Workplace Microkernel and Os: a Case Study Workplace Microkernel and Os: a Case Study

SUMMARY IBM's Microkernel, named Workplace OS microkernel 18], was the core component of Workplace OS, a portable successor of OS/2. The basic premise of Workplace OS work was: 1) IBM would adopt and improve the CMU Mach 3.0 microkernel for use on PDAs, the desktop, workstations, and massively parallel machines, and 2) that several operating system personalities would execute on the microkernel platform concurrently. This architecture would allow users to switch between applications written for diierent operating systems while IBM would also beneet by having one common platform for all product lines. The goals of the microkernel and the technical features of design are described in this report. We also present lessons that may beneet future projects with similar goals. This technical report is a revised version of the paper published in Software Practice and Experience. In this report we use new tools to evaluate the microkernel. The evaluation section of the report uses new tools and includes updated results. SUMMARY IBM's Microkernel, named Workplace OS microkernel 18], was the core component of Workplace OS, a portable successor of OS/2. The basic premise of Workplace OS work was: 1) IBM would adopt and improve the CMU Mach 3.0 microkernel for use on PDAs, the desktop, workstations, and massively parallel machines, and 2) that several operating system personalities would execute on the microkernel platform concurrently. This architecture would allow users to switch between applications written for diierent operating systems while IBM would also beneet by having one common platform for all product lines. The goals of the microkernel and the technical features of design are described in this report. We also present lessons that may beneet future projects with similar goals.