From: Tarik Nesh-Nash (tarikn_at_microsoft.com)
Date: Wed Jan 21 2004 - 10:43:20 PST
This paper proposes a solution to the OS Reliability problems that are
due to driver failures. This system, Nook, recovers from 99% of
different Linux crashes. Nook is designed to target different operating
systems without a noticeable change at the OS level. For example, Nook
should be able to run in the current Windows or UNIX versions.
The paper starts with an introduction that describes that Nook intends
to be backward compatible with existing systems and efficient; the
performance is not lost. This system becomes very important with the
popularity of extensions and drivers, and also since it is the main
reason of system crashes.
The next sections describe the architecture and implementation of Nook
system. It is based on the principle of fault resistant of mistakes. I
would consider that an abusive malicious behavior from the extension
programmer would be a serious security hole in the system architecture.
The Nook design will be a reliability layer between the kernel and the
extensions that will support isolation, interposition and recovery.
The test results showed a 99% success on the system crashes, however, it
still needs some improvement on catching non fatal failures. However,
this is definitely a big improvement comparing to the existing systems.
Performance hit, however, may be considerable in some scenarios. It is
the traditional tradeoff between reliability and performance.
This paper seems to bring an innovative solution to the popular OS
crashes that is harmonious with the current technology. I wonder if it
is worth commercializing this project.
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