What is the function of the kernel of an operating system?

Are you unsure of what is the function of the kernel of an operating system? Are you aware of what kinds of kernels are installed in your computer? Know everything you have to be aware of the kernel there are. Find out what kinds of kernels that exist and what they have in common with one another. If you’d like to learn more about useful information check out our site.

In this post, we will to discover more concerning the kernel and the purpose for which it is employed to do. Take a look at each section one by one otherwise you could become confused halfway through. We will discuss a few examples to help you understand the Kernel more clearly and better understand the function of it.

What exactly is Kernel?

We can think of the kernel as an application program for computers, which is the most crucial element of operating an Operating System like the heart within our body. It is also important to know it is the operating System is in charge of controlling the entire laptop or PC. This means that the kernel is in turn controlling everything that happens on your PC or laptop. Hope it was obvious. You must now understand how important it is to understand your kernel within your personal computer (PC).

Another thing to be aware of is the fact that kernel will be the very first to run following the bootloader. If you’re able to recall from our previous posts, the bootloader will be the first thing you run after you have powered on your computer. The bootloader now handles everything in your system after the bootloader is done with its job. The kernel remains in memory until you shut off your PC and then the Operating System turns off.

We will now look at a more detailed description of the Kernel If you’re not interested, do not read this section. The kernel is mostly accountable for tasks management at a low level like tasks management, disk management and memory management. The kernel is accountable to provide an interface between the hardware and the user. When a system process requests the kernel this is referred to as System Call.

The entire kernel software is saved in the Kernal space that is secured. This means that you could not interfere with your kernel no matter if have access to the operating system. This is an extremely important requirement because many crucial functions are handled through the kernel. This is why the kernel is stored in secure memory, where it will not be altered or altered in any manner.

Then in the second area (memory space) where data of the user is stored in which the information of the application that you use are stored. This memory space is also known as the User Space. Two segments of memory talk to one another to operate the operating system. However, communication can be slow because each of them is two separate memory sections.

What exactly is Kernel do?

After we’ve established what the kernel is and what it does, we will look at how it does. kernel does.

The kernel is the one responsible for communicating between software and hardware, which allows us to utilize our computers. It utilizes drivers to connect with the hardware, since it is the kernel functions as software. It is essential to be acquainted with the driver as you will be required to download the latest hardware. As an example, if, for instance, you purchase a new printer, graphics card or printer. In this case, you’ll need to obtain a driver, which could be on either a CD or a website link. The driver allows your kernel or OS to communicate to the hardware.

It is possible to use a different example to better understand the concept and skip this section if you wish. When you watch a movie, the media player is sending audio data to the OS. The OS by using the kernel makes a request speakers to broadcast the audio. To send the request, we require a driver that can communicate (understand the nature of is hardware) to the speakers.

Other tasks performed by Kernel

As we have already seen, this is the most important job or mission for the kernel without which you won’t be able to access your computer. We will now look at other tasks that are performed through the kernel.

At present, the kernel is also in charge of the management of the resources in your machine. If you start Task Manager, you’ll observe the amount of RAM and memory used for each application. It handles resource distribution and redistribution following the closing of an application.

When you shut down any application the resources used by it will be unoccupied and inactive. The kernel will then assign the resources to ensure that your system is able to function properly.

In addition, the kernel can also carry out internal functions to maximize the performance for the processing unit. If you’re familiar with the concept of “deadlock” and you are aware of it, then your kernel will stop it from occurring. If you’re not, the term, then you should know that deadlock is an event in which two or more applications want to use the exact same resources. The problem is that none of them are in the process of backing up. It stops the apps and will become “unresponsive”. It’s like an unblocking road due to two drivers that are both unwilling to reverse on one-lane roads.

The functions of the Kernel

In this section, we’ll discuss what functions are performed by the kernel in detail, and you are already familiar with the fundamentals. Therefore, if you’re less interested in understanding the in-depth features that are performed by the kernel then skip this entire section. These are the basic tasks carried out in the kernel on your system:

1. Memory Management: We’ve already talked about memory management, however we will be discussing additional technical features. This kernel has the responsibility of allocating and allocating memory to the system and to applications used by users. The memory allocated is crucial for the performance of tasks within these applications. The kernel is the one responsible for managing of memory on your computer. without it, you’ll not be able to complete the work completed.
2. Accessing resources: Kernel manages the resources such as I/O devices CPU utilization, and other vital resources. Alongside managing it also serves to act as an intermediary between the system users and resources.
3. Device Management: We’ve observed how the kernel manages devices using the case of GPU printer. Every device that you connect to your system and the kernel manages these devices. You can view all the devices that are connected to your system. Click “This PC” > Managedevice management.
4. Resource Management: It is important to be aware that the kernel manages resources as described in the preceding section. Kernel allocates resources to all applications that are running within your computer. So, your system is functioning at its peak without any resources sitting in idle.

What exactly is Kernel Mode?

The CPU must perform many different tasks and each one requires kernel or user mode. When in user mode the CPU is unable to perform the majority of tasks required by the system to operate your system. It does not require to be in kernel state to be able to operate the application you’re seeking to run. The CPU switches between the two modes to handle different kinds of tasks. All critical system processes or instructions must be executed inside kernel mode.

As an example, we’ve already seen, memory management is performed in only the kernel only. This is the reason why the CPU has to be in kernel-mode when it is performing memory management. In contrast, the CPU is in user mode whenever you assign an operation or process.

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Different types of Kernels

We will examine all kinds of kernels present on your system. There are five main kinds of kernels, and we’ll be learning more in-depth about each of them.

Monolithic Kernel

In these kernels, there isn’t a distinct user space or kernel space. This is due to the fact that it is because the kernel is implemented within the exact same space of memory. It means the kernel utilizes the same memory space for kernel functions and user services. As a result of this shared memory, this means that its size for the OS grows due to the fact that the size of the kernel is expanded. Another advantage of the shared memory space is that execution speed is quicker than other kernels.

MicroKernel

In these kinds of kernels, as opposed to the monolithic kernel and the monolithic kernel, both services (user and kernel) cannot be executed in the same memory. It is possible to claim that kernel services and user services aren’t integrated into one memory area. This decreases its size since it is smaller, the kernel is decreased. However, execution is slower than the monolithic kernel because there are two memory spaces. The communication between the memory space is accomplished by using message parsing. This makes execution slow.

Hybrid Kernel

These kinds of kernels are, as the name implies, an amalgamation (hybrid) that combines Microkernel with Monolithic. The hybrid kernel draws good elements from both kernels. It is modular like the microkernel as well as its speed is comparable to the monolithic kernel. The speed is due to the fact that there’s some “non-essential” code that is in the kernel space instead of the userspace.

The hybrid kernel executes it as servers inside the user space. This minimizes the overhead of performance.

Nano Kernel

The kernels of these types like the ones mentioned above they have a smaller code size. The reduced size of the code results in a nanosecond resolution for clocks. This article will not be in-depth on the nano kernel in this article since we rarely utilize it in our system. If you’re interested in knowing more, you can refer to the article dedicated to nano kernels.

Exo Kernel

In these kernels, the protection of resources is separate from management, which allows the kernel to allow for app-specific customization. This kernel was developed by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). This kernel is not utilized to run our software, therefore should you wish to know more about it, then check out an Exo Kernel dedicated article.

What happens if the kernel is removed?

The first thing you should do is just realize that it’s impossible to completely remove the kernel from the beginning. If you are able to eliminate your name off the system but the kernel remains. The original file in which there is the kernel code is stored remains in place. If you attempt to erase the files again it will show that the files have been deleted. But it is not the case that the files have been gone, only the path that leads to them is gone. In a nutshell, it’s impossible to remove the kernel however we’ll examine what happens if it took place.

When the kernel is gone, the programs will continue to function, however, you won’t be able to receive any kind of response from them (not being able to access the applications). The system will stay on until you disconnect the power cord when the battery has run out. When you next attempt to restart your computer it will display the boot menu. show up but it will not happen. The system might get stuck on a cycle: boot menu, restart, then boot menu to restart.

Summary

In this article, we looked what is the function of the kernel of an operating system & it’s utilization within our systems. If you’re looking to learn about the kernel more, then you should read this extensive article. We’ve covered all you need to learn about the kernel within the Operating System. Different functions are covered in this article, and you shouldn’t miss the topics even if need to get into the details.