Com Sci 501
System Administration in Linux

Department of Computer Science
The University of Chicago

System Components

Levels in a System

The designers and implementors of computer systems usually organize them in levels. Lower levels are more closely tied to hardware, and higher levels are more closely tied to the functions people use. Each level uses services from the level immediately below, and provides services to the level immediately above.

Levels in Linux Systems

Applications Debian Packages and Red Hat Packages and Other UNIX Software
Character Interface (Shell) Sh and Csh and Tcsh and Ash and Bash and cetera	Window Manager Twm and Ctwm and Fvwm and cetera Graphical Interface (GUI) X Windows
OS Kernel Linux Kernel or MkLinux Kernel
Boot Loader LILO
Resident System BIOS and Auto SCSI and PNP
Hardware Pentium or Power PC or cetera

Outline of System Components

The following outline organizes the hardware and software components that you are most likely to encounter in Com Sci 501. Many variations are possible, though.

• Hardware
  • Mother Board
  • Video Board
  • Random Access Memory (RAM)
  • SCSI Bus
  • Disk
  • Tape Drive
  • IDE Bus
    • Disk
    • Sound Board
    • Diskette Drive
    • CDROM Drive
    • Tape Drive
  • Serial Port
    • Modem
  • Parallel Port
    • Printer
  • PS Port
    • Mouse
  • Keyboard
• Resident System
  • BIOS
  • ISA PNP
• Boot Loader
  • LILO
  • ???? (from DOS/Windows/Mac OS)
• OS Kernel
  • Installation Kernel
  • Rescue Kernel
  • Packaged Kernel
  • Custom Kernel
• Shell
  • Bash
• GUI
  • X Windows
  • Fvwm
• Applications
  • Hardware Configuration
    • isapnp
    • xvidtune
  • Kernel Configuration
    • xconfig
  • System Configuration and Maintenance
    • Package Management
      • dselect
      • dpkg
      • alien
    • Backups
  • Communication
    • PPP
    • Ssh
    • Rsync
  • Editing
    • XEmacs
    • Version Control
      • RCS
      • CVS
  • Programming
    • Compilers
    • Debuggers
  • Personal Management and Organization
    • Ical
    • Cbb