Plan 9 is a distributed system. In the most general configuration, it uses three kinds of components: terminals that sit on users' desks, file servers that store permanent data, and CPU servers that provide faster CPUs, user authentication, and network gateways. These components are connected by various kinds of networks, including Ethernet, Datakit, specially-built fiber networks, ordinary modem connections, and ISDN. In typical use, users interact with applications that run either on their terminals or on CPU servers, and the applications get their data from the file servers, but it's also small enough to run by itself on a laptop. It is highly configurable; it escapes from specific models of networked workstations and central machine service.
Plan 9 is a trademark of AT&T.
We're happy to announce the release of Plan 9. This edition is available for noncommercial use by anyone, using a shrink-wrap license. It can be ordered just like a book; click here for information.
An earlier release of Plan 9 has been available to universities for a while, and it's gained some fans (see below). We are no longer licensing it; the new one is much improved.
Our FAQ page answers some commonly asked questions about Plan 9.
The ftp archive at plan9.att.com includes the following:
/plan9/man - The Plan 9 manual pages /plan9/doc - The papers in Volume Two of the manual /plan9/unixsrc - source for Plan 9 related Unix utilities
Plan 9 at the University of York, UK
Basser Plan 9 Research Group at Sydney Uni, Australia
ftp://ftp.ecf.toronto.edu/pub/plan9, Plan 9 user community ftp site
ftp://ftp.cse.psu.edu/pub/plan9-fans/, Archive of 9fans mailing list
Sean Dorward, Tom Duff, Bob Flandrena, Tom Killian, Jim McKie, Rob Pike, Dave Presotto, Ken Thompson, Howard Trickey, Phil Winterbottom
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