Summary
Now that you have completed this chapter, you should have a firm understanding of the following:
  • The main components of a computer are RAM, CPU, I/O and hard disk.  They are controlled by the operating system.
  • Most desktop operating systems are intended for use by a single user. Network operating systems such as UNIX are usually installed in servers that can support many users and large networks.
  • UNIX was originally developed at Bell Labs and significant improvements were made at UC Berkeley including the addition of networking capabilities. The industry standard SVR4 led to the development of several current varieties of UNIX including Sun Microsystems Solaris.
  • The key pieces of the Solaris Operating environment are the SunOS, the Open Network Computing (ONC) protocols, and the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) graphical user interface.
  • The main components of the SunOS are the Kernel, the Shell and the File System. The Kernel manages hardware, daemons, swap space and the file system. The Shell is an interpreter that provides an interface between the kernel and the user. The File System manages and organizes information on the hard disk.