You might think that few VME boards run Linux, and you’d be right. Linux is reserved mostly for x86-based server products and less frequently for the mission-critical, real-time deployed systems where VME shines brightest. But Concurrent Computer Corporation’s RedHawk Linux RTOS, coupled with the company’s iHawk VME/VXS SBC, is ideal for simulation, data acquisition, industrial, and aerospace applications.
On the hardware side, Intel-based Core processors are mounted to single-slot VME or VXS boards. The magic here isn’t the SBC but the I/O options and flexibility, including: analog and digital I/O, MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, IEEE-488, reflective memory SATA, SCSI, EIDE, graphics, GbE, and … need we go on? … USB, RS-232, and GPIO. On the software side, the RedHawk Linux RTOS is based upon Red Hat’s Linux distro and boasts a fast response to external events, optimized IPC, SMP, load balancing, and maximum determinism. Basically, all things you’d expect from a robust RTOS … with a Linux kernel at the core.
