Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
The Exokernel Operating
System and Active Networks
Timothy R. Leschke
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA
abStract
There are two forces that are demanding a change in the traditional design of operating systems. One
force requires a more flexible operating system that can accommodate the evolving requirements of new
hardware and new user applications. The other force requires an operating system that is fast enough
to keep pace with faster hardware and faster communication speeds. If a radical change in operating
system design is not implemented soon, the traditional operating system will become the performance
bottle-neck for computers in the very near future. The Exokernel Operating System, developed at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is an operating system that meets the needs of increased speed and
increased flexibility. The Exokernel is extensible, which means that it is easily modified. The Exokernel
can be easily modified to meet the requirements of the latest hardware or user applications. Ease in
modification also means the Exokernel's performance can be optimized to meet the speed requirements
of faster hardware and faster communication. In this chapter, the author explores some details of the
Exokernel Operating System. He also explores Active Networking, which is a technology that exploits the
extensibility of the Exokernel. His investigation reveals the strengths of the Exokernel as well as some
of its design concerns. He concludes his discussion by embracing the Exokernel Operating System and
by encouraging more research into this approach to operating system design.
introduction
resources. As a manager, the OS controls how
resources such as I/O devices, file-storage space,
memory space, and CPU time get allocated. As a
protector, the traditional OS controls how processes
use these resources to avoid errors. Because the
operating system's role is so important, it is the one
The traditional operating system (OS) is seen as
providing both management and protection of
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