# Revisiting Unikernels

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2023-01-24
- Length: 1h 23m
- Episode: 3
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/af4d7b61

## Summary

Bryan Cantrill revisits his 2016 blog post 'Unikernels are unfit for production,' arguing that while the concept of reducing OS abstraction has merit, unikernels failed because they sacrificed debuggability and developer experience without delivering robust, real-world systems. Steve Klabnik and Dan Cross discuss the historical context of exokernels and the pragmatic middle ground, noting that technologies like Rust and Docker succeeded by balancing technical rigor with usability and tooling. The group contrasts the theoretical appeal of unikernels with the practical success of systems like Hubris and modern embedded tooling, concluding that debuggability and community support are essential for any new abstraction to succeed.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=0) Introduction: Revisiting the 2016 Blog Post
- [1:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=89) The 2016 Unikernels Hype Cycle and Docker Acquisition
- [4:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=240) Abstraction Critique: Mono, Micro, and Uni Kernels
- [7:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=457) Exokernels and the Problem of Memory Protection
- [10:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=633) Hubris, Stack Overflows, and Safe Languages
- [15:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=905) Steve Klabnik’s Exokernel Experience and Debugging
- [22:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=1324) Hubris as a Module Kernel vs. Unikernels
- [29:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=1747) Debuggability: Firmware, Embedded Systems, and Tools
- [35:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=2143) Francois Perrin on Embedded Debugging and CoreSight
- [45:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=2750) Why Unikernels Failed: Tooling and Community
- [53:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=3189) Rust’s Success: Technical and Human Factors
- [1:05:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=3917) Consumer Reports, Memory Safety, and C++
- [1:17:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels#t=4659) Closing: The Pragmatic Middle Ground

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- Docker (company)
- Hubris (other)
- Rust (other)
- OCaml (other)
- Mirage OS (other)
- Consumer Reports (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Buzzword Bingo (or: which modern technologies make sense for embedded?)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-pragmatic-embedded-podcast/2024-11-13-buzzword-bingo-or-which-modern-technologies-make-sense-for-embedded) (The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast)
- [Exploring Rust for Embedded Systems with Philip Markgraf](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-pragmatic-embedded-podcast/2024-10-30-exploring-rust-for-embedded-systems-with-philip-markgraf) (The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast)
- [141: Malevolent and Trying to Trick You](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-03-02-141-malevolent-and-trying-to-trick-you) (Embedded.fm)
- [Magic is Bad](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-pragmatic-embedded-podcast/2024-10-16-magic-is-bad) (The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast)
- [334: Bag of Heuristics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-06-11-334-bag-of-heuristics) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-01-24-revisiting-unikernels. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.