- Portfolio of practical tasks weighted at 50% (learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4).
- Investigation with a presentation weighted at 50% (learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4). Final assessment.

Content will focus on:-
Operating systems as they relate to smartphones, the tables and the PC’s, servers and the cloud.
Examination of the purpose of an operating system, the operating system as program environment, the relevance and usefulness of a virtual machine.
Operating system structure, layered systems, monolithic systems, relevance to distributed systems and mobile devices.

Minimum hardware requirements, system functions, constraints and characteristics.

The importance of concurrency, synchronisation and communication.
Basic kernel components, interrupt handling, low level scheduling, communication.
Memory management and protection, input and output, request quests, synchronous and a synchronous I/O. Device drivers, ancillary device driver processes (rationale and implementation), buffering, spooling.

Data storage, internal, external and cloud.
Performance, reliability and security considerations. Remote file systems. System backup and recover. Active directory features and roles, including clustering, dns, dchp, remote access, virtualisation.

Access to various operating systems both during and outside of supervised sessions. This could be in a work place, lab or in the home.

Only available to students on HNC/HND and Foundation Degrees.

Abraham Silberschatz, Peter B Galvin, Greg Gagne. (2013), Operating System Concepts, 9th Edition, John Wiley, ISBN 978-1118093757

1) Describe and understand the core features of an operating system. (Knowledge and Understanding).
2) Compare and contrast different ways that different operating systems provide features to users. (Communication, Reflection).
3) Evaluate the different types of operating systems available and how they support system requirements. (Analysis).
4) Develop the necessary skills to install, manage and use a variety of modern operating systems. (Application).

13 hours of tutor led sessions, supported by at least 18 hours of work-based or laboratory learning where specific tasks are to be completed. Students will have access to assistance (remote or face-to-face) for guidance and feedback. Independent practical work (either in the workplace or laboratory) will be required to complete the portfolio of tasks. There will also be independent academic study and work-based learning.