Operating Systems and Networking Flashcards

Flashcards about Operating Systems and Networking

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The main component of a computer that processes instructions and performs calculations; the 'brain' of the computer.

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

An internal component of the CPU responsible for performing arithmetic and logical operations.

Control Unit

An internal component of the CPU that manages and coordinates the execution of instructions.

Registers

Small, high-speed storage locations within the CPU used to hold data and instructions during processing.

Cache Memory

A small, fast memory component of the CPU that stores frequently accessed data for quick retrieval.

Clock Speed

The rate at which a CPU executes instructions, measured in Hertz (Hz); indicates the processor's speed.

Thermal Design Power (TDP)

A metric measured in watts, indicates the power consumption and heat output of a CPU or GPU.

Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)

The fundamental language of the CPU, including load, store, add, subtract, compare values, and branch based on condition.

Microarchitecture

How the architecture is actually built in silicon including pipelines, caches, branch predictors, decoders.

Core Count

The number of physical cores in the CPU; more cores support better multitasking and parallel processing.

Thread Count

The number of virtual sequences of instructions that a CPU core can execute simultaneously (logical cores); useful for multitasking.

PCIe Lanes

Physical pathways that allow data to be transmitted between a PCIe-enabled device and the motherboard.

Fabrication Node

The manufacturing process used to build chips, indicating how small the transistors are on the chip.

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

A specialized electronic circuit designed to accelerate computer graphics and image processing.

Neural Processing Unit (NPU)

A dedicated processor designed to accelerate AI-related tasks, such as machine learning and neural networks.

Instruction Set Extensions (ISEs)

Additional processor instructions added to a CPU's base instruction set architecture (ISA) to improve performance or add new capabilities.

Operating System (OS)

Software that handles interfacing to peripheral hardware, schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a common interface to the user.

System Software

A program that provides an interface to run application software and is generally less noticed by end users (e.g., operating system, utility software).

Application Software

Programs used to perform a specific task, such as spreadsheets or database systems.

Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)

Software that handles all the communication between the hardware and the kernel.

Kernel Mode

A CPU operating mode where the operating system code runs with unrestricted access to hardware and memory.

User Mode

A CPU operating mode where installed applications run with a restricted address space granted by the kernel.

Device Drivers

Specific software that acts as the intermediary between the operating system's kernel and hardware devices.