``A Critique of the GNU Hurd Multi-server Operating System'' and position paper

``Improving Usability via Access Decomposition and Policy Refinement''.

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+<dt>14 January 2007</dt>
+<dd>
+<p>Neal Walfield and Marcus Brinkmann have written and submitted for
+publication <a
+href="http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-hurd/2007-01/msg00046.html"><em>A
+Critique of the GNU Hurd Multi-server Operating System</em></a> and a <a
+href="http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/l4-hurd/2007-01/msg00007.html">position
+paper <em>Improving Usability via Access Decomposition and Policy
+Refinement</em></a>.  Please follow the two preceding links to see the complete
+announcements.  The authors welcome comments and discussion which may be
+directed to the <a href="mailto:bug-hurd@gnu.org">&lt;bug-hurd@gnu.org&gt;
+mailing list</a> for the Critique and to the <a
+href="mailto:l4-hurd@gnu.org">&lt;l4-hurd@gnu.org&gt; mailing list</a> for the
+position paper.
+
+<p>The abstract of the Critique: <blockquote><p>The GNU Hurd's design was
+motivated by a desire to rectify a number of observed shortcomings in Unix.
+Foremost among these is that many policies that limit users exist simply as
+remnants of the design of the system's mechanisms and their implementation.  To
+increase extensibility and integration, the Hurd adopts an object-based
+architecture and defines interfaces, which, in particular those for the
+composition of and access to name spaces, are virtualizable.
+
+<p>This paper is first a presentation of the Hurd's design goals and a
+characterization of its architecture primarily as it represents a departure
+from Unix's.  We then critique the architecture and assess it in terms of the
+user environment of today focusing on security.  Then follows an evaluation of
+Mach, the microkernel on which the Hurd is built, emphasizing the design
+constraints which Mach imposes as well as a number of deficiencies its design
+presents for multi-server like systems.  Finally, we reflect on the properties
+such a system appears to require.</blockquote>
+
+<p>The abstract of the position paper: <blockquote><p>Commodity operating
+systems fail to meet the security, resource management and integration
+expectations of users.  We propose a unified solution based on a capability
+framework as it supports fine grained objects, straightforward access
+propagation and virtualizable interfaces and explore how to improve resource
+use via access decomposition and policy refinement with minimum interposition.
+We argue that only a small static number of scheduling policies are needed in
+practice and advocate hierarchical policy specification and central
+realization.</blockquote></dd>
+
 <dt>7 January 2007</dt>
 <dd>
 <p>A number of GNU&nbsp;Hurd developers will again (as already in the previous