Multics Operating System

🧩 1. Basic Information

Field —>Description
OS Name —>Multics (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service)
Developer —>MIT, Bell Labs, General Electric (later Honeywell)
First Released —>1969 (project started 1964)
Latest Version —>Discontinued in 2000 (last running system shut down)
License Type —>Initially proprietary (Honeywell); now historical source available for study
Supported Platforms —>GE-645, Honeywell 6180 (mainframe-class systems)
Still Active? —>❌ No (historic OS, but studied in OS theory courses)

⚙️ 2. Kernel & Architecture

Kernel Type: Early form of segmented, paged, multi-layered architecture, often described as a ringed kernel

Memory Management: Hardware-enforced rings of privilege (precursor to CPU ring levels)

Supported virtual memory, dynamic linking, hierarchical file systems

Developed as a time-sharing system to support multiple users on mainframes simultaneously

🌟 3. Key Features

Advanced security model: Rings of protection, strict access control lists (ACLs) — direct ancestor of modern CPU privilege levels

Hierarchical file system: looked very similar to modern UNIX directories

Dynamic linking: programs could link to libraries at runtime (foundation of shared libraries & DLLs today)

Virtual memory with demand paging

Time-sharing with fine-grained accounting, so many users could share a system fairly

Interactive command line & early shell environments

Even supported multi-language programming environments (PL/I, FORTRAN, assembly)

📈 4. Version History & Important Milestones ✅

Milestone / Version —>Year —>Description
Project starts at MIT —>1964 —>Collaboration between MIT, Bell Labs, GE
First operational Multics —>1969 —>Ran on GE-645 mainframe
Honeywell takes over —>1970 —>GE computer division sold to Honeywell
UNIX created by ex-Bell Labs engineers —>~1969–70 —>Ken Thompson & Dennis Ritchie left Multics to create UNIX, influenced by it heavily
Commercial systems used —>70s–80s ---->Deployed by government & large institutions
Last running Multics shut down —>2000 —>Canadian system retired, officially ended operational life

🎯 5. Target Audience & Use Cases

Large universities & research labs: ran hundreds of simultaneous users in the 70s & 80s

Government & secure research facilities: because of its security model

Telephone companies & air traffic control: appreciated robust multi-user processing

Today: studied by CS students & historians to understand multi-user OS concepts

✅ 6. Pros & Cons

Pros —>Cons
Pioneered concepts like rings, dynamic linking, hierarchical filesystems —>Required large, expensive mainframes

Strong security & fault isolation for its time —>Complex system, hard to debug & maintain

Excellent documentation, design papers —>Eventually overshadowed by simpler UNIX
Direct ancestor of UNIX/Linux/Mac kernel ideas —>Proprietary, tied to specific Honeywell hardware

🎨 7. UI Demo & Visuals

Terminal session on a Multics console (green-screen style)

Showing command line environment with hierarchical directories (ls style)

Access control examples setting user permissions on files

Early email programs and text editors

Diagrams from the famous “rings of protection” model

📦 8. Ecosystem & App Support

Supported multiple programming languages simultaneously: PL/I (primary), FORTRAN, COBOL, assembly

Early database systems, academic compilers, interactive shells

Could run text editors, mail systems, accounting & quota tools

No modern apps, but was the base template for nearly all multi-user OS that followed

🔐 9. Security & Updates

Most advanced security model of its era:

Hardware & software ring protection (kernel vs user mode)

Mandatory & discretionary access control lists on files

Login auditing and extensive logs

Updated by Honeywell engineers, with patches delivered via magnetic tapes to large installations

🌍 10. Community, License & Development

Initially proprietary (MIT & GE research), then owned by Honeywell

Last code base released for historical study — available via Multicians.org archives

Huge influence on computing:

Inspired UNIX, Linux, Windows NT security rings, modern dynamic linking, process memory separation

Active community of historians & enthusiasts who document papers, manuals, system logs