Linux Foundation Takes on Real-Time Computing for Embedded Apps
What's the next step for open source in the embedded computing market? Google (GOOG), the Linux Foundation and other inaugural supporters of the Real-Time Linux Collaborative Project, which launched this month with a focus on the robotics, telecom, manufacturing, aviation, medical and similar industries, think kernel-level real-time support is the answer.
What's the next step for open source in the embedded computing market? Google (GOOG), the Linux Foundation and other inaugural supporters of the Real-Time Linux Collaborative Project, which launched this month with a focus on the robotics, telecom, manufacturing, aviation, medical and similar industries, think kernel-level real-time support is the answer.
Open source developers have long been working on projects, such as Yocto, that place Linux and other open source platforms in embedded environments. And Linux distributions that support real-time computing—or "complete preemption," in hacker terms—using modified kernels have existed since earlier this year.
The Real-Time Linux Collaborative Project, however, introduces a new level of centralization, funding and industry support for driving real-time Linux forward. With founding members that include Google (the only top-tier, "platinum" number), National Instruments, OSADL, Texas Instruments, Altera, ARM, Intel and IBM, the new initiative stands to enjoy plenty of funding.
But the project is about much more than injecting new cash into the embedded niche of the open source world. It will also centralize development resources and help to make real-time computing a standard component of the mainstream Linux kernel, which currently is able to implement real-time support only through a special patch.
Linux in its current form also can do "soft real-time" computing for userspace applications, but that is not ideal for meeting requirements in certain industries, such as finance, aviation and telecom.
"The work we’ve been doing on real-time Linux has been critical in advancing complex real-time computing systems. But technology is moving fast, and the RTL project with support from across the industry will allow us to sustain this work and successfully integrate with the mainline kernel for long-term support of these technologies," said Thomas Gleixner, Linux kernel developer and Linux Foundation Fellow.
"Code that is built and maintained collaboratively is better and less expensive than software that is not," said Jim Zemlin, executive director at the Linux Foundation. "By coming together to advance Real-time Linux as a community, products and systems will be supported by the best developers in the world for years to come."
