Desirable Hardware
Features
ä Memory protection
ä do not allow the memory area containing the
monitor to be altered by user programs
ä Timer
ä prevents a job from monopolizing the system
ä an interrupt occurs when time expires
ä Privileged instructions
ä can be executed only by the monitor
ä an interrupt occurs if a program tries these
instructions
ä Interrupts
ä provides flexibility for relinquishing control to
and regaining control from user programs
ä manage resource contention
ä either hardware support through special
instructions (lock, swap, …)
ä software support: semaphores, monitors, ….