Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Security Handbook

The Windows 2000 Operating System Model

There are many approaches to building an operating system. Microsoft's design combines the best features of client/server, layered, and microkernel architectures into Windows 2000. First, take a look at Figure 1.1 to see a graphical representation of the system architecture. Figure 1.1 Windows 2000 architecture.

Figure 1.1. Windows 2000 architecture.

Kernel Mode and User Mode

A key security and stability feature in all modern multiuser operating systems (and supported in all modern CPUs) is the capability to separate the kernel's execution environment from the user's. This is accomplished by using different ...