Video Transcript
What is an operating system? Keep watching to find out.
An operating system, or OS for short, is software that interacts with hardware on a
computer while also providing a standard interface for applications to perform tasks.
This critical layer of computing allows for an application to perform tasks such as
communicating on the network, or accessing files while the operating system handles
details like how to manage traffic to or from the specific model of network card, or how
to handle writing or retrieving data from the specific type of storage devices included in
the computer. The operating system sits between applications and hardware and makes
the connections between software and the physical resources that do the work.
Examples of operating systems include, mac OS, Windows, and a variety of types of
Linux, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux (often referred to as RHEL).
The OS abstracts the underlying hardware components to allow applications to run on
diverse infrastructure without modifications for specific systems.
An OS also manages resources—including central processing units, or CPUs for short,
memory, storage, and networking—to optimize system performance and prevent
conflicts between multiple running applications. OS command-line interfaces, or CLIs
for short, and graphical user interfaces, often referred to as GUIs) let users interact
more intuitively with the computer and its applications. Security features like user
authentication, access controls, and encryption protect data and resources from
unauthorized access. And error and exception handling capabilities prevent
system crashes and enhance system reliability and overall user experience.
From their origin in the 1950s until today, operating systems have been a key
component in IT environments, and as with other technologies, they have evolved.
Early operating systems focused primarily on batch processing and simple task
scheduling, executing one job at a time. With the introduction of time-sharing systems
in the 1960s, multiple users could interact with a computer simultaneously. The following
decades saw the emergence of operating systems like Unix, which introduced
modularity and portability to computing environments.
During the 1980s, increased sales and adoption of personal computers introduced
operating systems to the general public. The invention of GUIs revolutionized the way
users interacted with computers, making computing accessible to a broader audience.
As the demand for server-based computing grew, Linux emerged as a powerful,
scalable operating system for enterprise datacenters worldwide. First released in 1991,
the Linux kernel offered a free, open source alternative to Unix that anyone could run,
study, share, and modify.
Why do operating systems still matter?
Linux—and RHEL itself—may be older than you are, and you may wonder whether
operating systems are still relevant today. The answer to that question is a resounding
"yes."
Operating systems still matter because they:
● Improve user navigation and interconnectivity:Operating systems connect
hardware, applications, and users. As a fundamental layer in the software stack,
an OS supports interactions between hardware and applications and provides
essential services and resources.
● Ensure hardware and software compatibility:Operating systems manage
hardware resources like storage, networking, and peripherals to increase system
stability and hardware-software compatibility.
● Enhance platform reliability and stability:Operating systems detect and
handle software and hardware errors to provide a stable, reliable platform for
applications and users.
● Boost IT operational efficiency:A consistent OS can serve as a unified
foundation across IT footprints, allowing you to standardize and streamline
operations, increase efficiency, and improve security.
● Protect infrastructure, applications, and data:Operating systems defend
against threats that can compromise the integrity, confidentiality, and availability
of organizations' infrastructure, applications, and data.
● Maximize application and workload performance:Operating systems
manage CPU and memory use to maximize hardware performance for superior
application, workload, and user experiences.
● Improve resource use with virtual machines:As a key part of virtual machine
technologies, operating systems optimize resource use, isolate workloads, and
increase scalability across environments.
● Help provide greater agility, scalability, and consistency:Linux operating
systems support container technologies for deploying and managing modern,
cloud-native applications.
Continue to the next topic, which includes a discussion of Technology Decision Points,
or TDPs for short.