
Debian GNU/Hurd 2017 released - jrepinc
https://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/2017/06/msg00017.html
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tgsovlerkhgsel
How feasible would it be to have Duke Nukem Forever run on it (under Wine)?

(HURD and DNF have both been synonymous with vaporware for a long time,
sometimes combined to "Yeah, X is going to be finished right after Duke Nukem
forever runs on the Hurd". It would be a fun gag to make it happen.)

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qubex
I keep hoping GNU/HURD will eventually morph into something usable and
compelling... but I've been hoping that for nigh on a dozen years already.
Certainly progress is being made and this release is an impressive advance in
several quarters, but unless it gets traction in some manner that compels
corporate sponsors to contribute to a supersonic spurt in development, it
seems destined to lag increasingly far behind other open source OSes such as
Linux and the *BSDs. And that's a real pity, because a usable, well-
implemented micro-kernel architecture widely deployed and supported would be
something very much worth everybody's while.

~~~
hiram112
I don't think the kernel itself, especially a micro kernel, is all that big of
deal these days.

There are already plenty of decent Unix-style and other kernels out there,
mostly relegated to academia and research.

Any of these would be decent enough to lay the foundations of a free stack.

The real problem is the APIs, services, and the hardware drivers.

The locked garden style of hardware and subscription models are becoming more
and more prevalent.

And even using Debian or some other Linux doesn't amount to squat if you're
using a back-doored Intel chip with its 'management engine', running a browser
which is making it easy for 200 trackers to follow you on every site, and a
smart phone, designed by an ad company, has turned you into a broadcasting
station.

~~~
rekado
> There are already plenty of decent Unix-style and other kernels out there,
> mostly relegated to academia and research.

The Hurd is the only multi-server microkernel system with a POSIX persona,
though. The Hurd is a very flexible system, it just needs all those Linux
developers to make progress more quickly.

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ArneBab
If you want to test the Hurd quickly, just run this:

    
    
        wget http://people.debian.org/~sthibault/hurd-i386/debian-hurd.img.tar.gz; tar xf de*hu*gz; qemu-system-x86_64 -net user,hostfwd=tcp:127.0.0.1:2222-:22 -net nic -m 1G -drive cache=writeback,file=$(ls de*hu*g)
    

or, if you want to stick to 140 chars in your commandlines:

    
    
        wget http://people.debian.org/~sthibault/hurd-i386/debian-hurd.img.tar.gz; tar xf de*hu*gz; qemu-system-x86_64 -hda de*hu*g -m 1G
    

(via [http://www.draketo.de/english/free-software/howto-
hurd-140-c...](http://www.draketo.de/english/free-software/howto-
hurd-140-chars) )

For official info, see
[https://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/hurd/running/qemu.html#ind...](https://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/hurd/running/qemu.html#index1h2)

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throwaway7645
Does anyone know if Hurd will ever be production worthy? Impressive progress
nonetheless from what I understand. I know it must be difficult to get
developers as there are so many people using Linux & BSD. Fuchsia is supposed
to be a micro-kernel too right? I wonder if there could be a libre fork of
that.

~~~
eriknstr
Speaking of microkernels, MINIX 3 is open source, unlike the version of MINIX
that inspired Linus to write Linux.

MINIX 3, unlike earlier versions, aims to be used in production rather than
being purely a research OS.

MINIX 3 has incorporated code from NetBSD making it possible to run a lot of
software on MINIX 3 from the NetBSD ports collection.

I have not used MINIX but I remain interested in it and think it deserves a
mention.

~~~
throwaway7645
Thanks for the reply! I have one of Tanenbaum's old books. Perhaps time to
read it.

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viraptor
> It is now possible to run subhurds as unprivileged user, thus providing easy
> lightweight virtualization.

That would be amazing to achieve on Linux. Unfortunately UML is not quite the
same. I wonder if they'll ever get to the place where Hurd could be a coreos-
like system with better isolation.

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johnhattan
At this point, is GNU/Hurd just for people who like to hack around with OS
kernels?

I mean, it's interesting to see the progress now and then, but I can't imagine
seeing it on anyone's short-list for OS's that could be deployed in a
production environment.

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szastupov
Obligatory XKCD link [https://xkcd.com/1508/](https://xkcd.com/1508/)

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pmoriarty
Does Hurd use systemd?

Also, how's the performance? The last time I tried Hurd the performance was
atrocious.

~~~
qubex
No, it has an _initialisation server_ (helpfully called _init_ ):
[https://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/hurd-doc-
server#init](https://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/hurd-doc-server#init)

I'm curious to know what made you wonder whether it did, and whether you would
consider that a positive or a negative (and why).

~~~
teythoon
No, it has an startup server (helpfully called startup), since 2015:
[http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/hurd/hurd.git/tree/NEWS#n86](http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/hurd/hurd.git/tree/NEWS#n86)

~~~
qubex
I stand corrected. Apparently things have changed since I last used it.
Apologies to all.

