Asterinas: A new Linux-compatible kernel project

10 months ago

Asterinas is a new Linux-ABI-compatible kernel project written in Rust, developed at SUSTech in China.
It introduces a 'framekernel architecture' combining aspects of monolithic and microkernel designs for safety and efficiency.
The core idea is encapsulating unsafe Rust code in a library, allowing the rest of the kernel to use safe abstractions.
Asterinas aims for a small, formally verified Trusted Computing Base (TCB) while maintaining Linux compatibility.
The project is collaborating with CertiK for formal verification using Verus.
Asterinas supports x86 and RISC-V architectures, with 206 Linux system calls implemented (out of 368 in Linux 6.7).
It includes OSTD (a Rust OS framework) and OSDK (a Cargo addon for kernel development).
Primary focus is on cloud computing, particularly for Alibaba Cloud in China, with plans for container host OS support.
Unlike Rust for Linux, Asterinas builds a new kernel from scratch rather than adding Rust to Linux.
The project is in early development with no official releases yet, but shows promise for OS innovation.

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