Homework 3 Operating systems software

Unit 4 Network security and systems software

Name:............................................................................. Class:................... Mark:................

1. (a) The operating system of a PC carries out many different functions, including
multi-tasking and memory management.
Explain what is meant by each of these terms.
Multi-tasking:
Is when an Operating system has to manage many tasks at the same time. The OS will
decide which process will next run on the CPU and for how long

A multitasking OS is capable of running several programs at the same time. (1)

The OS allocates a small amount of processor time to each running process in turn (1)

Memory management:
In order to run a command or program, the computer must copy the program from storage
into main memory (RAM) because it s faster for the CPU to use RAM and to read and write
to RAM and the CPU cannot access secondary data directly. To stop overwrites, the OS
will keep a record of where each program and its corresponding data is kept.

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Homework 3 Operating systems software
Unit 4 Network security and systems software

(b) Describe two other functions of an operating system.

User Interface Management which is to provide a method for users to interact with a
computer. There are multiple types of User Interfaces such as GUI, Command Line
Interfaces, memory driven interfaces etc.

The OS must also manage peripheral devices by communicating with device drivers.
Peripheral devices will receive inputs and send outputs to the computer and each device
will have its own driver. An example of a peripheral device is a printer, mice, displays etc.

2. Peripheral devices need a device driver to work.

(a) Give two examples of peripheral devices.

Mice

Keyboards

(b) Explain how device drivers are used on computers.

Device drivers are assigned to a particular device and they are programs which control a
peripheral device. It communicates with to the OS sending outputs and receiving inputs.

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Homework 3 Operating systems software
Unit 4 Network security and systems software

3. Explain two methods which the operating system may use to maintain the security of data
stored on disk.
Method 1:
Encryption which means the data will not be able to be read without a key. This prevents a
hacker from reading the data if the hard drive is removed and placed in another computer.

Method 2:
The OS will keep a record of where each program and its data is stored to stop overwriting
of data. This protects the data on the disk too make sure no data is lost.

[Total 16 marks]