Ateneo - UPO

The course focuses on three main topics, namely I/O management, design and implementation of file systems, and virtualization techniques.

Andrew S. Tanenbaum & Herbert Bos, "Modern Operating Systems: Global Edition, 5/E", Pearson, 2023. ISBN-13: 9781292459660.
Also available in Italian: Andrew S. Tanenbaum & Herbert Bos, "I moderni sistemi operativi, 5/Ed," Pearson, 2023. ISBN: 9788891931955.

The module aims to illustrate the principles, the various issues and current technical and methodological solutions for the design and management of the components of modern operating systems in charge of (1) managing I/O devices (e.g., I/O subsystems), (2) managing mass storage (e.g., file systems), and (3) virtualizing hardware resources (e.g., hypervisors).

Computer Architecture, Operating Systems 1

Class lectures only

To pass the exam, the student has to prove the knowledge (1) of the concepts underlying the operation of I/O devices, (2) of the mechanisms employed by the operating system to manage the above devices, (3) of the design and implementation methodologies and (4) of the techniques for the virtualization of hardware resources.

The assessment methods consist in a mandatory written examition and in an optional oral examination.
The written examination consists in one or more questions (usually, four to six questions) posed in the form of theoretical questions or exercises; each question is associated with a score whose value (ranging from zero to a specific maximum value) is determined according to the quality of the answer provided by the student; the final grade of the written examination is the sum of the scores got in each question.
The optional oral examination can be took only if the grade got in the written examination is greater or equal to 27/30 and it consists in one or more questions (usually, three questions) posed in the form of theoretical questions; the final grade of the oral examination starts from the grade got in the written examination and can either increase or stay unchanged or even decrease according to the level of knowledge of the student.
Topics of the examination (both written and oral) include those presented during classroom lessons and detailed in the course program.

The course program consists of three main topics:
1) I/O Management: the architecture of the I/O subsystem; I/O interface; kernel I/O subsystems; storage devices; disk structure, management, and scheduling; RAID systems. power management.
2) File systems: file system organizations; file system structures; file system design and implementation techniques; mechanisms for file sharing and protection; disk free space management; disk space allocation; performance and efficiency of file systems; consistenza; backup and restore.
3) Virtualization: virtual machines and hypervisors; CPU virtualization, issues and solution for the virtualization of the x86 architecture; Memory virtualization; I/O virtualization; the Cloud.

Achievement of the learning targets, as measured by the examination grade.

* Knowledge and understanding: learning the general principles underneath the behavior, the design and the development of the components of modern operating systems in charge of (1) managing I/O devices (e.g., I/O subsystems), (2) managing mass storage (e.g., file systems), and (3) virtualizing hardware resources (e.g., hypervisors).

* Applying knowledge and understanding: applying the general principles in a real system.

* Making judgements: autonomously evaluating, in terms of efficiency of management and performance, the best techniques to manage I/O devices and mass storage, as well as for the virtualization of hardware resources.

* Communication skills: communicating and justifying the fundamentals principles of operating systems related to the management of I/O devices and of mass storage as well as to the techniques for the virtualization of hardware resources.

* Learning skills: autonomously learning the methodological skills needed to evaluate and use techniques for the management of I/O devices and mass storage, as well as for the virtualization of hardware resources, not studied during the course.