A Multiprocessor Operating System Simulator

This paper describes a multiprocessor operating system simulator that was developed by the authors in the Fall semester of 1987. The sinmlator was built in response to the need to provide students with an en_t in which to build and test operatLug system concepts as part of the coursework of a third-year undergraduate operating systems course. Written in C++ [I], the simn]ator uses the co-routine style t_sk package [2] that is distributed with the AT&T C ++ Translat_ to provide a hierarchy of classes that represents a broad range of operating system software and hardware components. The class hierarchy closely follows that of the Cho/c_ [3] family of operating systems for looselyand tightly-coupled nmltiprocessors. During an operating system course, these classes are refined and specialized by students in homework assignments to facilitate experimentation with different aspects of operating system design and policy decisions. The current implementation runs on the IBM RT PC I under 4.3bsd UNIX. 2