Getting embedded with a penguin
 
|
|||
 | |||
|
Sign up to receive this and other networking newsletters in your inbox.
Linux may be red-hot as a server operating system, but it's also creating some heat in the embedded operating system market.
Developers have been putting Linux on small devices and cramming the operating system into a space the size of a SIMM for some time, but embedded versions of the operating system are on the verge of coming to mainstream devices, such as slimmed-down Internet clients, handheld devices and network appliances.
One of the major markets for embedded Linux systems lies in e-business and enterprise networks. Last fall, Red Hat bought Cygnus Solutions, which develops embedded Linux tools and embedded operating systems, creating the biggest open-source company in the world. The merger brought together the Red Hat development team's expertise in the operating system (they are the leading Linux distribution company) and the unique gadget-related technology of Cygnus, such as its embedded configurable operating system (eCos), embedded Linux tools and application programming interfaces.
Last month, Red Hat began offering eCos as its own product, coinciding with the release of Red Hat Linux 6.2. Red Hat is banking on Linux to emerge as the standard technology in enterprise handheld and server connectivity. The leaders in server and handheld operating system development are currently Microsoft and Palm Computing, but Red Hat proclaims that having the same core operating system running on the front and back ends of these post-PC, wireless handheld network environments will lead to better performance and scalability. With Linux running on the client and the server, business applications will come to market more quickly as software can be written once for server applications, then only slightly modified for compatibility for the wireless handheld client, Red Hat says.
Lineo, of Lindon, Utah, has also made strides in embedded Linux technology development recently. Lineo currently offers its own embedded Linux distribution, Embedex, in addition to the Embedex Browser - an embedded, graphical user interface-based microbrowser - and a software development kit. The Embedex operating system, browser and development kit are aimed at the handheld and information appliance markets. Lineo is currently compatible with X86 and PowerPC processors and runs on less than 4M bytes of RAM and 2M bytes of read-only memory or flash memory. The company last week announced a new development partnership with MIPS Technologies, so look for embedded Linux running on the MIPS architecture in the near future.
Also on the embedded bandwagon is Pennsylvania company Neoware Systems, which just announced its NeoLinux embedded Linux distribution based on Red Hat's Linux distribution. The company is offering NeoLinux for small handheld devices but is focusing more on "information appliances" - that is, network devices dedicated to a single task such as firewalls, routers and security devices. To complement its own Linux distribution, Neoware has also released its own hardware to run NeoLinux - the Eon Anything Box - which lets users configure the hardware to act as a variety of network devices.
With all these various flavors of embedded Linux sprouting up, embedded system and network device companies recently formed an industry board to help the technology's development. Created in March, the Embedded Linux Consortium (ELC) comprises over two dozen companies that specialize in embedded system hardware, software and Linux, including Red Hat, Motorola and IBM. The goal of the group is to spur "the advancement of Linux-based solutions in embedded applications," the ELC says.
As information appliances, thin servers and handheld devices become more prevalent in the enterprise, it appears that Linux will be a big part of the post-PC networking era. As a result, network managers will need to become more familiar with what makes these embedded devices tick and with trends in the embedded Linux industry.
RELATED LINKS
Phil Hochmuth is a Network World Senior Writer and a former systems integrator. You can reach him at phochmut@nww.com.
Linux in the Enterprise archive
Past newsletters.
Learn more about embedded Linux in general at the official embedded Linux portal
