Operating System As a Resource Manager | OS Tutorials

An operating system can also work as a resource manager. A computer is a set of resources (memory, peripheral devices, etc.) for the movement, storage, and processing of data and for the control of these functions; the operating system is responsible.

The Operating system acts as the manager of these resources (hardware and software) and allocates them to specific programs and users as necessary for tasks. Since there may be many conflicts regarding requests for resources, etc. The operating system must decide which requests are allocated resources to operate the computer system in an efficient manner. The OS functions in the same way as an ordinary computer. Like other computer programs, the OS provides instructions for the processor.

Figure 1 suggests the main resources that are managed by the operating system. As shown in Figure 1, a portion of the OS is in main memory. This includes the kernel or nucleus, which contains the most frequently used functions of the operating system and, at a given time, other portions of the OS currently in use. The remainder of the main memory contains the user program and data.

The allocation of this resource (main memory) is controlled jointly by the OS and memory management hardware. The OS decides when an I/O device can be used by a program in execution and controls access to and use of files. Since the processor itself is a resource, the OS must determine how much processor time is to be devoted to the execution of a particular user program.