Porting systemd to musl Libc-powered Linux
An initial port of systemd to musl libc-powered Linux has been completed, resolving multiple test failures. The system boots faster than OpenRC but needs refinement before a public beta release.
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An initial port of systemd to musl libc-powered Linux has been completed, focusing on creating a patch series that aligns with the latest systemd and musl releases. The project, driven by a long-standing interest in providing multiple service managers, was supported by Wilcox Technologies Inc. (WTI) on a contract basis. The porting process began with systemd version 256.5, addressing build errors and running a test suite that initially had 27 failures, most of which were resolved through simple fixes. Notably, a challenge arose with the time-util test due to musl's lack of support for the %z format specifier, which was overcome by implementing a translation. The final tests revealed a PPC64-specific bug, which was also resolved. The successful boot of an Adélie Linux system using systemd marked a significant milestone. Although the system demonstrated faster boot times compared to OpenRC, it still requires further refinement, particularly regarding service unit files and potential PolicyKit issues. The project aims to enhance user choice in Linux systems, with plans for a public beta release pending further testing and collaboration with other projects.
- An initial port of systemd to musl libc-powered Linux has been completed.
- The project was supported by Wilcox Technologies Inc. and aims to enhance user choice.
- The porting process involved resolving multiple test failures, including a PPC64-specific bug.
- The system boots faster than OpenRC but requires further refinement before public release.
- Collaboration with other projects is ongoing to ensure quality and functionality.
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14 commentspersonally I use a custom alpine live-usb that is immutable and I fully shutdown and start-up all the time. openrc doesn't give me any grief, the bulk of my startup time is copying my 500mb rootfs into a tmpfs
systemd for me is solidly "at work" software, and not stuff I'm a big fan of either (journald, networkd and the silly dns resolver all have serious issues). so please, keep away from my alpine or I'll have to fork -again- :)
Wow, that's a suspiciously impressive difference. I was under the impression that OpenRC and systemd support similar parallel service startup features and usually boot systems in approximately the same amount of time, with maybe a slight edge to systemd. 3x speed makes me wonder if there's something else going on, like the current early systemd port having some bugs that cause it to incorrectly skip some important work.
Either way, super cool. What's the likelihood that this ends up getting upstreamed?
Wow :)
Separately I've not heard of Adelie Linux and from a quick glance at their site I can't really tell what niche they're trying to fill. I gather they use musl and (before this post) openRC, and they aim for POSIX compatibility for legacy systems.
it seemed like a deadlock
Another idea would be to build a "meta-libc", MIT licensed, which exports a glibc compatible interface but called musl or whatever else libc under the hood for implementation. This is slightly complicated by the fact that musl does not export any version define or symbol.
Or just fork musl and start adding glibc-isms to it...
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