What is this?
FTL is a new operating system written in Rust that aims to be an alternative to Linux, BSD, and Illumos specifically for cloud environments.
FTL is a new operating system written in Rust that aims to be an alternative to Linux, BSD, and Illumos specifically for cloud environments.Is FTL a monolithic kernel like Linux, or something different?No, the FTL kernel itself is small and hypervisor-shaped, exposing minimal primitives like vCPUs and virtual address spaces; actual OS features such as Linux system calls and TCP live in a userspace library called the 'userspace OS', similar to an Exokernel design.
No, the FTL kernel itself is small and hypervisor-shaped, exposing minimal primitives like vCPUs and virtual address spaces; actual OS features such as Linux system calls and TCP live in a userspace library called the 'userspace OS', similar to an Exokernel design.How do I run FTL locally?Install the Rust toolchain, LLVM tools, and QEMU, then build and run the project; you can also start a specific Linux command or build an ISO image to run FTL on a cloud provider.
Install the Rust toolchain, LLVM tools, and QEMU, then build and run the project; you can also start a specific Linux command or build an ISO image to run FTL on a cloud provider.What do I need installed before building FTL?You need the Rust toolchain, LLVM tools, and QEMU for local emulation.
You need the Rust toolchain, LLVM tools, and QEMU for local emulation.Can FTL already run unmodified Linux binaries today?FTL aims for a Linux binary compatibility layer so unmodified Linux executables run via userspace ABI emulation, but some planned features, like 'Interceptors' for runtime behavior control, are not implemented yet.
FTL aims for a Linux binary compatibility layer so unmodified Linux executables run via userspace ABI emulation, but some planned features, like 'Interceptors' for runtime behavior control, are not implemented yet.Is FTL meant for big cloud servers only, or can it run on smaller devices too?It's primarily aimed at cloud environments, but the project also keeps its footprint small enough to run on constrained devices.
It's primarily aimed at cloud environments, but the project also keeps its footprint small enough to run on constrained devices.What exactly is the 'userspace OS' in FTL?It's a userspace library that implements most traditional OS features (Linux process model, VFS, TCP) per container, so each container runs its own isolated, patchable application kernel without touching the real kernel.
It's a userspace library that implements most traditional OS features (Linux process model, VFS, TCP) per container, so each container runs its own isolated, patchable application kernel without touching the real kernel.How is this different from just using gVisor or a unikernel?Like gVisor, each container gets an isolated userspace kernel that handles Linux syscalls, but like a unikernel, you can patch or extend that userspace OS yourself without kernel programming or rebooting the machine.
Like gVisor, each container gets an isolated userspace kernel that handles Linux syscalls, but like a unikernel, you can patch or extend that userspace OS yourself without kernel programming or rebooting the machine.Is FTL actually running anywhere in production?Yes, the project's own website, ftl-os.org, is served by FTL running live on Google Compute Engine as a real-world demo.
Yes, the project's own website, ftl-os.org, is served by FTL running live on Google Compute Engine as a real-world demo.What does the project mean by 'batteries included'?The plan is to eventually ship FTL as a complete operating system bundled with integrated userspace software, making it closer to BSD's philosophy than Linux's minimal-core approach.
The plan is to eventually ship FTL as a complete operating system bundled with integrated userspace software, making it closer to BSD's philosophy than Linux's minimal-core approach.What are similar projects?motor-os, virtio-nvgpu, zxdesk, redox, firecracker, Atmosphere, rust, blog_os
motor-os, virtio-nvgpu, zxdesk, redox, firecracker, Atmosphere, rust, blog_osWhich topics is it in?bare-metal, vps, embedded-systems, operating-system, kernel, virtualization, low-level, systems-programming, containers, testing, cloud, networking
bare-metal, vps, embedded-systems, operating-system, kernel, virtualization, low-level, systems-programming, containers, testing, cloud, networking