File Systems and Security Features in the Various Operating Systems - Assignment Example

Running head: SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION Student name: Student number: Course title: Lecturer: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Overview 3 Security access register 9 Passwords details 10 User request policy 10 Database backup procedure 11 Software license register 12 Reporting procedure 13 Maintenance and diagnostics 13 Virus scans 14 Implementation and configuration 14 Overview Operating systems are the programs that control the actions and the tasks in a computer. The operating systems are becoming common with the small devices like mobile phones and wireless devices. There are three major types of operating systems which are Windows operating systems, Macintosh operating systems and Linux operating systems. Each of these operating systems has different versions which have been developed over time. The development and the improvement have been made to curb the requirements of the users, the security threat that has been identified. Most of these have resulted in development and improvements being made to the operating systems. It has resulted to complex features being added to the operating systems so that they continue appealing to the clients the more. Each if the operating systems has their own server versions of the same. These are the operating systems that are used to manage large computers which are connected together on a network. The difference that comes with these operating systems is the file systems that are used and the security details that are implemented. Different operating systems have different levels of security implemented in them. Also, different operating systems have different file systems and different file structures which are implemented. This paper will look at the file systems and the security features that have been installed in the various operating systems. The three operating systems represent a summary of the various operating systems. Operating system /issue Windows server 2003 Red Hat Linux Mac OS 10.5 Use of batch The batch files are used in windows 2003 server to make it simple tasks which are repeated. The files have the .bat extensions and are used to run commands automatically. It uses a shell script that is used to ruin commands automatically. Like Linux, it uses shell scripts Multitasking Supports single user Supports multiple users Supports multiple users Real-time usage Supports real-time applications although not as advanced as Unix systems Supports real time applications Has good real-time usage. File system The server edition has a distributed file system. It allows the many DFS roots to be worked on a single server. This feature can be used to host many DFS roots on one server which will help to reduce administrative and hardware costs. It has also has an encryption feature which helps to encrypt the files that are found in the system. The encryption helps to hide the files and the contents in the operating system. It also has a shadow copy restore which is used to restore the file system from the previous version. Uses the ext 2 and ext 3. It also has the journaling of the file systems. Un-journal file systems will bring problem when the system crashes Hierarchical file system (HFS) is the preferred file system that is supported in this operating system. It supports the use of quotas and journaling. Security controls It has an Internet connection firewall which is used to provide security in a form of firewall. It gives protection to computers which are connected to the internet directly. It is also possible to install the PKI (public key infrastructure) in the operating system. This technology provides security at the kernel level because it recognizes that applications will need an operating system which is secure. It provides added security at the security policy which has been already setup by the operating systems and also has a separate mechanism of enforcing this security. It has plug-in and has setup assistant that is used to manage the security o the application. Memory management The Windows 2003 server has improved. There is the use of compaction technology so that the problem of fragmentation is fully addressed where all the blocks are allocated to one end of the memory and thus all the holes are combined. Although the cost of copying is minimized in compaction, there is one area which is still wanting and this is the area of pointers; any pointer to the block will need to be updated every instance that the block is moved from the location. It is an uphill task to find all these pointers thus making compaction impossible in most scenarios. It supports paging Also supports paging Virtual memory management Has hardware abstraction layer. It helps the kernel in platforms which are independent of them Has a daemon which is started at some specific times. It also has hardware abstraction layer. It has a copy-on-wire so that when a page is shared all the processes share the same copy of the page. Process scheduling Real time processes are given the highest priority and can run higher than any other process. It uses two algorithms which are real time algorithm and time sharing algorithm. The former is used for processes which must run in a timely manner. The latter is used for all other processes. There are three priority levels in which processes can be shared which are real time, kernel or time shared. In cases where the processes are multiple and are all waiting to be run, the one with the highest priority is chosen to run. Licensing Proprietary FOSS Proprietary Hardware Runs on specific hardware. The server 2003 edition runs on at least 1GB RAM and at least 1.5 GHz speed. Runs on any hardware that is at least 512 MB Ram and 900 MHz Comes with their own hardware specifications Security access register User level Junior staff Managers ICT staff Group membership Users, Local All All Domain access Local Local (But will have to request to access other domains) All File delete Null Null (But can request for the same) Have privileges but only on requesting and giving valid reasons for deletion Assign privileges Null Null Assigns Passwords details All passwords should contain at least two numerical (which cannot be the year of birth or social security number, or any other personal information). It should also contain at least 2 special characters and symbols. It should also have alphanumeric characters. It should not appear anywhere in eth organization. Even the administrators should not be allowed to access this. User request policy All users requesting for IT services will be required to have done all the necessary troubleshooting on their own. This will help the IT staff attending to really urgent matters. Request form Name: ________________________________ Email address: ____________________________________ Department: ______________________________ Type of problem: (Tick where appropriate) Printer Screen: Internet: CPU: For how long have you experienced the problem? _________________ Has it ever occurred? ____________________________ If yes, did you report to the IT department? _____________________ If yes, what was the solution? _____________________________ Other comments __________________________________ Database backup procedure 1. Database backup procedure a. Backup the database in the production server b. Backup finance department database c. Backup the tomcat .war file d. Backup the MySQL server database (use dump) 2. Backup the documents a. Backup documents in the shared organization directory b. Backup documents in the external drive in the departments 3. Backup the operating system user profiles a. Start by ensuring that the system is up to date. b. Copy the system files that are associated with the user profiles. These are usually the file system files found in operating systems server editions. Software license register The software license register will be used to manage the allocation of the licenses that will be issued to the clients. Issue Category Agreement Name of application Office application Will be available in 3, 12, or 84 users. Drawing application The agreement is that the application will have to be Operating system It will be used for individual machines. It will be either a server or client. Patch (software update) Will be available if the user has the required valid license keys. They are not paid for. antivirus Installation Will be available in 3 or 12 installations. Update Will be available for those who have the right key Reporting procedure For the people found with invalid software on their machines, the machines will be shut so that it will not be operating at all. Those found using the license software that are meant for specific number but over using it will have the whole license revoked. Maintenance and diagnostics The system will be maintained after every two (2) months for bugs. The bugs will be diagnosed after they are found sop that immediate remedy can be done. Every machine will be required to function optimally throughout the lifespan of the new system. The tasks that will be checked to find out if they are working will include: a. Making sure that the features are still whole and functioning b. Check to make sure that the installation still works well with the hardware c. Check the partitions if they are still in order. d. Check the application files if they are still intact. e. Fix faulty partitions if they are found. Virus scans Viruses will be scanned everyday at midnight. The client machines will get the updates from the server computer running the antivirus software. These tasks will be set to run automatically. Implementation and configuration The implementation will be done for one week in the evening when no one is working on their machines. A notice will be given so that the users will be aware of the implementation process. This will help the service delivery to run as normal as possible. The users will also be told to be aware of this so that they understand and not be got unawares. For the machines which are not working, they will have to be accompanied by the progress report that has been developed earlier in the document. This will facilitate the solving process of the software. Read More