Sanos: A Core For Java-Based Appliances

Iman Habib writes "Sanos is a minimalistic 32-bit x86 OS kernel for jbox appliances. A jbox is a JavaOS server appliance running on standard PC hardware. This enables you to run Java server applications without the need to install a traditional host operating system like Windows or Linux. Only a standard Java HotSpot VM and the sanos kernel are needed. The kernel was developed as part of an experiment on investigating the feasibility of running Java server applications without a traditional operating system only using a simple kernel. The kernel implements basic operating system services like booting, memory management, thread scheduling, local and remote file systems, TCP/IP networking and DLL loading and linking. A thin win32 wrapper allows the Windows version of the standard HotSpot JVM to run under Sanos, essentially providing a JavaOS platform for server applications. This enables you to run java based server applications, like Tomcat and Jboss, under Sanos. Sanos is open source under a BSD-style license."

But Java is slow

[Anonymous Coward]

And without the award-winning industry-acclaimed Microsoft(r) Windows (tm) operating systems how can a machine be expected to perform reliably?

Re:Sanos implementation

[mbogosian]

+1 Interesting? Did I miss something? How is some overweight naked amature a "good example of Sanos implementation together with the description of APIs and server-side architecture"?

I really hope this doesn't slip through on Meta-Moderation [slashdot.org]....

Re:Sanos implementation

[Anonymous Coward]

1) Why wasn't it interesting? Your disagreement would be apt, if the comment was modded as 'Insightful' or 'Funny', as the linked page is not. However, I personally found it interesting.

2) You've used the word 'overweight'. Now, judging from this example [pwgalleries.com] I would say your standards of slimness and thinness are rather high. That high, in fact, that there are maybe two or three hundred people who can fit it, and they are hunger victims or something. The girl is just fine, she's nowhere near over-weight.

I rea

Re:Sanos implementation

[mbogosian]

2) You've used the word 'overweight'.... The girl is just fine, she's nowhere near over-weight.

You are correct. Overweight was a very poor word choice in retrospect.

Honestly, I followed the link, and came back to slashdot, at which time, all I could remember was large breasts. In my mind, these were over average in size. I must have attributed this characteristic to the rest of her, because I honestly couldn't remember anything but breasts until I went back to revisit the link after seeing your post.

Rea

Why a new OS?

[Fished]

Why bother creating a whole new OS kernel for this? Why not just put together a Linux distribution, compile a statically linked JVM (if you can - do they still make the JDK source available?) and have nothing but a kernel and a jvm binary?

That would give you all the drivers for free, and you would have a stable and proven reliable operating system instead.

not Java

[SHEENmaster]

but possibly Kaffe or more likely Wonka could be built into the kernel.

I think the important thing here is that the kernel's primary purpose is to run Java; it's the next best thing to a Java Processor (as opposed to a JVM.)

The Linux kernal also has a lot more bloat than this one, maybe Minix or the PDP11 version of UNIX would be a better candidate :)

Re:Why a new OS?

[RevAaron]

With a more or less pure Java thing like this, Linux simply isn't needed. A "stable and proven reliable operating system" isn't what is needed- just a platform for interpreting/JITing bytecodes. Linux processes, threads, etc aren't used, so why bother with all that needless cruft?

Or better yet, why not just use OSKit? You can use FreeBSD and Linux drivers as well as choose the TCP/IP stack from a couple of choices (incl. Linux, etc).

I presume the argument against a stripped down version of Linux would

For the really broke...

[(H)elix1]

First off, the OS runs in less than 512K ram? Good show! Kind of wish I had not given all my 486 class computers for my brother to create 'sculpture'. Gives the possibility of doing some embedded work/streaming servers with some very low end hardware. I figure I could make it boot and run tomcat off an LS120 floppy. Heck, might even have room for the full JDK. (grin - you know who you are)

Curious how this would do outside the firewall as well. It would not be on the script kiddies list... With hardw

How about embedding a JVM into the Linux kernel?

[mnmn]

Or even running the JVM instead of init.

With a minimal kernel, this could be quite small.