README.md - akaros - Git at Google

 About Akaros
 ============
 Akaros is an open source, GPL-licensed operating system for manycore
 architectures.  Its goal is to provide better support for parallel and
 high-performance applications in the datacenter.  Unlike traditional OSs, which
 limit access to certain resources (such as cores), Akaros provides native
 support for application-directed resource management and 100% isolation from
 other jobs running on the system.

 Although not yet integrated as such, it is designed to operate as a low-level
 node OS with a higher-level Cluster OS, such as
 [Mesos](http://mesos.apache.org/), governing how resources are shared amongst
 applications running on each node.  Its system call API and "Many Core Process"
 abstraction better match the requirements of a Cluster OS, eliminating many of
 the obstacles faced by other systems when trying to isolate simultaneously
 running processes.  Moreover, Akaros’s resource provisioning interfaces allow
 for node-local decisions to be made that enforce the resource allocations set
 up by a Cluster OS.  This can be used to simplify global allocation decisions,
 reduce network communication, and ultimately promote more efficient sharing of
 resources.  There is limited support for such functionality on existing
 operating systems.

 Akaros is still very young, but preliminary results show that processes running
 on Akaros have an order of magnitude less noise than on Linux, as well as fewer
 periodic signals, resulting in better CPU isolation.  Additionally, its
 non-traditional threading model has been shown to outperform the Linux NPTL
 across a number of representative application workloads.  This includes a 3.4x
 faster thread context switch time, competitive performance for the NAS parallel
 benchmark suite, and a 6% increase in throughput over nginx for a simple
 thread-based webserver we wrote.  We are actively working on expanding Akaros's
 capabilities even further.

 Visit us at [akaros.org](http://www.akaros.org)

 Installation
 ============

 Instructions on installation and getting started with Akaros can be found in
 [GETTING_STARTED.md](GETTING_STARTED.md)

 Documentation
 =============

 Our current documentation is very lacking, but it is slowly getting better over
 time.  Most documentation is typically available in the [Documentation/](Documentation/)
 directory.  However, many of these documents are outdated, and some general
 cleanup is definitely in order.

 Mailing Lists
 =============

 #### Want to join the developers mailing list?
 Send an email to [akaros+subscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akaros%2Bsubscribe@googlegroups.com).

 Or visit our [google group](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/akaros)
 and click "Join Group"

 #### Want to report a bug?
 Create a new issue [here](https://github.com/brho/akaros/issues).

 #### Want to chat on IRC?
 `brho` hangs out (usually alone) in #akaros on `irc.freenode.net`.
 The other devs may pop in every now and then.

 Contributing
 ============

 Instructions on contributing can be found in
 [Documentation/Contributing.md](Documentation/Contributing.md).

 License
 ============
 The Akaros repository contains a mix of code from different projects across a
 few top-level directories.  The kernel is in `kern/`, userspace libraries are
 in `user/`, and a variety of tools can be found in `tools/`, including the
 toolchain.

 The Akaros kernel is licensed under the [GNU General Public License, version
 2](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.txt).  Our kernel is made up of code
 from a number of other systems.  Anything written for the Akaros kernel is
 licensed "GPLv2 or later".  However, other code, such as from Linux and Plan 9,
 are licensed GPLv2, without the "or later" clause.  There is also code from
 BSD, Xen, JOS, and Plan 9 derivatives.  As a whole, the kernel is licensed
 GPLv2.

 Note that the Plan 9 code that is a part of Akaros is also licensed under the
 Lucent Public License.  The University of California, Berkeley, has been
 authorised by Alcatel-Lucent to release all Plan 9 software previously governed
 by the Lucent Public License, Version 1.02 under the GNU General Public
 License, Version 2.  Akaros derives its Plan 9 code from this UCB release.  For
 more information, see [LICENSE-plan9](LICENSE-plan9) or
 [here](http://akaros.cs.berkeley.edu/files/Plan9License).

 Our user code is likewise from a mix of sources.  All code written for Akaros,
 such as `user/parlib/`, is licensed under the [GNU
 LGPLv2.1](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.txt), or later.
 Plan 9 libraries, including `user/iplib` and `user/ndblib` are licensed under
 the LGPLv2.1, but without the "or later".  See each library for details.

 Likewise, `tools/` is a collection of various code.  All of our contributions
 to existing code bases, such as GCC, glibc, and busybox, are licensed under
 their respective projects' licenses.
	About Akaros
	============
	Akaros is an open source, GPL-licensed operating system for manycore
	architectures. Its goal is to provide better support for parallel and
	high-performance applications in the datacenter. Unlike traditional OSs, which
	limit access to certain resources (such as cores), Akaros provides native
	support for application-directed resource management and 100% isolation from
	other jobs running on the system.

	Although not yet integrated as such, it is designed to operate as a low-level
	node OS with a higher-level Cluster OS, such as
	[Mesos](http://mesos.apache.org/), governing how resources are shared amongst
	applications running on each node. Its system call API and "Many Core Process"
	abstraction better match the requirements of a Cluster OS, eliminating many of
	the obstacles faced by other systems when trying to isolate simultaneously
	running processes. Moreover, Akaros’s resource provisioning interfaces allow
	for node-local decisions to be made that enforce the resource allocations set
	up by a Cluster OS. This can be used to simplify global allocation decisions,
	reduce network communication, and ultimately promote more efficient sharing of
	resources. There is limited support for such functionality on existing
	operating systems.

	Akaros is still very young, but preliminary results show that processes running
	on Akaros have an order of magnitude less noise than on Linux, as well as fewer
	periodic signals, resulting in better CPU isolation. Additionally, its
	non-traditional threading model has been shown to outperform the Linux NPTL
	across a number of representative application workloads. This includes a 3.4x
	faster thread context switch time, competitive performance for the NAS parallel
	benchmark suite, and a 6% increase in throughput over nginx for a simple
	thread-based webserver we wrote. We are actively working on expanding Akaros's
	capabilities even further.

	Visit us at [akaros.org](http://www.akaros.org)

	Installation
	============

	Instructions on installation and getting started with Akaros can be found in
	[GETTING_STARTED.md](GETTING_STARTED.md)

	Documentation
	=============

	Our current documentation is very lacking, but it is slowly getting better over
	time. Most documentation is typically available in the [Documentation/](Documentation/)
	directory. However, many of these documents are outdated, and some general
	cleanup is definitely in order.

	Mailing Lists
	=============

	#### Want to join the developers mailing list?
	Send an email to [akaros+subscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akaros%2Bsubscribe@googlegroups.com).

	Or visit our [google group](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/akaros)
	and click "Join Group"

	#### Want to report a bug?
	Create a new issue [here](https://github.com/brho/akaros/issues).

	#### Want to chat on IRC?
	`brho` hangs out (usually alone) in #akaros on `irc.freenode.net`.
	The other devs may pop in every now and then.

	Contributing
	============

	Instructions on contributing can be found in
	[Documentation/Contributing.md](Documentation/Contributing.md).

	License
	============
	The Akaros repository contains a mix of code from different projects across a
	few top-level directories. The kernel is in `kern/`, userspace libraries are
	in `user/`, and a variety of tools can be found in `tools/`, including the
	toolchain.

	The Akaros kernel is licensed under the [GNU General Public License, version
	2](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.txt). Our kernel is made up of code
	from a number of other systems. Anything written for the Akaros kernel is
	licensed "GPLv2 or later". However, other code, such as from Linux and Plan 9,
	are licensed GPLv2, without the "or later" clause. There is also code from
	BSD, Xen, JOS, and Plan 9 derivatives. As a whole, the kernel is licensed
	GPLv2.

	Note that the Plan 9 code that is a part of Akaros is also licensed under the
	Lucent Public License. The University of California, Berkeley, has been
	authorised by Alcatel-Lucent to release all Plan 9 software previously governed
	by the Lucent Public License, Version 1.02 under the GNU General Public
	License, Version 2. Akaros derives its Plan 9 code from this UCB release. For
	more information, see [LICENSE-plan9](LICENSE-plan9) or
	[here](http://akaros.cs.berkeley.edu/files/Plan9License).

	Our user code is likewise from a mix of sources. All code written for Akaros,
	such as `user/parlib/`, is licensed under the [GNU
	LGPLv2.1](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.txt), or later.
	Plan 9 libraries, including `user/iplib` and `user/ndblib` are licensed under
	the LGPLv2.1, but without the "or later". See each library for details.

	Likewise, `tools/` is a collection of various code. All of our contributions
	to existing code bases, such as GCC, glibc, and busybox, are licensed under
	their respective projects' licenses.