EROS (microkernel)

EROS (an abbreviation for The Extremely Reliable Operating System) was a research project for an operating system with special reliability and a very fine-grained assignment of rights to users and programs. This is realized not through access control lists, and "classical " Unix -like access to a file system, but EROS accesses an alternative idea about operating system design from the Multics time back, called Capabilities.

Is Unix in the broadest sense everything is a file, everything is at EROS a Capability (German: ability ). Similar to a handle or an access control list called a capability a resource and granted access rights to them. While the access protection is realized but quasi externally with an access control list, it is an internal property of the object at a Capability. As with a DRM capability tailored to fit only authenticated applications and users, which is designed to prevent the unauthorized copying or using the Capability by other programs. In contrast to UNIX, or Microsoft Windows, there is also no administrator user ( root). The status of all capabilities and thus the whole system (and all running programs ) is backed up every five minutes and made ​​persistent again after each restart.

History

EROS is the re-implementation of the concepts of KeyKOS operating system, which was also based purely on capabilities.

EROS is open source and was supervised by the Johns Hopkins University. The development of EROS was adjusted with version 1.1 dated 18 April 2001; with Capros but there is a spin-off, and the Hopkins University works with Coyotos on a follow-up project.