Rightweight Kernels: An Off-the-Shelf Alternative to Custom Light-Weight Kernels
01 January 2006
At LANL, we have undertaken a research program to determine whether Linux and/or Plan 9 can be used to realize the benefits of light-weight kernels while maintaining the benefits of a full-featured operating system. Specifically, we would like to evaluate these systems and define measures that quantify what is good in a light-weight kernel. Then we will use our expertise in Linux (the most popular and well supported operating system for HPC), Plan 9 (a distributed, light-weight operating system), and real applications to make these two operating systems competitive with or better than a custom light-weight operating system, in essence, a Right-Weight Kernel.