| Network Operating Systems (NOS) are
usually installed on a powerful server or central host systems on all
but the smallest networks. The focus here is on server- (or host-) based
network operating systems. Most operating systems, in general, are
designed to work with a particular manufacturer's CPUs. Some can run
on different manufacturer's CPUs, and some can support multiple CPUs of
the same type. Operating systems and CPUs are often classified as to
the number of bits they can manipulate in one CPU cycle. The more bits they can
manipulate, the more powerful the CPU and OS. Early network operating
systems and CPUs were 16-bit. Most of today's network operating systems
and CPUs are 32-bit, however some are 64-bit. Examples of network
operating systems include UNIX, Windows NT/2000 Server, Novell NetWare,
and various mainframe operating systems. Mainframe network operating
systems include Digital Equipment VMS, Hewlett Packard MPE, and IBM MVS
as well as several varieties of UNIX. Solaris or SunOS is Sun
Microsystems' version of UNIX.
Although UNIX is used frequently as a
workstation OS for high performance applications, it is not generally
considered an end user desktop operating system. It is most often used
on servers as a network operating system.
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