FTPOnline - Inside Longhorn Architecture

CLR: The Common Language Runtime (CLR) provides an execution environment that manages running code and provides services that make software development easier. These services include automatic memory management, cross-language integration, interoperability with existing code and systems, simplified deployment, and a finely grained security system.

Base Class Libraries: A library of classes, interfaces, and value types providing a wide range of functionalities for use by application developers.

Memory Manager: The CLR memory manager allocates, tracks, and frees memory resources automatically to help prevent memory leaks.

Code Execution: The code execution engine manages the execution of Intermediate Language (IL) code, providing services such as Just In Time (JIT) interpretation. It's also responsible for applying the security policy and code-level security checks.

Loader: The CLR loader is responsible for allocating assemblies (executable units) and loading them into memory. The loader provides a robust and flexible versioning scheme to help eliminate DLL Hell.

Security: The CLR provides advanced code access security support based on configurable security policies and evidence-based security, the latter of which determines whether the code is safe based on where it comes from and not on runtime security checks. An administrator can grant or deny specific rights to an executing unit based on evidence.

Serialization: Serialization is the process of converting the state of an object into a form that can be persisted or transported. The complement of serialization is deserialization, which converts a stream to an object.

Hosting Layer: A host is responsible for loading the CLR into a process, defining the application domains within the process, and executing user code within those domains (app domains provide the same isolation that would exist in separate processes, but without incurring the overhead of making cross-process calls or switching between processes).

Application Deployment Engine (Click-Once): A set of functionality that allows developers to create desktop applications that are deployed with a safe, system-controlled installation and are updated automatically as needed from a central location.

GDI/GDI+: The subsystem of the operating system responsible for displaying information on screens and printers. GDI/GDI+ is an application programming interface (API) that is exposed through a set of classes deployed as managed code. This set of classes is called the managed class interface to GDI+.

Direct 3D Graphics: Direct 3D is a low-level 3-D API ideal for developers who need to build powerful media experiences such as games or high-performance multimedia applications.

Graphics Drivers: Allow the operating system to control display devices.

DDI: Direct Device Interface (DDI) is a set of functions implemented by the operating system for use by drivers.

Input Manager: Handles traditional input devices such as keyboards and mice, as well as natural input devices such as ink and voice.

Audio Drivers: Allow the operating system to control audio devices.

DirectX Graphics Mini Port: DirectX gives software developers a consistent set of APIs that provides improved access to the advanced features of high-performance hardware, such as 3-D graphics accelerators and sound cards.

Plug and Play: Standards developed to simplify the process of adding hardware to PCs.

Memory Manager: Handles basic memory management tasks such as paging and virtual memory.

Power Manager: Makes the PC more energy-efficient by conserving energy while the PC is working, and putting it to sleep when it's not working.

Config Manager: The Configuration Manager is the central software component that handles all phases of the hardware configuration process. It orchestrates the entire flow of operations performed by all the components involved, and it accepts and responds to communications from the BIOS and hardware devices.

Process Manager: Creates and destroys processes and their threads, and handles processor time allocation according to priority and activity.

LPC Facility: Lightweight procedure call (LPC) is an interprocess communication facility for high-speed message passing. It is an internal mechanism available only to operating system components.

Identity & Security System: Maintains a database of information on user accounts, including each user's password, any account groups he or she belongs to, access rights, and any special privileges.

Virtual Shadow Copy Service: At configurable intervals, VSS takes a snapshot (Shadow Copy) of the state of content stored on selected volume shares. VSS stores only the changes for the shares, not the entire share content. As a result, it doesn't replace backups—if you lose your file systems, the Shadow Copy information would be of no use.

File Replication Service: FRS ensures that data stays synchronized, replicating all data on file shares and maintaining synchronization automatically between copies across multiple servers.

Virtual Disk Service: VDS implements a single, uniform interface for managing disks, providing an important new set of command-line utilities and management applications.

Redirectors: Redirectors enable mapping of specific storage resources on remote servers to drive letters. They handle file requests from applications, transparently mapping them using the appropriate protocol.

Transacted NTFS: NTFS is the base file system for Longhorn and previous NT-based operating systems, but Longhorn adds support for transactions. Transactions enable applications to make multiple changes on a file as a unit.

Universal Data Format: UDF is a CD-ROM and DVD file system standard developed to ensure consistency among data written to various optical media.

FAT 16/32: File systems based on File Allocation Table, which the operating system uses to keep track of file fragments on storage media. FAT32, introduced with Windows 95 OSR2, allows more efficient use of storage space and support for larger storage devices.

Management Services (Event Logs, Tracing, Probes, Auto Update, Admin): A set of services provided to facilitate administration of the operating system, such as logging, tracing, and auto update.

IO Manager: Manages file system drivers, device drivers, and network drivers.

Network Class Library: A set of classes and interfaces for developers to access the operating system's networking services.

PNRP: The Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP) is a serverless DNS technology that allows nodes to discover one another.

Native WiFi: Wireless Fidelity is a standard for wireless networks; it has native support in Longhorn.

SIP: Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling protocol for Internet conferencing, telephony, presence, event notification, and instant messaging.

TCP, UDB, and IPC Listeners: Listens to a specified port and handles the protocol traffic.

Internet Connection Firewall: Enables basic firewall protection on the network connection.

Protocols: Longhorn has native support for a wide range of network protocols.

Device Drivers: Programs that allow the operating system to handle network devices.

Kernel: Schedules processes, manages memory, and listens to hardware interrupts and handles them.

Hardware Abstraction Layer: Provides an abstraction layer over hardware to allow Longhorn to support multiple hardware architectures such as Intel 32-bit architecture, Intel 64-bit architecture, or Alpha-based architecture.