What is Kernel in Operating System
In this article you are going to read about What is kernel in operating system, their objective and 5 types.
The kernel is the protected part of an operating system that runs in the kernel mode.
It is the first layer of operating system that was only the objects and operations provided by the hardware.
Kernel is the control module of of an operating system.
It means OS is nothing without Kernel. You can also say, this is the most important part of An Operating system.
When you give power to the computer, the first thing that loads boot-loader after that Kernel because they also have to manage their OS. They also stores memory until the shutdown of system.
It is important for the kernel to be as small as possible and then still providing all the important services required by the other parts of an OS and applications.
- What is an Operating System? Types of Operating System
- Functions of Operating system
- 225 Full Forms In computer
Objectives of Kernel in Operating System
- Decide and Managing the incoming processes.
- Control task management.
- Control Memory Management
- Control Disk Management
- Control Process Management
Types of Kernel in Operating System
Monolithic, Micro, Hybrid, Nano, and Exo are the 5 different types of kernel are present. They all have unique features that make them different from others. Let’s take a look at some more details about their types.
Monolithic Kernel
This is OS architecture where the entire Operating System is operating in kernel space. It has more complex code than others. It has more dependencies between the system Components. UNIX and LINUX are some basic examples of Monolithic Kernel.
Advantage
Through only system calls, it provides system scheduling, memory scheduling, and file management, as well as Performance, is very good.
Disadvantage
Any service failure may cause whole system failure.
Microkernel
This is different from monolithic because this is micro, user and kernel services are executed into different spaces.
Using kernel space and user space reduces the kernel size and it directly affects the performance of OS in a good way by reducing the OS size.
Advantages
- It is very easy to add new services to this kernel version.
- More stability than others.
Disadvantage
There are lot of context switches in this version.
Hybrid Kernel
The combination of Monolithic and Micro makes Hybrid Kernel. They takes stability from micro and speed from monolithic, that makes him a good choice.
Advantage
It has both speed as well as Stability.
Disadvantage
Having all the features not good for this because it reduces the performance of hybrid.
Nano Kernel
According to his name, the whole code of this kernel is very small. The nano kernel means the process of working is nanosecond.
It offers hardware abstractions without system Services. This is the same as microkernel but not used same as micro.
Advantage
It can run within just 100 KB of memory.
Disadvantage
They are small kernels relatively to others, they provide very basic OS services.
Exokernel
This is different from others in their design complexity, but they can follow end to end principle. It is also hard for application developers because they have to do more work than other versions looking at their complexity.
Advantage
Fewer hardware abstractions
Disadvantage
Very complex design is the disadvantage of this kernel.
Conclusion
There are 5 types of kernels they all have their own features and capabilities to operate an Operating system. Here is a simple article on what is kernel in operating system, functions, and their types.
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