Cooling system and internal combustion engine

A cooling system of an internal combustion engine includes a plurality of components in the form of heat sources, coolant pumps, actuator devices, and temperature sensors that are fluidically connected to one another via coolant lines, wherein a plurality of cooling circuits, each including at least one of the various components, is formed. In addition, a control device is provided that is in signal-conducting connection with at least one of the temperature sensors, with at least one of the coolant pumps, and with at least one of the actuator devices. The control device stores information concerning the association of the individual components with the various cooling circuits and their specific arrangement relative to one another in the individual cooling circuits, information concerning which of the coolant pumps during operation brings about a coolant flow in the individual cooling circuits, information concerning which actuator device(s) may be used to set a volume flow of the coolant by the individual heat sources, and information concerning a setpoint temperature that is stored for each of the heat sources, The control device also is designed to automatically set a volume flow of coolant through the heat sources that is required for reaching the setpoint temperatures, by appropriate control of the particular coolant pump(s) and actuator device(s).