Overview

What is L⁴Linux?

L⁴Linux is a port of the Linux kernel to the L4 µ-kernel API. It is a (para-)virtualized Linux running on top of a hypervisor, completely without privileges if wanted.

L⁴Linux runs in user-mode on top of the µ-kernel, side-by-side with other µ-kernel applications such as real-time components. It is binary-compatible with the normal Linux/x86 kernel and can be used with any PC-based Linux distribution.

Motivation

The DROPS operating system project supports running time-sharing and real-time applications applications concurrently on one computer. The L⁴Linux server has been originally created to support time-sharing applications.

The port provides us with a basis platform for future development work.

Current releases

Several releases of L⁴Linux are available, based on different Linux versions:

Current (2.6 and up)

Currently runs on L4Re and is based on Linux 3.8.

2.4

The current release is a port of Linux 2.4.30. The port is not maintained anymore.

2.2

The port of L4Linux-2.2 is based on 2.2.26. The port is not maintained anymore.

2.0

The port of Linux 2.0 is based on version 2.0.21. The port is not maintained anymore.

For details, please see the download page and the status page.

Mailing List

Please consider subscribing to our public developer's mailing list at <l4-hackers-request@os.inf.tu-dresden.de> .
The discussion language for this mailing list is English.

Before posting to the mailing list, you may want to check out the mailing list archive and the L4 FAQ. Due to the amount of spam received on the list address, the list is moderated. Valid posts will be approved by the moderator.