ArcaOS

ArcaOS supports symmetric multiprocessing systems with up to 64 processor cores, although it is recommended to disable hyperthreading.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/acpi/requirements/|access-date=2020-09-06|title=ACPI Driver Requirements|website=arcanoae.com}} As of version 5.0.8, ArcaOS is ACPI 6.1-compliant and includes the 20220331 release of ACPICA.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wp-content/uploads/wiki/ReadMe-ACPI.txt|website=arcanoae.com|title=Readme for the ACPI Driver Package|access-date=2023-09-04}}

While ArcaOS is a 32-bit operating system, it has limited PAE support which allows it to use RAM in excess of 4GB as a RAM disk.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oXKMZ56R2o|title="OS/2 Based ArcaOS" - Lunduke Hour - May 23, 2017|first=Bryan|last= Lunduke|date=23 May 2017|via=YouTube}}

ArcaOS supports being run as a virtual machine guest inside VirtualBox, VMware ESXi, VMWare Workstation and Microsoft Virtual PC.

In addition to the device drivers included with OS/2 Warp 4, ArcaOS includes a variety of drivers developed by Arca Noae, and various third parties:

• Network adapters are supported either with Arca Noae's MultiMac[https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/multimac/ Arca Noae wiki: MultiMac NIC Drivers] technology, which employs FreeBSD driver code, or a selection of GenMAC[http://genmac.netlabs.org/en/site/index.xml Project: Generic MAC Wrapper Driver (GenMac)] drivers. Support for wireless networking is somewhat limited, though MultiMac support for additional chipsets is planned for future releases of ArcaOS.
• ArcaOS replaces the 16-bit IBM OS/2 USB driver with a new 32-bit driver capable of supporting USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 controllers.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/arca-noae-progress-report-usb-arcaos-updater-multimedia/|website=arcanoae.com|access-date=2020-09-22|date=2019-10-16|title=Arca Noae progress report: USB, ArcaOS updater, multimedia}}
• Audio support utilizes the Uniaud{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/uniaud/|title=Arca Noae wiki: Uniaud - Audio subsystem|access-date=2020-09-22|website=arcanoae.com}} generic audio driver, now maintained by Arca Noae. Uniaud is based on the ALSA framework from the Linux kernel. In addition, a selection of device-specific drivers are included with ArcaOS. A new audio driver is planned for future releases of ArcaOS, based on FreeBSD audio drivers.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olz_KpTz1cU|date=2020-05-17|access-date=2020-09-22|website=youtube.com|title=Warpstock Europe Conference 2020 - Day 2}}
• Video support is provided by Panorama[https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/panorama/ Arca Noae wiki: Panorama Video Driver] generic unaccelerated VESA driver, or SNAP[https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/snap/ Arca Noae wiki: Arca Noae SNAP Graphics for OS/2] accelerated video driver. Features such as acceleration and multi-head are supported for a limited number of graphics chipsets. Support for these features in additional chipsets, such as the Intel HD series, is planned.
• Storage drivers are available for IDE, AHCI, NVMe and a number of SCSI adapters.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/faqwd/how-can-i-tell-if-my-current-disk-drive-is-compatible-with-arcaos/|title=How can I tell if my current disk drive is compatible with ArcaOS?|access-date=2020-09-22|website=arcanoae.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.os2world.com/cms/index.php/past-news/80-news/software/23010-arca-noae-nvme-driver-version-1-01-released|date=2021-04-14|access-date=2021-04-16|title=NVME Driver version 1.01 released|website=os2world.com}}
• Support for printers is provided by the eCups project, which is based on the open-source Common Unix Printing System.{{cite web|url=http://trac.netlabs.org/ecups/wiki|title=Welcome to eCups|website=netlabs.org|access-date=2020-09-23}}

File:Arcaos-5.0-apps.png included with ArcaOS - Firefox, Lucide, 4OS2, PMDCalc Plus]]

In addition to the software bundled with OS/2 Warp 4, ArcaOS includes some additional software, such as:{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/tpw|title=Third Party Work|access-date=2020-09-08|website=arcanoae.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/glimpse-new-arcaos-desktop/|title=Have a glimpse of the new ArcaOS desktop|access-date=2020-09-08|website=arcanoae.com|date=21 May 2017}}

• Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird 45
• Apache OpenOffice 4.1
• Lucide, an open source document viewer
• XWorkplace, a set of open source enhancements to the Workplace Shell
• 4OS2
• OpenJDK 6
• Qt 4 and 5
• Samba 4
• Heimdal Kerberos
• VirtualBox
• REXX and ooRexx interpreters

File:Arcaos-5.0-compatibility.png shell (bottom left), QBASIC in a DOS window (middle), and the Windows 3.1 Program Manager (top right)]]

ArcaOS includes a number of software components which allow it to directly run software developed for other operating systems, and to simplify the process of porting software to ArcaOS:

• ArcaOS includes OS/2's MVDM and WIN-OS/2, allowing ArcaOS to run 16-bit MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 applications natively.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/arcaos/compatibility-subsystems/getting-the-most-out-of-dos-and-win-os2-sessions/|access-date=2020-09-22|title=Getting the most out of DOS and Win-OS/2 sessions|website=arcanoae.com}} ArcaOS features some improvements to these subsystems which are not found in OS/2, such as the ability to access volumes greater than 2GB from Windows and DOS,{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/faqwd/why-cant-my-dos-and-win-os-2-sessions-see-more-than-2gb-of-free-space/|access-date=2020-09-03|title=Why can't my DOS and Win-OS/2 sessions see more than 2GB of free space?}} as well as supporting 16-bit Windows and DOS software on UEFI systems which do not have a traditional BIOS.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JypjdaFtYqo|access-date=2020-09-22|date=2020-05-16|title=Warpstock Europe Conference - Day 1|website=youtube.com}}
• ArcaOS includes Odin, based on Wine, which provides a subset of the Win32 API. Odin can be used to run certain Win32 applications directly, while other applications, such as the OS/2 port of OpenJDK, use the Odin API to simplify porting Windows software to OS/2.{{cite web|url=https://trac.netlabs.org/java|title=Java for OS/2 and OS/2-based systems|access-date=2020-09-22|website=trac.netlabs.org}}
• ArcaOS provides a Unix compatibility layer named kLIBC which facilitates the porting of open source Linux applications to ArcaOS.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/arcaos/compatibility-subsystems/getting-to-know-the-unix-compatibility-subsystem-klibc/|website=arcanoae.com|title=Getting to know the Unix Compatibility Subsystem (kLIBC)|access-date=2020-09-08}} A variety of Linux tools ship with ArcaOS such as the Bash shell and the GNU coreutils, while others are available through the ArcaOS package manager, such as GCC.{{cite web|url=https://trac.netlabs.org/lucide/wiki/BuildingInstructions|title=Lucide Building Instructions|access-date=2020-09-22|website=trac.netlabs.org}}
• A port of OpenJDK is included, which allows ArcaOS to run Java applications which do not have platform-specific dependencies.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/arcaos/compatibility-subsystems/|title=Compatibility Subsystems|access-date=2020-09-08}}

ArcaOS's default filesystem is JFS, although HPFS is also supported for backwards compatibility.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wp-content/uploads/wiki/ArcaOS50_InstallationGuide.pdf|title=ArcaOS 5.0 Installation Guide|website=arcanoae.com|access-date=2020-09-22|date=May 2017}} ArcaOS may be installed to and booted from either filesystem.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/arcaos/installation-planning/|title=Installation Planning|date=2020-06-06|access-date=2020-09-22|website=arcanoae.com}}

FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32 are also supported using either the OS/2 kernel's own FAT driver, or a new Arca Noae-developed FAT32 IFS driver, included in ArcaOS since version 5.0.3.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/fat32/|title=FAT32 Installable File System Driver|access-date=2020-09-04}} ArcaOS includes support for optical disc filesystems such as ISO 9660 and UDF.{{cite web|url=https://ecsoft2.org/dvdudf|title=DVD/UDF|access-date=2020-09-22|website=ecsoft2.org}}

ArcaOS supports serving and accessing CIFS/SMB shares using the open source Samba project, and provides a graphical utility named ArcaMapper to manage configuration.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/arcamapper/|title=ArcaMapper|access-date=2020-09-22|website=arcanoae.com}}

NetDrive for OS/2 provides access to a variety of additional filesystems such as NTFS and NFS via its own IFS driver.{{cite web|url=https://ecsoft2.org/ntfs-plugin-netdrive|access-date=2020-09-22|website=ecsoft2.org|title=Network File System (NFS) plugin for NetDrive}}{{cite web|url=https://ecsoft2.org/network-file-system-nfs-plugin-netdrive|access-date=2020-09-22|website=ecsoft2.org|title=NTFS plugin for NetDrive}} The ArcaOS distribution includes a limited license version of NetDrive but the fully licensed version is capable of mounting a number of other local, native, and foreign file systems.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/shop/netdrive-for-os2/|title=NetDrive for OS/2|access-date=2020-09-22|website=arcanoae.com}}

File:Arcaos-5.0-installer.png

ArcaOS features a new graphical installer which replaces the IBM installer used in OS/2 Warp.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_8C5e9tsAk|website=youtube.com|access-date=2020-09-22|date=2017-10-06|title=Writing the ArcaOS installer}} Unlike OS/2, the ArcaOS installation process does not require a boot floppy, and instead the installer can be booted directly from optical media, or from a USB flash drive.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/faqwd/what-installation-media-do-i-need-to-install-arcaos-will-it-install-from-diskettes/|access-date=2020-09-22|title=What installation media do I need to install ArcaOS? Will it install from diskettes?|website=arcanoae.com}} The installer also provides an update facility, which allows ArcaOS to be updated to the latest release without reinstalling the entire operating system.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/arcaos/updating-from-a-prior-release/|title=Updating from a prior release|access-date=2020-09-22|date=2020-06-24|website=arcanoae.com}}

Installation and updates of individual software packages is provided through the Arca Noae Package Manager (ANPM), which consists of a native OS/2 graphical frontend on top of RPM and YUM.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfyMDczvL1w|website=youtube.com|date=2016-05-31|access-date=2020-09-22|title=YUM and RPM package manager update}} Software is provided through a mixture of freely available, and subscription only RPM repositories.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/anpm/|website=arcanoae.com|date=2020-06-22|access-date=2020-09-22|title=Package Manager}}

The minimum hardware requirements for ArcaOS 5.1 are as follows:{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/arcaos/technical-specifications/|title=System Requirements for ArcaOS 5.1|website=arcanoae.com|access-date=2023-09-04}}

ArcaOS was formally announced on October 23, 2015, at the Warpstock 2015 event (an OS/2 user group event) under the code name "Blue Lion" by Arca Noae's Managing Member, Lewis Rosenthal.{{cite web|url=http://www.techrepublic.com/article/os2-blue-lion-to-be-the-next-distro-of-the-28-year-old-os/|title=OS/2: Blue Lion to be the next distro of the 28-year-old OS|author=James Sanders|date=2015-11-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106010224/https://www.techrepublic.com/article/os2-blue-lion-to-be-the-next-distro-of-the-28-year-old-os/|archive-date=2015-11-06|website=techrepublic.com|access-date=2023-09-04}}

Some of the planned features for Blue Lion announced at the time were:

• New Symmetric multiprocessing kernel.
• New pre-boot menu.
• New OS installer with support for installation from USB flash drive and across a network.
• Device drivers already produced by Arca Noae as part of their Drivers & Software Subscription.{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/03/os2_returns_arca_noae/|title=Is the world ready for a bare-metal OS/2 rebirth?|author=Shaun Nichols|date=2015-11-03|website=The Register|access-date=2023-09-04}}
• The latest Workplace Shell enhancements.
• Updated CUPS print subsystem.
• Updated PostScript printer driver pack.
• Localization in several languages besides English.{{cite web|url=http://www.fudzilla.com/news/40775-os-2-comes-back-from-the-dead|title=OS/2 comes back from the dead|date=2016-05-30|author=Nick Farrell|website=Fudzilla|access-date=2023-09-04}}

The name "ArcaOS" was first published in a TechRepublic article{{cite web|title=OS/2 resurrected: Blue Lion becomes ArcaOS, details emerge for upcoming release|url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/os2-resurrected-blue-lion-becomes-arcaos-details-emerge-for-upcoming-release/|date=2016-08-31|access-date=2021-05-08|first=James|last=Sanders|publisher=TechRepublic}} on May 26, 2016, while the arcaos.com domain was registered December 20, 2015. In the same TechRepublic article, Lewis Rosenthal was quoted as saying that the first release of ArcaOS would be version 5.0, as it follows onto the last release of OS/2 Warp from IBM, which was 4.52 (also known as Merlin Convenience Pack 2, or MCP2).{{cite web|url=https://www.os2museum.com/wp/os2-history/os2-timeline/|title=OS/2 Timeline|access-date=2020-09-26|website=os2museum.com}}

ArcaOS 5.0 was released May 15, 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.arcanoae.com/arcaos-5-0-now-available|title=ArcaOS 5.0 release announcement|access-date=2021-12-08|website=Arca Noae|date=2017-05-15}} There were two editions released: a commercial edition, intended for enterprise use (including 12 months of upgraded/prioritized technical support), and a personal edition, targeted at non-business users (including six months of standard technical support) at a reduced price.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/19/new_version_of_os_2_arca_os_5/|title=What is dead may never die: a new version of OS/2 just arrived|first=Simon|last=Sharwood|date=2017-05-19|publisher=The Register|language=en|access-date=2019-10-02}} Pricing was listed as $229 per license for the commercial edition, and $129 per license for the personal edition, with $99 promotional price in effect for the first 90 days following release.

ArcaOS 5.0 was followed by a number of maintenance releases between 2017 and 2023. In addition to bug fixes and driver updates, the maintenance releases added some significant features such as USB 3.0 support, support for NVMe drives, the ability to install from a USB drive, and the update facility.

Prior to the release of ArcaOS 5.0, ArcaOS 5.1 was originally planned for release in 2017 with a focus on providing localized releases for languages other than English, referred to as National Language Versions (NLVs). Following the release of ArcaOS 5.0, Arca Noae began discussing a 5.1 release in their roadmaps, along with additional proposed new features.{{cite web|url=http://www.warpstock.org/filemgmt_data/files/ArcaOS%205.1%20Roadmap.pdf|date=2017|access-date=2020-11-08|website=warpstock.org|title=ArcaOS 5.1 Roadmap}} ArcaOS 5.1.0 was released on August 27, 2023, adding support for booting on UEFI Class 3 systems, and support for GUID partition tables — allowing for disks larger than OS/2's previous 2TB size limit.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/04/arcaos_51/|title=ArcaOS 5.1 gives vintage OS/2 a UEFI facelift for the 21st century|first=Liam|last=Proven|date=2023-09-04|publisher=The Register|language=en|access-date=2023-09-04}} This was followed by the 5.1.1 release in February 2025, which added the first NLVs for German, Spanish and Russian.

Other features which have been proposed for the 5.1.x releases include:

• Additional NLVs, including French, Italian, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Dutch. This involves augmenting the localization in OS/2 Warp 4 with translations for the new software added in ArcaOS, such as the installer and XWorkplace.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ-QhNqSAB4|date=2019-04-19|access-date=2020-09-22|title=National Language Support for OS/2|website=youtube.com}}
• A migration facility to allow in-place migration of OS/2 Warp 4 and eComStation systems to ArcaOS without removing the existing operating system installation first.
• Desktop search functionality based on the open-source Recoll project.
• Replacing the monolithic IBM Selective Install utility with a number of Arca Noae-developed utilities.
• Porting a modern WebKit based web browser to ArcaOS to replace Firefox.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olz_KpTz1cU|title=Warpstock Europe Conference 2020|date=2020-05-17|access-date=2020-09-09|website=youtube.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://articles.os2voice.org/category/software/11-sponsorship-needed-for-new-os-2-web-browser.html|title=Sponsorship needed for new OS/2 web browser|last=Klein|first=Roderick|website=articles.os2voice.org|language=en-gb|access-date=2020-09-23|date=2017-10-11}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRH-WbrYtWM|access-date=2020-11-07|date=2020-11-07|website=youtube.com|title=Warpstock 2020 - Virtual & Free}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.arcanoae.com Arca Noae] – website of the developer of ArcaOS

{{OS/2}}

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