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Aonix’s Java™ Multiprocessor VM runs atop Concurrent RTOS
Boston, MA, October 28, 2008—Aonix®, the provider of the PERC product line for embedded and real-time Java developers, announced the release of PERC Ultra SMP with support for Concurrent’s RedHawk™ real-time Linux® and associated NightStar™ advanced Linux debugging and analysis tools. PERC Ultra, Aonix’s flagship product, targets the same time-critical applications such as simulation and training, data acquisition, imaging, and process control that RedHawk currently serves.
PERC Ultra SMP, a variant of the Aonix family of deterministic and hard real-time virtual machines and Java development tools, provides new ability to execute real-time applications effectively in multi-processor and multi-core systems. The promise of faster execution enabled by multi-core systems is realized by the combination of RedHawk Linux and Ultra SMP where support for the latest Intel® and AMD™ quad-core processors and chipsets provides for more computing power in smaller, more cost-effective, energy-efficient packages than previously possible.
Aonix and Concurrent have collaborated to bring this joint solution to market in response to requirements of a leading contractor in the military sector. Ultimately the combined solution will be used in mission planning and weapon systems aboard U.S. Navy warships. Earlier versions of PERC Ultra for single processors running on RedHawk Linux were previously deployed as part of the Aegis Weapon System Open Architecture Program. It was selected to enhance the capabilities and service life of the U.S. Navy’s premier surface combat system while reducing costs. Projects like these benefit from the ability to address multi-core hardware platforms that provide faster, more efficient execution of real-time applications.
“We are very pleased that Aonix has selected Concurrent’s RedHawk to be the first Linux RTOS running PERC Ultra SMP,” said Dan Mondor, president and CEO of Concurrent. “PERC Ultra has successfully addressed the Java requirements of our most important customers. We look forward to working with Aonix to extend this capability to our customers realizing the performance benefits of multi-core systems.”
Ultra SMP sets the CPU affinity for each Java thread to an assigned CPU or core in the RedHawk Linux system. This provides precise control over which Java threads are running and where they run in the PERC Ultra SMP virtual machine, regardless of any scheduling activities associated with Linux itself. Only the threads that the PERC Ultra SMP VM activates can be run on the Linux kernel, allowing the PERC VM to maintain strict real-time prioritization and priority inheritance within Java applications.
As with PERC Ultra, the SMP version allows higher priority Java threads to immediately interrupt garbage collection to respond to time-critical events and subsequently resume garbage collection and lower priority Java tasks when those higher priority tasks are complete. Deployed as a highly parallel process, the garbage collector within PERC uses idle processors for garbage collection, working in tandem so that one processor can scan stack memory in search of pointers to live objects while another processor relocates previously identified live objects.
The PERC Ultra SMP Virtual Machine provides hooks into Concurrent’s NightStar tools to allow user visibility into the execution of individual Java threads, just as it can for native threads running on RedHawk Linux. Java and native threads are displayed together in a synchronized view of all system activity, including system calls, interrupts, and exceptions, along with user-defined event logging. Users can monitor CPU usage, memory use, and detailed process and thread information to analyze the efficiency of their multi-threaded applications and identify ways to improve performance.
“It’s great to be able to offer the first real-time multi-core Java applications that are fully supported by a complete solution on Linux targets,” noted Gary Cato, Aonix director of marketing. “As customers continue to implement real-time Linux systems, their requirements continue to become more sophisticated and stringent and their demand for faster execution and deterministic Java behavior increases. This joint Aonix-Concurrent solution ensures that we can meet those needs.”
About the PERC Family
PERC Ultra is a virtual machine and toolset expressly created for demanding embedded and real-time systems requiring J2SE™ support. PERC Ultra delivers the ease and efficiency of Java™ Standard Edition support without sacrificing integrity, performance, or real-time behavior. The currently available version, PERC Ultra 5.1 offers Ahead-of-Time (AOT) and Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation, remote debug support, deterministic garbage collection, standard graphics and extended commercial RTOS support.
PERC Pico, the first development environment geared toward the creation of resource constrained and deeply embedded hard real-time applications and components, is based on the emerging Java Specification Request (JSR-302) for development of hard real-time safety-critical code. PERC Pico allows Java developers to write low-level Java code such as device drivers and interrupt handlers, telecommunications control plane, and signal processing for multimedia. It offers a memory footprint measured in hundreds of kilobytes in comparison to the tens of megabytes required for other Java solutions as well as boasting performance, latency, and determinism comparable to C.
Shipping and Availability
PERC Ultra SMP is immediately available for early adopter delivery with general product release expected in December 2008. This release of PERC Ultra SMP is initially available for RedHawk Linux from Concurrent, targeting multi-core x86 architectures. PERC development tools are available at no charge in combination with a maintenance contract. Target execution and deployment license pricing starts at $25K based on projected volume.
About Concurrent
Concurrent (Nasdaq: CCUR) is a leading provider of real-time Linux-based computing technologies for commercial and government markets. Industries served include cable and telecommunications providers, defense and aerospace contractors, automotive manufacturers and financial institutions. For over 40 years, Concurrent’s best-of-breed products have enabled a range of time-critical solutions including: modeling and simulation, high speed data acquisition, visual imaging, low latency transaction processing and on-demand television. Concurrent’s on-demand products are utilized by major service providers in the cable and IPTV industries to deliver, monitor and measure video-on-demand (VOD) and other interactive television applications, and support over 32 million digital subscribers worldwide. Concurrent is a global company with regional offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, and has products actively deployed in more than 26 countries. Concurrent’s products and services are recognized for being uniquely flexible, comprehensive, robust and reliable. For more information, please visit www.ccur.com.
About Aonix®
Aonix offers mission- and safety-critical solutions primarily to the military and aerospace, telecommunications and transportation industries. Aonix delivers the leading highly reliable, real-time embedded virtual machine solution for running Java™ programs deployed today and has the largest number of certified Ada applications at the highest level of criticality. Headquartered in San Diego, CA and Paris, France, Aonix operates sales offices throughout North America and Europe in addition to offering a network of international distributors. For more information, visit www.aonix.com.
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Aonix and PERC are registered trademarks and trademarks of Aonix. Java™ and all Java-based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Graphic downloadable from:
www.hughescom.net/pressroom/aonix.html
Photo Caption:
PERC Ultra SMP works together with target OS vendor tools, such as NightTrace from Concurrent, to enable graphical analysis of thread activities across multiple cores or processors.