Running your own custom applications is one of the most important features that make unikernels fit for the cloud. As related work has shown, unikernels can achieve this by compiling or linking them (native) or by providing a binary-compatible interface (e.g., Linux system call ABI). Both modes have their pros and cons, and because specialization is our key concept for the Unikraft OSS project, we support both. In this talk, we will present our implementation design, the challenges that we solved, and the lessons that we learned. Additonally, we will show a demonstration with nginx running in both modes.
Unikraft is an open source Xen Project incubator under the auspices of the Linux Foundation. The Unikraft open source project is the basis for Unikraft GmbH, a company that aims to build the next generation of cloud with unikernels for production and enterprise use.
Speakers: Simon Kuenzer