New York and Paris; LinuxWorld — (press release excerpt) — MontaVista Software today announced MontaVista Linux 2.1, the next generation of the company's classic embedded operating platform. The feature-rich release enables an even broader range of embedded applications, providing a standard platform for designs in communications infrastructure, networking, consumer electronics, instrumentation and… control.

MontaVista has been shipping versions of Hard Hat Linux for more than two years. With this next generation of the company's flagship product, the name is changing to MontaVista Linux. The name change reflects the strong reputation and recognition of the MontaVista name, and allows the company to focus exclusively on the MontaVista brand. All other future products will also be renamed to reflect the MontaVista brand. This change is effective with the new release.

About MontaVista Linux 2.1 . . .

• MontaVista Linux 2.1 targets more than 20 processors from six industry-leading architectures, including x86/IA-32, PowerPC, StrongARM, XScale, ARM, MIPS and SH. These CPUs populate the more than 60 boards supported in the release, including 18 new boards.

• MontaVista Linux 2.1 focuses on cross-development capability, with tools hosted on 14 host environments, including Red Hat, Yellow Dog Linux, SuSE, Mandrake, Solaris and VMWare on Windows NT/2000. In most cases, MontaVista Linux 2.1 supports the most recent versions of these hosts.

• MontaVista Linux 2.1 is based on the latest Linux kernel, 2.4.17. It also offers MontaVista's real-time enhancements to the Linux kernel, including preemptibility on the x86, MIPS, SH and PowerPC architectures.

• Host-based tools and embedded target-based deployment components comprise the more than 215 software packages in the release. MontaVista Linux 2.1 enables 15 new embedded applications packages. Additional add-ons include support for the thttpd, a small footprint embedded server, and for the 802.11b wireless communications standard. In addition, the product initially provides updates for 75 of the applications already supported
  by MontaVista.

• With this release, MontaVista also expands support for a variety of open source tools retargeted for embedded cross development, including the first MontaVista development environment powered by KDevelop — an award-winning open source integrated development environment (IDE). It also adds an updated Linux trace tool (including kernel performance and execution analyzer), which is now available for the x86 and PowerPC. Also new in this release is Ext3, a complementary journaling file system, that is now available in addition to MontaVista's current offerings of Reiser and JFFS.

• Customer documentation has also been significantly enhanced as part of the new product version. Because the new written materials follow a typical development cycle, developers using MontaVista Linux will encounter a far more comfortable and user-friendly experience. New individual and customized “Quick Start Guides” for each supported board are also included in this version.

MontaVista Linux 2.1 Professional Edition will be available in March 2002. It is offered as a product subscription, providing customers with the MontaVista Linux kernel, utilities, development tools, software updates, access to the MontaVista Zone, and one year of technical support. MontaVista Linux 2.1 is open source, royalty-free, and built from 100 percent pure Linux sources.

MontaVista Linux 2.1 will be demonstrated at Linux World and Expo in New York City from January 30 through February 1, 2002, in booth # 1549, and from January 30 through February 1, 2002, at the Linux Expo in Paris, booth # A25

 
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