Analyzing Network Operating Systems

Network Operating Systems operate on servers, offering them the capacity of managing information, groups, users, applications, networking functions, security, etc. Network operating systems' key role is enabling sharing of printers and files among several computers within a given network (normally a LAN (local area network) or private network) (Sen, 2016, p. 5)

The environment network operating systems manage, comprising of loosely interconnected machines, will be taken up for discussion in this section. The term 'loosely' linked implies these devices do not possess any memory bus -- CPU level hardware connections. Rather, they are interconnected via software-operated external interfaces. Network operating systems offer numerous facilities like information sharing, file sharing, cooperative computation, peripheral sharing, and remote execution. They are independent operating systems which support this kind of cooperation. A collection of devices constituting a network operating system's management sphere is termed as distributed system. Distributed operating systems are extensions of network operating systems, allowing much higher level machine integration and cooperation on networks (e.g., dynamic resource location, task migration, etc.). The section will also cover more details on distributed systems (Dasgupta, 1997, p. 1)

Fig. 1 (Hhecht, 2002)

Services by Network Operating Systems

Akin to usual operating systems, a network operating system offers services to programs running across operating systems. But, service type and manner of service delivery are rather different. Service implementation necessitates the employment of many machines, server processes and message dissemination. Explained below are the common services network operating systems deliver, which will be taken up in detail within this section:

1. Peripheral sharing -- Peripherals that are connected to a particular computer are usually shared with neighboring devices, through peripheral sharing facilities, which go by numerous names, including printer sharing, remote device access, shared disks, etc.

2. Transparent, remote file service -- This represents the most widely used and most vital network operating system service. File services enable users of a group of machines to gain access to storage objects such as files from any machine on the network.

3. Naming and Directory service -- Network Operating System-run computer networks may eventually become quite large. One issue with a large network is maintaining data on service availability and physical location. This issue is resolved by directory services or name services.

4. Remote procedure call (RPC) service -- This represents a certain mechanism for service implementing within network operating systems.

5. Brokerage and Object service -- RPC's popularity and effectiveness, together with the mid-80's object-orientation rage resulted, firstly, in Object Services development, and subsequently, Brokerage services.

6. Synchronization and Time service -- Management of time on distributed systems represents an integrally conceptually challenging task. Every machine operates on its own distinctive clock, with individual clocks drifting independently. A memory service provides processes operating on different machines with a logical segment of shared memory. Such servers deliver the service; processes will be able to attach to shared memory segments, which servers automatically keep consistent.

7. Group communication service -- This represents a multicasting extension, for communication of process groups. If the message recipient is a collection of processes, messages are termed multicast messages (likewise, if there is only one recipient, the messages are unicast, and if all processes receive the message, the term broadcast is employed). (Dasgupta, 1997, pp. 1-2)

The aforementioned network operating system services provide only a small glimpse of different services. This section will take up a thorough analysis of the above services, in addition to network operating systems' disadvantages and advantages.

Types of Network Operating Systems

Operating systems like Mac and UNIX possess in-built networking functions. Network operating system is, however, a term normally utilized for software which enhances basic operating systems by means of adding networking aspects. Some examples of network operating systems are Microsoft Windows Server, Windows NT, Novell Netware, and Artisoft's LANtastic. (Hissom, 2006) Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Linux, UNIX, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, BSD and Mac OS X are also network operating systems (Sen, 2016). Therefore, this part of the paper will look at different network operating systems.

Mechanisms for Network Operating Systems

A network operating system offers three key mechanisms for supporting the services it delivers, namely, (1) RPC, (2) Distributed Shared Memory (DSM), and (3) Message Passing. The above mechanisms support the IPC (Inter-Process Communication) feature. Although each of the three mechanisms cited above works in case of every type of inter-process communication, programmers prefer DSM and RPC. This section will analyze and assess the above mechanisms. (Dasgupta, 1997, p. 11)