12 Questions
What is the main purpose of supervisor mode in a CPU?
To perform low-level tasks with unrestricted access to hardware
In which mode does an operating system pass control to another program?
Protected mode
Why is the kernel responsible for managing system memory?
To ensure each program has independent access to memory
How does virtual memory addressing help the operating system?
By allowing multiple tasks to share the same memory locations
What is the primary purpose of multitasking in an operating system?
To improve the performance by running multiple processes concurrently
In the context of an operating system, what is the function of Supervisor Mode?
It provides a secure environment for executing privileged instructions
How does virtual memory contribute to a more efficient operating system?
By allowing the execution of programs larger than physical memory capacity
What role does Protected Mode play in modern CPUs?
Providing support for multiple modes of operation
In the context of operating systems, what is the purpose of a Context Switch?
To save the state of the active process and restore the state of a new process.
Which of the following resources is NOT typically saved during a context switch in an operating system?
Memory Allocation Table
What type of scheduling policy is implemented in operating systems that force a process to give up the CPU after staying active for too long?
Preemptive Scheduling
Should a real-time system typically implement preemptive scheduling?
Yes, to ensure timely response to critical tasks.
Study Notes
Operating System Modes
- Supervisor Mode is a CPU mode that allows the operating system to access and manage system resources, providing a higher level of privilege and control.
Process Control
- An operating system passes control to another program in User Mode, ensuring a secure and restricted environment for application execution.
Memory Management
- The kernel is responsible for managing system memory, allocating resources, and preventing conflicts between different programs.
Virtual Memory
- Virtual memory addressing helps the operating system by allowing it to use disk storage as an extension of RAM, enabling efficient memory allocation and deallocation.
- Virtual memory contributes to a more efficient operating system by providing a larger address space, reducing memory fragmentation, and enabling paging.
Multitasking and Scheduling
- The primary purpose of multitasking in an operating system is to enable the concurrent execution of multiple processes, improving system responsiveness and utilization.
- Protected Mode in modern CPUs provides a mechanism for memory protection and segmentation, enabling multitasking and virtual memory management.
- A Context Switch is the process of saving and restoring the state of a process, allowing the operating system to switch between different tasks efficiently.
- During a context switch, the operating system typically saves the process's registers, program counter, and memory management information, but not I/O devices or open files.
- Time-sharing scheduling policies, which force a process to give up the CPU after staying active for too long, are implemented in operating systems to ensure fair resource allocation.
- Real-time systems typically implement preemptive scheduling to ensure predictable and reliable performance.
Learn about the different modes used by CPUs, including supervisor mode and protected mode. Supervisor mode is utilized by the operating system's kernel for low-level tasks and hardware access, while protected mode is used for various operations in the system.
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