Windows Architecture Vs Linux Architecture ..

A Comparative Study

Presentation Plan
Introduction. Technical Differences. Performance. Comparison Once More. Virtualization. Conclusion. References.

Introduction
License
Linux is open source operating system. Its distribution comes with GNU General Public License(GPL) & GNU Lesser General Public License(LGPL). Contrarily,Microsoft Windows is a closed source. Its distribution comes with Microsoft End User License Agreement (MS-EULA).

Cost The acquisition cost of Windows are generally much

higher than Linux. Microsoft allows a single copy of Windows to run on a single computer. In contrast Linux is completely free and you can run it on any numbers of computer.

Market Share & Usage

Window dominates, on general market share analysis. Windows is generally preferred for desktops but Linux is highly preferred for Servers, Supercomputers and Embedded system. Linux is gaining popularity for smartphones.

Distributions/Flavors
Microsoft Windows family has various main operating systems for personal computer and servers, namely Xp, Vista, Windows 7 (PC) & Window Server 2008. Similarly in the case of Linux, Major distributions are Red Hat,Fedora,SuSe for computers and Android,Maemo,MeeGo for smartphones.

Technical Differences
Hardware Support
The most important aspect of Linux, is its portability. Linux can be compiled to run on huge numbers of processors and platforms with different architectural constraints and needs. While Windows can run on various available architecture, it does not have that level of versatility.

Architecture
Windows
Windows has a hybrid kernel architecture i.e. microkernel architecture as well as monolithic kernel architecture. Windows Architecture consists of two mode: user mode and kernel mode. Further user mode consists of two subsystem, the Environmental subsystem, which runs different applications.

 And the Integral subsytem,which operates system specific functions on behalf of the environment subsystem. Similarly kernel mode has executive services, kernel drivers, a kernel and a Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL). Executive service subsystem is made up of many modules that performs many specific tasks, like I/O Manager,IPC Manager,VM Manager, Power Manager Etc.

Windows Architecture

Hardware Abstraction Layer Provides a consistent platform for kernel to run, by hiding the differences in underlying hardware.

Linux. Linux has monolithic kernel architecture with modules, means Linux is a dynamic kernel, supporting the addition and removal of software components. Linux architecture has two layers. At top is user space where user applications are executed. Below user space is kernel space. Here Linux Kernel exists.

 There is also the GNU C Library which connects the system call interface to the kernel. The Linux Kernel space is divided into 3 levels. At top is the system kernel space and below this is kernel code, which includes the subsystems for Process Management, Memory Management, File System, Networks and device drivers.

Linux Architecture

Performance
Linux is generally considered faster as compared to Windows.

Install Time

Boot time

Virtualization A recent advancement of Linux is its use as an operating system for other operating systems(called a hypervisor). Recently, a modification to the kernel was made called the Kernel-based Virtual Machine.

Comparison Once Again.

Windows Multiprocessor Micro-controller based I/O devices. Client Server distributed computing

Linux Uniprocessor State machine based I/O devices. Standalone interactive systems.

Conclusion
For Windows there is still distinct lack innovation, but the improvements to system stability and performance are what's going to matter to most users. There's nothing in Windows that Linux can't do, and in most cases, do it better. Our machines are quicker and more efficient. Our desktops are more innovative and less static. Our apps are more powerful, cheaper and less partisan, and Linux security has never been better.

References
References:
[1] Linux vs. Windows. http://computerhope.com/issues/ch000575.htm

[2] 10 fundamental differences between Linux and Windows http://blogs.techrepublic.Com.com/10things/?p=406

[3] Linux vs. Windows

http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/Linux.Vs.Windows.html