Franz Vallerie B.

Bueno
BS Computer Engineering 4-2d

Operating System:
An operating system is an essential component of a computer system. The primary objective of an operating system
is to make computer system convenient to use and utilize computer hardware in an efficient manner.

An operating system is a large collection of software, which manages resources of the computer system, such as
memory, processor, file system and input/output devices. It keeps track of the status of each resource and decides
who will have a control over computer resources, for how long and when. The positioning of operating system in
overall computer system is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Component of Computer System

From the figure, it is clear that operating system directly controls computer hardware resources. Other programs rely
on facilities provided by the operating system to gain access to computer system resources. Here are two ways one
can interact with operating system

(i) By means of Operating System Call in a program

(ii) Directly by means of Operating System Commands.

What do operating systems do?

One of the operating system's main tasks is to control the computer's resources—both the hardware and the software.
The operating system allocates resources as necessary to ensure that each application receives the appropriate
amount. In addition to resource allocation, operating systems provide a consistent application interface so that all
applications use the hardware in the same way. This is particularly important if more than one type of computer uses
the operating system or if the computer's hardware is likely to change. By having a consistent application program
interface (API), software written on one computer and can run on other types of computers. Developers face the
challenge of keeping the operating system flexible enough to control hardware from the thousands of different
computer manufacturers.

Operating systems must accomplish the following tasks:

1. Processor management. The operating system needs to allocate enough of the processor's time to each
process and application so that they can run as efficiently as possible. This is particularly important for
multitasking. When the user has multiple applications and processes running, it is up to the operating
system to ensure that they have enough resources to run properly.
2. Memory storage and management. The operating system needs to ensure that each process has enough
memory to execute the process, while also ensuring that one process does not use the memory allocated to
another process. This must also be done in the most efficient manner. A computer has four general types of
memory. In order of speed, they are: high-speed cache, main memory, secondary memory, and disk
 storage. The operating system must balance the needs of each process with the different types of memory
available.
3. Device management. Most computers have additional hardware, such as printers and scanners, connected
to them. These devices require drivers, or special programs that translate the electrical signals sent from the
operating system or application program to the hardware device. The operating system manages the input
to and output from the computer. It often assigns high-priority blocks to drivers so that the hardware can be
released and available for the next use as soon as possible.
4. Application interface. Programmers use application program interfaces (APIs) to control the computer and
operating system. As software developers write applications, they can insert these API functions in their
programs. As the operating system encounters these API functions, it takes the desired action, so the
programmer does not need to know the details of controlling the hardware.
5. User interface. The user interface sits as a layer above the operating system. It is the part of the application
through which the user interacts with the application. Some operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows
and Apple Macintosh, use graphical user interfaces. Other operating systems, such as Unix, use shells.

Evolution of Operating Systems

An operating system may process its task serially (sequentially) or concurrently (several tasks simultaneously). It
means that the resources of the computer system may be dedicated to a single program until its completion or they
may be allocated among several programs in different stages of execution. The feature of operating system to
execute multiple programs in an interleaved fashion or in different time cycles is called as multiprogramming
systems. In this section, we will try to trace the evolution of operating system. In particular, we will describe serial
processing, batch processing and multiprogramming.

Serial Processing:
Programming in 1s and 0s (machine language) was quite common for early computer systems. Instruction and data
used to be fed into the computer by means of console switches or perhaps through a hexadecimal keyboard.
Programs used to be started by loading the program counter register (a register which keeps track of which
instruction of a program is being executed) with the address of the first instruction of a program and its result
(program) used to be examined by the contents of various registers and memory locations of the machine. Therefore,
programming in this style caused a low utilization of both users and machine.

Advent of input/output devices, such as punched cards paper tapes and language translators
(Compiler/Assemblers) brought a significant step in computer system utilization. Program, being coded into
programming language, is first changed into object code (binary code) by translator and then automatically gets
loaded into memory by a program called loader. After transferring a control to the loaded program, the execution of
a program begins and its result gets displayed or printed. Once in memory, the program may be re-run with a
different set of input data.

The Process of development and preparation of a program in such environment is slow and cumbersome due to
serial processing and numerous manual processing. In a typical sequence first the editor is called to create a source
code of user program written in programming language, translator is called to convert a source code into binary code
and then finally loader is called to load executable program into main memory for execution. If syntax errors are
detected, the whole process must be restarted from the beginning.

The next development was the replacement of card-decks with standard input/output and some useful library
programs, which were further linked with user program through system software called linker. While there was a
definite improvement over machine language approach, the serial mode of operation is obviously not very efficient.
This results in low utilization of resources.

Batch Processing:
Utilization of computer resources and improvement in programmer's productivity was still a major prohibition.
During the time that tapes were being mounted or programmer was operating the console, the CPU was sitting idle.
The next logical step in the evolution of operating system was to automate the sequencing of operations involved in
program execution and in the mechanical aspects of program development. Jobs with similar requirements- were
batched together and run through the computer as a group. For example, suppose the operator received one
FORTRAN program, one COBOL program and another FORTRAN program. If he runs them in that order, he
would have to set up for FORTRAN program environment (loading the FORTRAN compiler tapes) then set up
COBOL program and finally FORTRAN program again. If he runs the two FORTRAN programs as a -batch,
however he could set up only once for FORTRAN, thus, saving operator's time.

Batching similar jobs brought utilization of system resources quite a bit. But there were still problems. For example,
when a job is stopped, the operator would have to notice that fact by observing the console, determine why the
program stopped and then load the card reader or paper tape reader with the next job and restart the computer.
During this transition from one job to the next, the CPU sat idle.

To overcome this idle time, a small program called a resident monitor was created which is always resident in the
memory. It automatically sequenced one job to another job. Resident monitor acts according to the directives given
by a programmer through control cards which contain information like marking of job's beginnings and endings,
commands for loading and executing programs, etc. These commands belong to job control language. These job
control language commands are included with user program and data. Here is an example of job control language
commands.
$COB - Execute the COBOL compiler
$JOB - First card of a job
$END - Last card of a job
$LOAD - Load program into memory
$RUN - Execute the user program

Figure 2: Card deck for Cobol Program for a simple batch system

With sequencing of program execution mostly automated by batch operating system, the speed discrepancy between
fast CPU and comparatively slow input/output devices such as card readers, printers emerged as a major
performance bottleneck. Even a slow CPU works in the microsecond range, with millions of instructions per-second.
But, fast card reader, on the other hand, might read 1200 cards per minute. Thus, the difference in speed between the
CPU and its input/output devices may be three orders of magnitude or more.

The relative slowness of input/output devices can mean that CPU is often waiting for input/output. As an example,
an Assembler or Compiler may be able to process 300 or more cards per second. A fast card reader, on the other
hand, may be able to read only 1200 cards per minute. This means that assembling or compiling a 1200 card
program would require only 4 seconds of CPU time but 60 seconds to read. Thus, the CPU is idle for 56 out of 60
seconds or 93.3 per cent of the time. The resulting CPU utilization is only 6.7 per cent. The process is similar for
output operations. The problem is that while an input/output is occurring, the CPU is idle, waiting for the
input/output to complete; while the CPU-is executing. Input/output devices are idle.

Over the years, of course, improvements in technology resulted in faster input/output devices. But CPU speed
increased even faster. Therefore, the need was to increase the throughput and resource utilization by overlapping
input/output and processing operations. Channels, peripheral controllers and later dedicated input/output processors
brought a major improvement in this direction. DMA (Direct Memory Access) chip which directly transfers the
entire block of data from its own buffer to main memory without intervention by CPU was a major development.
While CPU is executing, DMA can transfer data between high-speed input/output devices and main memory. CPU
requires to be interrupted per block only by DMA. Apart from DMA, there are two other approaches to improving
system performance by overlapping input, output and processing. These are buffering and spooling.

Buffering is a method of overlapping input, output and processing of a single job. The idea is quite simple. After
data has been read and the CPU is about to start operating on it, the input device is instructed to begin the next input
immediately. The CPU and input device are then both busy. With luck, by the time that the CPU is ready for the
next data item, the input device will have finished reading it. The CPU can then begin processing the newly read
data, while the input device starts to read the following data. Similarly, this can be done for output. In this case, the
CPU creates data that is put into a buffer until an output device can accept it.
If the CPU is, on the average much faster than an input device, buffering will be of little use. If the CPU is always
faster, then it always finds an empty buffer and has to wait for the input device. For output, the CPU can proceed at
full speed until, eventually all system buffers are full then the CPU must wait for the output device. This situation
occurs with input/output bound jobs where- the amount of input/output relation to computation is very high. Since
the CPU is faster than the input/output device, the input/output device controls the speed of execution, not by the
speed of the CPU.

More sophisticated form of input/output buffering called SPOOLING, (simultaneous peripheral operation on line)
essentially use the disk as a very large buffer (figure 3) for reading and for storing output files.

Figure 3: Spooling

Buffering overlaps input, output and processing of a single job whereas Spooling allows CPU to overlap the input
of one job with the computation and output of other jobs. Therefore this approach is better than buffering. Even
in a simple system, the spooler may be reading the input of one job while printing the output of a different job.

Multiprogramming:
Buffering and spooling improve system performance by overlapping the input, output and computation of a single
job, but both of them have their limitations. A single user cannot always keep CPU or I/O devices busy at all times.
Multiprogramming offers a more efficient approach to increase system performance. In order to increase the
resource utilization, systems supporting multiprogramming approach allow more than one job (program) to utilize
CPU time at any moment. More number of programs competing for system resources, better will be resource
utilization. The idea is implemented as follows. The main memory of a system contains more than one program
(Figure 4).
 Figure 4: Memory layout in multiprogramming environment

The operating system picks one of the programs and start executing. During execution process (program) 1 may
need some I/O operation to complete. In a sequential execution environment (Figure 5a), the CPU would sit idle. In
a multiprogramming system, (Figure 5b) operating system will simply switch over to the next process (program 2).

(a) Execution in sequential programming environment

(b) Execution in multiprogramming environment

Figure 5: Multiprogramming

When that program needs to wait for some I/O operation, it switches over to Program 3 and so on. If there is no other new
program left in the main memory, the CPU will pass its control back to the previous programs.

Multiprogramming has traditionally been employed to increase the resource utilization of a computer system and to support
multiple simultaneously interactive users (terminals).

Compared to operating system which supports only sequential execution, multiprogramming system requires some
form of CPU and memory management strategies which is beyond the scope of this block.

Types of Operating Systems

In this section, we will discuss general properties, types of applications advantages, disadvantages and basic
requirements of different types of operating systems.
Batch Operating System:
As discussed earlier during batch processing environment it requires grouping of similar jobs, which consist of
programs, data and system commands.
The suitability of this type of processing is in programs with large computation time with no need of user interaction
or involvement. Some examples of such programs include payroll, forecasting, statistical analysis, and large
scientific number crunching programs. Users are not required to wait while the job is being processed. They can
submit their programs to operators and return later to collect them.

But it has two major disadvantages:

(i) Non-interactive environment
(ii) Off-line debugging.

Non-interactive environment: There are some difficulties with a batch system from the point of view of user. Batch
operating systems allow little or no interaction between users and executing programs. The time taken between job
submission and job completion in batch operating system is very high. Users have no control over intermediate
results of a program. This type of arrangement does not create flexibility in software development.
The second disadvantage with this approach is that programs must be debugged which means a programmer cannot
correct bugs the moment it occurs.

Multiprogramming Operating System:

Multiprogramming operating systems compared to batch operating systems are fairly sophisticated. As illustrated in
figure 5, multiprogramming has a significant potential for improving system throughput and resource utilization
with very minor differences. Different forms of multiprogramming operating system are multitasking,
multiprocessor and multi-user operating systems. In this section, we will briefly discuss the main features and
functions of these systems.

Multitasking Operating Systems

A running state of a program is called a process or a task. A multitasking operating system supports two or more
active processes simultaneously. Multiprogramming operating system is operating system which in addition to
supporting multiple concurrent processes (several processes in execution states simultaneously) allows the
instruction and data from two or more separate processes to reside in primary memory simultaneously. Note that
multiprogramming implies multiprocessing or multitasking Operation, but multiprocessing operation (or
multitasking) does not imply multiprogramming. Therefore, multitasking operation is one of the mechanism that
multiprogramming operating system employs in managing the totality of computer related resources like CPU,
memory and I/O devices.

Multi-user operating system

It allows simultaneous access to a computer system through two or more terminals. Although frequently associated
with multiprogramming, multi-user operating system does not imply multiprogramming or multitasking. A
dedicated transaction processing system such as railway reservation system that supports hundreds of terminals
under control of a single program is an example of multi-user operating system. On the other hand, general-purpose
time sharing systems (discussed later in this section) incorporate features of both multi-user and multiprogramming
operating system. Multiprocessor operation without multi-user support can be found in the operating system of some
advanced personnel computers and in real systems (discussed later).

Time Sharing System

It is a form of multiprogrammed operating system, which operates in an interactive mode with a quick response
time. The user types a request to the computer through a keyboard. The computer processes it and a response (if
any) is displayed on the user's terminal. A time sharing system allows the many users to simultaneously share the
computer resources. Since each action or command in a time-shared system take a very small fraction of time, only a
little CPU time is needed for each user. As the CPU switches rapidly from one user to another user, each user is
given impression that he has his own computer, while it is actually one computer shared among many users.

The term multitasking is described any system that runs or appears to run more than one application program one
time. An effective multitasking environment must provide many services both to the user and to the application
program it runs. The most important of these are resource management which divides the computers time, memory
and peripheral devices among competing tasks and interprocess communication, which lets tasking co-ordinate their
activities by exchanging information.

Real-time Systems
It is another form of operating system which is used in environments where a large number of events mostly external
to computer systems, must be accepted and processed in a short time or within certain deadlines. Examples of such
applications are flight control, real time simulations etc. Real time systems are also frequently used in military
application.

A primary objective of real-time system is to provide quick response times. User convenience and resource
utilization are of secondary concern to real-time system. In the real-time system each process is assigned a certain
level of priority according to the relative importance of the event processes. The processor is normally allocated to
the highest priority process among those, which are ready to execute. Higher priority process usually pre-empt
execution of lower priority processes. This form of scheduling called, priority based pre-emptive scheduling, is used
by a majority of real-time systems.

Network Operating System:

A network operating system is a collection of software and associated protocols that allow a set of autonomous
computers which are interconnected by a computer network to be used together in a convenient and cost-effective
manner. In a network operating system, the users are aware of existence of multiple computers and can log into
remote machines and copy files from one machine to another machine.

Some of typical characteristics of network operating systems which may be different from distributed operating
system (discussed in the next section) are the followings:
 Each computer has its own private operating system instead of running part of a global system wide
operating system.
 Each user normally works on his/her own system; using a different system requires some kind of remote
login, instead of having the operating system dynamically allocate processes to CPUs.
 Users are typically aware of where each of their files are kept and must move) file from one system to
another with explicit file transfer commands instead of having file placement managed by the operating
system.

The system has little or no fault tolerance; if 5% of the personnel computers crash, only 5% of the users is out of
business.

Network operating system offers many capabilities including:

 Allowing users to access the various resources of the network hosts
 Controlling access so that only users in the proper authorization are allowed to access particular resources.
 Making the use of remote resources appear to be identical to the use of local resources
 Providing up-to-the minute network documentation on-line.

Distributed Operating System:

A distributed operating system is one that looks to its users like an ordinary centralized operating system but runs on
multiple independent CPUs. The key concept here is transparency. In other words, the use of multiple processors
should be invisible to the user. Another way of expressing the same idea is to say that user views the system as
virtual uniprocessor but not as a collection of distinct machines. In a true distributed system, users are not aware of
where their programs are being run or where their files are residing; they should all be handled automatically and
efficiently by the operating system.

Distributed operating systems have many aspects in common with centralized ones but they also differ in certain
ways. Distributed operating system, for example, often allow programs to run on several processors at the same
time, thus requiring more complex processor scheduling (scheduling refers to a set of policies and mechanisms built
into the operating systems that controls the order in which the work to be done is completed) algorithms in order to
achieve maximum utilization of CPU's time.
Fault-tolerance is another area in which distributed operating systems are different. Distributed systems are
considered to be more reliable than uniprocessor based system. They perform even if certain part of the hardware is
malfunctioning. This additional feature supported by distributed operating system has enormous implications for the
operating system.

Advantages of Distributed Operating Systems

There are three important advantages in the design of distributed operating system.
1. Major breakthrough in microprocessor technology: Micro-processors have become very much powerful
and cheap, compared with mainframes and minicomputers, so it has become attractive to think about
designing large systems consisting of small processors. These distributed systems clearly have a
price/performance advantages over more traditional systems.
2. Incremental Growth: The second advantage is that if there is a need of 10 per cent more computing
power, one should just add 10 per cent more processors. System architecture is crucial to the type of system
growth, however, since it is hard to give each user of a personal computer another 10 per cent.
3. Reliability: Reliability and availability can also be a big advantage; a few parts of the system can be down
without disturbing people using the other parts; On the minus side, unless one is very careful, it is easy for
the communication protocol overhead to become a major source of inefficiency.

Which Operating Systems are available?

Windows is the name of a family of operating systems created by the Microsoft Corporation for use with personal
computers. Windows employs a graphical user interface (GUI), which eliminates the need for the user to learn
complex commands. With a GUI, the user instructs the operating system by using a mouse to point and click icons
that are displayed on the screen. Microsoft Windows, first released in 1985, was originally designed as a GUI for
DOS, which uses the command-line approach. In order to communicate with the computer, DOS users must type
commands or instructions at the command prompt, and then the command-line interpreter executes those
commands. The term "DOS" can refer to any operating system, but it is frequently used as a synonym for Microsoft
Disk Operating System (MS-DOS). DOS has limited use with modern computer systems and applications because it
does not support multiple users or multitasking. Some of the other operating systems, including Windows, can also
execute DOS-based applications. Today, most DOS systems have been replaced by more user-friendly systems that
use a GUI.

Windows 3.1 was released in 1991. By then, Windows had gained in market share. Microsoft released Windows 95
in August 1995. It was so well marketed and in such high demand that people bought the operating system, even if
they didn't own a home computer. With each new release, from Windows 98 to Window 2000 to Windows XP,
Microsoft gained popularity. Today, almost every new personal computer comes preloaded with the Windows
operating system. Windows can be run on practically any brand of personal computers. It is estimated that 90
percent of personal computers run the Windows operating system. The remaining 10 percent run the Macintosh
operating system.

UNIX is a multi-user, multitasking operating system, and was designed to be a small, flexible system used by
computer programmers. Since UNIX was designed to be used by programmers, it is not considered to be very user-
friendly for the average person. However, graphical user interfaces have been developed for UNIX to help alleviate
the ease-of-use issue.

Linux is a UNIX variant that runs on several different hardware platforms. Linus Torvalds, a student at the
University of Helsinki in Finland, initially created it as a hobby. The kernel, at the heart of all Linux systems, is
developed and released under the General Public License (GNU), and its source code is freely available to everyone.
There are now hundreds of companies, organizations, and individuals that have released their own versions of
operating systems based on the Linux kernel.

Because of its functionality, adaptability, and robustness, Linux is able to compete against the Unix and Microsoft
operating systems. IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and other computer giants have embraced Linux and support its ongoing
development. More than a decade after its initial release, Linux is being adopted worldwide mainly as a server
platform. More and more people are starting to use Linux as a home and office desktop operating system. The
operating system can also be incorporated directly into microchips in a process called "embedding." Many
appliances and devices are now starting to use operating systems in this way.

Computer System Structure and Components

Computer System Layers:

Conceptual Layers of Computer System in more detail

Hardware Components of Computer System

CPU, Device Controllers, Devices, and Bus

An Example of Computer System Structure

Interrupt and Trap:

 Definition: Software or hardware mechanism used to signal the occurrence of an event. (Sending an event
signal to the CPU)
 Examples: Completion of an I/O operation, Invalid operation (e.g., division by zero), Invalid memory or file
access, etc.
 Type of Interrupts
o Hardware interrupt: generated by hardware (e.g., device controller, CPU timer, hardware failure such as
parity error and power failure, etc.)
o Software Interrupt: generated by software (e.g., Kernel code for a system call)
o Traps: Software interrupt caused by an exceptional software condition or error(e.g., divide by zero,
incorrect use of an instruction, etc.)
 Motivations of Interrupts
o Efficiency: Does not waist CPU time to poll to devices to check the status of the device.
o Fast response of CPU: CPU can be aware of an event as soon as it occurs (no polling).
 Interrupt Processing
1. Event occurs and CPU is interrupted
2. CPU stops current process (job).
3. Disable interrupt
 4. CPU stores the information related to the current process (e.g., program counter, contents of registers, etc)
5. OS looks up the interrupt service table (interrupt vector table) and find the corresponding interrupt service
routine.
6. Executes the interrupt service routine.
7. Resume the interrupted process.
8. Enable interrupt
 Another polling problem: CPU needs to know who triggered an interrupt
o Solution 1: Polling (polling overhead)
o Solution 2: Each interrupt has only one generator (interrupt table and routines are augmented/duplicated)
 Device Status Table: Each entry indicates the status (e.g., busy and idle) of the corresponding device. When the
status is “busy”, the requests are queued and processed later when the device becomes “idle”. A device entry
can have a chain of the requests for the device.

I/O Structure:
 Programmed I/O
1. Application program (process) calls an I/O system call and waits for the I/O to complete.
2. I/O system call routine calls the corresponding I/O function of the device driver.
3. Device driver fills the registers of the device controller and signal “start”
4. The device controller starts the I/O and CPU checks the flag register of the device controller periodically
(polling overhead).
5. After each unit I/O, the device controller sets the flag in its register.
6. CPU finds the flag and moves the data to/from the main memory from/to the controller’s buffer.
7. Repeat from 2, 3, or 4)1 to 6) until all data is transferred to/from the device.

o CPU time is wasted (polling I/O devices)

 Interrupt-driven I/O
1. Application program (process) calls an I/O system call and waits for the I/O completion.
2. I/O system call routine calls the corresponding I/O function of the device driver.
3. Device driver fills the registers of the device controller and signal “start”
4. The device controller starts the I/O and CPU is free from the polling.
5. After each unit I/O, the device controller generates an interrupt signal.
6. CPU stops current process and moves the data to/from main memory from/to the controller’s buffer.
7. Repeat from 2, 3, or 4) to 6) until all data are transferred to/from the device.

o CPU is free from the polling. Thus, CPU can process another job while the device is working on 4) and 5).
However, in a high-speed device, such as disk, step 4) is fast and frequently interrupts the CPU. As a result,
the CPU must switch to the interrupt routines very frequently to move the data in the controller buffer to
main memory (switching overhead). Good for byte (or word)-based slower devices (e.g., keyboard, serial
port)
 Direct Memory Access (DMA)
1. Application program (process) calls an I/O system call and waits for the I/O completion.
2. I/O system call routine calls the corresponding I/O function of the device driver with a destination (main
memory location).
3. Device driver fills the registers in the device controller and signal “start”
4. The device controller starts the I/O and the CPU is free from the polling.
5. After each unit I/O, the device controller (or DMA controller) moves the data to/from the main memory
from/to the controller’s buffer.
6. Repeat from 2, 3, or 4) and 5) until all data are transferred to/from the device.
7. Device controller generates an interrupt signal.
o Since the device controller accesses main memory frequently, CPU processes other jobs at a slower speed.
Good for block-based fast I/O devices (e.g., disk and tape, usually block size is 512, 1K, 2K, or 4K bytes).
 Memory-Mapped I/O
Ranges of main memory addresses are directly mapped to separate device registers. So, I/O is main memory
access. To perform I/O, CPU reads or writes data in these specific memory locations. After the read/write, the
 data keep flow through the system bus and duplicated in the device controller’s registers. Then, device performs
I/O and the data transferred to the controller’s registers are also duplicated in the main memory.
o Additional memory overhead. Good for very fast byte (word)-based devices (e.g., video display)

Storage Structures:

Storage-device hierarchy

 Coherency and Consistency problem: multiple copies of data (see “Read/Write through on Figure 3)
o The problem is more complex in tightly-coupled systems
o The problem is much more complex in loosely-coupled systems

Hardware Protection:
 Example 1. An application program is trying to write on OS kernel code in main memory.
 Example 2. An application program is trying to write on another program in main memory.
 Example 3. An application runs infinite loop and hold CPU time infinitely.
 Example 4. An application program prints indefinitely long data repeatedly.
 Solution: Modern computer systems attack this problem by using “dual-mode operation”. In dual-mode
systems, only OS can access I/O devices, memory, and CPU in its “monitor” mode. User’s process will never
be allowed to directly access system resources. Application programs access these resources through “system
calls” indirectly (c.f., OS needs hardware “mode bit” for this solution: 8088 does not have it, after 80486
support this bit and, as a result, Windows/NT and OS/2 support dual mode operation).
 OS may needs CPU timer and two additional memory registers (base and limit)