livecd + full OS

[Norman Feske]

Hello Syd,

> hi, my interest in genode would be to be able to use it on top of a
> linux system to run other OS's securely in a virtualised environment.
> some questions

I think here is a slight misconception about the role of Genode. Genode
is not a virtualization solution for Linux. It is a user land for
microkernels, which happens to run also on Linux. The current options
for running virtualized OSes on top of Genode are all tied to
microkernels. For example, L4Linux is tied to the Fiasco.OC microkernel,
or the Vancouver VMM is specific for the NOVA microhypervisor.

> when will the next live cd be available?

After we deferred the live CD in early summer, our current plan is to
release the live system in November.

> will genode be able to perform any better, or provide any better
> security, than other virtualisation softwares like vmware and xen?

That is definitely the goal - but only when combined with a secure
microkernel such as NOVA. Genode on Linux, however, is mainly a
productivity feature. Even though there is the chance that Genode might
be useful for running software in an isolated fashion on Linux, it is
not the main goal of the project.

> How do you plan to eventually release a "fully functional
> general-purpose OS" when the genode code is so small, and it is mainly
> a userland project?

Please take the term "fully functional general-purpose OS" with a bit of
caution. We always attach the words "for the Genode developers" to them.
That is because our working environment is rather spartan compared to
the desktop environment expected by most users. Please refer to the
discussion at the beginning of 2012 about what we refer to as a
general-purpose OS fit for our purpose:


http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_name=4F01D152.7080303%40genode-labs.com&forum_name=genode-main

If you have ideas that go beyond that goal, you are always welcome to
discuss them. If you'd like to go forward taking practical steps, even
more so. ;-)

Cheers
Norman

-- 
Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske
Genode Labs

http://www.genode-labs.com · http://genode.org

Genode Labs GmbH · Amtsgericht Dresden · HRB 28424 · Sitz Dresden
Geschäftsführer: Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske, Christian Helmuth