Linux namespaces don't actually do any of those things though? Like, not even a single one of them are made possible because of namespaces. They're all possible

Linux namespaces don't actually do any of those things though? Like, not even a single one of them are made possible because of namespaces. They're all possible or not possible precisely as much with or without namespaces. The thing is when comparing plan9 and linux here, you have to recognize that linux has it backwards. On plan9 namespaces are emergent from the distributed structure of the system. On linux they form useful tools to build a distributed system. But what's possible on plan9 is possible because it really does do "everything is a file," so your namespace is made up of io devices (files) and you can construct or reconstruct that namespace as you need. Like, this[1] is a description of how to configure plan9's cpu service so you run programs on another node. [1] https://9p.io/wiki/plan9/Expanding_your_Grid/index.html https://9p.io/wiki/plan9/Expanding_your_Grid/index.html Nothing in there makes any sense from a linux containers perspective. You can't namespace the cpu. You can't namespace the gui terminal. All you can namespace is relatively superficial things, and even then opening up that namespacing to unprivileged users has resulted in several linux CVEs over the last year because it's just not built with the right assumptions.