Process Description and Control

Operating System Control Structures Information the OS needs to keep around: Memory tables I/O tables File tables Process tables Tables are constructed for each entity the operating system manages The OS has to manage and protect these tables

Process Control Structures Process Image Collection of program, data, stack, and attributes

Process Control Block Process identification Processor State Information User-Visible Registers Control and Status Registers Stack Pointers Process Control Information Scheduling and State Information Process state Priority Scheduling-related information Event Data Structuring Interprocess Communication Process Privileges Memory Management Resource Ownership and Utilization

Process Control Block (continued…) Process identification Numeric identifiers that may be stored with the process control block and include Identifier of this process Identifier of creator process (parent process) User identifier Processor State Information User-Visible Registers Control and Status Registers Stack Pointers

Process Control Block (continued…) Processor State Information User-Visible Registers A register is one that may be referenced by means of the machine language that the processor executes. (Typically, 8 to 32) Control and Status Registers •Program counter: Address of the next instruction to be fetched •Condition codes: Results of the most recent arithmetic or logical operation (e.g., sign, zero, carry, equal, overflow) •Status information: Interrupt enabled/disabled flags, execution mode Stack Pointers Each process has one or more last-in-first-out (LIFO) system stacks associated with it. A stack is used to store parameters and calling addresses for procedure and system calls. The stack pointer points to the top of the stack.

Process Control Block (continued…) Process Control Information Scheduling and State Information This is information that is needed by the operating system to perform its scheduling function. Typical items of information: •Process state: defines the readiness of the process to be scheduled for execution (e.g., running, ready, waiting, halted). •Priority: One or more fields may be used to describe the scheduling priority of the process. In some systems, several values are required (e.g., default, current, highest-allowable) •Scheduling-related information: This will depend on the scheduling algorithm used. Examples are the amount of time that the process has been waiting and the amount of time that the process executed the last time it was running. •Event: Identity of event the process is awaiting before it can be resumed

Process Control Block (continued…) Process Control Information Data Structuring A process may be linked to other process in a queue, ring, or some other structure. For example, all processes in a waiting state for a particular priority level may be linked in a queue. A process may exhibit a parent-child (creator-created) relationship with another process. The process control block may contain pointers to other processes to support these structures.

Process Control Block (continued…) Process Control Information Interprocess Communication Various flags, signals, and messages may be associated with communication between two independent processes. Some or all of this information may be maintained in the process control block. Process Privileges Processes are granted privileges in terms of the memory that may be accessed and the types of instructions that may be executed. In addition, privileges may apply to the use of system utilities and services.

Process Control Block (continued…) Process Control Information Memory Management This section may include pointers to segment and/or page tables that describe the virtual memory assigned to this process. Resource Ownership and Utilization Resources controlled by the process may be indicated, such as opened files. A history of utilization of the processor or other resources may also be included; this information may be needed by the scheduler.

User Processes in Virtual Memory

When a program ‘forks()’ We already know how new processes get created in the UNIX/Linux environment (i.e., via the ‘fork()’ function or system-call) A child-process gets constructed using the same code and data as its parent-process Yet each task’s memory-regions are kept ‘private’ (i.e., accessible to it alone) So how exactly is this feat achieved?

Similar memory-mappings virtual memory virtual memory physical memory kernel space kernel space stack stack user space stack user space data data stack text data data text text parent-process child-process

Processor State Information Contents of processor registers User-visible registers Control and status registers Stack pointers Program status word (PSW) contains status information Examples: EFLAGS register on Pentium machines MSR on Power PC’s

Pentium II EFLAGS Register

Motorola Power PC MSR POW = Power management enable SE = Single-step trace enable TGPR = Temporary GPR remapping BE = Branch trace enable ILE = Exception little-endian mode FE1 = Floating-point exception mode 1 EE = External interrupt enable CE = Critical interrupt exception enable PR = Privilege level IP = Exception prefix FP = Floating-point available IR = Instruction address translation ME = Machine check enable DR = Data address translation FE0 = Floating-point exception mode 0 RI = Recoverable exception LE = Little-endian mode enable

Modes of Execution User mode System mode, control mode, or kernel mode Less-privileged mode User programs typically execute in this mode System mode, control mode, or kernel mode More-privileged mode Kernel of the operating system

Process Creation Assign a unique process identifier Allocate space for the process Initialize process control block Set up appropriate linkages Ex: add new process to linked list used for scheduling queue Create or expand other data structures Ex: maintain an accounting file

When to Switch a Process Clock interrupt process has executed for the maximum allowable time slice I/O interrupt Memory fault memory address is in virtual memory so it must be brought into main memory Trap error occurred may cause process to be moved to Exit state Supervisor call such as file open

Context Switch Saving the state of one process and loading another process onto the CPU Pure Overhead length of time varies from machine to machine somewhere between 1 and 1000 microseconds hardware support makes it faster Time to perform a context switch can determine how long a process is active.

CPU Switch From Process to Process

Change of Process State Save context of processor including program counter and other registers Update the process control block of the process that is currently running Move process control block to appropriate queue - ready, blocked Select another process for execution Update the process control block of the process selected Update memory-management data structures Restore context of the selected process

Execution of the Operating System Non-process Kernel execute kernel outside of any process operating system code is executed as a separate entity that operates in privileged mode Execution Within User Processes operating system software within context of a user process process executes in privileged mode when executing operating system code Process-Based Operating System major kernel functions are separate processes Useful in multi-processor or multi-computer environment

Where does the OS execute? P1 P2 Pn OS func- tions … Process switching functions Kernel P1 P2 Pn … P1 P2 Pn … OS1 OSk Process switching functions

UNIX SVR4 Process Management Most of the operating system executes within the environment of a user process P1 OS func- tions P2 OS func- tions P3 OS func- tions Pn OS func- tions Process Switching Functions

UNIX Process States

Process Scheduling Queues Job queue – set of all processes in the system. Ready queue – set of all processes residing in main memory, ready and waiting to execute. Device queues – set of processes waiting for an I/O device. Process migration between the various queues.

Ready Queue And Various I/O Device Queues

Representation of Process Scheduling

Schedulers Long-term scheduler (or job scheduler) – selects which processes should be brought into the ready queue. Short-term scheduler (or CPU scheduler) – selects which process should be executed next and allocates CPU.

Addition of Medium Term Scheduling

Schedulers (Cont.) Short-term scheduler is invoked very frequently (milliseconds)  (must be fast). Long-term scheduler is invoked very infrequently (seconds, minutes)  (may be slow). The long-term scheduler controls the degree of multiprogramming. Processes can be described as either: I/O-bound process – spends more time doing I/O than computations, many short CPU bursts. CPU-bound process – spends more time doing computations; few very long CPU bursts.