V-System

Developed by:
Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA D.R. Cheriton, T.P. Mann, P.J. Roy and K.A. Lantz

Short Description:
V is a distributed operating system of the process-message type. The system is structured as a relatively small kernel, a set of service modules various run-time libraries and a set of commands. Performance of the process migration mechanism is a key conc ern for the V system. The time a process is suspended during migration is minimized in the V-System through the use of a technique called pre-copying. The V-System uses very light-weight processes to construct programs. Several processes in a single addre ss space may be combined to form an application. They communicate via synchronous message passing. There is no concept of capabilities in the V system. Communication processes are part of the kernel.

Model: loosely-coupled, fully integrated, single-instance DOS
Properties: process migration, lightweight processes, message passing, micro kernel
Transparency: access, location, concurrency
Running on: Sun Workstations connected via Ethernet
Date: 1984

References:
David R. Cheriton: "The V Distributed System". Computer Science Department, Stanford University, March 1987.
David R. Cheriton: "The V Kernel: a software base for distributed systems". IEEE Software, 1(2), pp.19-42.
David R. Cheriton and W. Zwaenepoel: "Distributed process groups in the V kernel". ACM Transactions on Computer Systems, 3(2), pp. 77-107.

David R. Cheriton and W. Zwaenepoel: " The Distributed group V-kernel and its performance for diskless workstations". ACM, In Proceedings of the 9th Symposium on Operating System Principles, New York, pp. 128-140.