HOME USER

Requires a simple computer and

a few programs.

HOME USER TASKS?

1) Email

2) Web Browsing

3) Database List

4)Word-Processing

ENTERPRISE USER

Performs their daily work

on a computer.

ENTERPRISE USER

TASKS?

1) Creates LARGE Documents

2) Spreadsheets

3) LARGE Databases

PROGRAMMER

Like the "Enterprise User", performs

their daily tasks on a computer.

PROGRAMMER TASKS?

1) CREATES programs

2) Testing Software

3) Manipulates LARGE Databases

SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR

Still uses a computer to get daily work

completed, but this computer will communicate

more with other systems over the network.

SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR

TASKS?

1) Creates User Accounts

2) Installs Software

3) Maintains Databases

4) Troubleshooting

SERVER MANAGER

Responsible for maintaining the larger computers

that store information used by all the Users of a

company or corporation.

SERVER MANAGER TASKS?

1) Backs up large amounts of data

2) Restores large amounts of data

3) Installs software

What are the four step of the IPO?

1) Input

2) Process

3) Storage

4) Output

What does "IPO" represent?

Input-Process-Output model

What are the three broad categories

of Computer Components?

1) Hardware

2) Software

3) Data

Hardware can be broken down into

what two categories?

1) External

2) Internal

What are the examples of External Hardware?

1) Keyboard

2) Mouse

3) Monitor

4) Printer

What are the examples of Internal Hardware?

1) Central Processing Unit (CPU)

2) Memory

3) Hard (Disk) Drive

Software can be broken down into what

two categories?

1) System Software

2) Application Software

What is the best example of

"System Software" and what

is its function?

The Operating System (OS)

Tells the hardware exactly what tasks are

to be performed and in what order.

What are the best examples of

"Application Software" and what

is its function?

Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Excel

This is what a User runs in order

to get useful work done.

What does "API" represent and

what does it do?

Application Program Interface

Acts as an interface for application programs

and utilities to access the internal services

provided by the OS.

What are protocols?

Rules that describe how a computer

communicates with another computer

or I/O Device, or how programs will

communicate with each other.

What are Standards?

Ensures that the protocol is

universally compatible.

What does "LMC" represent and

what does it represent?

Little Man Computer

It's a model that was designed to aid in

the understanding of the basics of

how a computer processes commands

and outputs data.

What are the main parts of the LMC?

1) Mailboxes

2) Calculator

3) In-basket

4) Out-basket

5) Instruction Location Counter

What are the op codes for the LMC?

0 - HLT (hault)

1 - ADD (add)

2 - SUB (subtract)

3 - STO (store)

5 - LDA (load)

6 - BRA (branch unconditionally)

7 - BRZ (branch on zero)

8 - BRP (Branch on Positive)

9(01) - INP (input)

9(02) - OUT (output)

What are the components of the CPU?

1) Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU)

2) Control Unit (CU)

3) Memory

What is the "ALU" used for?

This is where data is held temporarily

and where calculations take place.

What is the "CU" used for?

Controls and interprets the execution

of instructions.

What is memory used for?

This is where the instructions to

execute and the data are stored.

What is a CPU register?

A single, permanent storage location within

the CPU used for a particular defined purpose.

What are some examples of CPU registers?

1) General Purpose Registers

2) Program Counter

3) Instruction

4) Memory Address

5) Memory Data

6) Status

What are the "General Purpose

Registers" used for?

Holds the data that are used for arithmetic

operations as well as the results.

What is the Program Counter

"register" used for?

It holds the address of the current

instruction being executed.

What is the Instruction

"register" used for?

Holds the actual instruction

being executed.

What is the Memory Address

"register" used for?

A Memory Address Register (MAR)

holds the address of the

memory location.

What is the Memory Data

"register" used for?

A Memory Data Register (MDR)

holds the data value that is being

stored to or retrieved from

the location in the MAR.

What is the Status

"register" used for?

Keeps track of special conditions such as

arithmetic carry, overflow, and error conditions.

What are the different

types of memory?

1) RAM (Random Access Memory)

2) ROM (Read Only Memory)

3) EEPROM (Electronically Erasable

Read Only Memory)

What is RAMs main characteristic?

It is VOLATILE, which means that

if it loses power, any data that is

stored will be erased.

When talking about the Fetch-Execute

Cycle, what are the steps for the

STORE instruction?

1) PC --> MAR

2) MDR --> IR

3) IR (address) --> MAR

4) A --> MDR

5) PC + 1 --> PC

When talking about the Fetch-Execute

Cycle, what are the steps for the

ADD instruction?

1) PC --> MAR

2) MDR --> IR

3) IR (address) --> MAR

4) A + MDR --> A

5) PC + 1 --> PC

What is a bus?

A group of electrical conductors suitable

for carrying computer signals from one

location to another.

What are the more popular

types of buses?

1) Point-to-point

2) Multi-point

3) System

4) Interface Bridge

What does a Point-to-point bus do?

Carries a signal from one source

to one destination.

What does a Multi-point bus do?

Connects several points together.

What does the System bus do?

Connects the CPU with memory

and/or I/O module cards.

What does an Interface Bridge do?

Connects buses of

differing types.

What is "Throughput"?

It's the measurement of

data that is traveling over a bus.

What is the concept

behind the "stack"?

It is used to store data when the most

recently used data is the first needed.

What are the main two

CPU architectures?

1) CISC (Complex Instruction

Set Computer)

2) RISC (Reduced Instruction

Set Computer)

What are the characteristics

of the CISC CPU architecture?

1) Very few general purpose

2) Wide variety of addressing schemes

3) Large number of specialized instructions

& instruction words of varying sizes

What does "VLIW" represent?

Very-Long Instruction Word

What does "EPIC" represent?

Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computer

What is "Write-through"?

When, at the time of changing the a cached

memory location, the main memory

location is changed at the same time.

What is "Write-back"?

The main memory is not changed until the

cached portion of the memory is

no longer needed.

What is "Primary Storage"

also known as?

Memory

What is "Secondary Storage"

aslo know as?

Hard (Drive) Disk

What is "Secondary

Storage" used for?

For the long term storage location

for programs and data.

What are the two standard methods

of implimenting disk arrays?

1) Mirrored

2) Striped

What are some examples of

input devices?

1) Keyboard

2) Mouse

3) Light Pen

4) Tablets

What are the two design methods to increase

performance by use of multiprocessing?

1) Tightly Coupled

2) Loosely Coupled

What is meant by

"Tightly Coupled"?

It refers to a computer system where there

are multiple CPUs that share common

resources like memory and I/O devices.

What is meant by

"Loosely Coupled"?

This refers to a system where each CPU

has its own memory and I/O devices.

Basically, seperate computers that use

data communications to tie them together.

What are the two forms

"Tightly Coupled" multiprocessing?

1) Master-Slave Multiprocessing

2) Symmetrical Multiprocessing

What is Master-Slave Multiprocessing?

When one of the CPUs is

reserved for use by the

Operating System.

What is Symmetrical Multiprocessing?

The Operating System can be executed

on any CPU in the system.

What is a cluster?

A group of loosely coupled computers

configured to work together as a unit.

What are the two classifications

of clusters?

1) Shared Nothing

2) Shared Disk

What is the "Shared nothing"

cluster classification?

Similar to a point-to-point network

connecting two computers, only

a high speed connection is used

to share data and programs.

What is the "Shared DIsk"

cluster classification?

All nodes have access

to the data and programs.

What is a Beowulf cluster?

A cluster that consists of multiple

computers that are connected

together by a dedicated private Ethernet.

What is an Operating System?

A collection of computer programs that integrate

the hardware resources of the computer and make those resources available to the User in a way that allows access to the computer in a productive, timely, and efficient manner.

What are the two fundamental purposes

of the Operating System?

1) To control and operate the hardware in

an efficient manner.

2) Allow the User powerful access to the

facilities of the machine through the OS's

facilities and services.

What are the three basic services of the OS?

1) Accepts and executes commands and requests from the User and their programs.

2) It manages, loads, and executes programs.

3) It manages the hardware resources of the computer.

What are some common categories of

Operating Systems?

1) Single-user, single-tasking Systems

2) Single-user, multitasking Systems

3) Multi-user, multitasking Systems

4) Distributed Systems

5) Network Servers

6) Embedded Systems

7) Real-time Systems

What is the Kernel?

1) Key components of the OS that are loaded into memory as the computer is booted.

2) The portion of the OS that stays in memory

3) Contains the routines that handle interrupts, manage resources, and in some OS's it will accept User commands

What is MS-DOS?

The best example of a single-job

processing operating system.

What are the three major memory

resident components of MS-DOS?

1) Command Interface Shell

2) I/O Routines

3) File management System

What does "BIOS" represent?

Basic Input/Output System

Why is the BIOS important?

It's the part of the ROM that contains

some of the I/O routines that

control each of the I/O devices.

What three files are required by MS-DOS?

1) IO.SYS

2) COMMAND.COM

3) MSDOS.SYS

What is the IO.SYS file?

The file that, along with BIOS, provides the

I/O routines for a specific hardware platform.

What is the COMMAND.COM file?

Provides the User interface as a

command line interpreter.

What is the MSDOS.SYS file?

Provides the file manipulation routines

used by the User and programs to

work with storage devices.

What does "POST" represent?

Power On Self Test

What is meant by the term "Multitasking"?

Running multiple programs at the same time.

What are the two approaches

to Multitasking?

1) Phased Approach

2) Timed Approach

What is a process?

It's a program that has been executed

and is in the routine of running.

A process is comprised of more then just the running program.  What else does it include?

All of the resources that are

assigned to that program.

What is the dispatcher?

The portion of the OS that controls which

program will execute at any given time.

What are the two modes for the dispatcher?

1) Non-Preemptive

2) Preemptive

What does a dispatcher in

"Non-Preemptive" mode do?

Replaces the current running process if the program is blocked due to an I/O or some other event that the program is waiting on

What does a dispatcher in

"Preemptive" mode do?

Multitasking that uses the clock interrupt to preempt the executing program and make a fresh decision as to which program executes next.

What is the purpose of the User interface?

Make the facilities of the computer system accessible to the User by providing the necessary services and commands and means of accessing to allow the User to get work done conveniently and efficiently.

What are the seven major groups of User functions and programs that are provided by the OS?

1) Program Execution

2) File Commands

3) Device Commands

4) Security

5) Interuser and Data Sharing

6) System Status

7) Program Services

What tyoe of commands deal with storage, retrieval, organization, and manipulation of FILES?

FILE Commands

What commands allow you to work with various DEVICES?

Device Commands

What aspect deals with providing protection for files being read from, written to or executed?

Security

What are the two types of User Interfaces?

1) CLI

2) GUI

What does "CLI" represent?

Command Line Interface

What does "GUI" represent?

Graphical User Interface

What is X Windows?

A GUI being shown over the network.

What is a "Target Model"?

A model in which each layer performs a service, or functions as a part of the OS and may be implimented as a colletion of programs that accomplish each of the assigned tasks.

It is also important to note that each layer of the Target Model can only be accessed by the layer above (that surrounds) it.

What is a thread?

The smallest running piece of a process.

A process could be as small as one thread.

The OS keeps information about each process in

a structure.  What is the name of this structure?

PCB - Process Control Block

What are some of the characteristics

that the PCB contains?

1) Points to other related processes

2) Process state to indicate if it's running or waiting

3) Register area

4) Memory pointers

5) Pointers to shared program code and data

What does "FIFO" represent?

First In First Out

What is First-In, First-Out?

The dispatch algorithm that states that

processses will execute as they arrive.

What does "SJF" represent?

Shortest Job First

What is "Shortest Job First"?

The method that selects jobs that

require only a small amount of CPU time.

What is "Priority Scheduling"?

The dispatcher will execute

the highest priority job first.

If two processes have the same priority,

they will be queued and executed in FIFO order.

What are the two "Non-Preemptive"

dispatch algorithms?

1) First-In, First-Out (FIFO)

2) Shortest Job First (SJF)

What are the two "Preemptive"

Dispatch Algorithms?

1) Round Robin

2) Multilevel Feedback Queues

What is "Round Robin"?

It gives each process a quantum of CPU time.

What is "Multilevel Feedback Queues"?

An algorithm that attempts to combine

the best features of several different algorithms.

What is "Dynamic Priority Scheduling"?

An algorithm that ajusts a process priority

based on the processes use of resources.

What is meant by the term "partitioning"?

The act of dividing the available space

into a number of partitions.

What are the two types of partitioning?

1) Fixed Partitioning

2) Varible Partitioning

What is Fixed Partitioning?

It devides the memory

into fixed sized partitions

What is Variable Partitioning?

It only loads programs into memory when

there is enough memory space available

What are the three types

of Variable Partitioning?

1) Best-Fit

2) First-Fit

3) Largest-Fit

What is the "Best-Fit" Variable Partitioning?

Uses the smallest space

that will fit the program.

What is the "First-Fit" Variable Partitioning?

Grabs the first space available

that fits the program.

What is the "Largest-Fit" Variable Partitioning?

Uses the largest space available

What is Frame Allocation?

An approach for allocating frames

of physical memory for processes.

What are the two common

approaches to Frame Allocation?

1) Inverted Page Tables

2) Linked Lists

What is "Inverted Page Table"?

Opposite of a page table, it

maps the frame number to the

process and pagenumber

What is "Linked Lists"?

Maintains a list of all available frames

What is a "Page Fault Error"

It's an error that indicates that a

page needed by a process is not currently

loaded in the physical ram.

What is a working set?

The number of pages that are involved

in the locality area at any given time.

What is Page Sharing?

Sharing pages among different processes

that are executing the same program.

What is Page Thrashing?

A condition on a heavily used system

where every page is in use and programs

are allocated just enough pages to

meet their minimum requirements.

What is TCP/IP?

A set of protocol standards that agree upon hardware and software rules that will allow computers to establish and maintain useful communications at various levele

What is Endianness?

The attribute of a system that indicates whether intergers are represented from left to right or right to left.

What is "Big Endian"?

Number are expresses with the most significant digit on the left of the numbers.

(ex. 0x0100 --> 0000000100000000(2) --> 256(10))

What is "Little Endian"?

Number are expresses with the most significant digit on the right of the numbers.

(ex. 0x0100 --> 0000000000000001(2) --> 1(10))

What is a file?

An organized collection of data.

What are the two ways to view a file?

1) Logically

2) Physically

When discussing viewing files, what

is meant by "Logical View"?

Views a file as a collection of records.

When discussing viewing files, what

is meant by "Physical View"?

This is how a the file is actually

stored on the storage device.

When talking about file storage, what

is meant by "Contiguous" storage?

Whan the blocks that make up

a file are together and in order.

When talking about file storage, what

is meant by "Noncontiguous" storage?

When the blocks that make up a file

are scatterd all over the hard drive.

What are the five layers of the File Syatem?

1) Physical Layer

2) File System Layer

3) Data Layer

4) Metadata Layer

5) File Name / Directory Structure

What does the Physical Layer

of the File System do?

Allows the File Manager to address the

hard drive by its physical parameters,

cluster,tracks, and sectors

What does the File System Layer do?

This is how we identify the

layout of the hard drive.

What is a Partition table?

It's basically a table that holds all

the information about the partitions.

What does "MBR" represent

and what does it do?

Master Boot Record

Contains the partition table and instructions

on how to continue the boot process

What is the notion of "Primary Partition"?

The partition table stored in the MBR is large enough to store the information for four partitions.

These four partitions are known

as the "Primary Partitions"

What are the File System Management

Algorithms and at which layer do they reside?

1) Contiguous

2) Noncontiguous

They reside at the Data Layer

How does the Noncontiguous Algorithm work?

Since the pieces of the file are spread all over the disk, the first block will point to the second and so on till the end of the file is indicated.

What is the "Indexed" Algorithm

in File System Management?

Similar to linked allocation, the major difference being that the linked pointers are all stored in one block called an index block.

What is Free Space Management?

To allocate new blocks as they are required, the File Management system must keep a list of free available space on a disk, adding and removing from the list as needed

What is the "Bitmap Method"

of Free Space Management?

Each block is represented by a bit, if the

block is in use, the bit is set to 1, if

not in use, it is set to 0.

What is the "Linked List Method"

of Free Space Management?

A pointer to the first free block is kept in

a special location on disk and also in

memory.  Each free block is then

linked to the next.

What is the Metadata Layer used for?

It's used to store data, or information,

about files.  Like the attributes discussed

in the File Name Structure.

What is a tree?

A hierarchical directory. Characterized

by a root directory, from which all other

directories stem?

What is an Acrylic-Graph?

A generalization of a tree-structure directory,

expanded to include links between seperat

branch structures on the tree.

When talking about File Manipulation Artifacts, what happens when you move or delete a file?

Once the file is deleted from the originating location, the contents of the file will remain until it is overwritten by a new file.