Operating Systems 1.7-1.9

System requirements for applications (32-bit vs. 64-bit dependent

application requirements)

• 32 bit apps can run on 64 bit, but 64 bit cannot run on 32 bit

• 64 bit can access much more memory than 32 bit

• Hardware drivers are specific to 32 and 64

• In windows, it separates where 32 and 64 bit apps are stored (program files or program files x86)

System requirements for applications (Dedicated graphics card vs.

integrated)

• Integrated = CPU and GPU are on the same chip

  • Uses system memory for graphics

  • Common in laptops

• Dedicated

  • Also called discrete card

  • Uses its own VRAM

  • Used for high-end graphics requirements

System requirements for applications (Video random-access memory (VRAM) requirements)

System requirements for applications (RAM requirements)

• Critical spec, the app might not run normally or at all if you don’t have enough

• Goes above and beyond the requirements of your OS

System requirements for applications (Central processing unit (CPU)

requirements)

• Processing speed (GHz)

• GHz is a broad measurement for CPU speed

System requirements for applications (External hardware tokens)

• Used to authorize applications by making the user plug it in to the computer before the app can run

• Most commonly used on very expensive software to prevent pirating

System requirements for applications (Storage requirements)

• Needs enough space to be able to install the app

• Most are small, some are large

OS requirements for applications (Application to OS compatibility)

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OS requirements for applications (32-bit vs. 64-bit OS)

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Distribution methods (Physical media vs. downloadable)

• Downloadable

  • Things like an app store or a direct download from their website

• Physical media

  • Things like USB drives that contain the application on it

  • Game discs for consoles

Distribution methods (ISO mountable)

• Optical Disk Image

  • A single ISO fie / ISO image

  • Contains files and folders

  • ISOs use the standardized 9660 file system

  • Mount in the OS, appears as a separate drive

Other considerations for new applications (Impact to device)

• Application upgrade stops working on your OS

• Slowdowns

• Deleted files

Other considerations for new applications (Impact to network)

• High amounts of traffic

• Access to internal services

• Rights and permissions to file shares

Other considerations for new applications (Impact to operation)

• Updating an application can take time away from time-sensitive jobs

• Application can break and someone might not be able to do their job

• Users may need to be retrained

Other considerations for new applications (Impact to business)

• Critical processes are sensitive to downtime and outages

• A change to an application can create significant issues

• Other parts of the business may rely on this application

Workstation OSs (Windows)

• Many versions available (windows server, windows 11, etc)

• Large industry support

• Large install

• Large target for security exploitation

Workstation OSs (Linux)

• Open source software

• Some distributions are general use desktop OSs and others have specific functions like kali linux for hacking

• It’s free, works on a lot of hardware

• Extensive support

• Limited support on drivers and less common to have access to as many applications as other OSs

Workstation OSs (macOS)

• Runs on apple hardware

• Easy to use, fewer security concerns

• Less industry support than the PC platform

• Higher initial hardware cost

• Less self-repairing options

Workstation OSs (Chrome OS)

• Google’s OS based on linux kernel

• Centers around Chrome browser

• Minimum hardware

• Often requires cloud services to be enabled

Cell phone/tablet OSs (iPadOS)

• Variant of iOS

• Has a browser

• Can be used as a second monitor

• Has keyboard support

Cell phone/tablet OSs (iOS)

• iOS is apple’s iPhone OS

• Based on Unix

• Closed source

• Exclusive to Apple products

• Apps are developed with iOS SDK on macOS

• Apps must be approved by Apple before release

Cell phone/tablet OSs (Android)

• Open source OS based on linux by Google

• Apps can be developed on many OSs

• Apps available from Google Play

• Apps can be downloaded from third party sites or sideloaded

Various filesystem types (New Technology File System

(NTFS))

• NT File system

• Many improvements over FAT32

Various filesystem types (File Allocation Table 32 (FAT32))

• 2 TB volume sizes

• Max file size of 4 GB

Various filesystem types (Third extended filesystem (ext3))

Various filesystem types (Fourth extended filesystem (ext4))

Various filesystem types (Apple File System (APFS))

Various filesystem types (Extensible File Allocation Table (exFAT))

• Microsoft flash drive file system

• Files can be larger than 4 GB

• Compatible across many OSs

Vendor life-cycle limitations (End-of-life (EOL))

• Deciding when the support of a product is going to end

• Set by vendor

Vendor life-cycle limitations (Update limitations)

• This determines when updates are no longer being rolled out on an OS

• Can be a hardware limitation or a processor logic limitation

Compatibility concerns between OSs

• Sometimes, vendors will allow compatibility between new releases and old ones

• Not a lot of compatibility between applications

Boot methods(USB)

• USB must be bootable

• Computer must support booting from USB

Boot methods(Optical media)

• CD-ROM and DVD-ROM

Boot methods(Network)

• PXE (“Pixie”) - Preboot eXecution environment

  • Perform a remote network installation

  • Computer must support booting with PXE

Boot methods(Solid-state/flash drives)

• Things like hard drives or SSDs

Boot methods(Internet-based)

• Linux distributions, macOS recovery installation, windows updates etc

• Gotten from an online server

Boot methods(External/hot-swappable drive)

• Some external drives can mount an ISO image

• Boot from USB

Boot methods(Internal hard drive (partition))

• Install and boot from separate drive

• Create and boot from a new partition

Types of installations(Upgrade)

• In-place upgrade

  • Maintain existing applications and data

Types of installations(Recovery partition)

• Hidden partition with installation files

• Start the installation from recovery partition

Types of installations(Clean install)

• Wipe the system

• Some OSs have migration tools to do a backup and upload for you

Types of installations(Image deployment)

• Deploy a clone on every computer

• Relatively quick

• Can be completed automatically

Types of installations(Repair installation)

• Fix problems with the Windows OS

• Does not modify user files

Types of installations(Remote network installation)

• Local server or shared drive

• Install across the internet

Types of installations(Other considerations)

• Third-party drivers

  • Disk controller drivers, etc

  • Your OS may have a way to install these automatically during the OS installation

Partitioning(GUID [globally unique identifier] Partition Table (GPT))

• Separates the physical drive into logical pieces

• Useful to keep data separated

• Multiple partitions are not always necessary

• Useful for maintaining separate OSs

• On windows, these partitions are called volumes

• Modern partition styles are GPTs (GUID (Gloablly Unique Identifier) partition table)

• GPTs can have up to 128 partitions and the maximum partition size is 9 billion TB. Windows max is 256 TB

Partitioning(Master boot record (MBR))

• Master Boot Record

• Older OSs have these

• Limit to 2 TB size

• Primary Partition

  • OSs must be located on the primary partition

  • Max of 4 primaries per hard disk

  • One of the primaries can be marked as active

• Extended Partition

  • Allows you to extend the number of partitions

  • One extended partition per hard disk (optional)

  • Contains additional logic partitions

  • Not bootable

Drive format

• Quick format

  • Creates a new file table

  • Looks like data is erased, but it’s not

  • No additional checks

  • Default format on Windows

• Full format

  • Writes 0s to the whole disk

  • Your data is unrecoverable

  • Checks the disk for bad sectors (time consuming)

Upgrade considerations(Backup files and user preferences)

• Upgrade: Keep files in place

• Install: Start over completely fresh

• Upgrades can save hours of time and keeps user settings

Upgrade considerations(Application and driver support/ backward compatibility)

• Upgrade keeps existing OS

• Keeps applications, documents, and settings

• Starts the setup from the existing OS

• Clean install wipes everything and reloads

• Clean install needs to be booted from installation media

• Check with app developers / hardware manufactures to see if drivers are compatible with the OS

Upgrade considerations(Hardware compatibility)

• (Windows) Run a hardware compatibility check

  • Run manually from the windows setup screen

  • Windows 10 upgrade checker, PC health checker for Windows 11

Feature updates(Product life cycle)

• Quality updates and bug fixes

• Feature updates that gives you more capabilities

• Support is offered up to 36 months from OS release