Application of VMware VProbes to debugging of a segmentation based separation kernel
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Authors
Sanders, Kyle
Subjects
TCX
Least Privilege Separation Kernel
Debugging
VMware
Least Privilege Separation Kernel
Debugging
VMware
Advisors
Irvine, Cynthia E.
Date of Issue
2009-06
Date
Jun-09
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Debugging is a useful technique in all aspects of software development, including that of operating systems. Because they provide low level interfaces to the hardware, operating systems are particularly difficult to debug. There is little room to add abstraction between the computer hardware and the executing operating system software. Many debuggers are intimately tied to the system’s memory model, compiler, and loader. For specialized operating systems, a good debugger may require a focused development process. However, virtualization allows new tools to be introduced to support operating system debugging. This research explores the potential to use VMware VProbes to debug a Least Privilege Separation Kernel (LPSK) that is hosted as a guest operating system by the VMware virtual machine monitor. Several general tools were developed to help developers use VMware VProbes. In particular, a simple way to use the symbol table that makes references to memory easier to manage. As a result, the state of the target operating system can be inspected upon access to one or more memory addresses. The tools and techniques were tested on the LPSK; however, they may be applied to a wide range of operating systems hosted by VMware.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Computer Science
Organization
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NPS Report Number
Sponsors
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Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.
Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.
Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.