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| Basic Input/Output System. The BIOS software is built into the PC, and is the first code run by a PC when powered on. The primary function of the BIOS is to load and start an operating system. |
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| Read Only Memory. Normally used to store firmware. |
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| Power-On-Self-Test. Refers to routines run immediately after power is applied. On power up, the main duties of POST are handled by the BIOS. |
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1. POST checks for any hardware faults.
2. BIOS checks devices (video card, ect).
3. BIOS searches for device to boot from.
4. BIOS looks for Master Boot Record.
5. Code in boot sector takes over. |
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| 512 byte boot sector that is first sector of a partitioned data storage device and holds disk's primary partition table. |
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| First and second stage boot loaders |
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First boot loader - small program in ROM that begins the loading of the OS into RAM.
Second boot loader - Loads the OS itself, such as LILO, GRUB ect for dual-booting systems. |
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| Device that contains the boot image. |
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| One of many virtualization techniques which allow multiple operating systems, termed guests, to run concurrently on a host computer, a feature called hardware virtualization. Bare metal hypervisors run directly on the host's hardware to control the hardware and to manage guest operating systems. |
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| A program that determines how a computer will communicate with a peripheral device. |
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| The central component of most computer operating systems; it is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources. |
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| Also referred to as system mode, is one of the two distinct modes of operation of the CPU (central processing unit) in Linux. When the CPU is in kernel mode, it is assumed to be executing trusted software, and thus it can execute any instructions and reference any memory addresses. |
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| It is a non-privileged mode in which each process (i.e., a running instance of a program) starts out. It is non-privileged in that it is forbidden for processes in this mode to access those portions of memory (i.e., RAM) that have been allocated to the kernel or to other programs. When a user mode process (i.e., a process currently in user mode) wants to use a service that is provided by the kernel (i.e., access system resources other than the limited memory space that is allocated to the user program), it must switch temporarily into kernel mode, which has root (i.e., administrative) privileges, including root access permissions (i.e., permission to access any memory space or other resources on the system). When the kernel has satisfied the process's request, it restores the process to user mode. |
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| Modules are pieces of code that can be loaded and unloaded into the kernel upon demand. They extend the functionality of the kernel without the need to reboot the system. For example, one type of module is the device driver, which allows the kernel to access hardware connected to the system. Without modules, we would have to build monolithic kernels and add new functionality directly into the kernel image. |
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| A file that provides instructions for navigating around host application screens. |
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| In software development, make is a utility that automatically builds executable programs and libraries from source code by reading files called makefiles which specify how to derive the target program. |
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| A collection of subroutines or classes used to develop software. |
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| A hypervisor patricianing physical servers in multiple virtual machines. |
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| Software which allows Microsoft Windows and the Linux kernel to run simultaneously in parallel on the same machine. |
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| MinGW (Minimalist GNU for Windows), formerly mingw32, is a native software port of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) to Microsoft Windows, along with a set of freely distributable import libraries and header files for the Windows API. |
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