Minix 3 is not just a education tool, it is a demostration of a
microkernel design.
So I think the server use should not be omitted.
It should be capable of database server, web server, etc.

how about the smp support on the future Minix ?

> For a richer set of applications, I think many system calls are
> needed.
> The performance of minix3 for desktop use is good enough, how about
> the server side ?
> Is server use also on the agenda ?

On http://www.minix3.org/ you will find the aims of Minix:


MINIX 3 is a new open-source operating system designed to be highly
reliable, flexible, and secure. It is loosely based somewhat on
previous versions of MINIX, but is fundamentally different in many key
ways. MINIX 1 and 2 were intended as teaching tools; MINIX 3 adds the
new goal of being usable as a serious system on resource-limited and
embedded computers and for applications requiring high reliability


This shows that server usage is no a goal per se, although of course
showing how an OS can be tuned to boost server performance could be an
indirect educational goal.

Although Minix is not specifically designed for server use, it can
certainly be used to run servers on. Check here for a list of software
that has been ported, including serverprograms such as Apache:
http://www.minix3.org/software/

On Tue, 22 Jan 2008, Erik van der Kouwe wrote:

>> [trim]

> On http://www.minix3.org/ you will find the aims of Minix:
>
>
> MINIX 3 is a new open-source operating system designed to be highly
> reliable, flexible, and secure. It is loosely based somewhat on
> previous versions of MINIX, but is fundamentally different in many key
> ways. MINIX 1 and 2 were intended as teaching tools; MINIX 3 adds the
> new goal of being usable as a serious system on resource-limited and
> embedded computers and for applications requiring high reliability
>
>
> This shows that server usage is no a goal per se, although of course
> showing how an OS can be tuned to boost server performance could be an
> indirect educational goal.
> [trim]

I have been following this board occasionally, although I do not have
any version of Minix installed. It seems to me that a serious
consideration for Minix is *not* to compete with Unix or Linux, to be
the be-all and end-all of operating systems, to be all things to all
men, but precisely in the forum to which this quote refers:
resource-limited and embedded systems. For example, I work part time
for one of the two large bookstore chains in the USA. We use handheld
computerized scanners. When you reboot them, you see that they are
running ROMDOS. It would seem to me that this sort of market, in
addition to education, would be a valuable use for Minix or similar
basic microkernal OS's.

--
Paul Bartlett