Case Study #1

The 5 Categories of Operating System

Batch System       :          Condor High-Throughput Computing System

Official logo of the Condor System

The Condor High-Throughput Computing System is a concrete product of a modernized use of batch system. Redesigned batch system that was added and subjected with features to attain benefits greater than its predecessors.

The Condor High-Throughput Computing System or Condor System for short is a system for compute-intensive jobs that specializes in workload management. Condor provides a job queuing mechanism, scheduling policy, priority scheme, resource monitoring, and resource management just like other full-featured batch systems. It can be used to manage workload on a dedicated cluster of computers, and/or to farm out work to idle desktop computers another unique feature, the so-called cycle scavenging.

The unethical “idle machine power consumption waste” is prevented for Condor has unique mechanism that enables it to detect keyboard or mouse in-activeness. If the Condor detects that the machine is no longer in use, the system automatically migrate jobs from other loaded computers or from its job queuing mechanism to stop it from being idle. Once the computer is of use again the system automatically transfers the job to other idle computers or back to its queuing mechanism.

We all now that not all computers are gifted of the ability to process all jobs, the Condor system have an answer for that. The Condor System enables the machines to produce job requirements or job preferences so that the system can provide the certain machine with its suitable job according to its preferences and requirements. By this kind flexibility the Condor System is able to adapt to nearly any desired policy of the user.

Interactive System     :           XS-1 System

*due to the fact that it is an experimental O.S. no photos are given*

 

The XS-1 System or eXperimental Integrated Interactive System is being used as an experimental support and basis for new designing principles and to upgrade necessary modules and models. The system is also known to allow the user at all times to obtain information about his current data environment and his current command environment; the said information will be obtained through means of universal commands that are always active, regardless of the application program he is executing.

The aim of the XS-1 as an experimental interactive system is to be able to properly observe the four main points of the said system namely: timing, data, access, data security, and support for user interaction.

• Timing – Timing considerations that determined the design of conventional operating systems were governed by the goal of using hardware as efficiently as possible.
• Data Access- Data access patterns are much more random in interactive applications than they are in non-interactive ones.
• Data Security – Techniques that are developed to protect the user from his own mistakes are few and primitive, such as the sporadic question “Are you sure?” as an affirmation if the request of the user was done intentionally or carelessly, also additional features are being developed for a much secure data.
• Support for user interaction – Conventional operating systems contain an I/O subsystem optimized with respect to efficient hardware utilization for large amounts of I/O, as it typically occurs in batch processing. For the XS-1 System to be a high performing system the makers concluded that the XS-1 must be substantially different from the traditional ones.

Real-Time System     :           Aegis Combat System

Members of the Navy while using the Aegis Combat System

The ACS or Aegis Combat System is a state of the art United States Navy Weapons System. It is named after the shield of the Greek God Zues, which is considered impregnable. 

The ACS relies on its multi-function radar named the AN/SPY-1 which is mounted at the front, back and both sides of the vessel that gives a unique 360 degree view of the surroundings and can perform automated detect and track. This four megawatt radar system is capable of guiding and tracking functions for an almost 100 missiles simultaneously. Let’s just imagine a barrage of missiles that is so coordinated, precise and dead accurate right on target.

The computer-based command and decision element is the core of the Aegis combat system.  It can produce real-time complete tactical data by the System to prevent false engagements but still the choice to engage or not to engage is left in the decision of the Commanding Officer.

Hybrid Systems         :           UNICOS Operating System (Unix)

Official logo of the UNICOS Operating System

The UNICOS Operating System is the standard operating system for VSMP (Cray Vector Symmetric multi-processor. The UNICOS system makes extremely flexible and robust calculating machines with certain software and hardware support.

UNICOS system is said to be with great product extensions paired with its long ends and availability makes it a very good multi-system.  The batch support is made possible the NQE/NQS subsystem which is designed completely as a multi-system for the evaluation and control of the jobs. The interaction of many users, jobs and processes of a mixed batch and interactive system is protected by job and processing limitations. These limits are made possible by an easy to use administration menu with the name User Database (UDB).

Aside from being a hybrid O.S. UNICOS has also this unique mechanisms and features:

• Able to do parallel processing.
• The system is made to be a multi-processor and multi-operating system.
• The system has high performance I/O bandwidth and capacity.
• Assures low waiting times for I/O processes.
• Has really great product extensions.

Embedded System     :           Symbian Operating System

Official logo of the Symbian Operating System

Symbian Operating System is a system that is widely used operating system for cell phones and was officially made into open source code last February 2010.

Although the Symbian O.S. is not the best operating system there is for mobile phones it is pretty much complete O.S. that allows you to program or alter the device or some programs to the heart’s content thus enabling the user to much personalize his/her mobile phone according to what he/she wants.

The Symbian O.S. also uses a microkernel, has a request-and-callback approach to services, and maintains separation between user interface and engine. The OS is optimized for low-power battery-based devices and for ROM-based systems. Applications, and the OS itself, follow an object-oriented design: Model-view-controller (MVC).

The Symbian kernel (EKA2) supports sufficiently-fast real-time response to build a single-core phone around it — that is, a phone in which a single processor core that can execute the users programs and support the signaling stack for without it the phone will not be a phone. The experimentation, testing, enhancement and redesigning of the new version based on what have been observed in the past versions has allowed Symbian Kernel phones to become smaller, cheaper and more power efficient than their predecessors.