A Online Operating System

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

A online Operating System

Vedant Kekan Pratik Kudle

VIIT (COMP) VIIT (COMP)

Pune, India Pune , India

Vikram Solunke

VIIT (COMP)

Pune, India

Abstract— Google Chrome Operating System based on Ubuntu and designed by Google to work exclusively with web application. Chromium OS is an open source project that aims to build an operating system that provides a fast, simple and more secure computing experience for people who spend most of the time on the web. Google announced the operating system on July 7th, 2009 and made it an open source project called as Chromium OS. Google Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on Internet. The only application on the device will be a browser incorporating a media player. The OS is rich with no. of features such as Instant Access to Internet, Built in Security with 3-tier Architecture, Automatic Updating, and no. of Web apps, etc. Technologies such as Cloud Computing, Sandbox, and Boot Verifier are being used in this Operating System. Chrome operating system, based on Linux, which will run on x86 and ARM chips The expected launch date of the Chrome OS has slipped since Google first announced the Operating System: from late 2010 to early 2011 to, by some reports mid 2012.

Index Terms— Cloud Computing, Sandbox, Boot Verifier, x86 and ARM chips.

Introduction

Chrome OS is nothing but an online operating system. Chrome OS has no built-in applications—no iCal, no Outlook, no TextEdit, no Word. You just turn on your netbook and you’re on the Web, in what we now call the cloud, where all your stuff lives: all your photos on Flickr, a long trail of your daily foibles and frustrations on Twitter, your purchasing history on PayPal, your prolix unpublished novel on LiveJournal, your music collection on Rhapsody, and the stuff that might be a little embarrassing if your coworkers came across it on Facebook.In fact, cloud computing is what makes Google’s striate possible."There’s only a browser," All it does is get you onto the Web really, really fast."Cloud computing has become an everyday transaction. Those computer users who don’t need to store sensitive documents locally can put everything up in the cloud without missing a beat. Nearly any application you desire—for e-mail, social networking, maps, shopping, even music—no longer needs to be stored on your computer. A significant number of people no longer use their computers for much that isn’t Web-based. So why not make it as easy as possible to open your laptop, press the on button, and be where you want to be?As an increasing number of applications become virtual—Microsoft is even taking OS 2010 into the cloud—you can use them without using a click of your own computer’s resources. Experts call the new paradigm "appliance computing," likening your netbook to your television: Your TV doesn’t care whether it’s fed an HD or a standard signal as long as the hardware can make sense of it. At last year’s Supercomputing conference, Nvidia showed o_ precisely that idea: A feather weight netbook with only rudimentary graphics capabilities displayed completely photo- realistic three dimensional rendered images courtesy of a server 500 miles away. Your Web apps—Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, YouTube—are just small-scale versions of that concept. But first, some untangling of terms, because Google insists on sowing confusion by naming the OS after the browser. The new technology is called Chrome OS, an operating system that is mostly a Web browser, but it’s not Chrome, which actually is a browser. Confused? You’re not alone. Google punted on the naming conventions, but the company insists that it all makes sense. And it does. But it requires a little bit of explaining. Chrome OS is Google’s stab at reinventing the operating system. To understand why, you need a little background in what makes an operating system in a regular computer and why it’s in need of an upgrade. Chrome OS is based on Chrome, a free, open-source Web browser Google introduced in 2008 to compete with Apple’s Safari and Mozilla Firefox. Google is working with equipment manufacturers to create special hardware around the Chrome operating system, based on Linux, which will run on x86 and ARM chips. Chrome OS–compatible netbooks are expected to

appear by the fourth quarter of 2010.So if the whole operating system runs inside a browser, why can’t any computer use it right now? Well, at press time, there were still some pesky technical challenges that Google engineers had to solve, which is why they released the first open source version of the code in November. Among the issues: How much storage do you build into a machine that isn’t intended for line use? How do you come up with a smarter way to let users print to any printer without worrying about drivers? Can people with no intention of ever having a Google account happily get by using a Chrome netbook?

Users hate about bad browsers—

Sluggishness, complexity, malware, and the constant crashing—

Have also been the most common complaints about operating systems. That’s how the Chrome operating system grew out of the Chrome browser, says Upson. The rationale for the Chrome browser was that the vast majority of users don’t need duplicate commands or such dubious features as the Home button— that house - shaped icon that takes you back to the first page that loads each time the browser is opened a new. Really, how many computer users even know what that button means? Research has shown that button to be worse than useless inexperienced users often end up having their home pages set for them by enter prizing Web sites, their browsers doomed to perpetually redirect them to GetRichByGamblingInNigeria.com. So Google built a basic, no-frills browser chassis and let third-party developers build

Optional extensions for the people who need to pimp their browsers with bells and whistles. Naturally, critics complain that the Chrome browser is too plain, while conceding that it runs much faster than other browsers and takes up less memory. That’s a particular plus for Windows users, whose other applications grind to a halt when an application like Firefox or Internet Explorer 6 hogs memory. Like the browser, Chrome OS will rely on HTML 5, the latest incarnation of the predominant language used to structure Web pages. HTML 5 will make Chrome OS more powerful, mainly by improving access to rich media. Right now, in order to look at video in older browsers, you need a plug-in—a piece of software that augments your browser’s basic capabilities. Think QuickTime, which lets you watch YouTube videos of skateboarding cats, or Adobe Reader, which lets you look at a PDF document right in your browser window. But HTML 5 displays rich media without the assistance of plug-ins.Chrome not only won’t need them—it might not even support them. So what does Google get out of all this? After all, apart from the netbooks (which by some estimates will sell for between US $400 and $700), Google is giving the entire Chrome suite away for free. Recall that Google makes its money from the ads that people see during the course of their everyday Web surfing. So if these people surf more, Google profits more. To that end, Google’s main bragging right is "power button to Web" speed, or how fast you can get from having a shut-down computer to reading your e-mail. Google Chrome, the company promises, will do it in 7 seconds. Contrast that with even the best computers, which can take 45 seconds to boot up. Where does that big difference come from? A computer that runs many applications has a lot of chores to do when you hit the on button. Among these are loading the firmware (a kind of software that deals with the most basic operations, which allow a device to function—for example, by making it aware that its various components exist so it can start delegating tasks to them), initializing various drives and ports, and looking for any external devices. Some of these don’t exist anymore, but the legacy firmware will spend time checking for them anyway. Raise your hand if you remember Zip drives. That eats into the boot-up time before the operating system has even loaded. But even after it does load, you’re still not out of the woods. The next obstacles are the auto-start applications that have been configured to fire themselves up the moment the system starts: virus protection, reminders, updaters, self monitors, and so on. These applications grow on your hard drive like ivy. If you don’t prune them mercilessly, within a few years they’ll have clogged up your system’s memory and your once blazingly fast computer will creak like an old rocking chair. Google trashed most of these processes. By getting rid of all software except the browser, engineers were able to prune a tremendous amount of legacy software. Virus protection? Part of the browser. Calendar reminders? In the cloud; subtract a couple of seconds. Google’s partners will replace the hard disk drives in the new Chrome netbooks with solid-state drives (the kind that are on your mobile phone). That means no moving mechanical parts— subtracts a few more seconds. An operating system that’s also a browser means you’ll never have to double-click an application icon again—subtract another second. And so on. The software giant can’t complain about an unseen OS, which leaves it to talk up Windows 7. A Microsoft spokeswoman told IEEE Spectrum in a canned statement that people have purchased Windows 7 twice as often as they purchased any of Microsoft’s previous operating systems. Microsoft’s confidence may stem from a misconception that Chrome will be bound to the netbook. However, given the open-source nature of the code, Chrome’s migration into other hardware is just a matter of time.

FAST, SECURE, FREE—is that where the Web is headed? If it is, it wouldn’t be the first time. Consider the story of Microsoft’s "free" Hotmail. In 1999, Hotmail ordered users 2 MB of free storage, but for most users spam quickly devoured that allotment if they weren’t vigorous about maintaining their pittance of free space. Disingenuously, Microsoft (or MSN) made available a paid upgrade if you couldn’t live on that pittance: Various plans charged users between $19.95 and $59.95 a year to upgrade to between 10 and 100 MB. In 2004, Google blew a hole in that business plan with Web mail that gave away shocking amounts of storage: 1000 MB, a number that kept growing at such a rate that users couldn’t keep up with supply (it now stands at 7384 MB). Lo and behold, in 2004 Microsoft announced that it was upping its free storage offering to 250 megabytes at no charge. Now it’s all free—even Yahoo.

Features

A. Instant Web:

Chrome notebooks boot in about 10 seconds and resume from sleep instantly. Your favorite websites load quickly and run smoothly, with full support for the latest web standards and Adobe Flash. As compared with other operating systems the experts say that the fasted operating system available today takes 45 to boot or to startup. Fig I below shows the long and boring process which is to be carried out by operating system while the startup.

Fig I . Operating System Booting Process.

Operating system takes the long time to boot because of the long procedure to be followed as shown in fig I above. As compared with Chrome OS this process is eliminated and when you click the start button your browser start in just 10 seconds. Here we do not have to deal with confusing settings, nagging updates, blue screens of dooms,etc.Because non of this things are stored on the computer. This all things are stored on the internet, in the cloud.

I) Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is location-independent computing, whereby shared servers provide resources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand, as with the electricity grid. Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the widespread adoption of virtualization, service-oriented architecture and utility computing. Details are abstracted from consumers, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them.

Fig II. Cloud Computing used by Chrome O.S.

B.Same experience everywhere:

All your apps, documents, and settings are stored safely in the cloud. So even if you lose your computer, you can just log into another Chrome notebook and get right back to work. With Chrome notebooks, it's easy to get connected anytime and anywhere with built-in Wi-Fi and 3G.

As a Chrome notebook boots up, it quickly connects to your favorite Wi-Fi network so you’re on the web right from the start. When you’re on the road, you can stay connected with the 3G connectivity package from Verizon Wireless. Your Chrome notebook includes 100MB of free data each month for two years, enough for hundreds of emails or occasional browsing Also available are an unlimited day pass for just $9.99 and pay-as-you-go rates that are easy to understand and don't require any long-term contracts.

C.Data plans

TABLE I

Data Plans by Google

Plan

Price

100MB of data per month1

Free

Limitless day pass2

$9.99 per day

Additional 1GB of data3

$20 per month

Additional 3GB of data3

$35 per month

Additional 5GB of data3

$50 per month

Free data available for two years from the time you first activate your 3G service

A day pass offers unlimited data access for 24 hours from the time of data purchase

Any purchase of additional data expires after 30 days from the date of data purchase

D.BUILT IN SECURITY:

In today's world, any website - even well-known, legitimate ones - may be infected with malware. Just by visiting an infected web page, ordinary computers can get infected as well. Malware can exploit flaws in your browser to steal passwords, personal data, and financial information. It happens to millions of people without their knowledge. Chrome OS is the first operating system designed with this ongoing threat in mind. It uses the principle of "defense in depth" to provide multiple layers of protection, so if any one layer is bypassed, others are still in effect. So while it’s still important to take precautions to protect your data, Chrome notebooks let you breathe just a little bit easier.

I) Automatic Updates

The most effective way to protect yourself from malware is to make sure all of the software on your computer is up to date and has the latest security fixes. This can be difficult to manage on traditional operating systems with many software components from many vendors all with different update mechanisms and user interfaces. Chrome OS manages updates for you automatically so you are always running the latest and most secure version.

II) Sandboxing

On your Chrome notebook, each web page and application you visit runs in a restricted environment called a "sandbox." So if you visit an infected page, it can’t affect the other tabs or apps on your computer, or anything else on your machine. The threat is contained. Fig I below shows that suppose you open three different web apps on internet they are restricted to themselves and cannot communicate with each other.

Fig II. Illustration of Sandbox Security.

Suppose any malware comes along with any website on an computer then its restricted to that affected page only. But as shown in fig II. That web is unable to infect another page and this leads to security. Even if the infected tab crashes the other tabs runs safely.

Fig III. Illustration of security by sandbox

III) Verified Boot

Even if malware manages to escape the sandbox, your Chrome notebook is still protected. Every time you boot the computer, it does a self check called Verified Boot. If it detects that your system has been tampered with, or corrupted in any way, typically it will repair itself without you lifting a finger. You will always be able to get back to an operating system that as good as new.

Fig IV. Illustration of Verified Boot.

The good thing about this security feature sandbox security as well as the verified boot works automatically without user intermetion.In verified boot the security leaks will be checked and the pixels and updates will be downloaded automatically on the netbook immediately after starting the netbook.

IV) Data Encryption

When you use web apps on your Chrome notebook, all your documents are stored safely in the cloud. But certain kinds of files, like downloads, cookies, and browser cache files, may still be present on your computer. Your Chrome notebook encrypts all this data using tamper-resistant hardware, making it very difficult for anyone to access those files.

V) Guest Mode

With Guest Mode, you can let friends use your Chrome notebook without signing in. They can use the web freely, but they won’t be able to access your email or other data. And once they sign off, all their browsing data is permanently erased from your computer.

E) Forever Fresh:

The web evolves rapidly. Your Chrome notebook evolves with it. Every time you turn it on, it upgrades itself with the latest features and fixes. Annoying update prompts not included.

F) Millions Of webapps:

Every Chrome notebook runs millions of web apps, from games to Spreadsheets to photo editors. Try the latest apps from the Chrome Web Store Or just type URLs into the address bar - no CDs required.

II) Software Architecture

Chromium OS consists of three major components: 

The Chromium-based browser and the window manager.

System-level software and user-land services: the kernel, drivers, connection manager, and so on

Firmware 

Fig V.Overview.

1)Firmware 

The firmware plays a key part to make booting the OS faster and more secure. To achieve this goal we are removing unnecessary components and adding support for verifying each step in the boot process. We are also adding support for system recovery into the firmware itself. We can avoid the complexity that's in most PC firmware because we don't have to be backwards compatible with a large amount of legacy hardware. For example, we don't have to probe for floppy drives.

Our firmware will implement the following functionality:

System recovery: The recovery firmware can re-install Chromium OS in the event that the system has become corrupt or compromised.

Verified boot:  Each time the system boots, Chromium OS verifies that the firmware, kernel, and system image have not been tampered with or become corrupt. This process starts in the firmware.

Fast boot: We have improved boot performance by removing a lot of complexity that is normally found in PC firmware

.

Fig VI) Firmware Design

2)System-level and user-land software

From here we bring in the Linux kernel, drivers, and user-land daemons. Our kernel is mostly stock except for a handful of patches that we pull in to improve boot performance. On the user-land side of things we have streamlined the init process so that we're only running services that are critical. All of the user-land services are managed by Upstart. By using Upstart we are able to start services in parallel, re-spawn jobs that crash, and defer services to make boot faster. 

Here's a quick list of things that we depend on:

D-Bus: The browser uses D-Bus to interact with the rest of the system. Examples of this include the battery meter and network picker. 

Connection Manager: Provides a common API for interacting with the network devices, provides a DNS proxy, and manages network services for 3G, wireless, and Ethernet.  

WPA Supplicant: Used to connect to wireless networks.

Autoupdate: Our auto update daemon silently installs new system images. 

Power Management: (ACPI on Intel) Handles power management events like closing the lid or pushing the power button. 

xscreensaver: Handles screen locking when the machine is idle. 

Standard Linux services: NTP, syslog, and cron.

Fig VII) System Level and user-land software

3)Chromium and the window manager

The window manager is responsible for handling the user's interaction with multiple client windows. It does this in a manner similar to that of other X window managers, by controlling window placement, assigning the input focus, and exposing hotkeys that exist outside the scope of a single browser window. Parts of the ICCCM (Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual) and EWHM (Extended Window Manager Hints) specifications are used for communication between clients and the window manager where possible.

The window manager also uses the XComposite extension to redirect client windows to offscreen pixmaps so that it can draw a final, composited image incorporating their contents itself. This lets windows be transformed and blended together. The Clutter library is currently used to animate these windows and to render them via OpenGL or OpenGL|ES.

Fig VIII) Chromium Window Manager.

III)Conclusion

Google chrome operating system is a web based application mostly designed keeping the internet users in mind and it will rule over the other operating systems.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.