[olug] Fw: 5.0 project list ("Help Wanted")

[Brian Roberson]

FYI..

>From the sounds of it, FreeBSD is really lagging behind.... I know there are
some *BSD users/bigots out there, does anyone have any feedback as to why
developement is so far behind? ( Just trying to get some decent threaded
discusion here !!... and I like flame bait occasionally! )


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jordan Hubbard" <jkh at freebsd.org>
To: <announce at freebsd.org>
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 7:00 PM
Subject: 5.0 project list ("Help Wanted")


> Many people, upon hearing of 5.0's untimely delay for a full year,
> have asked what they can do to help 5.0 get back on track.  What
> follows, in no particular order, is a list of outstanding projects for
> 5.0 and as much information on them as I've been able to collect
> thus far.  Thanks!
>
>                                - Jordan
>
> o SMPng
>
>   This is the next-generation SMP project which is slated to replace
>   the SMP implementation FreeBSD currently uses.  Though FreeBSD
>   already gets surprisingly good performance out of multi-processor
>   machines by juggling user processes between CPUs and simply allowing
>   only one CPU in the kernel at a time (the so-called "Giant lock"
>   model), there's no question that it can be done better.  The entire
>   kernel can be internally multi-threaded and individual sections
>   given their own locks so that multiple CPUs can execute in the
>   kernel at once, also making execution pre-emptable and the kernel
>   fully re-entrant.  Multi-threading the kernel is interesting from a
>   wide number of architectural angles, from real-time applications to
>   parallel processing, and it's a very big job.  Some of the subsystems
>   affected by this are:
>
>     Network
>     CAM (scsi)
>     Audio
>     Filesystems
>     VM system
>
>   So if you have a specific area of interest, you might tackle some
>   of the lock-pushdown issues there.
>
>   Prerequisites: C and BSD/Unix internals.  Useful: Understanding
>   threading and, in some cases, x86 assembly.
>
>   Resources:
>
>   Mailing list:           smp at freeBSD.ORG
>   Project lead:           John Baldwin <jhb at FreeBSD.ORG>
>   Project info:           http://people.freebsd.org/~jasone/smp/
>
>   All queries should be directed towards the mailing list unless
>   you have something truly earth-shattering to communicate, in
>   which case you can talk to the project lead.
>
>
> o KSE
>
>   Kernel Scheduled Entities represent a fundamentally different way of
>   dispatching kernel threads and, while not actually a part of the
>   SMPng project, represent an important step in that project
>   fulfilling its potential.  KSEs, or "scheduler activations" as
>   they're also sometimes known, allow for multi-threaded applications
>   to scale much better in performance, especially in multi-CPU
>   environments.  They do, however, require considerable re-working of
>   various kernel data structures, which is why this is another big
>   kernel project.
>
>   Prerequisites: C and BSD/Unix internals, the fundamentals of
>   threaded programming.
>
>   Resources:
>
>   Project lead:           Julian Elischer <julian at FreeBSD.ORG>
>   Project info:           http://people.freebsd.org/~jasone/kse/
>                           http://people.freebsd.org/~julian/threads/
>
>   You should take care to read the various papers at the cited URLs in
>   order to gain a better understanding of the project, after which you
>   can contact the project lead directly to volunteer for either
>   testing or generating patches.
>
>
> o NEWCARD
>
>   NEWCARD is a project to substantially re-write the aging PCCARD
>   support code in FreeBSD, on which many laptops currently rely.  Not
>   only does NEWCARD interface more properly with FreeBSD's NewBus
>   driver abstractions, it also supports the more modern 32-bit CARDBUS
>   family of cards.  This project can use testers, developers and
>   donations of hardware where more the esoteric types of laptop or
>   CARDBUS technology are concerned.
>
>   Prerequisites: A good working knowledge of C and Unix internals.
>   Useful: Familiarity with mobile computing applications.
>
>   Resources:
>
>   Mailing list:           mobile at FreeBSD.ORG
>   Project lead:           Warner Losh <imp at FreeBSD.ORG>
>
>   This project doesn't have any known web resources associated with it
>   yet, but Warner Losh, the project lead, is pretty active in both the
>   English and Japanese mobile mailing lists.  For more information,
>   contact Warner or monitor the mobile mailing list.
>
>
> o Itanium (IA-64) Port
>
>   This is a project to port to Intel's IA-64 architecture, also called
>   the Itanium.  It is a wholly new CPU design with no backwards
>   compatibility for the x86 (IA-32) architecture and is 64 bit.  It
>   also relies substantially on compiler support to achieve proper
>   performance and a number of people are working on this from various
>   angles.  Itanium machines also have a very different BIOS
>   architecture and require a substantially different system bootstrap.
>
>   Prerequisites: A thorough knowledge of C and FreeBSD internals.
>   Useful: A knowledge of IA-64 assembly language.  It also helps to have
>   one of these machines.
>
>   Mailing list:           ia64 at FreeBSD.ORG
>   Project leads:          Peter Wemm <peter at FreeBSD.ORG>
>                           Doug Rabson <dfr at FreeBSD.ORG>
>
>   If you're interested in this project, you should probably first join
>   the mailing list and then indicate your specific areas of interest
>   there.
>
>
> o AMD 64 bit ("Hammerhead") port.
>
>   This project is quite a bit simpler than the Itanium port since AMD
>   has taken pains to ensure quite a bit of backwards-compatibility
>   with their earlier chipsets, but there is still some work to be done
>   in making this platform perform to its fullest potential.
>
>   Prerequisites:  Be a close, personal friend of AMD so that you can
>   get your hands on one of these nice machines.
>
>   Project lead:           David O'Brien <obrien at FreeBSD.ORG>
>
>   There is not a lot in the way of information on this port yet, so
>   talk to the project lead if you're interested in helping out.
>
>
> o PowerPC Port
>
>   This project is a fairly straight-forward port to the PowerPC
>   architecture, with Apple Macintosh G3/G4 machines serving as the
>   initial porting target.  This gives FreeBSD the choice of another
>   desktop platform in addition to making its code base more relevant
>   to the embedded-systems market, for which the PowerPC is a popular
>   architecture.
>
>   Prerequisites: A thorough knowledge of C and FreeBSD internals.
>   Useful: PowerPC assembly language and Macintosh hardware.
>   It also helps to have one of these machines.
>
>   Mailing list:           ppc at FreeBSD.ORG
>   Project lead:           Benno Rice <benno at FreeBSD.ORG>
>   Project info:           http://people.freebsd.org/~benno/
>
>   If you're interested in this project, you should probably first join
>   the mailing list and then indicate your specific areas of interest
>   there.  Benno is also receptive to offers of help with the "heavy
>   lifting" on this project.
>
>
> o Sun UltraSPARC Port
>
>   This project is another fairly straight-forward port to Sun's
>   UltraSPARC (64 bit) architecture.  The UltraSPARC is very popular in
>   server environments, making it a natural target for FreeBSD.
>
>   Prerequisites: A thorough knowledge of C and FreeBSD internals.
>   Useful: UltraSPARC assembly language and UltraSPARC hardware.
>   It also helps to have one of these machines.
>
>   Mailing list:           sparc at FreeBSD.ORG
>   Project lead:           Jake Burkholder <jake at FreeBSD.ORG>
>   Project info:           http://people.freebsd.org/~jake/
>
>   This project is fairly young, so you may wish to contact Jake
>   directly if you're really keen to get involved at the ground
>   floor, so to speak.
>
>
> o FreeBSD binary updater
>
>   This project seeks to make it possible to update FreeBSD systems in
>   the field via binary update packages, appropriately checksummed and
>   stamped for security.  It should also be possible to easily reverse
>   the state of an update if it produces unwonted results and to update
>   machines regularly or on an infrequent basis, following whatever
>   chosen release track desired.  The binary updater is partially
>   finished, with a sample server and client available, but has some
>   ways to go before it's "mission capable".
>
>   Project lead:           Murray Stokely <murray at FreeBSD.ORG>
>   Project info:           http://people.freebsd.org/~murray/updater.html
>
>   Prerequisites: A thorough knowledge of C.
>   Useful: Some familiarity with security fundamentals.
>
>   This project is also fairly young, so talk to Murray if you're
>   interested in shaping its design or (best yet) helping to implement
>   it.
>
>
> o libh package system / installer
>
>   This project, now in progress for a little over a year, seeks to
>   provide a complete replacement for sysinstall and the pkg_install
>   package management suite.  It is based on C, C++ and Secure TCL and
>   already offers an abstract UI mechanism which allows for both CUI
>   and GUI interfaces using the same script-based installation and
>   packaging tools, as well as a DB-based package management and
>   registration system.  A good deal of the fundamentals are already
>   finished and this project simply need one concentrated push to
>   achieve its full potential.
>
>   Mailing list:           libh at FreeBSD.ORG
>   Project lead:           Alexander Langer <alex at FreeBSD.ORG>
>   Project info:           http://people.freebsd.org/~alex/libh
>
>   Prerequisites:  A thorough knowledge of C, C++ and TCL
>   Useful:         UI design.  A thick skin for working on installers.
>
>
> o CITRUS
>
>   This is a project to significantly increase FreeBSD's support
>   for foreign locales, conforming to ISO C/SUSV2.
>
>   Prerequisites: A thorough knowledge of I18N issues and multi-byte
>   character formats.
>   Useful: Speaking some language other than English.
>
>   Mailing list:           i18n at freeBSD.ORG
>   Project lead:           Warner Losh <imp at FreeBSD.ORG>
>   Project info:           http://people.freebsd.org/~imp/index-en.html
>
> This is the moderated mailing list freebsd-announce.
> The list contains announcements of new FreeBSD capabilities,
> important events and project milestones.
> See also the FreeBSD Web pages at http://www.freebsd.org
>
>
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>


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