eSOL's RTOS Now Supports "Memory Partitioning" to Achieve Security for Embedded Multi-core Systems

Nov. 20, 2008 - PRLog -- Tokyo, Japan. — eSOL, a leading developer of real time embedded software solutions, announced today that its prominent eT-Kernel Multi-Core Edition now provides a "Memory Partitioning Option" to protect memory across different cores and partitions while maintaining software reusability, system reliability, and design flexibility.  eT-Kernel Multi-Core Edition is based on the symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) model, yet incorporates benefits of the asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) model to offer deterministic characteristics for real time embedded applications.  The Memory Partitioning Option is best suited for automotive applications, aerospace instruments, high-end consumer electronics, and office automation products with memory management units (MMUs) to attain high reliability and high quality within the system.

Recent software and hardware advancements in multi-core technology have opened up new system design opportunities for integrating multiple sub-systems that run on separate processors.  The problem with this approach is that each sub-system is growing bigger and becoming more complex, putting one reliable sub-system at risk from another corrupted sub-system sharing the memory space.  An alternative solution is paravirtualization or hyper-visor to partition cores into different partitions and deploy different operating systems for each partition; however, this will unnecessarily reduce the flexibility of system design where multiple sub-systems need to work more closely together.  Paravirtualization also limits the effective reuse of existing software programs, especially those designed for an AMP environment.

The solution to these challenges is an operating system in which the scheduling domains are separate for AMP and SMP-type cores, and memory protection across different cores and partitions is in place.  eSOL has successfully pioneered its memory partitioning technology and incorporated it into its preeminent eT-Kernel Multi-Core Edition.  It features software reuse and high reliability where a legacy single-core processor-based AMP system can be easily migrated to a multi-core processor system.  The device drivers and other system software, such as middleware, can be reused as-is.  eT-Kernel Multi-Core Edition Memory Partitioning will detect any violation of accessing another partition's local memory, greatly helping the development and assuring the quality of deployed systems.  

Furthermore, the benefit of using a single OS extends to development tools.  eSOL provides the eBinder integrated development environment for eT-Kernel, consisting of a compiler, configuration tools, shell, debugger, and analysis tools.  The same set of tools supports both single-core and multi-core processors.  

- More detail about eT-Kernel Multi-Core Edition
http://www.esol.co.jp/english/embedded/et-kernel_multicor...

- More detail about eT-Kernel Multi-Core Edition Memory Partitioning Option
http://www.esol.co.jp/english/embedded/et-kernel_memory_p...


"As systems grow larger and more complicated, reliability and high quality have become the highest priority for embedded developers," said Nobuyuki Ueyama, the Executive Vice President of eSOL Co., Ltd.  "Compared to hypervisor, which originates from a network server with significantly different design and functionality elements, the Memory Partitioning Option has been developed specifically for embedded systems with eSOL's 30 years of proven formulas and methods.  Whether you use a single core or multi-core, with or without memory partitioning, fundamental benefits lie in the fact that you still use a single OS and IDE, and you will get high productivity in your development cycle."

eSOL will demonstrate features of the "Memory Partitioning Option" at its booth (#C-39) at  Embedded Technology 2008, Yokohama, Japan, on Nov.19 - 21, 2008.
http://www.jasa.or.jp/et/english/index.html


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- About eSOL -
Founded in 1975 in Tokyo, Japan, eSOL is a leading embedded software developer with core technologies in real time operating systems.  We develop, market and sell proven RTOS suites, along with a rich set of vertically-oriented middleware libraries.  Our rugged software development tools provide optimal reliability in backing up the highly complicated development process for RTOS-based applications.  We know that a reliable RTOS and development tools make a significant difference to the quality and timeliness of our customers' products in a continuously growing and competitive world market.  Today, our customers - global OEMs and ODMs ranging from consumer electronics to automotive applications - ship millions of products with technologies pioneered by eSOL.
For more information, please visit http://www.esol.co.jp.

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Offering robust embedded system software and development tools with core technologies in Real Time Operating Systems. Our rugged software development tools boast optimal reliability for RTOS-based applications, including multicore software development.