Multi-user operating system can be defined as an operating system that can handle more than one user concurrently. Concurrent service of requests does not necessarily mean that the requests are serviced simultaneously. Instead, to the users they appear to be serviced at the same time.
The advantage of using multi-user operating system is that it facilitates the sharing of data and information among different users.
Multi-user operating systems are very similar to multi-tasking operating system. On the other hand, multi-tasking typically refers to system in which the tasks interact, while multi-user systems generally try to isolate the various tasks.
It allows multi-user to use programs that are simultaneously running on a single network server, called a terminal server.
A dedicated transaction processing system such as railway reservation system that supports hundreds of terminal under control of a single program is an example of multi-user operating system.
Multi-user operating system
