EE551 Real-Time Operating Systems Selecting an RTOS Assignment 1 Discussion Course originally developed by Maj Ron Smith

13-Sep-15 Maj Alain Beaulieu EE551 Selecting an RTOS - 2 Domain Considerations  Understanding the application domain  Standards / Regulations / Limitations / Conditions  Size and power limitations of system/arch  Platform  Architecture / Devices (type and quantity)  Lines of product supported (+ than one application)  Supportability / Maintainability – Long-lived devices  IDE, Debuggers, target observability tools  Support Environments that are stable  Host OS support

13-Sep-15 Maj Alain Beaulieu EE551 Selecting an RTOS - 3 Tech Considerations in Selecting  Scheduling Scheme / Mechanisms Supported  Resource Control / Task Synchronization (IPC)  Semantics supported / Flexibility  Variable Footprint / ROMable  Portability  Target Chipset Model (MCU, DSP, DSC)  Power Management support (implanted Devices)  Deadlock Prevention, Detection, Avoidance  Memory Management – Protection / partitions

13-Sep-15 Maj Alain Beaulieu EE551 Selecting an RTOS - 4 Tech Considerations in Selecting  Timers (number)  Virtual – Clocks  Interrupt handling  User code insertion in Interrupts (including checking)  Priority Inversion Prevention  Max Number of Tasks  Availability of Adds-on  Availability of source code / Open source  Fault-Tolerance support

13-Sep-15 Maj Alain Beaulieu EE551 Selecting an RTOS - 5 Lesser Tech Considerations in Selecting  Networking (TCP/IP)  File Management  Allowing Hooks  Code instrumentation / Monitoring  Setting up or install  Source files  Automated install

13-Sep-15 Maj Alain Beaulieu EE551 Selecting an RTOS - 6 Business Aspects - ILS  Cost  Per Seat  Per Royalty of products Sold  Stability of Company / Organization  Training Provided  Documentation  Certification by Governmental body or Standards Institution of the RTOS  Support - Professional / User Groups / FAQ

13-Sep-15 Maj Alain Beaulieu EE551 Selecting an RTOS - 7 Conclusion  Selecting an RTOS is not a simple task  Vast amount of RTOS out there  Many technical factors to consider  Scheduling and IPC including priority inversion are the most difficult to balance  Application environment and life cycle of system are important considerations  Technical support, documentation and ILS  Certification could be a big plus  Development environment is a major aspect  Cost is not a one dimensional problem