COM 3610: Introduction to Operating Systems

Abstract

Description An introduction to operating system design and implementation. The operating system provides a well-known, convenient, and efficient interface between user programs and the bare hardware of the computer on which they run. The operating system is responsible for allowing resources (e.g., disks, networks, and processors) to be shared, providing common services needed by many different programs (e.g., file service, the ability to start or stop processes, and access to the printer), and protecting individual programs from one another. This course emphasizes the tradeoffs that can be made between performance and functionality during the design and implementation of an operating system. Particular emphasis will be given to four major OS subsystems: process management (processes, threads, CPU scheduling, synchronization, and deadlock), memory management (segmentation, paging, swapping), file systems, and operating system support for distributed systems. Course Outcomes • Students understand the history, necessity, and major functions of operating systems • Students are able to write system level software that uses or replicates (as appropriate) common features of modern operating systems • Students are able to write and debug properly synchronized multi-threaded code at both the process and thread levels in Linux, preventing both deadlock and starvation • Students can create, configure, and manage virtual machines using a hypervisor • Students understand, and can configure and use, the security-related features of modern operating systems Major Topics Covered in Course • Operating System structure • Processes, threads, kernel space, and user space • Deadlock, livelock, starvation, and fairness • Memory management • File systems • Virtualization • Multiprocessors • Operating systems security principles