1.5 Describe the differences between symmetric and asymmetric multiprocessing.

What are
three advantages and one disadvantage of multiprocessor systems?

Asymmetric Multiprocessing
Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP)
(ASMP)
Applications are forced to wait
while the operating system
Mixture application can be run by
Running time catches up. The processors are
all processor
categorized by running operating
system and applications.
Throughput Increased Reduced
Yes. A tremendous amount of
Complexity of coordination must take place
No.
system within the operating system to
keep everything synchronized.

Three main advantages for multiprocessor system are:

i) Increased throughput
The task in the system can be operated in faster time. Also, more tasks can be
complete processed in short time.
ii) Economy of Scale
Peripheral devices will be shared among multiprocessor systems.
iii) Increased reliability
One of the processor fails to operate will not affect the others to proceed the task
given but the time to proceed will be affected.

Disadvantages of multiprocessor system are the speed will be affected if one processor fail.
Larger main memory will be required.
1.10 What is the purpose of interrupts? What are the differences between a trap and an
interrupt? Can traps be generated intentionally by a user program? If so, for what purpose?

The purpose of interrupts is to alter the flow of execution in response to some event.
An interrupt is triggered in hardware but a trap is triggered in software.
Both may want to interact with some I/O which requires a system call.

1.13 Give two reasons why caches are useful. What problems do they solve? What problems
do they cause? If a cache can be made as large as the device for which it is caching (for
instance, a cache as large as a disk), why not make it that large and eliminate the device?

Caches are useful because it is a high-speed access area that can be reserved section of main
memory or storage device. Most of the programs access the same data or instruction. So, by
keeping as much of those information as possible in high speed static RAM (SRAM), computer
will avoid accessing the slower DRAM, then the computer will perform faster and efficiently.

It will cause the internal storage getting less because it used some spaces in the storage. We have
to delete the caches for speeding up the processor.

A large cache may not be suitable to be made or eliminate the device because it will make the cost
higher.

1.15 Describe a mechanism for enforcing memory protection in order to prevent a program
from modifying the memory associated with other programs.

The mechanism for controlling the access of processes or user to the resources defined by a
computer system. This mechanism must provide means for specification of the controls to be
imposed and means for enforcement. Protection can improve reliability by detecting latent errors
at the interfaces between component subsystems. Whenever a process attempts to access an object,
the operating system can refer to the access matrix to validate the access.
2.2 List five services provided by an operating system that are designed to make it more
convenient for users to use the computer system. In what cases it would be impossible for
user-level programs to provide these services? Explain.

i. Program Execution
The system must be able to load a program into memory and to run that program. The
program must be able to end its execution, either normally or abnormally (indicating
error).

ii. I/O Operations

A running program may require I/O which may involve a file or an I/O decive. Users
should not be control I/O directly because the issues of efficiency and protection.
Therefore, the operating system must provide a means to do I/O such as Device
Manager.

iii. File-system manipulation

Programs need to read and write files and directories. Also, they need to create and
delete them by name, search for a given file, and list file information. Some of the
programs require permissions management to allow or deny access to files or
directories based on file ownership.

iv. Communication
Communication may be implemented via shared memory or through message passing
in which packets of information are moved between process by the operating system.
Some of the process needs to exchange information with another process or processes
that are executing on the same computer or between processes that are executing on
different computer systems tied together by a computer network.

v. Error Detection
Errors may occur in the CPU and memory hardware, in I/O devices, and in the user
program. So, the operating system needs to be constantly aware of those possible errors
and take the appropriate action to ensure correct and consistent computing.

2.5 What are the five major activities of an operating system with regard to file management?
The five major activities of an operating system with regard to file management are:
i) Creating and deleting files
ii) Creating and deleting directories to organize files
iii) Supporting primitives for manipulating files and directories
iv) Mapping files onto secondary stage
v) Backing up files on stable (nonvolatile) storage media.

2.8 What are the two models of interprocess communication? What are the strengths and
weaknesses of the two approaches?

The two models of interprocess communication are:

i) The message-passing model
ii) The shared-memory model
Message-passing model Shared-memory model
i) Message size arbitrary i) Fast
Strength
ii) No user setup necessary ii) Low Resource Usage
i) More copies i) Message size limited
Weaknesses ii) May need arbitrary amounts ii) User hard to use
of storage

2.12 What is the main advantage of the microkernel approach to system design? How do user
programs and system services interact in a microkernel architecture? What are the
disadvantages of using the microkernel approach?

The main advantage is the new services do not need to modify the kernel and it is easier to port
between hardware. Microkernels also provide more security because of less time in privileged
mode.
User programs and system services could interact through both interprocess communication
though message-passing model may more secure.
The main disadvantage is overhead increased because of increased context switching. There will
probably cause more works for programs outside the microkernel too.