MontaVista Software Offers "One Hundred Percent Pure Linux" With Real-Time Performance
Feb 2nd, 23:53 UTC
Streamlines Standard Linux Kernel and Partners with FSMLabs for RTLinuxTM NEW YORK -- February 2, 2000 -- MontaVista Software Inc., developer of the
Hard HatTM Linux® operating system for embedded applications,
today announces its plans to offer an array of real-time performance
options for the company's embedded Linux distribution. To address the
range of requirements for real-time responsiveness and determinism,
MontaVista will enhance the already good performance of the standard Linux
kernel for more predictable "soft" real-time response and will partner with
real-time Linux leader FSMLabs to offer an RTLinuxTM accelerator
for "hard" real-time applications.
Building upon a "one hundred percent pure Linux" base, MontaVista is
characterizing driver-level and user process response characteristics in
the Linux kernel and engineering a range of improvements to enable
guaranteed single-millisecond response times. All such enhancements will be
released back to the open source community under the Gnu Public License.
"Linux is an excellent base for servers and desktops, but cannot deliver
response guarantees required for streaming media and other
latency-sensitive devices," states Kevin Morgan, MontaVista vice president
of engineering. "MontaVista, with literally hundreds of years of
experience in real-time operating and control system design and
implementation, can meet this real-time challenge and provide dramatic
improvements in native Linux responsiveness."
For the ultimate in deterministic Linux, MontaVista will offer hard
real-time response with the addition of FSMLabs' RTLinux real-time
acceleration extension. Victor Yodaiken, president of FSMLabs, comments
"RTLinux brings significant technical advantage to customers who need hard
real-time. Combining RTLinux with MontaVista's Hard Hat Linux gives
customers both cutting edge performance and the assur- ance of solid
products backed by in-depth support and development teams."
Real-time systems are variously termed "hard" and "soft." Hard real-time
behavior entails a guaranteed maximum response time to stimuli (typically
interrupt I/O), independent of system load. Soft real-time in- volves
application or system response to stimuli in a time-sensitive context, but
without guarantees of time- liness. No particular time resolution is
implied by hard or soft real-time requirements, but most so-called
real-time systems operate on time-scales in the sub-millisecond or even
microsecond range. Applications with hard real-time deadlines include
signal processing and industrial control, while there exists a very broad
range of applications with soft real-time requirements, including data
communications and most Internet-related embedded systems.
Technical Details
MontaVista improvements in Linux soft real-time performance include
reduction in worst-case interrupt blocking times, development of a
fixed-priority real-time scheduler with constant dispatch overhead, and
methods for dramatically improving process-level response timings. RTLinux
acts as a hard real-time ac- celerator for Hard Hat Linux, equipping the
standard Linux kernel with POSIX (IEEE 1003.1c) thread and signal handlers
that execute predictably, with latencies and timing limited only by the
resident hardware. RTLinux real-time threads and signal handlers are
decoupled from standard Linux kernel so that non-real- time Linux functions
do not delay real-time processing, and can communicate with and access
facilities of standard Linux. The RTLinux Accelerator for Hard Hat Linux
currently supports uniprocessor and SMP x86 and PowerPCTM
microprocessor architectures.
Availability
Core real-time enhancements to the Hard Hat Linux kernel will be made
available as part of Hard Hat Linux version 1.1, available in the second
half of this year. The RTLinux Accelerator for Hard Hat Linux will be
available in the second quarter. Hard Hat Linux with real-time enhancements
and the RTLinux Ac- celerator will be distributed through MontaVista direct
and partner channels together with Hard Hat Linux professional services
subscriptions. For more information about Hard Hat Linux for real-time
applications and about the RTLinux Accelerator for Hard Hat Linux, please
call 408-328-9213 or visit the MontaVista Web site: http://www.mvista.com.
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About MontaVista Software, Inc.
MontaVista Software Inc., founded in 1999 by real-time operating system
pioneer James Ready, delivers open-source software solutions for the
worldwide embedded software market. MontaVista's principal offering is the
Linux® operating system tailored for embedded software applications.
MontaVista products include Hard HatTM Linux, a standard
off-the-shelf binary distribution of Linux for PowerPC and x86 archi-
tectures. Hard Hat Linux is supported by a comprehensive tool suite
including optimizing compilers for C, C++ and other languages; high-level
language debuggers; and performance monitoring tools. The com- pany's
Subscription Plans also provide Linux support, porting and customization
services to customers worldwide. MontaVista headquarters are in Sunnyvale,
Calif., in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
About FSMLabs
FSMLabs is a service of VJY Associates L.L.C, a software development
company focused on RTLinux and started by the developers of RTLinux and the
original developers of embedded Linux on the PowerPC microprocessor.
Business inquiries should be directed to business@fsmlabs.com.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Hard Hat is a trademark
of MontaVista Software Inc. RTLinux is a trademark of VJY Associates L.L.C.
FSMLabs is a servicemark and a service of VJY Associates L.L.C, New Mexico.
All other names mentioned are trademarks, registered trademarks or service
marks of their respective companies.
Contact:
Bill Weinberg, Director of Marketing
MontaVista Software Inc.
(408) 328-9213
bill_weinberg@mvista.com
(Submitted by Joe Samagond of MontaVista Software Inc.)
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