DATE: Thursday , October 3, 2002
TIME: Noon - 1 pm
PLACE: Wean Hall 8220

SPEAKER:
Orran Krieger
 IBM

TITLE:
The K42 Research Operating System

ABSTRACT:
K42 is a new Linux-compatible research operating system kernel for 64-bit shared memory multiprocessors. Each virtual and physical resource, e.g., open file, memory region, page table, is managed by a separate object instance. This model provides the standard software engineering benefits (portability, maintainability, extensibility), but, more importantly: 1) allows customization on a resource by resource basis and 2) allows accesses to different resources to be efficiently handled in parallel. Individual objects can be "hot-swapped" with new implementations based on current or expected use and/or to selectively upgrade the system with bug, security, or performance fixes without bringing it down.

We will give a brief overview of K42, describing some of the key technology and the newest performance and scalability results, and we will discuss where we are going with the system. One of the fundamental goals of this project has been to develop an operating system platform that not only has performance and functionality advantages over existing systems, but which can be used as a platform to more easily study research questions and then transfer technology into commercial systems like Linux. K42 is freely available to collaborators under a GPL license. We will discuss some of the success stories in technology already being transferred to Linux and then touch on a few of the interesting areas of research we would like to explore with the system (e.g., application directed customization, scalability, fault tolerance, virtualization, real-time, security...)

BIO:
Orran Krieger is the manager of the advanced operating system research team at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. He received a BASc from the University of Ottawa in 1985, a MASc from the University of Toronto in 1989, and a PhD from the University of Toronto in 1994, all in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was one of the main architects and developers of the Hurricane and Tornado operating systems at the University of Toronto, and was heavily involved in the architecture and development of the Hector and NUMAchine shared-memory multiprocessors. Currently, he is project lead on the K42 operating system project at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, and an adjunct associate professor in computer science at CMU. His research interests include operating systems, file systems, and
computer architecture.

SDI / LCS Seminar Questions?
Karen Lindenfelser, 86716, or visit www.pdl.cmu.edu/SDI/