DistOS 2019F 2019-10-09
Note there will be no small group discussions today (or group reports). First half of class will be a lecture on the readings, second half of class will be a review for the midterm.
Readings
Plan 9 & Inferno (no group report)
- Presotto et. al, Plan 9, A Distributed System (1991)
- Pike et al., Plan 9 from Bell Labs (1995)
- Doward et al., The Inferno Operating System (1997)
- Inferno OS website (browse)
- Rob Pike and Dennis M. Ritchie, "The Styx Architecture for Distributed Systems"
Discussion Questions
- Why did the creators of UNIX make Plan 9? What was their key inspiration?
- How does Plan 9 differ from UNIX originally? How has that line been blurred over time?
- Why was Inferno created? Was there any external simulus?
- What are the key ideas behind Styx?