FSMLabs has announced that its hard real-time Linux operating system and development tools now support all Diamond Systems single-board computers. Additionally, the two companies have inked a cross-licensing deal allowing each to sell the other's technologies and products in bundled form.

Diamond Systems, founded in 1989, distributes embedded hardware in 28 countries, with a focus on ruggedization and high integration.

FSMLabs's RTLinux Pro OS is based on patented technology that lets the real-time POSIX RTCore kernel run Linux as a thread which can be pre-empted whenever a real-time task needs to run. FSMLabs says that in contrast to other Linux offerings billed as “real-time,” RTLinuxPro offers the ability to provide guaranteed latencies to software processes, leading to enhanced reliability and improved product performance. RTLinux Pro also includes an IDE based on SlickEdit.

Support for RTLinuxPro on Diamond Systems's products is twofold, according to FSMLabs:

• The standard RTLinuxPro runtime system and development tools have been made compatible with Diamond Systems's full line of high-integration embedded CPU modules, including:
  • The Prometheus PC/104 CPU with a ZF Micro ZFx86 processor
  • The Hercules EBX CPU with a VIA Eden processor
  • The Athena mid-size CPU with a VIA Eden processor

• RTLinuxPro supports data acquisition and I/O features on Diamond System boards, as well as its entire line of add-on PC/104 I/O modules. This support is integrated into Diamond Systems's Universal Driver programming library, which also provides support for standard Linux along with Windows, DOS, and QNX. The companies say that this “full support implementation” includes low-level driver, interrupt, and I/O code.

As part of its cross-licensing deal with FSMLabs, Diamond Systems will offer three RTLinuxPro kits:

• Evaluation kit: An RTLinuxPro runtime system including all drivers and Universal Driver software. Can be downloaded from the Diamond Systems website. The evaluation runtime system is free to registered owners of Diamond Systems CPU boards.
• Pre-loaded evaluation kit: RTLinuxPro pre-loaded on a 128MB solid state flashdisk module that mounts directly onto the CPU board to provide an extra-rugged embedded system with no rotating media. Priced at $185, including flashdisk.
• Full development system: A complete RTLinuxPro development environment, including developer seat license, pre-loaded and pre-configured on a hard disk, ready for use with “any Diamond Systems CPU.” According to Diamond, this saves the user installation time and enables them to write code directly on the target hardware and execute it instantly, without having to continually port code from one system to another. Priced at $5,000, the same cost as a standard RTLinuxPro development seat from FSMLabs.

 
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