Video Notes: Computer Architecture and Operating Systems Fundamentals

A comprehensive set of Question-and-Answer flashcards drawn from the notes on computer components, memory, storage, I/O, networks, and operating system concepts.

All components comprising a computer system except for the , are considered peripherals.

Power Source

Both conventional and cache memory are referred to as memory.

primary

Most of the access time specified for secondary storage devices consists of what?

seek time

The surface of the hard disk platter is divided into pie-shaped segments, known as .

sectors

One of the main disadvantages of active matrix LCDs is that they .

are expensive and difficult to manufacture.

What is calculated by the formula (1/2) * (1/rotational speed)?

Average latency

GPUs stands for .

Graphic Processing Unit

Which printing technology boils ink in a nozzle to spray a tiny droplet onto paper?

Ink-jet printers

Protocols that describe a computer's communication with the physical layer are called what?

Medium access control protocols

In a mirrored array, each disk stores exactly the same data.

True

The arrangement where wiring on the motherboard interconnects peripheral cards and directs I/O to CPU and memory is called the .

system bus

A is simply a connector at the end of a bus into which a device can be plugged.

port

Multimedia applications require relatively few MIPS.

False

The input-output architecture based on separate I/O processors and used on IBM mainframes is known as a .

channel subsystem

I/O is connected through I/O controllers and PCI-Express buses to an I/O bridge, sometimes called the .

Southbridge

DisplayPort was originally designed for .

high resolution video displays

USB-3 is capable of a full duplex data transfer rate up to gigabits per second.

20

VLSIs stands for .

very large scale integrations

PCI-Express is a parallel I/O bus.

False

Specific device control is built into a controller within some devices; these programs are called .

device drivers

The typical communication channel is divided into segments; connections along the segments are called what?

Links

Each wireless unit is connected by radio to a base station equivalent to a hub. What is this base station called?

Access point

How do routers and gateways differ? Routers connect similar networks; gateways interconnect dissimilar networks.

Routers connect similar networks; gateways interconnect dissimilar networks.

A is equivalent to an envelope containing pages of data.

packet

In a topology each computer node gets every message, but processes only those addressed to that node. There is no central hub in this topology.

bus

Channels that carry signals simultaneously in both directions are called what?

Full-duplex channels

Which type of topology defines the operational relationship between the various network components?

Logical

The rate of speed with which data can be moved successfully through the channel is usually measured how?

Bit rate

ISO stands for the International Standardization Organization.

True

The use of packets presents a productive way to use a communication channel.

True

Client-server architecture is a processing methodology, in which some of the processing is performed on the client system and some is performed on the server system.

distributed

Cloud computing can be viewed as an expansion of client-server computing.

True

XML stands for .

eXtensible Markup Language

PaaS stands for .

Platform as a Service

With rack-based chassis the provides power and the local area network connection that interconnects the blades.

backplane

The following acronym allows the use of inexpensive components to be used to build a Beowulf cluster. What does it stand for?

Commodity Off-The-Shelf (COTS)

It is possible to build systems in which the computers are tied together loosely. That is, each computer is complete in itself, each with its own CPU, memory, and I/O facilities. What is this called?

Multicomputer systems

The _ clustering model offers the advantage of easy dynamic workload balancing and, with careful design, high availability, and fault tolerance.

shared-disk

_ clouds are used by a single customer.

Private

These clusters consist of multiple computers connected together by a dedicated, private Ethernet, which serves as the link between the computers in the cluster.

Beowulf

Typing command DIR PROG?.TXT in a Windows directory will return which files? A) PROG.DAT B) PROG3.TXT C) PROG1.TXT D) All of the above

D

On a Windows machine, program and data files are treated identically by the file manager.

True

The file system manages file security and protection.

True

Which of the following is NOT an example of a file operation that manipulates the file directory, rather than the file itself? a) Delete a record from a file b) Rename a file c) Add a record to a file d) Read (retrieve) a record

Rename a file

Random access files are the same as relative access files.

True

The file management system acts as an interface for the transfer of data to and from the various I/O devices by requesting transfers from the I/O device driver level of the operating system.

True

Data files whose records are always retrieved in order from the beginning to the end of the file are known as files.

sequential

Every file in the system can be uniquely identified by its .

pathname

Which operation manipulates the file directory rather than the file itself?

Rename a file

Indexed allocation uses a single index block.

False

In serving as an intermediary between the users of computer services and the computer's resources, the operating system provides three basic types of services. One of these is it manages the hardware resources of the computer, including the interfaces to networks and other external parts of the system. Which type of services is this?

Hardware services

Windows operating systems store the system configuration within a .

registry

Which type of services is this? It manages, loads, and executes programs.

Program services

Most modern operating systems provide some capability for combining computer commands into pseudo-programs, commonly called what?

Shell scripts

Large-scale billing, payroll, and other similarly data intensive systems usually use what type of processing systems?

Batch

The operating system provides file system access and file support services.

True

The _ management system provides and maintains the mapping between a file's logical storage needs and the physical location where it is stored.

file system

The operating system provides services for networking.

True

Critical operating system programs are loaded into memory by the _ at start-up time

bootstrap loader

The critical components of the operating system that remain in memory as long as the computer is running are commonly known as the what?

Kernel

Processes that work together are known as what?

Cooperating processes

Moving a process from the ready state to the running state is called _ the process.

dispatching

When one process has a resource that another process needs to proceed, and the other process has a resource that the first process needs, then both are waiting for an event that can never occur. This situation is called what?

Deadlock

A spawning process is called a _.

parent

_ memory partitioning loads programs wherever enough memory space is available.

Variable

Starvation cannot occur with the FIFO method.

True

It is possible to use a powerful computer to simulate a number of smaller computers. The process for doing so is called _.

virtualization

Spawning is another name for _.

forking

The SDF scheduling algorithm can lead to indefinite postponement.

True

Variable partitioning will, after a while, result in internal fragmentation.

False

SDF stands for .

shortest distance first

SJF scheduling maximizes throughput.

True

The _ table lists every memory frame with its associated process and page.

inverted page

As a way to optimize system performance, the CPU scheduling task is separated into two different phases. Which CPU scheduler phase provides short-term scheduling, specifically, the instant-by-instant decision as to which process should be given CPU execution time?

Short-term scheduler

In batch systems, a user submits a to the system for processing.

job

Processes that do not need to interact with any other processes are known as what?

Independent processes

With virtual storage, each process in a multitasking system has its own virtual memory, and its own page table.

True

Operating systems typically require very little memory.

False

PCB stands for .

process control block

To load and execute a program, the system must provide a method of getting the program from its storage location on some I/O device, such as an SSD, into .

memory