  • Shared memory
  • Message passing

3. Memory Management

• Memory hierarchy and organization
• Contiguous memory allocation
• Virtual memory concepts
• Paging and page tables
• Segmentation
• Memory allocation strategies:
  • First fit
  • Best fit
  • Worst fit
• Thrashing and memory management issues

4. File Systems

• File concepts and attributes
• File structure and organization
• File operations:
  • Creation
  • Deletion
  • Reading/Writing
  • Searching
• Directory structures
• File system types:
  • FAT
  • NTFS
  • ext3/ext4
  • Others
• Mounting and sharing files

5. Device Management

• Overview of I/O devices
• Device drivers and their role
• I/O operations and techniques:
  • Programmed I/O
  • Interrupt-driven I/O
  • Direct Memory Access (DMA)
• Device communication and management
• Buffering, caching, and spooling

6. Security and Protection

• Security goals: confidentiality, integrity, availability
• Authentication and authorization
• Access control mechanisms
• Malware and threats
• Protection mechanisms:
  • Firewalls
  • Encryption
  • Sandboxing
• Security policies and best practices

7. Networking and Distributed Systems

• Network fundamentals and protocols
• Network communication in OS
• Remote access and remote procedure calls (RPC)
• Distributed file systems
• Synchronization in distributed systems
• Challenges in distributed operating systems

8. Performance Evaluation and Optimization

• Performance metrics and monitoring
• Bottleneck identification
• Load balancing
• Resource allocation optimization
• Scheduling improvements
• Case studies and practical tuning techniques