Wind River announced a pre-validated stack built on Wind River Linux 4.2, aimed at development of home gateway systems for automation and multimedia. Wind River Platform for Gateways supports two ARM11-based processors — the Mindspeed Comcerto 1000 and the Cavium Econa CNS3xxx — and features software from DigiOn (DLNA), Makewave and ProSyst (OSGi for Java), Works Systems (remote management), and Skelmir (virtual machine technology).

Wind River Platform for Gateways will initially target the residential gateway market, says Intel subsidiary Wind River. The platform is said to be the first in a series of Wind River smart gateway solutions that will address machine-to-machine (M2M) technology applications, including medical and energy systems. Based on Wind River Linux 4.2, the platform is first being adopted by Sumitomo Electric Networks for a home gateway system for major carrier customers in Japan, says Wind River.

Residential gateways are defined by Wind River as broadband access systems that manage connected devices and services at the network edge, connecting consumers and digital home devices with Internet-based services. They enable operators and service providers to deliver services ranging from home automation to multimedia, says the company.

Wind River Platform for Gateways architecture
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Wind River Platform for Gateways is designed to relieve telecommunications operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and original design manufacturers (ODMs) from the hassles of managing multiple software vendors, says the company. Wind River says it will act as a single point of contact for ongoing support.

The platform offers pre-integrated, tested, and validated software components via an ecosystem of third-party vendors, including:

• DigiOn DLNA interoperability technology — DigiON's DiXiM stack, which includes the DiXiM Media Server (DMS), is said to enable the sharing of digital content via the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard.
• Makewave middleware for OSGi-based dynamic service for Java — The Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) framework provides a component model that delivers applications as bundles, says Wind River. These are run within a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Makewave's Knoplerfish Pro acts an OSGi R4 v4.2-compliant service platform offering service bundles for Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and mobile management.
• ProSyst SDK for OSGi — Prosyst's mBS Smart Home software development kit (SDK) supports OSGi-based home automation, providing interfaces for UPnP, Z-Wave, and ZigBee standards.
• Works Systems TR-069 remote device management — Work Systems' One Agent TR for CPE (customer premises equipment ) is built on the TR-069 specification for remote management, typically used for wired devices. The agent runs on the deployed device, and provides a management channel for a centralized management console, says Wind River.
• Skelmir virtual machine technologies — Skelmir's CEE-J VM is a small-memory-footprint, fast-performing, clean-room virtual machine with optional advanced graphics support.

Wind River Platform for Gateways is currently pre-validated on ARM11-based system on chips (SoCs). Specifically, Wind River will offer board support packages (BSPs) for Mindspeed Technologies' Comcerto 1000 SoC, as well as the Econa CNS3xxx SoC offered by Cavium Networks, the owner of Wind River rival MontaVista Software.

Comcerto 1000 block diagram
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The Comcerto 1000 — or CK1, as it's called in the architecture diagram above — is available in single or dual-core ARM11 models clocked from 450MHz to 650MHz. The Comcerto 1000, which complements the earlier, low-end Comcerto 100 processor, offers DSP extensions as well as an optional media stream processor.

Wind River Platform for Gateways specifically supports the Comcerto 1000 via a Linux-ready Comcerto M83xxx reference and evaluation board. The M83xxx board is said to be aimed at broadband home routers (BHR), SOHO and SMB-oriented security appliances, wireless enterprise access points, and VoIP products (see block diagram below).

Comcerto M83xxx reference design block diagram
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The Cavium Econa CNS3xxx, meanwhile, is available with dual ARM11 cores clocked at 300MHz to 700MHz. Announced in 2009, the SoC is equipped with ten multimedia and networking acceleration engines, and ships with a Linux SDK. The Econa is said to be aimed at home media gateways and network-attached storage (NAS) devices. In Oct. 2010, MontaVista announced an Android reference platform based on the Econa CNS3xxx designed for home gateways.

Econa CNS3xxx block diagram

Stated Paul Anderson, vice president for marketing and strategy for Linux products at Wind River, "By taking care of pre-integration, validation and optimization, Wind River Platform for Gateways dramatically reduces development costs and helps customers rapidly get to market."

Stated Minoru Kuramoto, director and senior general manager, 1st Technologies Group at Sumitomo Electric Networks, "By working with an expert like Wind River using its Wind River Platform for Gateways, we are able to unlock even greater performance capabilities and develop leading-edge features compliant to global standards while meeting our tight deadlines."

Availability

Wind River Platform for Gateways is now available to customers worldwide. More information may be found at the Wind River Platform for Gateways web page.

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