The Linux kernel, as well as the FreeBSD kernel, supports the loading and unloading of kernel modules, which are compiled binaries that can be linked to the ker

The Linux kernel, as well as the FreeBSD kernel, supports the loading and unloading of kernel modules, which are compiled binaries that can be linked to the kernel while it is running. These modules are still in the address space of the kernel; the term "monolithic" refers to the fact that all portions of the kernel, even kernel modules, are running in the same address space. This is different from a microkernel like Mach where various operating system subsystems such as networking and the file system are running as separate user-level processes (thus having their own address spaces).