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Trevor
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Linux Kernel

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The Linux kernel is the main component of a Linux operating system, and is the core interface between a computer’s hardware and its processes.

The Linux kernel communicates between a computer's hardware and the processes running on that computer, managing resources as efficiently as possible.

The Linux kernel has 4 jobs.  What are they?

 

Trevor "Red Hat Evangelist" Chandler
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Prasannan
Mission Specialist
Mission Specialist
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Kernel 4 jobs are:

1 Memory management, 2 Process management, 3 Device drivers, 4 System calls and security.

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4 Replies
Prasannan
Mission Specialist
Mission Specialist
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Kernel 4 jobs are:

1 Memory management, 2 Process management, 3 Device drivers, 4 System calls and security.

Trevor
Starfighter Starfighter
Starfighter
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Prasannan didn't waste anytime in closing out this query!!!
Touchdown!!!!

  1. Memory management: Keep track of how much memory is used to store what, and where
  2. Process management: Determine which processes can use the central processing unit (CPU), when, and for how long
  3. Device drivers: Act as mediator/interpreter between the hardware and processes
  4. System calls and security: Receive requests for service from the processes
Trevor "Red Hat Evangelist" Chandler
Chetan_Tiwary_
Community Manager
Community Manager
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Just to add spices to @Prasannan 's recipe :  Kernel's job to OS  is like the IC engine job to the vehicle :

Physical Memory Management:

* Allocating and deallocating physical memory pages to processes.
* Implementing memory protection mechanisms to prevent unauthorized process memory access.
*Handling page faults and managing the page cache for efficient I/O.

Virtual Memory Management:

* Creating virtual address spaces for processes and mapping them to physical addresses using page tables.
* Implementing demand paging and managing swap space to extend physical memory.

Process Management:

* Creating new processes, assigning PIDs, and allocating resources.
* Scheduling processes for CPU execution using various algorithms.
* Terminating processes and releasing their resources.

Inter-Process Communication (IPC):

* Facilitating communication between processes using mechanisms like pipes, sockets, and shared memory.

Device Drivers:

* Providing a standardized interface for applications to interact with hardware devices.
* Handling device discovery, configuration, and I/O operations.

Driver Management:

* Dynamically loading and unloading device drivers as needed.

System Call Handling:

* Receiving and processing system call requests from user-space applications.
* Validating parameters and invoking appropriate kernel functions.

Security Enforcement:

* Implementing security policies to protect the system from unauthorized access.
* Using mechanisms like MAC, and SELinux for access control.

Trevor
Starfighter Starfighter
Starfighter
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Chetan,

Those are some very, very nice spices added to the recipe.
This will definitely have folks coming back for seconds and
thirds!!!  Thanks for spicing things up!!!

Trevor "Red Hat Evangelist" Chandler
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