MICROKERNELS Meaning and
Definition
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Microkernels are a fundamental architectural design concept for operating systems in computer science. Also known as a minimalistic kernel, a microkernel is a small and essential component of an operating system that primarily focuses on providing a minimal set of services, such as inter-process communication and basic memory management. It is designed to be as lightweight as possible, delegating most of the operating system's functions to separate user-level processes called servers or services.
The primary aim of microkernels is to ensure stability, reliability, and security by enforcing a modular and well-structured design. By keeping the kernel as minimal as possible, microkernels aim to reduce the amount of trusted code running in kernel mode, minimizing the effects of failures and enhancing system resilience. This isolation also enables easier extensibility, portability, and maintainability of the operating system.
Microkernels commonly provide only the most essential services, such as scheduling, thread management, and inter-process communication. Other functionality, including filesystems, device drivers, and graphical user interfaces, are implemented as separate user-level processes or servers that communicate with the microkernel via message passing. This separation of services allows for greater flexibility and ease of modification or replacement without disrupting the core kernel functionality.
Although microkernels offer numerous advantages in terms of security, reliability, and portability, they can suffer from reduced performance compared to monolithic kernels due to the overhead of inter-process communication. However, advancements in hardware capabilities and optimization techniques continue to mitigate this performance gap, making microkernels a viable and significant area of research and development in modern operating systems.
Etymology of MICROKERNELS
The word "microkernels" is derived from two components: "micro" and "kernels".
- "Micro" comes from the Greek word "mikros", meaning small or tiny. It is often used as a prefix in English to indicate something small in scale.
- "Kernels" refers to the core or central component of an operating system. In computing, a kernel is responsible for managing system resources, such as CPU, memory, and I/O operations.
The combination of these two words, "micro" and "kernels", is used to describe a certain design approach in operating systems. Microkernels are designed to be minimalistic and modular, with only essential functions implemented in the kernel. Additional functionality is moved out of the kernel and implemented as separate user-space processes, known as servers or services. This design philosophy aims to provide a more secure, stable, and flexible operating system architecture.
