Express Logic Introduces Embedded Memory Protection Support for ThreadX Real-Time Operating System.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers electronicaUSA 2004 Booth #1525 SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2004 Low overhead, security, and reliability now available for deeply embedded applications Express Logic, Inc., the worldwide leader in royalty-free real-time operating systems (operating system) Real-Time Operating System - (RTOS) Any operating system where interrupts are guaranteed to be handled within a certain specified maximum time, thereby making it suitable for control of hardware in embedded systems and other time-critical applications. (RTOS (1) (RealTime Operating System) An operating system designed for use in a real time computer system. See real time system, embedded system, process control and OS-9. ) with over 100 million deployments, today announced the introduction of Embedded Memory Protection(TM) (EMP EMP abbr. electromagnetic pulse ) support for embedded applications using its flagship ThreadX(R) RTOS. Now, for the first time, developers can benefit from the memory protection capabilities of the MMU (Memory Management Unit) The part of the computer that governs memory access. Either part of the CPU chip or housed on separate chips, the MMU controls memory partitions and virtual memory. See memory and virtual memory. MMU - Memory Management Unit built into many embedded processors without the overhead and complexity of desktop-style implementations. The Benefits EMP enables developers to set up "watertight compartments" around threads, preventing bugs in those threads from damaging other threads or the ThreadX kernel. During development, this compartmentalization can help identify bugs that otherwise might go undetected until a problem appeared in some other thread. Such bugs are among the most difficult to identify, but EMP automatically traps them and informs the developer immediately. In production, EMP can help contain the damage done by bugs that escaped testing prior to shipment, and enable a fail-soft mode to be entered, keeping the product "afloat" with reduced functionality until repairs can be made. How It Differs Unlike other memory protection approaches that involve virtual memory and a process model, Express Logic's EMP features a simplified design, low overhead and ease of use. EMP is an optional capability of the ThreadX RTOS that can easily be activated or deactivated for full development flexibility. Existing ThreadX applications can continue to operate without EMP, which is fully compatible with previous releases. For more details on how EMP differs from traditional virtual memory approaches, see the attached EMP Backgrounder. A Peek Under The Hood under the hood - [hot-rodder talk] 1. The underlying implementation of a product (hardware, software, or idea). Implies that the implementation is not intuitively obvious from the appearance, but the speaker is about to enable the listener to grok it. Express Logic's EMP is implemented as a set of simple function calls for ThreadX, extending the ThreadX API, while retaining compatibility with existing code. EMP maps all program memory ("logical memory") directly, page-by-page, to physical memory. Thus, a unified single address space is retained and consistent for all threads. EMP enables a thread to set boundaries around regions of its memory and to permit only specified access (READ_ONLY, READ_WRITE, NO_ACCESS) to those regions. This feature prevents bugs in the thread from causing unintended code or data access, which could overwrite (1) A data entry mode that writes over existing characters on screen when new characters are typed in. Contrast with insert mode. (2) To record new data on top of existing data such as when a disk record or file is updated. the code or data of other threads or the kernel. While it is extremely small and efficient, EMP may be turned on or off easily, enabling it to be configured by the developer for maximum utility during development and then turned off for production shipments, yielding the smallest, fastest software possible for deployment, and avoiding any increase in memory size, cost, and power consumption. About ThreadX Express Logic's ThreadX real-time operating system is a small, fast, royalty-free RTOS designed for embedded applications that demand small memory footprint Memory footprint refers to the amount of main memory that a program uses or references while running. This includes all sorts of active memory regions like code, static data sections (both initialized and uninitialized), heap, as well as all the stacks, plus memory required to hold , high efficiency, and low cost. ThreadX boasts extremely small memory requirements as well as very high performance. ThreadX also provides many advanced features, including a picokernel(TM) architecture, preemption-threshold(TM), optimized software timers, and priority inheritance (parallel) priority inheritance - A technique for avoiding priority inversion by temporarily raising the prioriry of all processes that want to access a shared resource to the highest priority level of any of them. . ThreadX has been deployed in over 100 million electronic products since 2001, making it one of the most widely deployed RTOSs in the world. About Express Logic Headquartered in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , CA, Express Logic offers the most advanced run-time solution for deeply embedded applications, including the popular ThreadX RTOS, the high-performance TCP/IP stack An implementation of the TCP/IP communications protocol. Network architectures designed in layers, such as TCP/IP, OSI and SNA, are called "stacks." See TCP/IP, OSI model and protocol stack. NetX(TM), and the embedded MS-DOS MS-DOS in full Microsoft Disk Operating System Operating system for personal computers. MS-DOS was based on DOS, developed in 1980 by Seattle Computer Products. Microsoft Corp. bought the rights to DOS in 1981, and released MS-DOS with IBM's PC that year. file system FileX(TM). All products from Express Logic include full source-code and have no run-time royalties. For more information about Express Logic solutions, please visit www.expresslogic.com, call 1-888-THREADX, or email inquires to sales@expresslogic.com. |
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