School of Computing Science and Engineering

Lecture Notes
on

Unit-1
(Network Operating System)

Session: 2021-22

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 1/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Objective

After studying this content, you will be able to:

• Basics of Network Operating System
• Features of Network Operating System
• Types of Network Operating System
• Advantages and disadvantages of diffrent types of Network
Operating System

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 2/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

What is a Network Operating System (NOS)?

• Network Operating System is an operating system that includes special
functions for connecting computers and devices into a local-area
network (LAN) or Inter-network.
• Some popular network operating systems are Novell Netware, Windows
NT/2000, Linux, Sun Solaris, UNIX, and IBM OS/2.
• The network operating system which was first developed is Novell
Netware. It was developed in 1983.
• An operating system that provides the connectivity among a num- ber
of autonomous computers is called a network operating sys- tem.
• A typical configuration for a network operating system is a collec- tion
of personal computers along with a common printer, server and file
server for archival storage, all tied together by a local network.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 3/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Features of Network Operating System

1 It allows multiple computers to connect so that they can share data,
files and hardware devices.
2 Provide basic operating system features such as support for processors,
protocols, automatic hardware detection and support multi-processing
of applications.
3 Provide security features such as authentication, logon
restrictions and access control.
4 Provide name and directory services.
5 Provide file, print, web services and back-up services.
6 Support Internet working such as routing and WAN ports.
7 User management and support for logon and logoff, remote access;
system management, administration and auditing tools with
graphical interfaces.
8 It has clustering capabilities.
Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 4/20
 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Features of Network Operating System (Cont.)

1 It has internet working features. Example: Routing.
2 In this, the users can remotely access each other.
3 It also includes security features.
Example: authentication of data, restrictions on required data,
authorizations of users etc.
4 It can also manage directory and name services.
5 It also provides basic network administration utilities like access to
the user.
6 It also provides priority to the printing jobs which are in the
queue in the network.
7 It detects the new hardware whenever it is added to the system.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 5/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Differences between PCs and a NOS

• PCs function as clients in a NOS environment. By using the functions

of the PC native operating system, the user is able to access resources
that are local to the PC. These include applications, files, and devices
that are directly attached such as printers. When a PC becomes a
client in a NOS environment, additional specialized software enables
the local user to access nonlocal or remote resources as if these resources
were a part of the local system. The NOS enhances the reach of the
client PC by making remote services available as extensions of the local
native operating system.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 6/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Differences between PCs and a NOS(Cont.)

• Although a number of users may have accounts on a PC, only a single

account is active on the system at any given time. In contrast, a NOS
supports multiple user accounts at the same time and enables
concurrent access to shared resources by multiple clients. Servers must
support multiple users and act as repositories of resources that are
shared by many clients. Servers require specialized software and
additional hardware. Figure below illustrates this concept further. The
server must contain several user accounts and be capable of allowing
more than one user access to network resources at a time

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 7/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Differences between PCs and a NOS(Cont.)

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 8/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Multiuser, multitasking, and multiprocessor

systems
• In order to support multiple concurrent users and to provide shared access to
network services, resources, and devices, NOS servers must run operating
systems with characteristics that extend beyond those of client PCs.
• A NOS server is a multitasking system. Internally, the OS must be
capable of executing multiple tasks or processes at the same time. Server
operating systems accomplish this with scheduling software that is built into
the execution environment. The scheduling software allocates internal
processor time, memory, and other elements of the system to different tasks in
a way that allows them to share the systems resources. Each user on the
multiuser system is supported by a separate task or process internally on the
server. These internal tasks are created dynamically as users connect to the
system and are deleted when users disconnect.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 9/20

Characteristics of Network Operating System

support component
security component
user setup component
printing and file services component
email component
NOS services

DHCP services
DNS services
E-mail services
Web services
File and print services
Group policies
Directory services
 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Types of Network Operating Systems

• Peer-to-Peer(P2P) Operating System

• Client- Server Operating System

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 12/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Peer-to-Peer(P2P) Operating System

• Peer-to-peer network operating systems allow users to share re- sources

and files located on their computers and to access shared resources
found on other computers.
• In a peer-to-peer network, all computers are considered equal; they all
have the same privileges to use the resources available on the network.
• Peer-to-peer networks are designed primarily for small to medium local
area networks.
• Windows for Work-groups is an example of the program that can
function as peer-to-peer network operating systems.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 13/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Advantages of Peer-to-Peer(P2P) Operating

System

• Less requirement of hardware is there.

• No server needs to be established.
• Its setup process is natural.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 14/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Disadvantages of Peer-to-Peer(P2P) Operating

System

• It has no central location for storage, i.e. different systems have

different storage capacity.
• It has less security as compared to the client-server model.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 15/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Client/server network operating systems

• Client/server network operating systems allow the network to cen-
tralize functions and applications in one or more dedicated file servers.
• The file servers become the heart of the system, providing access to
resources and providing security.
• The workstations (clients) have access to the resources available on the
file servers.
• The network operating system allows multiple users to share the same
resources irrespective of physical location simultaneously.
• Novell Netware and Windows 2000 Server are examples of client/ server
network operating systems.
• Each computer in the work-group run an autonomous operating system;
yet cooperate to allow a variety of facilities including sharing of files,
sharing of hardware resources and execution of

Course:
Unit-1(Part-1)
 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Client/server network operating systems(Cont.)

• Network operating systems are implementations of loosely coupled
operating systems on top of loosely coupled hardware.
• Network operating systems is the software that supports the use of a
network of machines and provides users that are aware of using a set
of computers, with facilities designed to ease the use of remote
resources located over the network.
• These resources are made available as services and might be print- ers,
processors, file systems or other devices.
• A typical example of such a system is a set of workstations con- nected
through a local area network (LAN).
• A user can execute a login command to connect to another sta- tion and
also can access a set of shared files maintained by a workstation
named/file server.
Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 18/20
 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Advantages of Client Server Operating System

• In this, security to the machines is provided through the server.

• Here, hardware can be easily connected to the system.
• Also, new technology is easily integrated into the system.
• The central server is more stable in a client-server model.
• Hardware and the operating system can be specialized.
• In this model, different machines can remotely access the server from
different locations.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 19/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Disadvantages of Client Server Operating System

• It seems to be costly as buying and running a server is cost effec- tive.

• Also, here we always have to depend on the central location for any
type of operation like for storage, for accessing of data etc..
• It requires regular maintenance.
• Daily updation is required as per requirement.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 20/20

 School of Computing Science and Engineering

Thank you for your attention.

Course: Network Operating System Unit-1(Part-1) 21/20