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FTL runs Linux-compatible containers on isolated userspace operating systems

ftl-os.org Editor score 7/10

Each FTL container runs a shared-library userspace OS, while the kernel provides a minimal interface for Linux system calls and hardware-based user-mode isolation. The design explores a different way to combine container flexibility with VM-like isolation.

What: FTL is a userspace OS design that runs containers as isolated userspace OS instances and supports Linux binaries.
How: Each container runs a shared library implementing OS concepts such as Linux processes, VFS, and TCP/IP; the FTL kernel provides a minimal interface for system calls.
Why it matters: Linux applications can run in isolated containers without bare-metal machines, while developers can extend OS features without kernel or eBPF programming.

Linux process calls pass through its userspace OS to the FTL kernel interface. Sketched from the article's own text.

Read on ftl-os.org → Hacker News · 67 comments

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