DoubleWide Software has added a graphical test configuration tool to its platform virtualization technology for embedded Linux development. The company has also announced a partnership with MontaVista to promote both companies' embedded development solutions. Both announcements came at this week's Embedded Systems Conference (ESC).

DoubleWide's Embedded Supersystems Virtualization (ESV) technology targets device software developers and quality assurance teams developing on hardware that is not yet available. The company's Studio ESV tool is available on Linux, Solaris, and Windows hosts.

New Designer test configuration tool

The new test configuration tool, “Designer,” enables those using the Windows version of DoubleWide's ESV Studio to quickly test devices, the company claims.

DoubleWide Designer leverages Microsoft's Visio application as the graphical editor for visually assembling test configurations. In addition to the customer's own virtualized devices, the DoubleWide Designer device tree includes graphical representations of several built-in test devices.

Designer's built-in devices include web servers, FTP servers, switches, and routers. Devices behave as part of a real network, and may be interconnected using virtual ports. Connections to test devices are represented by virtual cables that can be color coded to easily identify all connections to a specific device.

Unlike real-world networks, Designer will alert the user to any virtual cables that are not properly connected, DoubleWide says.

DoubleWide lists the following key Designer features:

• Drag-and-drop interface using graphical representations of built-in devices
• Create/modify/remove connections between virtual devices and connections with physical networks outside the DoubleWide Studio environment
• Command line interface support
• Displays real and virtual connections
• Rich set of built-in devices
  • Host Computer
  • Real Port (access to physical networks)
  • Router
  • Switch
  • Web Server
    
  • FTP Server
  • Bridge Gremlin (simulates connectivity conditions)
• Design a variety of network topologies using Visio-based technology

Designer is included at no additional charge for Studio ESV subscriptions on the Windows platform.

MontaVista partnership

DoubleWide also announced a strategic partnership with MontaVista Software to promote both companies' embedded development solutions. DoubleWide Software will demonstrate the benefits of its ESV solution for MontaVista developers in MontaVista's booth at ESC.

MontaVista added support for Windows development hosts to its Linux Professional 3.1 OS and development environment in November, 2003.

MontaVista Marketing VP Sheila Baker said, “Using the virtualization technology in DoubleWide Studio with the MontaVista Linux platform [means] developers no longer need to wait for access to target hardware to develop and debug most of their software infrastructure.”

 
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