Genode System Architecture and Configuration Questions,

[Norman Feske]

Hello,

thank you for your encouraging words and welcome to the list!

> 1. Do any library level diagrams or flowcharts exist?  Specifically to
> describe at which point various pieces funnel together?  Maybe something
> with details comparable to Linux_Graphics_Stack_2013.svg
> <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Linux_Graphics_Stack_2013.svg>?

It is quite difficult to capture Genode using such a diagram because the
architecture depends pretty much on how its components are composed.
However, there exists a slide set that I assembled last year for a
summer school. It contains several illustrations of Genode. Hopefully
you may find it useful:

  http://genode.org/files/slides/summer_school_2013_slides.pdf

> 2. How are shared configuration files handled?  For example, system
> level configurations often found in /etc?

Generally, there is no convention about sharing or naming configuration
files. Genode's configuration concept works quite different from what we
know from traditional systems: A process obtains its configuration by
requesting a ROM module called "config" from its immediate parent. It is
up to the parent to decide how to handle such a request. For example,
the init process usually handles it by handing out a snippet of its own
configuration to the respective child. See the attachment for an
illustration of how it works. Alternatively, the parent could
dynamically generate the "config" data for its child (see '
os/src/test/dynamic_config/master/main.cc' for an example). Or, it could
request a different ROM file from its own parent and hand it out as
"config". For example, this can be done using init's '<configfile>'
feature (see 'os/run/demo.run' for an example).

Of course, you could create a Genode system where all configuration
files are stored on a central file system, following a system-global
convention. There is even a component to make files of a file system
available as ROM modules (see 'os/src/server/fs_rom'). But the important
point is that Genode does not rely on such a convention.

Best regards
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
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