Mach (kernel)

Mach is an <a href="/facts/Kernel_(operating_system)/uEj4U3Rz">operating system kernel</a> developed at <a href="/facts/Carnegie_Mellon_University/XKd7L2KA">Carnegie Mellon University</a> by <a href="/facts/Richard_Rashid/2tn0ph77">Richard Rashid</a> and <a href="/facts/Avie_Tevanian/b89NXRG9">Avie Tevanian</a> to support <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating system</a> research, primarily <a href="/facts/Distributed_computing/o5nyhqTF">distributed</a> and <a href="/facts/Parallel_computing/nQzcpzQt">parallel computing</a>. Mach is often considered one of the earliest examples of a <a href="/facts/Microkernel/wsaWtYCU">microkernel</a>. However, not all versions of Mach are microkernels. Mach's derivatives are the basis of the operating system kernel in <a href="/facts/GNU_Hurd/LU1mHe5M">GNU Hurd</a> and of <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple</a>'s <a href="/facts/XNU/dUCpExf0">XNU</a> kernel used in <a href="/facts/MacOS/Y93vVpTm">macOS</a>, <a href="/facts/IOS/mK5cggH5">iOS</a>, <a href="/facts/IPadOS/fClrmH7D">iPadOS</a>, <a href="/facts/TvOS/jDMqvvfI">tvOS</a>, and <a href="/facts/WatchOS/zH1fkn2R">watchOS</a>.
The project at Carnegie Mellon ran from 1985 to 1994, ending with Mach 3.0, which is a true <a href="/facts/Microkernel/wsaWtYCU">microkernel</a>. Mach was developed as a replacement for the kernel in the <a href="/facts/Berkeley_Software_Distribution/XQKcURrh">BSD</a> version of <a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">Unix</a>, not requiring a new operating system to be designed around it. Mach and its derivatives exist within several commercial operating systems. These include all using the XNU operating system kernel which incorporates an earlier non-microkernel Mach as a major component. The Mach <a href="/facts/Virtual_memory/Lw2GemF5">virtual memory</a> management system was also adopted in 4.4BSD by the BSD developers at <a href="/facts/Computer_Systems_Research_Group/a80JrPcR">CSRG</a>, and appears in modern BSD-derived Unix systems such as <a href="/facts/FreeBSD/RKsFTm7F">FreeBSD</a>.
Mach is the logical successor to Carnegie Mellon's <a href="/facts/Accent_kernel/gpaBVTjp">Accent kernel</a>. Mach's lead developer Richard Rashid has been employed at <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> since 1991; he founded the <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Research/04A5LpMI">Microsoft Research</a> division. Co-founding Mach developer Avie Tevanian, was formerly head of software at <a href="/facts/NeXT/qcCmhJl3">NeXT</a>, then Chief Software Technology Officer at <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple Inc.</a> until March 2006.

Mach (kernel) open-in-new

Mach (kernel)