Military Embedded Systems Summer 2006
Military Embedded Systems Summer 2006
Military Embedded Systems Summer 2006
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Product Guide<br />
multiprocessors<br />
cases, the kernels in these RTOSs<br />
can control only one CPU or<br />
processor core at a time. This<br />
restriction may be acceptable<br />
in an independent node (AMP)<br />
architecture but hampers flexibility<br />
of design and prohibits developers<br />
from achieving the considerable<br />
benefits offered by SMP and BMP.<br />
It’s important, therefore, that<br />
the RTOS chosen for multicore<br />
designs can control multiple cores<br />
SMP BMP AMP<br />
Seamless resource sharing Yes Yes —<br />
Scalable beyond dual core Yes Yes Limited<br />
Mixed OS environment<br />
(for instance, QNX Neutrino + Linux)<br />
— — Yes<br />
Dedicated processor by function — Yes Yes<br />
Inter-core messaging<br />
Thread synchronization<br />
between cores<br />
Fast<br />
(OS primitives)<br />
Fast<br />
(OS primitives)<br />
Slower<br />
(application)<br />
Yes Yes —<br />
Dynamic load balancing Yes Yes —<br />
System-wide debug and optimization Yes Yes —<br />
Table 2<br />
simultaneously and offer robust support<br />
for each multiprocessing model, giving<br />
developers the flexibility to choose the<br />
best form of multiprocessing for the<br />
job at hand. As Table 2 illustrates, the<br />
flexibility to choose from any of these<br />
models enables developers to strike an<br />
optimal balance between performance,<br />
scalability, and ease of migration.<br />
Dr. Robert Craig is Senior<br />
Software Engineer for the<br />
OS Kernel Group at QNX<br />
Software <strong>Systems</strong>. With<br />
more than 12 years’<br />
experience in embedded<br />
systems design, Robert has<br />
worked extensively as both software<br />
architect and development team<br />
manager for various data<br />
communications companies. He holds a<br />
BS in Computer Science and Physics<br />
and a PhD in Physics with a focus on<br />
optical computing technologies.<br />
Paul Leroux is a<br />
technology analyst at<br />
QNX Software <strong>Systems</strong><br />
whose interests include<br />
high-availability design,<br />
multiprocessing systems,<br />
and OS kernel architecture.<br />
For more information, contact Robert or<br />
Paul at:<br />
RSC# 48 @www.mil-embedded.com/rsc<br />
QNX Software <strong>Systems</strong><br />
175 Terence Matthews Crescent<br />
Ottawa, Ontario<br />
Canada, K2M 1W8<br />
Tel: 613-591-0931 or 800-676-0566<br />
E-mail: info@qnx.com<br />
Website: www.qnx.com
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