System Model




System Model

 A system consists of a finite number of resources to be distributed among a number of competing processes. The resources are partitioned into several types, each consisting of some number of identical instances. Memory space, CPU cycles, files, and I/O devices (such as printers and DVD drives) are examples of resource types. If a system has two CPUs, then the resource type CPU has two instances. Similarly, the resource type printer may have five instances. If a process requests an instance of a resource type, the allocation of any instance of the type will satisfy the request. If it will not, then the instances are not identical, and the resource type classes have not been defined properly.

For example, a system may have two printers. These two printers may be defined to be in the same resource class if no one cares which printer prints which output. However, if one printer is on the ninth floor and the other is in the basement, then people on the ninth floor may not see both printers as equivalent, and separate resource classes may need to be defined for each printer. A process must request a resource before using it and must release the resource after using it.

A process may request as many resources as it requires to carry out its designated task. Obviously, the number of resources requested may not exceed the total number of resources available in the system. In other words, a process cannot request three printers if the system has only two. Under the normal mode of operation, a process may utilize a resource in only the following sequence:

 1. Request. If the request cannot be granted immediately (for example, if the resource is being used by another process), then the requesting process must wait until it can acquire the resource.

 2. Use, The process can operate on the resource (for example, if the resource is a printer, the process can print on the printer).

 3. Release. The process releases the resource. The request and release of resources are system calls, as explained in Chapter 2. Examples are the request () and release() device, open() and close () file, and allocat e () and free () memory system calls. Request and release of resources that are not managed by the operating system can be accomplished through the waitO and signal () operations on semaphores or through acquisition and release of a mutex lock. For each use of a kernelmanaged resource by a process or thread, the operating system checks to make sure that the process has requested and has been allocated the resource.

A system table records whether each resource is free or allocated; for each resource that is allocated, the table also records the process to which it is allocated. If a process requests a resource that is currently allocated to another process, it can be added to a queue of processes waiting for this resource. A set of processes is in a deadlock state when every process in the set is waiting for an event that can be caused only by another process in the set.

The events with which we are mainly concerned here are resource acquisition and release. The resources maybe either physical resources (for example, printers, tape drives, memory space, and CPU cycles) or logical resources (for example, files, semaphores, and monitors). However, other types of events may result in deadlocks (for example, the 1PC facilities discussed in Chapter 3). To illustrate a deadlock state, consider a system with three CD RVV drives. Suppose each of three processes holds one of these CD RW drives. If each process now requests another drive, the three processes will be in a deadlock state. Each is waiting for the event "CD RVV is released," which can be caused only by one of the other waiting processes. This example illustrates a deadlock involving the same resource type. Deadlocks may also involve different resource types. For example, consider a system with one printer and one DVD drive.

Suppose that process P. is holding the DVD and process P; is holding the printer. If P, requests the printer and P. requests the DVD drive, a deadlock occurs. A programmer who is developing multithreaded applications must pay particular attention to this problem. Multithreaded programs are good candidates for deadlock because multiple threads can. compete for shared resources



Frequently Asked Questions

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Ans: Synchronization Hardware We have just described one software-based solution to the critical-section problem. In general, we can state that any solution to the critical-section problem requires a simple tool—a lock. Race conditions are prevented by requiring that critical regions be protected by locks. That is, a process must acquire a lock before entering a critical section; it releases the lock when it exits the critical section. view more..
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Ans: we illustrate a classic software-based solution to the critical-section problem known as Peterson's solution. Because of the way modern computer architectures perform basic machine-language instructions, such as load and store, there are no guarantees that Peterson's solution will work correctly on such architectures. However, we present the solution because it provides a good algorithmic description of solving the critical-section problem and illustrates some of the complexities involved in designing software that addresses the requirements of mutual exclusion, progress, and bounded waiting requirements. Peterson's solution is restricted to two processes that alternate execution between their critical sections and remainder sections. The processes are numbered Po and Pi. view more..
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Ans: Thread Libraries A thread library provides the programmer an API for creating and managing threads. There are two primary ways of implementing a thread library. The first approach is to provide a library entirely in user space with no kernel support. All code and data structures for the library exist in user space. This means that invoking a function in the library results in a local function call in user space and not a system call. view more..
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Ans: System Model A system consists of a finite number of resources to be distributed among a number of competing processes. The resources are partitioned into several types, each consisting of some number of identical instances. Memory space, CPU cycles, files, and I/O devices (such as printers and DVD drives) are examples of resource types. If a system has two CPUs, then the resource type CPU has two instances. Similarly, the resource type printer may have five instances. If a process requests an instance of a resource type, the allocation of any instance of the type will satisfy the request. If it will not, then the instances are not identical, and the resource type classes have not been defined properly. view more..
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Ans: Deadlock Characterization In a deadlock, processes never finish executing, and system resources are tied up, preventing other jobs from starting. Before we discuss the various methods for dealing with the deadlock problem, we look more closely at features that characterize deadlocks. view more..
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Ans: Atomicity We introduced the concept of an atomic transaction, which is a program unit that must be executed atomically. That is, either all the operations associated with it are executed to completion, or none are performed. When we are dealing with a distributed system, ensuring the atomicity of a transaction becomes much more complicated than in a centralized system. This difficulty occurs because several sites may be participating in the execution of a single transaction. The failure of one of these sites, or the failure of a communication link connecting the sites, may result in erroneous computations. Ensuring that the execution of transactions in the distributed system preserves atomicity is the function of the transaction coordinator. Each site has its own local transaction coordinator, which is responsible for coordinating the execution of all the transactions initiated at that site. view more..
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Ans: Kernel Modules The Linux kernel has the ability to load and unload arbitrary sections of kernel code on demand. These loadable kernel modules run in privileged kernel mode and as a consequence have full access to all the hardware capabilities of the machine on which they run. In theory, there is no restriction on what a kernel module is allowed to do; typically, a module might implement a device driver, a file system, or a networking protocol. Kernel modules are convenient for several reasons. Linux's source code is free, so anybody wanting to write kernel code is able to compile a modified kernel and to reboot to load that new functionality; however, recompiling, relinking, and reloading the entire kernel is a cumbersome cycle to undertake when you are developing a new driver. If you use kernel modules, you do not have to make a new kernel to test a new driver—the driver can be compiled on its own and loaded into the already-running kernel. view more..
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Ans: Disk Attachment Computers access disk storage in two ways. One way is via I/O ports (or host-attached storage); this is common on small systems. The other way is via a remote host in a distributed file system; this is referred to as network-attached storage. view more..
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Ans: Memory-Mapped Files Consider a sequential read of a file on disk using the standard system calls openQ, readO, and writeQ. Each file access requires a system call and disk access. Alternatively, we can use the virtual memory techniques discussed so far to treat file I/O as routine memory accesses. This approach, known as memory mapping a file, allows a part of the virtual address space to be logically associated with the file. view more..
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Ans: Efficiency and Performance Now that we have discussed various block-allocation and directorymanagement options, we can further consider their effect on performance and efficient disk use. Disks tend to represent a major bottleneck in system performance, since they are the slowest main computer component. In this section, we discuss a variety of techniques used to improve the efficiency and performance of secondary storage. view more..
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Ans: Recovery Files and directories are kept both in main memory and on disk, and care must taken to ensure that system failure does not result in loss of data or in data inconsistency. view more..
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Ans: Log-Structured File Systems Computer scientists often find that algorithms and technologies originally used in one area are equally useful in other areas. Such is the case with the database log-based recovery algorithms described in Section 6.9.2. These logging algorithms have been applied successfully to the problem of consistency checking. The resulting implementations are known as log-based transaction-oriented (or journaling) file systems. view more..
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Ans: Example: The WAFL File System Disk I/O has a huge impact on system performance. As a result, file-system design and implementation command quite a lot of attention from system designers. Some file systems are general purpose, in that they can provide reasonable performance and functionality for a wide variety of file sizes, file types, and I/O loads. Others are optimized for specific tasks in an attempt to provide better performance in those areas than general-purpose file systems. view more..
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Ans: Network Structure There are basically two types of networks: local-area networks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN). The main difference between the two is the way in which they are geographically distributed. Local-area networks are composed of processors distributed over small areas (such as a single building? or a number of adjacent buildings), whereas wide-area networks are composed of a number of autonomous processors distributed over a large area (such as the United States). These differences imply major variations in the speed and reliability of the communications network, and they are reflected in the distributed operating-system design. view more..
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Ans: Network Topology The sites in a distributed system can be connected physically in a variety of ways. Each configuration has advantages and disadvantages. We can compare the configurations by using the following criteria: • Installation cost. The cost of physically linking the sites in the system • Communication cost. The cost in time and money to send a message from site A to site B 16.4 Network Topology 621 • Availability. The extent to which data can be accessed despite the failure of some links or sites view more..
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Ans: Revocation of Access Rights In a dynamic protection system, we may sometimes need to revoke access rights to objects shared by different users view more..
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Ans: We survey two capability-based protection systems. These systems vary in their complexity and in the types of policies that can be implemented on them. Neither system is widely used, but they are interesting proving grounds for protection theories view more..
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Ans: Robustness A distributed system may suffer from various types of hardware failure. The failure of a link, the failure of a site, and the loss of a message are the most common types. To ensure that the system is robust, we must detect any of these failures, reconfigure the system so that computation can continue, and recover when a site or a link is repaired. view more..




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