Solaris MINIX blurb

A release of Solaris MINIX based on MINIX 2.0.0 is now available via anonymous ftp. Solaris MINIX 2.0.0 is included on the CD-ROM that accompanies the MINIX 2.0 book.

The release is available from ftp.cs.vu.nl:/pub/minix/sparc as the files README.TXT and (the binary file) SMX200.TAZ. Download both of them, then follow the instructions in README.TXT.

A number of small revisions are available:

  1. A package of fixes for Solaris MINIX 2.0.0 has been released. It is available as the compressed tar file fix1.tar.Z. The README for the fix package is available.

  2. There is a problem with the -l option of mcc. To fix, replace src/Solaris/mcc with this file. Note that this version of mcc supercedes the one in the fix1 tar file.

  3. The Solaris MINIX 2.0.0 src/lib/sun4/add_sun_libc_objs doesn't work under Solaris 7. It should be replaced by this file.

  4. The Solaris MINIX 2.0.0 src/Solaris/relay.c doesn't work under Solaris 8. It should be replaced by this file.

  5. David Schanen found that src/lib/sun4/add_sun_libc_objs didn't work under his Solaris 9 environment (gcc 3.2 built with --with-mpcu=ultrasparc). He has kindly supplied his modified add_sun_libc_objs (which should be backwards compatible with earlier versions of Solaris).

Solaris MINIX is a version of MINIX that runs as a user process on Sun 4s running Solaris 2.4 to 2.6 (and perhaps earlier releases of Solaris 2). It can be used to support MINIX in operating systems laboratories in a Sun/Solaris environment. Earlier versions of Solaris MINIX have been used in OS laboratories for several years.

In Solaris MINIX, MINIX runs within a single SunOS process. The processor time used is the time allocated to the SunOS process running Solaris MINIX. Each file system is a SunOS file, and the console is /dev/tty of the SunOS process. Also, it is possible for multiple users to log into a single instance of Solaris MINIX, and to connect multiple Solaris MINIX instances using a simulated ethernet.

Because Solaris MINIX runs as a user process, it does not require a dedicated machine. Also, multiple instances of Solaris MINIX can run on a single machine simultaneously without interfering with each other.

Most of the changes are in the MINIX kernel, with the memory manager, file system, init, inet and user programs and function libraries largely unchanged.

Any enquiries should be sent to Paul Ashton ( <P.Ashton@ext.canterbury.ac.nz> ).

To the main Solaris MINIX page

Paul Ashton

Modified: 19-Oct-1998