The Role Of The Operating System - Content

Question 1

What are the different roles of the operating system?

Answer 1

– Networking
– security
– memory management
– multitasking
– device drivers

Question 2

How does the operating system use networking?

Answer 2

– The operating system simplifies networking in a computer
– The operating system implements a number of networking technologies

Examples: the TCP/IP stack, network utility programs, device drivers

Question 3

What is the TCP/IP stack?

Answer 3

It is the set of protocols used for transmitting data over the internet. The data transmission takes place in layers.

Question 4

How does the operating system enforce security?

Answer 4

The operating system has features built into it to help improve security.

– User authentication
– antivirus and firewall software
– backup facilities

Question 5

How does the operating system manage memory?

Answer 5

– The operating system tracks which processes to allocate memory to
– how much memory to allocate to each process and when to in-allocate memory
– Transferring data to the pagefile


Question 6

How does the operating system multitask?

Answer 6

It allows users to run more than one application simultaneously. The operating system allocate resources to each application in order to allow it to complete two or more task simultaneously.

Question 7

How does an operating system utilise device drivers?

Answer 7

Operating systems come with generic device drivers that work with different peripheral devices which communicate with your computer. Most hardware comms supplied with specific drivers to take advantage of the hardware capabilities.