Introduction
Gregory Gibson, a seasoned IT specialist and technical writer, focuses on Linux and Windows Servers, Android customization, virtual private servers, web servers, and cybersecurity. When not working, he enjoys photography, writing science fiction, and digital art. This article explores Plan 9, an operating system from Bell Labs, and its influence on modern software.
Plan 9 Background
Plan 9 should have been a significant development, but it faded into obscurity. It came from Bell Labs, the same place that gave the world Unix and C, and aimed to fix Unix's broken components instead of cloning them. While it didn't gain widespread commercial use, some of its ideas are still in use today, such as the Unicode standard UTF-8 and the 9P file protocol in Linux, virtualization, and WSL.
Booting Plan 9
I decided to try out Plan 9 through its maintained fork, 9front. The process was challenging due to the outdated hardware requirements. I downloaded the AMD64 ISO from the 9front site and encountered several issues, including the need to manually determine the boot target and configure the 9front boot environment.
Installation Process
The installation process involved partitioning the virtual hard disk, preparing the Plan 9 partition, mounting the ISO files, and writing the boot setup. The installation was straightforward, but I needed to manually configure the boot environment, specifically the 9front boot configuration file, /n/9fat/plan9.ini.
Exploring the Plan 9 Desktop
After the installation, I booted the system for the first time and saw the Plan 9 rio desktop. It was different from what I expected, resembling early Unix desktops but with some unique features. The desktop was driven by the Acme editor, which treated text as the interface.
Conclusion
While Plan 9 may not have achieved widespread commercial success, its ideas have influenced modern software. The 9P file protocol, Unicode standard UTF-8, and the Acme editor's unique design are still in use today. This article provides a detailed look at the installation process and the unique features of Plan 9, a forgotten but influential operating system from Bell Labs.
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