## Known Limitations and Fixes When comparing the Hurd (and its [[Mach/GnuMach]] microkernel) to alternatives please remember that the last released version number is 0.3. For example, Linux, the kernel, took awhile to mature. The Debian GNU/Hurd system is developing rapidly. Assistance with programming and support tasks is greatly appreciated. The general [Hardware Compatibility Guide](http://www.freesoftware.fsf.org/thug/gnumach_hardware.html) is another good reference. Now, the list of known limitations of the Hurd. * ~1.5+ GB ext2 partition size limit * See [[ExtTwoSize]] * Missing device drivers. * Current [[Mach/GnuMach]] drivers are from Linux 2.0. * [[Mach/OskitMach]] currently has Linux 2.2 drivers. * Swap is [highly recommended](http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/faq.en.html#q2-7), like on UNIX systems. * Minimum of 8 MB RAM has been reported to work, but 32 MB is more realistic. Don't forget to use plenty of swap space. * 768 megabytes RAM maximum [approximately](http://www.freesoftware.fsf.org/thug/gnumach_hardware.html#Memory). If you've got too much use GRUB's "uppermem" command to limit the amount seen by Mach. * Random devices, /dev/random and /dev/urandom, are not in the main distribution yet. These are needed by, for instance, OpenSSH. * In progress, see [[RandomDevice]] * No DHCP client will work yet. * See [[DhcpClient]] - need to update TCP/IP server. * [[HurdConsole]] server not in CDs or tarballs yet. * Not true anymore [[Distrib/TarballNotes20030126]] provides. * There are some [[Distrib/SystemAPILimits]] * PthreadsLibrary not in CDs or tarballs yet. * May not be true anymore [[Distrib/TarballNotes20030126]] provides new Hurd libraries * See [[PosixThreads]] * Sound support missing (in progress) * [[Mach/OskitMach]] will provide * PPP support, e.g., um-pppd missing. * See [[PppDaemon]] * USB support is missing * XFree86 is stabilizing * fatfs translator is stabilizing but it does not have partition limits that get in the way. ([0\.4 released Oct 6, 2002](http://mail.gnu.org/pipermail/bug-hurd/2002-October/010576.html)) * [Ext3 implementation](http://debian.fmi.uni-sofia.bg/~ogi/hurd/ext3fs/) has not started yet. * Portability between alternate microkernels, e.g., [darwin](http://developer.apple.com/darwin/) & [L4](http://os.inf.tu-dresden.de/L4/)