Jaluna has introduced virtual platform technology enabling multiple embedded operating systems to run simultaneously on the same hardware. The company says its Jaluna/OSware will enable companies to introduce Linux into product designs while preserving their investment in legacy RTOSes and applications.

Jaluna/OSware is available now for x86, PowerPC, and ARM9, the company says. It supports single processors, as well as shared-memory symmetrical multi-processor (SMP) systems. It comprises:

• NK2 — a nanokernel runtime component that partitions hardware resources including physical memory, allocates resources to operating system kernel instances, and virtualizes and schedules the processor(s)
• Virtual Bus — a communication component between operating system instances, operated by each operating system kernel by means of a bus driver
• C5 — an optional microkernel component (derived from the fifth-generation Chorus microkernel), supporting a software watchdog for Linux monitoring, and persistent memory services for application checkpointing and hot restart.

Jaluna says the product preserves the hard real-time characteristics of RTOSes, while allowing RTOSes to interoperate with Linux. Because hardware resources are partitioned, operating systems are “isolated with regard to failures, security breaches, or possible licensing contamination,” the company says.

Jaluna/OSware enables multiple OSes to run concurrently on the same processor
Jaluna/OSware can also be used to run several Linux instances as a software-based cluster, “in order to address the need for multiple service combinations and scalability,” Jaluna says.

“Jaluna/OSware will offer OEMs a path that protects investments in legacy software while migrating to Linux,” commented VDC senior analyst Stephen Balacco. “Supporting multiple environments on the same hardware platform will allow OEMs to introduce new products faster and more cost effectively.”

Jaluna CEO Michel Gien said, “With Jaluna/OSware, we bring the benefits of virtualization to the embedded systems market.”

Jaluna/OSware is available now under a royalty bearing license for x86, PowerPC, and ARM9 processor architectures. It supports Linux kernels 2.4.20 on x86, PowerPC and ARM, and Linux kernel 2.6 on x86 with any Linux distribution. Porting an RTOS or legacy OS to Jaluna/OSware requires adapting the board support package and kernel initialization code.

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