What do real-time additions to the Linux kernel mean for the real-time OS market?

Real-time processing capabilities could lead to more stable real-time Linux systems

Linux & Open Source Newsletter  By Phil Hochmuth, Network World, 10/18/06

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Real-time processing capabilities are now included in the main release of the Linux kernel, allowing developers to implement embedded Linux systems more easily. The move could also lead to more stable real-time Linux systems, and broader adoption of real-time Linux.

The latest stable release version of the Linux kernel - 2.6.18 - includes the real-time operating system capabilities, which once had to be added on as kernel patches by outside developers. Developers from Red Hat and real-time Linux vendor TimeSys were involved in the effort to bring the capabilities into the mainline kernel, according to the two companies.

The real-time tweaks that were added to kernel Version 2.6.18 involve enhancements to the way the kernel handles system interrupts - requests by the software for processor cycles. The real-time enhancements allow a Linux system to act more predictably when running applications that require a response time in the 15 to 20 microsecond range. (Non-real-time operating systems have interrupt response times in the 600 microsecond range; not bad if you're tabbing through windows or playing video games, but sluggish for computers controlling embedded applications, such as telecom applications aircraft and automobile functions.)

What the native real-time kernel features will mean for real-time operating systems companies such a TimeSys, MontaVista and WindRiver remains to be seen. These software developers specialized in modifying the Linux kernel to run in real time, and have had success installing their software in a wide range of embedded systems. The release of real-time technology to the masses could make the real-time Linux specialists obsolete. Or, maybe taking the specialization out of real-time Linux could open up the technology to a wider audience - and spark interest in the wares of real-time operating systems makers, who have been doing this for years.

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