BN104 - Operating Systems

Credit Points: 15 credit points

Workload: 48 hours

Prerequisite: N/A

Co-requisite: N/A

Aims & Objectives

This is a core unit out of a total of 24 units in the Bachelor of Networking (BNet). This unit addresses the BNet course learning outcomes and complements other courses in a related field by developing students’ knowledge and skills in operating systems. For further course information refer to: http://www.mit.edu.au/study-with-us/programs/bachelor-networking. This unit is part of the AQF Level 7 (BNet) course.

This unit provides students with an overview of the functionality of Operating Systems, and their relationship with computer operations.  Students will be presented with the main components of an Operating System, and how they cooperate with the hardware to provide a range of services.  The discussions will include some skills and techniques to use operating systems such as Windows and Unix/Linux. This unit will cover the following areas:

  • Operating system principles
  • Process management, scheduling and dispatching
  • Deadlock, device management
  • User Interface and Introduction to Unix/Linux 
  • Virtualisation and cloud computing
  • Android Operating systems

Learning Outcomes

4.1 Course Learning Outcomes
The Course learning outcomes applicable to this unit are listed on the Melbourne Institute of Technology’s website: www.mit.edu.au 
    
4.2 Unit Learning Outcomes
At the completion of this unit students should be able to:
a. Report on the basics, and provide examples, of operating systems structure and functionality, including memory allocation, virtual memory, demand paging and process and device management. 
b. Describe the integration of hardware, operating systems and application software.
c. Explain in detail the functioning of some devices such as peripherals (e.g. printers and network connections).
d. Discuss the most common file systems structure and technology.
e. Explain the concept of user interfaces and their role in the functionality of an OS.
f. Demonstrate competency in the use of a command line interface to operate with and manage an OS such as UNIX, and perform simple UNIX (Linux) administration.
g. Support and troubleshoot operating systems and applications at an introductory level.

Weekly Topics

This unit will cover the content below:

Week # Lecture Topic Laboratory
1 Overview of subject and administration. Introduction to an Operating System. Roles of Operating system and its different managers. History of development of Operating Systems. Structure & Function of OSs Familiarisation with environment, Lab W1
2 Memory management and protection. Partitions. Relocation. Memory allocation and deallocation. Memory allocation scheme, Fragmentation. Quiz, Lab W2
3 Memory allocation methods, Virtual Memory. Paging. Demand paging. Memory replacement policies. Quiz, Lab W3
4 Process management 1: Different levels of job scheduler, Job and Process state transitions. Process Control block. Quiz, Lab W4
5 Process management 2: Job and Process scheduling policies and algorithms. Interrupt handler. Quiz, Lab W5
6 Concurrent processing. Deadlock. Livelock and starvation. Modelling deadlock with directed graph, strategies for handling deadlock. Quiz, Lab W6
7 Device management. Different types of devices, components of I/O system. Device handler’s seek strategies. Blocks and Buffers. DMA, Device controllers, RAID Quiz, Lab W7
8 File systems. Responsibilities of file manager. File naming. File types. Directory structures. File access controls. Quiz, Lab W8
9 User Interface. The Unix/Linux Operating System Quiz, Lab W9
10 Virtualisation and Cloud Computing Quiz, Lab W10
11 Android Operating Systems Quiz, Lab W11
12 Review Revision Quiz

Assessment

Assessment Task Due Date A B Learning Outcomes Assessed
Formative Assignment 1 Week 3 (10/04/2022) 3%   a-b
In-Class Test Week 7 (05/05/2022)   7% a-c
Assignment 2 Week 11 (03/06/2022) 30%   a-g
Laboratory participation & submissions Week 2 – 11 (10/06/2022) 10%   a-g
Final Examination (2 hours)     50% a-g
TOTALS   43% 57%  

Task Type: Type A: unsupervised, Type B: supervised.

Class Participation and Contribution
This unit has class participation and student contribution as an assessment. The assessment task and marking rubric will follow the Guidelines on Assessing Class Participation (https://www.mit.edu.au/about-us/governance/institute-rules-policies-and-plans/policies-procedures-and-guidelines/Guidelines_on_Assessing_Class_Participation). Further details will be provided in the assessment specification on the type of assessment tasks and the marking rubrics.

Presentations (if applicable)
For presentations conducted in class, students are required to wear business attire.

Textbook and Reference Materials

Text Book:

  • P. Rathee, Basic Principles of an Operating System: Learn the Internals and Design Principles, BPB Publications, 2019. 
  • A. McHoes and I. M. Flynn, Understanding operating systems, 7th ed., Boston: Cengage Learning November 2013. 

Reference Books:

  • G. Tomsho, Guide to Operating Systems, 5th ed., Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016. 
  • A. S. Tanenbaum, Modern Operating System, 4th ed., Essex: Pearson Education Limited, 2015.

Further reading:

  • W.  S.  Davis, Operating systems: a systematic view,  7th  revised ed.,  Pearson Higher Education. 2012.

Internet resources:

Adopted Reference Style: IEEE

Graduate Attributes

MIT is committed to ensure the course is current, practical and relevant so that graduates are “work ready” and equipped for life-long learning. In order to accomplish this, the MIT Graduate Attributes identify the required knowledge, skills and attributes that prepare students for the industry.
The level to which Graduate Attributes covered in this unit are as follows:

Ability to communicate Independent and Lifelong Learning Ethics Analytical and Problem Solving Cultural and Global Awareness Team work Specialist knowledge of a field of study

Legend

Levels of attainment Extent covered
The attribute is covered by theory and practice, and addressed by assessed activities in which the students always play an active role, e.g. workshops, lab submissions, assignments, demonstrations, tests, examinations.
The attribute is covered by theory or practice, and addressed by assessed activities in which the students mostly play an active role, e.g. discussions, reading, intepreting documents, tests, examinations.
The attribute is discussed in theory or practice; it is addressed by assessed activities in which the students may play an active role, e.g. lectures and discussions, reading, interpretation, workshops, presentations.
The attribute is presented as a side issue in theory or practice; it is not specifically assessed, but it is addressed by activities such as lectures or tutorials.
The attribute is not considered, there is no theory or practice or activities associated with this attribute.