Microkernel Goes General: Performance and Compatibility in the HongMeng Production Microkernel

Explore a 16-minute conference talk from USENIX OSDI '24 that delves into the design and implementation of HongMeng kernel (HM), a commercialized general-purpose microkernel. Learn how HM addresses performance and compatibility challenges while maintaining the security, reliability, and extensibility benefits of microkernels. Discover the innovative approaches used to make HM compatible with Linux API and ABI, enabling the reuse of existing applications and driver ecosystems. Examine the re-evaluation of traditional microkernel concepts, including IPC, capability-based access control, and userspace paging, and understand the techniques employed to enhance performance, such as differentiated isolation classes, flexible composition, policy-free kernel paging, and address-token-based access control. Gain insights into HM's minimal core kernel architecture and its deployment in production on millions of devices across various scenarios, including smart routers, smart vehicles, and smartphones, with improved performance and security compared to Linux counterparts.