ITRON-MP: an adaptive real-time kernel specification for shared-memory multiprocessor systems

A real-time kernel specification named ITRON-MP (industrial-oriented TRON for multiprocessor systems), which defines a standard kernel interface adaptable to various shared-memory multiprocessor architectures, is presented. ITRON-MP is an extension of ITRON, which is a specification of real-time kernels for embedded systems. The ITRON-MP specification is an open architecture, in that anyone can freely implement a kernel based on the specification. A universal implementation of ITRON-MP generates an adapted kernel code for each architecture. This approach presents a standard operating system interface for the development of various real-time systems and improves the efficiency of system development. Moreover, because the executed kernel code is tuned to each architecture, the runtime performance is not degraded by the standardization. The design principles and main features of ITRON-MP are described.<<ETX>>