What Exactly Is the Relationship Between OS and Software-Defined?

by mario.wang@sdruav.com | Classroom

What Exactly Is the Relationship Between OS and Software-Defined?
We are in the era of software-defined, where concepts like Software-Defined Networking (SDN), Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV), Software-Defined Radio (SDR), and even Software-Defined Warfare have become familiar. Experts predict that in the future, software will define everything. Observant individuals may notice that every field related to software-defined has the shadow of an operating system (OS). For example, software-defined networking relies on a network OS, software-defined vehicles depend on a vehicle OS, and software-defined radio is built on SCA (which is essentially an OS). So, let’s explore the relationship between OS and software-defined.

1. What Is Software-Defined?
The essence of software-defined is the decoupling of hardware and software. By modifying or upgrading software, system functionality can be reconfigured to quickly adapt to changing demands. The underlying logic is that the system not only meets users’ current deterministic needs but also caters to their future variable and potential requirements. Take mobile phones as an example: traditional feature phones could only make calls and send texts, and users had to adapt to these limitations. Today, in the smartphone era, a single device can fulfill countless needs. Platformization and intelligence are two mainstream directions in software-defined technology.

What is platformization?
It involves constructing software and hardware platforms under unified standards, leveraging ecosystem power to build robust platforms. These platforms support upper-layer applications, and only platforms built by extensive ecosystems can foster application prosperity. In the mobile internet era, Android and iOS are the most successful platform-level solutions.

How to understand intelligence?
Intelligence here has two layers of meaning. The first refers to narrow intelligence, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), which mimics human cognitive systems to empower machines. The second refers to broad intelligence, encompassing the diversity and adaptability of system functions to meet users’ personalized needs. A smartphone may not necessarily be"intelligent" in the narrow sense, but it can fulfill a wide range of user demands.

2. Why Is Operating System Inevitable in"Software-Defined"?
The core of software-defined is APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). Everything above APIs can be programmed, which essence is the decoupling of hardware and software. Who provides these APIs? Who achieves this decoupling? The answer is the operating system.

3. The Evolutionary Logic of Operating Systems
The definition of an operating system is:"It controls and manages the hardware and software resources of the entire computer system, organizes and schedules computer work and resource allocation reasonably, and provides interfaces and environments for users and other application software. It is the most fundamental system software in a computer system."

A simple interpretation of this definition:
It is responsible for scheduling computer hardware and software resources.
It provides interfaces for upper-layer applications and users.
It is system software, not application software.

The core function of an OS is resource scheduling and management, providing consistent APIs for users and application software.

Mainframe Computing Era:
The OS scheduled CPU and related peripheral resources. IBM OS/360 was the prototype of modern operating systems, providing standard interfaces for connecting external devices.

Early 1970s:
UNIX, developed by Bell Labs, was a general-purpose OS in the modern sense. It solved cross-platform portability issues and provided consistent standard APIs for computers from different manufacturers and types.

Personal Computing Era:
With personal PCs as the platform, represented by Microsoft Windows and open-source Linux, OSs continued to enhance cross-platform portability, gradually adapting to hardware resource scheduling such as CPU, memory, sound cards, and graphics cards. They also introduced new user interfaces and application models.

Mobile Computing Era:
With mobile phones as the platform, represented by Google Android and Apple iOS, OSs extended their management to sensors like cameras, GPS, and inertial navigation systems. They supported vast application ecosystems and transformed human lifestyles. The software-defined era gradually began with"software-defined phones."

Internet of Everything Era:
This era connects people, machines, and objects."Software-defined everything" and"everything can be programmed" are its fundamental characteristics. The hardware platforms managed by OSs have undergone radical changes in both variety and form.

In terms of variety, hardware resources include heterogeneous resources such as CPU, DSP, FPGA, GPU, and NPU.

In terms of form, resources have expanded to include"intangible" resources like data, knowledge, time, and networks, which are now within the scope of OS scheduling.

Following the principle of managing resources downward and supporting applications upward, the concept of OS has begun to expand and generalize.

4. Where Is the Future of Operating Systems?
Artificial intelligence and operating systems empower each other. In today’s intelligent era, AI empowers various fields. OSs provide foundational platforms for AI applications, enabling hardware platform resource virtualization and scheduling to fully utilize the computing power offered by hardware.

Future applications will undoubtedly become lighter and more diverse, achieving stronger functionality with fewer API calls. To address new applications and user needs, common industry traits must be refined, and the common aspects of applications gradually integrated into the OS layer. This is how OSs acquire industry-specific attributes.

Clearly, future OSs will increasingly emphasize AI capabilities, efficiently managing intangible resources such as data and knowledge.

What Exactly Is the Relationship Between OS and Software-Defined?

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