Minix 3.1.6

This is the official distribution of Minix 3.1.6, which was released a week ago. The image, that was originally given out bzip2-compressed, has been depacked and is ready for use directly. The CD doubles as both a Live CD and an install CD. Go to the website of Minix 3 for documentation, installation instructions and additional application software. Minix is developed by Andrew S. Tanenbaum and it is free to use.

MINIX 3 is a new open-source operating system designed to be highly reliable, flexible, and secure. It is loosely based somewhat on previous versions of MINIX, but is fundamentally different in many key ways. MINIX 1 and 2 were intended as teaching tools; MINIX 3 adds the new goal of being usable as a serious system on resource-limited and embedded computers and for applications requiring high reliability.

This new OS is extremely small, with the part that runs in kernel mode under 6000 lines of executable code. The parts that run in user mode are divided into small modules, well insulated from one another. For example, each device driver runs as a separate user-mode process so a bug in a driver (by far the biggest source of bugs in any operating system), cannot bring down the entire OS. In fact, most of the time when a driver crashes it is automatically replaced without requiring any user intervention, without requiring rebooting, and without affecting running programs. These features, the tiny amount of kernel code, and other aspects greatly enhance system reliability.

MINIX 3 is initially targeted at the following areas:

* Applications where very high reliability is required
* Single-chip, small-RAM, low-power, $100 laptops for Third-World children
* Embedded systems (e.g., cameras, DVD recorders, cell phones)
* Applications where the GPL is too restrictive (MINIX 3 uses a BSD-type license)
* Education (e.g., operating systems courses at universities)

To run MINIX 3, you need a PC driven by a Pentium CPU or compatible. The standard configuration requires 16 MB of RAM. An 8-MB version is also available, but it is slower due to a smaller buffer cache. Since the distribution comes on a live CD, you can test it without allocating any hard disk space, but for a hard disk installation, 50 MB is needed as a minimum, 600 MB minimum if you want all the sources.

The current stable version of MINIX 3 is 3.1.6. MINIX 3 is a work in progress. It is nowhere near as mature as FreeBSD or Linux right now. Ports to ARM and PowerPC are underway. Various programs and device drivers are being ported, and so on. People who would like to help develop a highly reliable operating system are more than welcome. Some projects that are needed are listed here. For more information, subscribe to the Google newsgroup.

Trying MINIX 3 is easy. You just download the compressed CD image file, decompress it, and burn it to a CD-ROM. This CD is a live CD. You can boot your computer from it and a few seconds later you log in as root. You do not have to install MINIX 3 to the hard disk to test it. If you decide you want to install it, you then have to create a hard disk partition for it (100 MB to 1000 MB will do) start the live CD again and run setup. Proceed as follows:

* Read the installation guide.
* Burn this bootable CD-image file to a CD-ROM.
* Reboot the computer with the CD-ROM device and follow the instructions in the installation guide

Copyright (c) 1987,1997, 2006, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands All rights reserved. Redistribution and use of the MINIX 3 operating system in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. Neither the name of the Vrije Universiteit nor the names of the software authors or contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. Any deviations from these conditions require written permission from the copyright holder in advance.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS, AUTHORS, AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR ANY AUTHORS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

In addition to MINIX 3 itself, the distribution CD-ROM and this Website contain additional software that is not part of MINIX 3 and is not covered by this license. The licensing condtions for this additional software are stated in the various packages. In particular, some of the additional software falls under the GPL, and you must take care to observe the conditions of the GPL with respect to this software. As clearly stated in Article 2 of the GPL, when GPL and nonGPL software are distributed together on the same medium, this aggregation does not cause the license of either part to apply to the other part.


http://www.minix3.org/