CSE150 Lecture 1 Notes

What is an Operating System?

• Special layer of software providing access to hardware resources.

  • Convenient abstraction of complex hardware.

  • Protected access to shared resources.

  • Security and authentication.

  • Communication amongst logical entities.

OS Basics

• Virtual Machine Boundary: Hardware virtualization

• Program $\Rightarrow$ Process.

• Context Switch, Scheduling, Protection, I/O, Loading.

Why We Need an OS

• Manage resources (memory, CPU, storage).

• Provide abstractions (file systems, processes, threads, VM, naming systems).

Challenges in OS

• Complexity: Variety of software modules and devices.

• Enormous scale, heterogeneity, and dynamic range (CPU, Storage, Network).

• Complex interactions leading to unexpected failures.

How to Tame Complexity?

• Operating systems help manage complexity by providing abstractions and managing resources.

Internet of Things

• Scalable, Reliable, Secure Services.