In recent years, the field of operating systems (OS) [1] has seen remarkable transformations in response to technological advancements and evolving computing paradigms. One significant development involves the diversification of kernel architectures, moving beyond the traditional monolithic and microkernel designs to embrace more adaptable approaches like anykernels (rump kernels) [2, 3, 4, 5]. These anykernels emphasize modularity and flexibility, allowing for more efficient resource utilization and scalability.
Unikernels [2] have emerged as another notable concept within the OS landscape. Unikernels are specialized, minimalistic OS components designed for single-application use cases. They excel in reducing attack surfaces and resource overhead, making them particularly appealing for applications like IoT devices and microservices.
Furthermore, the rise of containerization technologies, such as Docker and Kubernetes, has revolutionized the way applications are deployed and managed. Containers offer lightweight and isolated environments, enhancing efficiency and simplifying scalability for modern applications.
In addition to these kernel and containerization trends, other fundamental aspects of OS development remain essential. These include robust process management, which optimizes resource allocation and multitasking; hardware resource management, enabled by virtualization and hypervisors to efficiently allocate CPU, memory, and I/O resources; advanced filesystems and storage management, incorporating distributed filesystems, snapshotting, and data deduplication to handle vast data storage demands; memory management techniques like memory paging and virtual memory to ensure efficient use of physical memory; and network management, which encompasses various network protocols, firewall configurations, Quality of Service (QoS) settings, and the emergence of software-defined networking (SDN).
These trends collectively represent the dynamic landscape of operating systems as they adapt to accommodate evolving hardware capabilities and the changing requirements of modern applications. Understanding these trends is crucial for computer science professionals working in OS development and administration.