Concurrent Releases Real-Time Linux Distribution

By Tom Smith, INW
iApplianceWeb
(09/30/02, 11:08:48 PM EDT)

The Real-Time Division of Concurrent Computer Corp. has released RedHawk Linux version 1.1, which it is shipping along with its iHawk Intel-based multiprocessor computer systems.

The Concurrent Linux distribution is based on the widely used Red Hat Linux implementation built specifically for real-time applications such as simulation, data acquisition, and industrial system control apps. The Concurrent hardware on which it runs has from one to eight Pentium Xeon CPUs with up to 16 Gbytes of memory. In multiprocessor configurations, CPUs are linked by a high-speed processor bus and have direct access to main system memory.

While RedHawk replaces the Red Hat kernel with a multithreaded kernel of its design, it retains Red Hat user-level commands, utilities, and system administration functions. RedHawk's Linux kernel allows multiple processes to execute simultaneously in the kernel, while data structure and critical sections of code are locked for system integrity. Processes executing in the kernel can be preempted by others, while the kernel can transfer control based on a process's priority.

In addition to supporting several open-source development tools and environments, RedHawk also supports Concurrent's own tools for development of real-time applications.