Monolithic kernel vs Micro-kernel

Monolithic kernel based system

This is the traditional design of Unix systems. Every part which is to be accessed by most programs which cannot be put in a library is in the kernel space:

• Device drivers
• Scheduler
• Memory handling
• File systems
• Network stacks

Micro-kernel based system

Only parts which really require to be in a privileged mode are in kernel space :

• IPC (Inter-Process Communication, see below)
• Basic scheduler, or scheduling primitives
• Basic memory handling
• Basic I/O primitives

from The Gnu Hurd

Monolithic Kernel 最主要的優勢為執行速度。而 Micro-kernel 則是 stability 與 security。