GNU Hurd information

(jpeg 2k)

The GNU Hurd is the GNU project's replacement for the Unix kernel. The Hurd is a collection of servers that run on the Mach microkernel to implement file systems, network protocols, file access control, and other features that are implemented by the Unix kernel or similar kernels (such as Linux).

The first test release of the Hurd was released on August 6, 1996.

General Information

• Towards a New Strategy of OS Design. This paper also appeared in The January 1994 GNU's Bulletin
• The Unofficial GNU Hurd FAQ
• The Hurd has been mentioned twice in "the press" (I am not sure which was "first")
  • A letter to Byte magazine about the GNU Hurd written by Todd Hutchinson.
  • an article in UNIXopen about GNU Hurd (listing of articles) written by Martin Michlmayr.
• Task list.
• The meaning of name "Hurd".
• The GNU Hurd Interfaces manual (draft from the current release).
• Report Hurd bugs to bug-hurd@prep.ai.mit.edu.
• For discussion of the Hurd, use the mailing list help-hurd@prep.ai.mit.edu.
• Why develop another free kernel? An answer by Richard Stallman.
• Some discussion of processes migration with the Hurd. Some of the Mach research at University of Utah is also relevant.
• Several messages about the filesystem organization of the Hurd.

Other Users

Here are a few people outside the FSF who have managed to get the Hurd running:

• Gordon Matzigkeit got the Hurd running by compiling a snapshot and all the tools. He has a web page documenting how he did it.
• Trent Fisher is part of a local Hurd group working toward getting the Hurd running, and doing further work/exploration when we do so.
• Erich Boleyn works with Trent Fisher, and has several ideas for the Hurd, including an elaborate exec server and an emulation system He is also working on an new boot mechanism for multi-server systems, GRUB.

Current and Past Announcements

These are all the announcements made over the years. Most of them were either to gnu.announce.

• Test release announcement (Aug 96)
• Test release status (Jul 96)
• Binary image available, Apr 96 -- This and NetBSD boot flopies should be enough to get a working Hurd system!
• New Snapshot, Apr 96 -- NFS and lots else works!
• News Flash, Nov 95 -- ftp works!
• New Snapshot, Jul 95 -- ext2fs support
• New Snapshot, Apr 95
• News flash, Nov 94
• News flash, Sep 94 -- gcc runs!
• News flash, Aug 94
• News flash, Jul 94 -- emacs runs!
• News flash, May 94
• News flash, Apr 94 -- it boots!
• GNU HURD announcement, Nov 93
• GNU HURD announcement, May 91

Other stuff and related projects

• Lites: A free Mach single server, based on BSD 4.4 Lite. A more recent version is available from the Mach4 people (q.v.)
• Mach 4. The Hurd runs on top of Mach.
• CMU CS Project Mach Home Page
• OSF Operating Systems Collected Papers
• Linux on the OSF Microkernel

Thanks to Trent Fisher for writing the initial version of this page, and to Teddy Hogeborn for the icon.

Copyright (C) 1996 Trent Fisher Copyright (C) 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Boston, MA 02111, USA

Verbatim copying and distribution is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.

Updated: 20 Aug 1996 rms