Are virtual-machine monitors microkernels done right?

Authors

Gernot Heiser, Volkmar Uhlig and Joshua LeVasseur

    School of Computer Science and Engineering
    University of New South Wales
    Sydney 2052 Australia
    
    NICTA, Sydney, Australia

    Universitat Karlsruhe, Germany

Abstract

NICTA publication PA005103.

A paper by Hand et al. at the recent HotOS work- shop re-examined microkernels and contrasted them to virtual-machine monitors (VMMs). It found that the two kinds of systems share architectural com- monalities but also have a number of technical dif- ferences which the paper examined. It concluded that VMMs are a special case of microkernels, "microker- nels done right". A closer examination of that paper shows that it contains a number of statements which are poorly justified or even refuted by the literature. While we believe that it is indeed timely to reexamine the mer- its and issues of microkernels, such an examination needs to be based on facts.

BibTeX Entry

  @techreport{Heiser_UL_05-tr,
    author           = {Gernot Heiser and Volkmar Uhlig and Joshua LeVasseur},
    title            = {Are Virtual-Machine Monitors Microkernels Done Right?},
    number           = {PA005103},
    month            = {Oct},
    year             = {2005},
    institution      = {NICTA}
  }

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