Linux desktop to be subjugated by hypervisor unless it slims down

Jan 22, 2009, 04:32 (1 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Kevin Lawton)

[ Thanks to Kevin Lawton for this link. ]

"So what's become of the size of the Linux kernel after such developments? Well, not that long ago I compiled an extremely stripped down recent Linux kernel for a VM. Uncompressed, the size of the kernel binary still rhymes with megabyte. That tells me there's a lot of extra baggage which needs to be modularized out. Whether it's perception, marketing, or reality, I think we need to get a slim kernel-proper down to a few hundred kilobytes or less before people consider it a bare-metal hypervisor.

"Beyond consideration as a hypervisor, taking time to modularize and clean house is always a good thing, and like past modularization efforts always produces a better design and encourages more innovation. Smaller modular chunks mean people or groups of people can comprehend, analyze, audit, innovate and improve within a more manageable domain. This would go a long way towards allowing academic projects which need to be completed in one semester (nod to Andrew Tanenbaum). And with Linux development picking up steam, I think this is well needed in any case."

Complete Story

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