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## <a name="Known_Limitations_and_Fixes"> Known Limitations and Fixes </a>

When comparing the Hurd (and its 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]]
  * The problem is fixed in the Debian GNU/Hurd distribution

* Missing device drivers.
  * Current 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.

* 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]] can provide, but no work yet

* PPP support, e.g., um-pppd missing.
  * See [[PppDaemon]]

* USB support is missing

* Xfree86 is stabilizing

* Xorg is available in the Debian GNU/Hurd distribution

* `fatfs` translator is stabilizing, and 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/) is very unstable.

* Portability between alternate microkernels, e.g., [darwin](http://developer.apple.com/darwin/) &amp; [L4](http://os.inf.tu-dresden.de/L4/)

* Stability issues
  * [[ZallocPanics]]