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A *microkernel* is one kind of a [[kernel]] implementation.

[[Liedtke]] explains in [On Microkernel Construction](http://l4ka.org/publications/paper.php?docid=642)
(or from [TU Dresden](http://www.tud-os.org/papers_ps/jochen/Mikern.ps),
or from [ACM](http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=224075))
that a microkernel attempts to minimize the mandatory part of the operating
system by providing the minimal number of [[mechanism]]s that
maximize the flexibility of implementation (by imposing minimal
[[policy]]) while allowing the efficient implementation of the
remainder of the system.

The idea of a microkernel as explained above was first explored
by Per Brinch-Hansen in 1970 in
[The Nucleus of a Multiprogramming System](http://brinch-hansen.net/papers/1970a.pdf).

An [introduction](http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ulfar/ukernel/ukernel.html) by 
Úlfar Erlingsson and Athanasios Kyparlis (from 1996) to microkernel concepts.

[[Research]].

[[faq/Multiserver_Microkernel]].

[[Microkernels_for_beginners|for_beginners]].

A 2002 article about [[microkernel_FUD|FUD]] (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt).


# Implementations

  * [[Hydra]]

  * [[KeyKOS]]

  * [[Mach]] -- used by the GNU/Hurd

  * [[EROS]]

  * [[CapROS]]

  * [[Coyotos]]

  * [[L4]]

  * [[Barrelfish]]

  * [[Viengoos]]

  * [[Genode]]