Developers talk a lot about immutability.
Outside the technical world, it usually means something negative: unmoving, inflexible, and entrenched.
However, the widespread adoption of containers withDockerjust over 10 years ago brought the concept to broader attention.
This means its relatively easy to shut down, recreate, and reboot the container based on that definition.
Development teamsnow use containers widely, managed and orchestrated by tools such asKubernetes.
Containers take the concept of immutability some of the way.
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Everything needs to be immutable to have a fully trustable, reliable, and reproducible operating system.
Why is this happening now?
These regulations generally tell gadget makers and developers that things will change.
We need to be more compliant, Noury says.
So right now, were in this period where we must make the devices we launch compliant with that.
And, the idea of immutability plays into that.
Nix and NixOS
Nix is the oldest still active immutable operating system.
People often use Nix and NixOS interchangeably, but they are different.
But at the core, Nix is astonishingly simple.
Almost every package you install doesnt live in isolation and uses its own complex tree of dependencies.
NixOS takes this further.
Also, Nix executes each process that creates these files in an isolated sandbox, further enhancing security.
Again, like the package manager, you could roll back if theres an issue.
The same applies if an installation process is interrupted.
On reboot, it restores the system to the last good state, and you might retry.
Nix has developed these ideas for a long time despite their modern-sounding software.
It has existed for more than 20 years and is older than Docker and Git.
As Gagarin adds, it wasnt even first.
Nix was also not the first attempt to change Linux packaging.
And I think what made Nix different is its conceptual simplicity.
And its still around as opposed to many others.
Community and business
The Nix community is open-source and donation-funded, with around 800 active monthly contributors.
Three of the most interesting commercial products based on NixOS areDeterminate Systems,Flox, andDevBox.
Ubuntu Core
When many think of Linux, they think ofUbuntufromCanonical.
Canonicals immutable offering,Ubuntu Core, is aimed not at desktop users but at edge devices.
These are the small computing devices now found everywhere, from cars to robots to smart cities and industry.
A perfect use case for an immutable operating system.
Noury explains the use cases.
Think about the core operating system and the core elements of your gear.
They shouldnt change during normal operations, and you shouldnt need to maintain them.
CanonicalsSnap format and Snap Storeare similar to the Nix package manager.
Ubuntu Core works differently from NixOS.
With that done, you might roll out, build, and install an image across machines.
However, theres no configuration file tying everything together as with NixOS and Ubuntu Core.
The entire operating system isnt immutable, but key parts of it are.
Who to trust
Trust is a central aspect throughout this discussion.
The selling point of immutable operating systems is that they are trustworthy and secure.
But why should you trust them?
As Noury says, immutability doesnt necessarily mean security.
Story byChris Chinchilla
Technology writer, podcaster, and video maker by day.
Fiction, games, and music by night.
chrischinchilla.comTechnology writer, podcaster, and video maker by day.
Fiction, games, and music by night.
