TERM PAPER

OF
CSE-316
(Operating Systems)
Topic: Which OS is used to handle
computer networks, how it works on LAN?

Submitted by:
MANMEET SINGH Submitted to:
Roll. No- RE2801B40 Lect. Pushpendra Kumar Petriya
Reg. No- 10801620
Course- B Tech.(IT)-M Tech.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our

guide Mr Pushpendra Kumar Petriya who encouraged me
with his critical and constructive suggestions in the Term-
paper.
I am also thankful to my FRIENDS for their invaluable
guidance in this Term-paper. They benefited me with
their experience and skills in the Term-paper.
I again thank all the people who helped me in my
Term-paper for their support and encouragement.

Manmeet
Singh
 Student
sign

Contents:

 Operating Systems

 Networking

 Network Operating Systems

 Embedded Operating Systems

 Local Area Networks(LAN)

 Windows NT/2000 Server

 How Network OS works on LAN

 Internet Connection Sharing(ICS)

 Operation of ICS

 Limitations of ICS

• Windows XP SP3 Bug

• IPv6 Issues

 Other Methods

 References
 INTRODUCTION
Operating Systems
An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data that runs on computers
and manages the computer hardware and provides common services for efficient execution of
various application software.

For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system
acts as an intermediary between application programs and the computer hardware, although the
application code is usually executed directly by the hardware, but will frequently call the OS or
be interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a computer
—from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers.

Examples of popular modern operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows,
Mac OS X, and Linux.

Some operating systems are designed for certain types of equipment, such as

• Google Android (a variant of Linux), and Symbian - for cell phones

• Solaris, HP-UX, DG-UX, and other variants of Unix - for server computers
• DEC VMS (Virtual Memory System) - for mainframe computers

Other operating systems enjoyed a period of notoriety but are of only historical interest now:

• Novell Netware was a popular O/S for PCs in the 1990s

• IBM OS/2 was an early PC O/S that competed with Microsoft Windows for a time but
had limited success
• Multics was an especially innovative operating system created in the 1960s for
mainframes, that influenced the later development of Unix

Networking
Currently most operating systems support a variety of networking protocols, hardware, and
applications for using them. This means that computers running dissimilar operating systems can
participate in a common network for sharing resources such as computing, files, printers, and
scanners using either wired or wireless connections.

Networks can essentially allow a computer's operating system to access the resources of a remote
computer to support the same functions as it could if those resources were connected directly to
the local computer. This includes everything from simple communication, to using networked
file systems or even sharing another computer's graphics or sound hardware. Some network
services allow the resources of a computer to be accessed transparently, such as SSH which
allows networked users direct access to a computer's command line interface.

Client/server networking involves a program on a computer somewhere which connects via a

network to another computer, called a server. Servers offer (or host) various services to other
network computers and users. These services are usually provided through ports or numbered
access points beyond the server's network address [disambiguation needed]. Each port number is
usually associated with a maximum of one running program, which is responsible for handling
requests to that port. A daemon, being a user program, can in turn access the local hardware
resources of that computer by passing requests to the operating system kernel.

Many operating systems support one or more vendor-specific or open networking protocols as
well, for example, SNA on IBM systems, DEC net on systems from Digital Equipment
Corporation, and Microsoft-specific protocols (SMB) on Windows. Specific protocols for
specific tasks may also be supported such as NFS for file access. Protocols like ESound, or esd
can be easily extended over the network to provide sound from local applications, on a remote
system's sound hardware.

Network Operating Systems

A modern O/S contains much built-in software designed to simplify networking of a computer.
Typical O/S software includes an implementation of TCP/IP protocol stack and related utility
programs like ping and trace route. This includes the necessary device drivers and other software
to automatically enable a device's Ethernet interface. Mobile devices also normally provide the
programs needed to enable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or other wireless connectivity.

The early versions of Microsoft Windows did not provide any computer networking support.
Microsoft added basic networking capability into its operating system starting with Windows 95
and Windows for Workgroups. Microsoft also introduced its Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
feature in Windows 98 Second Edition (Win98 SE). Contrast that with UNIX, which was
designed from the beginning with networking in view. Nearly any consumer O/S today qualifies
as a network operating system due to the popularity of the Internet.
Embedded Operating Systems
A so-called embedded system supports no or limited configuration of its software. Embedded
systems like routers, for example, typically include a pre-configured Web server, DHCP server,
and some utilities but do not allow the installation of new programs. Examples of embedded
operating systems for routers include:

• Cisco IOS (Internetwork Operating System)

• DD-WRT
• Juniper Junos

An embedded OS can also be found inside an increasing number of consumer gadgets including
phones (iPhone OS), PDAs (Windows CE), and digital media players (iPod Linux).

All About LANs: Local Area Networks

The concept of PC-based network can essentially be traced back to when mainframes and
minicomputers were accessed by stand-alone or dumb terminals. However, with the
advancements in data storage, security, communication speeds, the need to link microcomputers
and networks became crucial.

The local area network or LAN is a group of computers running a specialized communications
software and connected via an external data path to network nodes. A LAN can consist of
workstations with network interface cards (NICs), hubs, gateways, bridges, switches, routers and
servers. The physical media is consisted of Category 5 and fiber optic cabling. Category 5 cables
are horizontal cables that are installed from point-to-point between the workstations and the
electronics, such as hubs or switches that make up the network.

The cat5 cables terminate to the IDF, intermediate distribution facility, and must not exceed
more than 100 meters from the workstations. Fiber optic cables connect all electronic devices
throughout the campus to an MDF, main distribution facility. This houses the enterprise category
network equipment, which are switches that are capable of switching packages at a rate of 10 or
more gigabytes per second and routers with multiple ports that are capable of connecting the
enterprise together.

Windows NT/2000 Server

Typically Microsoft, NT and Windows 2000 do just about everything - but nothing
outstandingly. NT is the slowest and least reliable network server widely used, but makes an
acceptable applications server.

Windows NT has proven a most costly network because low performance requires about 3 times
as many servers as with NetWare or OS/2, and a large amount of administrative effort to keep it
running. We are told Windows 2000 performs better, is much more reliable and less costly to
maintain, but we won't really know if that is true for nearly a year. Microsoft is gearing up to
"encourage" people off of NT as quickly as possible.

We recommend you evaluate adopting Windows 2000 very carefully, because the full function
of Windows 2000 networking requires a total commitment to Microsoft, Windows 2000 and
Active Directory (implemented only on Windows 2000). Attempting to mix Windows 2000 with
any other operating systems, even Windows NT and/or Windows95/98, will make most of
Win2000's advanced features unavailable.

Windows 2000 fully supports only Windows 2000 clients, but partially supports Windows NT,
Windows95/98 and OS/2 clients (OS/2 reluctantly). Windows NT supports Windows95/98,
Windows 3.1, Windows NT/2000, DOS and OS/2 clients.

How Network OS works on LAN

A local area network (LAN) supplies networking capability to a group of computers in close
proximity to each other such as in an office building, a school, or a home. A LAN is useful for
sharing resources like files, printers, games or other applications. A LAN in turn often connects
to other LANs, and to the Internet or other WAN. Most local area networks are built with
relatively inexpensive hardware such as Ethernet cables, network adapters, and hubs. Wireless
LAN and other more advanced LAN hardware options also exist.

Specialized operating system software may be used to configure a local area network. For
example, most flavors of Microsoft Windows provide a software package called Internet
Connection Sharing (ICS) that supports controlled access to LAN resources.

ICS - Internet Connection Sharing

ICS allows a local network of Windows computers to share a single Internet connection.
Microsoft developed ICS as part of Windows 98 Second Edition. The feature has been included
as part of all subsequent Windows releases, but it is not available as a separate installable
program.
ICS follows a client/server model. To set up ICS, one computer must be chosen as the server.
The designated computer must support two network interfaces, one directly connected to the
Internet and the other connected to the remainder of the LAN. In a traditional home dial-up
network, for example, the server computer is directly connected to the modem.

When configured through Windows, the ICS server behaves as a NAT router, directing messages
on behalf of multiple computers. ICS incorporates a DHCP server that allows clients to obtain
their local addresses automatically rather than needing to be set manually.

Compared to hardware routers, ICS has the advantage of being included with the operating
system so no additional purchase is required. On the other hand, ICS lacks many of the
configuration options that hardware routers possess.

Operation of ICS
ICS routes TCP/IP packets from a small LAN to the Internet. ICS maps individual IP addresses
of local computers to unused port numbers in the TCP/IP stack. Due to the nature of the NAT, IP
addresses on the local computer are not visible on the Internet. All packets leaving or entering
the LAN are sent from or to the IP address of the external adapter on the ICS host computer.

On the host computer the shared connection is made available to other computers by enabling
ICS in Network Connections, and other computers that will connect to and use the shared
connection. Therefore, ICS requires at least two network connections. Normally ICS is used
when there are several network interface cards installed on the host. In special cases, only one
network interface card is required and other connections may be logical. For example, the host
may connect to Internet using a modem/router configured in the bridge mode and share the
PPPoE connection with ICS.

Limitations of ICS
However, while ICS makes use of DHCP, there is no way to review (renew?) DHCP leases using
ICS. The service is also not customizable in terms of which addresses are used for the internal
subnet, and contains no provisions for bandwidth limiting or other features. ICS also was
designed to connect only to Windows OS computers: computers on other Operating Systems will
require different steps to be able to utilize ICS.

The server will normally have the IP address 192.168.0.1 (the IP Address is changeable) and will
provide NAT services to the whole 192.168.0.x subnet, even if the address on the client was set
manually, not by the DHCP server. Windows 7 uses the subnet 192.168.137.x by default.
Besides making sure that the firewall settings are correct, for Windows XP hosts with more than
one Ethernet interface card and a wireless WAN connection, bridging the Ethernet interface
cards may help eliminating some ICS problems. It is found from repeated testing that without
bridging, ICS may not work correctly if only one of the several Ethernet cards is selected from
the wireless connection's Internet Connection Sharing option drop down box.

Windows XP SP3 Bug: Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) introduces a bug in ICS
that requires restarting the ICS Windows service after several events, including
disconnecting the network cable from the ICS machine.

• In Microsoft support article KB951446, the process of restarting the ICS service is
explained, but there is no mention of a plan to fix this bug in the future.
• In later Microsoft support article KB951830, more details and a hotfix (Update for
Windows XP (KB951830)) are given. This hotfix is not currently being distributed via
Windows Update, and so it must be manually installed.

IPv6 Issues: There is a problem with ICS and the IPv6 protocol. It causes systems running
ICS to halt on new processes after connecting with a dial-up modem. Any computers
using that ICS computer as a host will not be able to access the Internet until the halt
ends. Once the system accepts commands again, any new programs started during that
time are all opened at once. The issue is caused by running the "Network Setup Wizard",
as it installs IPv6 into the computer it was run on. A possible workaround involves
uninstalling the IPv6 protocol on the affected computer, which may cause additional
problems once IPv6 addresses are depended on to resolve domain names in the next few
years.

Other Methods
With the advent of Home and Personal Networking in the mid-to-late 2000's, routers, Wi-Fi
Access Points, and other serial communication options have replaced widespread use of Internet
Connection Sharing. These alternatives to using Internet Connection Sharing can utilize either
dial-up networking (Most focus on the computer with a phone modem to act as a Gateway server
to the others sharing the connection) or other connection methods.

REFERENCES:
• www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SMG/is.../ai_8219632/

• www.aaxnet.com/topics/lan.html
 • www.experts-exchange.com/OS/...Operating_Systems/.../Q_26175725.html

• www.howstuffworks.com › ... › Computer Hardware › Networking

• www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article...

• itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com › ... › Networking

• www.techinterviews.com/network-administrator-interview-questions

• www.compnetworking.about.com/.../basicnetworkingconcepts/.../network
-operating-systems.htm

• www.freewimaxinfo.com/server-types.html

• www.articlesbase.com/networks.../server-computer-client-computers-and-
computer-network-topology-2911424.html

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