Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 10:48:43 -0600 (CST) From: mikebo@tellabs.com To: hackers@freebsd.org Cc: mikebo (Mike Borowiec) Subject: OSF Micro Kernel for Linux/FreeBSD/etc (fwd) Message-ID: <199603261648.KAA25149@sunc210.tellabs.com>
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FreeBSD hackers - I received a copy of this from a friend who does a lot of PowerPC work. Since I've seen nothing about this on the FreeBSD lists as yet, I thought some of you might like to know about this new frontier. The article mentions FreeBSD, but perhaps the discussion is more germane to NetBSD. Is the FreeBSD core team open to the idea of possibly moving to a Mach 3.0 micro-kernel, or is there significant sentimental attachment to the traditional, monolithic BSD kernel? Unrelated shot-in-the-dark question: Does ANY version of Linux incorporate the FreeBSD or 4.4BSD Lite TCP/IP networking code? - Mike Forwarded message: > February 6th 1996 > > Apple Computer has teamed up with the Open Software Foundation to port > the Linux operating system to the Power Macintosh. The freely > distributable Unix variant is being based upon the Mach 3.0 micro > kernel and duo expect to have a finished release ready in the second > quarter of this year. Initially it will run on the older Nubus-based > Power Macintoshes: the 6100, 7100, 8100 with the 7200, 7500, 8500 and > 9500 models following. > > The work was announced on Monday at the Conference on Freely > Redistributable Software in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Apple says that > it showed an early prototype, but no information was available on the > port's progress. The announcement has been welcomed by the Linux > community, but with some bemusement - Apple has hitherto appeared > indifferent to voluntary efforts to get Linux running on its machines. > > Apple and the OSF say that their work will be made available under the > standard GNU general public licence; in other words the source code > will be available for people to use and tinker with. Unlike Tenon > Intersystem's commercial MachTen Unix, the Linux port will not enable > concurrent use of Mac and Unix applications - once Linux is running > the user will have to reboot to get back into the Mac OS. As with most > Linux releases, the first version will only have a sparse set of > drivers. There will be no AppleTalk Stack; just TCP/IP over > Ethernet. It will include X11R6 X-Windows, however. The GNU > development suite will be included - GCC, Emacs etc. > > The effort marks the first time that Linux will be hosted on the Mach > micro kernel and the OSF is undertaking a parallel effort to port the > Mach/Linux combination to the Intel platform. The Intel port is > further along and a snapshot is available for download from the OSF's > Web site at www.gr.osf.org/mklinux. > > Mach is important not only in terms of Linux, but also for the way > that it could ease the development of other OS 'personalities' to the > PowerPC processor. A FreeBSD Unix variant should be achievable, for > example, and those with a perverse streak will remember that OS/2 for > the PowerPC is based on the same OSF work. OS/2 for the Mac anyone? > > Currently, the work is specific to the Power Macintosh, but Apple says > it will be extended later to the PowerPC Platform (nee > CHRP). Certainly the results of the work could be useful to other > teams currently striving to port Linux to PReP machine's and Be Inc's > Bebox. > > In the short term, however Apple is targeting the academic community, > which will no-doubt greet the news with a sigh of relief. The company > says it expects the source-code port "will help foster new research > and education uses for Power Macintosh". Indeed it should, but it > could also help Apple's position in the burgeoning Web market. The > company says explicitly that the new OS will let Power Macs act as > domain name and PPP servers. No details on how the project is being > funded were available. Further information can be gathered on the new > Web site: www.mklinux.apple.com. >
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