Windows XP

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Windows XP is a robust, stable and secure operating system compared to other modern day operating systems. The enhancements to the kernel from the previous versions and the totally new client server-based structure have given added stability to the operating system. The author points out that the drastic improvement in memory management features compensates for the slowing effect on the system performance because of the micro-kernel based architecture. The paper relates that the dynamic paged pool and constant defragmentation have contributed to improved handling of the virtual memory resulting in considerable speeding up of process execution.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Memory Management
Process Manager
Device Manager
File Manager
Security
Major Performance Enhancements (Windows XP)
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Virtual memory refers to the use of hard disk space as part of the memory. Applications are supplied with more memory area than the computer could manage at any given moment of time. The Virtual memory manager jumps into action whenever an application tries to access a page that is currently not available within the physical RAM. The Virtual Memory manager in Windows XP uses the concept of paging to handle this task. Virtual address space is neatly divided into units called pages and the transfers between memory and disk are always carried out in units of a page. Only parts of the program that are currently needed by the application are stored in the RAM and the rest are stored in a page file. A page fault is said to occur when an application tries to access parts of the program, which are currently not in the physical RAM. In a real timesharing situation processes are switched back and forth between main memory and disk and the process is referred to as swapping."

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