COMP 3150Operating Systems

Module 5 of 5

Security, Virtualization & Modern Systems

How operating systems protect what they manage, and how they have evolved to run many isolated environments on one machine. Protection and access control, OS hardening, hypervisors, containers, Docker, orchestration, and cloud operating systems.

Open Unit 12 See the units
2 units · 14 lessons Labs 11–12 CLO7 · CLO8 ≈ 3 weeks at recommended pace
Virtual machines and containers on shared hardware On the left, two virtual machines each run their own guest operating system on top of a hypervisor. On the right, three containers share the host operating system kernel through a container engine. Both rest on the same physical hardware. VIRTUAL MACHINES CONTAINERS app guest OS own kernel app guest OS own kernel Hypervisor type 1 · bare metal app libs bin app libs bin app libs bin Container engine Host OS kernel · shared one kernel, many isolated user spaces PHYSICAL HARDWARE CPU cores Memory NIC Disk
2UnitsSecurity · Virtualization
14Lessons7 + 7
2LaboratoriesLabs 11–12
2CLOsCLO7 · CLO8
≈3WeeksAt recommended pace

Module overview

Protection and multi-tenancy

A modern operating system must do two things that pull in opposite directions. It must protect itself and its users from malicious or faulty code, and it must allow many mutually distrusting workloads to share the same physical machine efficiently. This module examines both.

Unit 12 builds the security foundation: principles, authentication, authorization, access-control models, Linux security mechanisms, sandboxing, and OS hardening. Unit 13 builds the multi-tenancy story: virtual machines and hypervisors, containers and Docker, container orchestration, cloud operating systems, and the trends shaping the next generation of platforms.

Module learning outcomes

What you will be able to do

After Module 5 you will be able to

  • Explain core security principles: confidentiality, integrity, availability.
  • Compare authentication mechanisms and authorization models.
  • Apply access-control models (DAC, MAC, RBAC, capabilities) to real systems.
  • Describe Linux security facilities: capabilities, SELinux, AppArmor, namespaces, seccomp.
  • Apply OS hardening and sandboxing techniques.
  • Compare virtual machines, hypervisors, and containers.
  • Build and orchestrate containers with Docker.
  • Explain cloud operating-system models and their trade-offs.

Course outcomes addressed

  • CLO7 — Evaluate operating-system security, protection, virtualization, and cloud technologies.
  • CLO8 — Design and implement software components related to operating-system functionality.

Units

Units in this module

Laboratory & assessment

How Module 5 is assessed

Laboratories

LabTopicUnit
Lab 11SecurityUnit 12
Lab 12Containers and VirtualizationUnit 13

Lab 11 covers Linux capabilities, SELinux or AppArmor policy, namespaces, seccomp, and hardening. Lab 12 builds and orchestrates containers on the supplied Docker environment.

Quizzes, discussion, and the Final Project

  • Unit 12 quiz — security principles, authentication, access control, hardening.
  • Unit 13 quiz — VMs, hypervisors, containers, Docker, orchestration, cloud.
  • Two discussion activities — including a critical evaluation of a cloud OS trade-off.
  • Final Project — the capstone, worth 20% of the final grade. A virtualization- or security-themed project is well supported by this module. Covers CLO2–CLO6 and CLO8.

Capstone preparation

The Final Project proposal is due during this module. If you intend to build a container-based or security-focused system, Lab 12 is your fastest path to a working prototype.

👤