MONOSK: a Network Operating System for Real Time Applications

This paper is concerned with the presentation of some distinguishing characteristic design features of the network operating system MONOSK (Modular Network Operating System Kernel) which is now being implemented for the MODIAC (1) local area network. Interaction between processes in the network is accomplished by means of a message passing mechanism which is based on the port concept. mechanism which is based on the port concept. A scheme using prioritized messages and alarms has been introduced to implement an efficient solution to most of the application requirements which can be met in the area of process control. An efficient naming scheme applied to network entities has also been implemented to support object referencing and addressing within the network object management system. The design concept takes into account the fact that response time of network services should satisfy real time requirements basic to process control applications.