Understanding Network Operating Systems (NOS)

A Network Operating System (NOS) is software that is capable of managing, maintaining, and providing resources in the network. Additionally, NOS is capable of sharing files and applications, providing web services, managing access to resources, administering users and computers, providing tools for configuration, the maintenance and provision of resources, as well as other functions related to network resources. With that in mind, a NOS is an important component when it comes to managing computer network resources. Nowadays, the operating systems offered on the market, such as Windows, Linux, and macOS, are known as NOS because they are capable of providing resources. Of course, if you want to take advantage of their resource provider potential then you should go with server versions of the aforementioned operating systems.

Figure 1.3 shows the most commonly used NOS today:

Figure 1.3. The most well-known Network Operating Systems (NOS)