Operating System (BCS401) important topics for AKTU – unit-wise
Topics are ranked by how many times AKTU asked them across 6 papers. Finish the "very likely" topics first, then the top topics of each unit.
High-probability Operating System topics
- CPU Scheduling (Unit 3: CPU Scheduling and Deadlock) – asked 22 times in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Deadlock (Unit 3: CPU Scheduling and Deadlock) – asked 14 times in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- File System (Unit 5: I/O Management and File Systems) – asked 12 times in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
What to cover inside these topics
- Process States and PCB (part of CPU Scheduling)
- Scheduling Algorithms (part of CPU Scheduling)
- Scheduling Concepts and Criteria (part of CPU Scheduling)
- Deadlock Prevention and Avoidance (part of Deadlock)
- Deadlock Characterization (part of Deadlock)
- Deadlock Detection and Recovery (part of Deadlock)
- File Concept and Organization (part of File System)
- File Directories and Sharing (part of File System)
- File System Implementation (part of File System)
Most asked Operating System topics in each unit
- Unit 1 (Introduction to Operating Systems): OS Functions and Structure – 10 times; Classification of Operating Systems – 10 times; Kernel Types – 2 times
- Unit 2 (Concurrent Processes): Mutual Exclusion – 8 times; Process Concept and Concurrency – 6 times; Semaphores and Test Set – 4 times
- Unit 3 (CPU Scheduling and Deadlock): CPU Scheduling – 22 times; Deadlock – 14 times; Threads and Management – 1 times
- Unit 4 (Memory Management): Virtual Memory – 11 times; Basic Memory Management – 9 times; Paging and Segmentation – 7 times
- Unit 5 (I/O Management and File Systems): File System – 12 times; Disk Scheduling – 11 times; I/O Management – 4 times