Software Distribution

• xkernel.tar.Z (7.1MB compressed, 16.8MB uncompressed): The latest release of the x-kernel (version 3.3.1) runing either as a user-level program or as a network simulator, both on top of Unix. The following Unix platforms are supported:
  • Intel Pentium running Linux (Red Hat 5.0 / 2.0.32 Kernel)
  • Digital Alpha running Linux (Red Hat 5.0 / 2.0.32 Kernel)
  • Digital Alpha running Digital Unix V4.0
  • Sun Sparc running Solaris 2.5.1
  The release also includes the following unsupported platforms:
  • SGI running Irix 5.2
  • Sun Sparc running SunOS 4.1.1

  If you are using the x-kernel in conjunction with the textbook Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, then this is the version you want.

• usc2.1.tar.Z (240KB compressed, 615KB uncompressed): Version 2.1 of the universal stub compiler (USC) and the inference tool USIT. USC/USIT have been tested on the following platforms:
  • DEC Alpha running OSF/1 3.2,
  • HP 700 running HP-UX 9.01,
  • IBM PowerPC running AIX 3.2,
  • Linux v1.3.30 system (Slackware 2.3.0),
  • SGI running Irix 5.2,
  • Sun SPARC running either SunOS 4.1 or Solaris 2.3.

• xkernel.v3.2.tar.Z (10MB compressed,25 MB uncompressed): A release of an earlier version of the x-kernel (version 3.2). This version runs as a user process on top of Linux, SunOS, Solaris, and IRIX. For Mach 3.0 it can run either as a task on top of the microkernel, or inside microkernel itself. It has been tested on the following platforms:
  • DEC 5000 running Mach 3.0 (MK 82),
  • Intel 486 running Mach 3.0 (MK 82),
  • Intel x86 running Linux 2.0.x
  • SGI running Irix 5.2
  • Sun SPARC running SunOS4.1
  • Sun SPARC running Solaris 2.5

  Click here for an explanation of the differences between Versions 3.2 and 3.3.

• Protocols for cryptographic encapsulation and key management are available for researchers within the US. Send mail to xksecure@cs.arizona.edu to request more information. This protocols only run in version 3.2 of the x-kernel.

Version 3.2 versus 3.3

Version 3.2 has been the main research version of the x-kernel for the last five years. It has been integrated into the Mach microkernel, and has served as a platform for research into OS support for high-speed networking. Many of the protocols we have developed over the last several years have been implemented in Version 3.2, including Psync, MachIPC, and a large collection of security protocols. The Open Software Foundation (OSF) has integrated Version 3.2 in their distribution of the Mach microkernel.

Version 3.3 represents a re-engineering of the x-kernel, including a simplification of the interface and a consolidation of the platforms on which it runs. In doing so, our goal has been to make the x-kernel easier to understand and use. Version 3.3 also includes a network simulator, which allows users to experiment with their protocols on a simulated, wide-area network. Version 3.3 does not yet support as many protocols as Version 3.2, but we hope to port many of the 3.2 protocols to 3.3 in the coming months.