222 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
222 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
Newsgroups: comp.os.mach,news.answers,comp.answers
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Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!nic.hookup.net!usc!cs.utexas.edu!newsfeed.rice.edu!rice!fgray
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From: fgray@owlnet.rice.edu (Frederick Earl Gray)
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Subject: comp.os.mach Frequently Asked Questions
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Message-ID: <CLFGGx.L0y@rice.edu>
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Followup-To: poster
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Summary: Answers to questions frequently asked on the USENET newsgroup
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comp.os.mach
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Keywords: Mach FAQ
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Sender: news@rice.edu (News)
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Organization: Rice University
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Date: Fri, 18 Feb 1994 16:00:31 GMT
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Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu
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Lines: 205
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Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu comp.os.mach:1672 news.answers:15435 comp.answers:3841
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Archive-Name: mach-faq
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======================================================================
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Frequently Asked Questions
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for
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comp.os.mach
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======================================================================
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_QUESTIONS_
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1. What is Mach?
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2. Where can I get more information about Mach?
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3. I'm looking for a certain paper or document involving Mach.
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Where is it?
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4. For what platforms is Mach available?
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5. Is Mach freely available or does it require licenses?
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6. Where can I get a distibution of Mach for a particular CPU?
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7. What is the GNU Hurd?
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8. Is NeXTSTEP based on Mach?
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9. Does it run DOS?
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_ANSWERS_
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1. What is Mach?
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Mach is a research project of Carnegie Mellon University. It aims
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to produce an operating system whose functions are distributed
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among several different threads of control, some of which run in
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supervisor mode and some of which run in user mode.
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Mach 3.0 is based on a microkernel which contains only process
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management, virtual memory, and interprocess communication
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functions, as well as device drivers. The rest of the operating
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system is concentrated in a UNIX server.
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Mach 2.5 was more traditional in that the UNIX server ran in
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supervisor mode, but it was still isolated from Mach code.
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2. Where can I get more information about Mach?
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Carnegie Mellon University maintains an FTP server on the Internet
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on mach.cs.cmu.edu.
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Items of interest on the server include:
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FAQ This directory includes some of the most frequenly
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requested documents. Most importantly, it contains file
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explaining how to obtain Mach for a particular machine
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(i386_release.doc, etc). Most files in this directory are
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available in either plain text or PostScript versions.
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doc/published, These directories contain technical
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doc/unpublished documentation.
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doc/techreports
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doc/osf This directory contains PostScript versions of the Open
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Software Foundation's Mach manuals. They are highly
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recommended reading for anyone planning to work with the
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Mach 3.0 microkernel.
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src/mkernel The source code for the Mach microkernel.
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src/buildtools The source code for the tools needed to build Mach.
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sup The source code to Carnegie Mellon University's 'sup'
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(Software Upgrade Protocol) program, used to obtain and
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update Mach distributions. Binaries for certain machines
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are also available here.
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3. I'm looking for a certain paper or document involving Mach.
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Where is it?
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There is a bibliography of papers and documents about Mach. It is
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available online by anonymous FTP to mach.cs.cmu.edu. It is in the
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directory FAQ in both plain-text and PostScript forms in the files
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mach_bib.doc and mach_bib.ps.
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4. For what platforms is Mach available?
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Mach 2.5 is available directly from Carnegie Mellon for these
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platforms:
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VAX
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Intel 386/586
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Sun 3
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Mach 3.0 is available from Carnegie Mellon for these platforms:
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Sun 3
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VAX
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DECstation 3100 and 5000/200, 5000/120, and 5000/20
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Intel 386/486 (ISA and PS/2)
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Omron Luna 88K
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DEC Alpha
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IBM RS/6000
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Sun SparcStations (microkernel only)
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Apple Macintosh
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5. Is Mach freely available or does it require licenses?
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In general, Mach requires licenses in order to do anything useful.
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The Mach 3.0 microkernel is available without licenses for all
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platforms except the Sun SparcStation, which requires a SunOS 4.1.1
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source license. Mach 2.5 and the Mach 3.0 UNIX server require a 4.3BSD
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source license, which in turn requires a license from UNIX Systems
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Laboratories.
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The Apple Macintosh and IBM RS/6000 platforms also require special
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Mach 3.0 licenses.
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In addition, there is a simplified operating system server called
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"POE" that is available freely. At one time, Carnegie Mellon also
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distributed a server based on the 386BSD operating system, but
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removed it from distribution for legal reasons. It can still be
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obtained from several FTP sites, though. Carnegie Mellon recently
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reintroduced a new version, BSDSS8, but it is only available to
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holders of 4.3BSD source licenses.
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6. Where can I get a distibution of Mach for a particular CPU?
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Carnegie Mellon's preferred method of source code distribution is
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through a protocol called SUP. After registering your IP address
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and license information with CMU, you will receive a cryptographic
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key. You use that key in conjunction with the sup program
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(available from mach.cs.cmu.edu in the directory sup) to access the
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proper collections of code.
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There is information on mach.cs.cmu.edu in the FAQ directory to
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tell you precisely how to get a distribution of Mach for the
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machine that you want.
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If you do not have access to SUP, there are also FTP archives for
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Mach. Among others:
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Hostname IP address Directory
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-------- ---------- ---------
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mach.cs.cmu.edu 128.2.209.192 src
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ftp.uu.net 192.48.96.9 packages/mach
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sh.wide.ad.jp 133.4.11.11 MACH
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ftp.dit.co.jp 133.156.1.1 pub/MACH
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ftp.mei.co.jp 132.182.49.2 free/mach
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ftp.cs.titech.ac.jp 131.112.172.15 pub/os/MACH
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nic.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 pub/mach/Mach3.0
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Connect to the site closest to you using the FTP protocol. Use
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"anonymous" as your login name and your electronic mail address as
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your password.
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ftp.uu.net's archives are also available via UUCP to a 900 number.
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Contact info@uunet.uu.net for more information.
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Mt.Xinu formerly distributed both source and binary releases of
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Mach 2.5, but they have discontinued them.
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Tenon Intersystems distributes a product known as MachTen. It runs
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avariant of Mach 2.5 as an application on top of the Macintosh
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Operating System, and includes a complete development environment.
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X11 and Motif are available as options. Contact info@tenon.com or
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(800) 662-2410 for more information.
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7. What is the GNU Hurd?
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The GNU Hurd is a system server which the Free Software Foundation
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is preparing. It will run on top of the Mach microkernel. It will
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resemble UNIX at the user level, but its design philosophy will be
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completely different. It will enable the individual user to
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customize his or her environment more completely.
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No one really knows when the Hurd will be released. However, there
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are preliminary sources for it on alpha.gnu.ai.mit.edu which are
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really only useful for browsing. They are incomplete and they are
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updated very infrequently.
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The Free Software Foundation recently announced that it is seeking
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volunteers to help develop and test the Hurd. Contact
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gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu for more information.
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8. Is NEXTSTEP based on Mach?
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NEXTSTEP is based on an enhanced version of Mach. Source licenses
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for this version of Mach are available from the NeXT Corporation.
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9. Does it run DOS?
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There is an "mdos" server allowing DOS applications to run under
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Mach on the Intel platform. This server is available from
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mach.cs.cmu.edu in the directory src as mdos.tar.Z.
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------------------------------------------------------------------
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CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS EDITION (Thanks!)
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------------------------------------------------------------------
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Dave Cherkus (RS/6000 and PS/2 support)
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---
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Send suggestions to fgray@owlnet.rice.edu.
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---
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--
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-- Fred Gray
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-- fgray@owlnet.rice.edu
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