New version introduces full virtualization of guest operating systems for ultimate flexibility and code reuse
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS CONFERENCE 2009 SAN JOSÉ, Calif., March 31, 2009—Highlighting its continued leadership in aerospace and defense software, LynuxWorks™, Inc., a world leader in the embedded software market, today announced LynxSecure 3.0, the latest version of its next-generation separation kernel and embedded hypervisor designed for high-assurance systems. LynxSecure 3.0 offers the ability to run fully virtualized guest operating systems simultaneously on the same hardware as para-virtualized and real-time operating systems, with each running in their own secure partition.
Building on the success of LynxSecure 2.0, which is being used to develop applications in major military programs, LynxSecure adds the key component of full virtualization in its embedded hypervisor technology. Full virtualization means that guest operating systems can run unmodified on top of LynxSecure, allowing developers to build or port applications to run on a guest operating system where the sources are not available, or where it is impractical to modify the guest OS.
LynxSecure 3.0 virtualizes the underlying hardware to enable multiple, heterogeneous operating systems (OS) to coexist on the same platform, including the mix of traditional desktop OSes like fully virtualized Windows® and para-virtualized Linux®, with hard real-time OSes like the LynxOS® RTOS family.
LynxSecure will also take advantage of hardware virtualization technologies, for example VT-x and VT-d found on many of the latest Intel® processor platforms, to help accelerate performance of fully virtualized and para-virtualized guest operating systems. This flexible approach allows for the consolidation of traditional discreet systems, both hardware and software onto modern multicore devices running multiple guest operating systems.
“LynxSecure 3.0 is another huge leap in embedded virtualization and hypervisor technology,” said Gurjot Singh, CEO, LynuxWorks. “It will enable our customers to rapidly port existing applications and operating systems onto new hardware, dramatically enabling software reuse and helping to bring their products to market faster and cheaper.”
Other key features in LynxSecure 3.0 include:
- Addition of para-virtualized 64-bit Linux as a guest OS
- Security enhancements for supporting audit and built-in tests
- Flexible scheduling
- Enhanced bootloader
“LynxSecure is a Type-1 hypervisor, running directly on system hardware and providing platform virtualization to the guest OS. This architecture provides near-native performance for the guest OS and superior security, since LynxSecure has complete control of the hardware” says Arun Subbarao, vice president of engineering at LynuxWorks. “The addition of full virtualization to LynxSecure now offers the ability to run unmodified guest operating systems like Windows at a much higher performance than the traditional emulation layer approach provided by other solutions.”
LynxSecure can run on any 32-bit or 64-bit processor with a memory management unit (MMU) and provides 100% application binary compatibility between a standalone OS and its virtualized version. Like all LynuxWorks products, LynxSecure is based on open standards, but it also offers the highest real-time, safety and security capabilities, conforming to the MILS standard and certifiable to DO-178B/C level A.
About LynuxWorks
LynuxWorks, a world leader in the embedded software market, is committed to providing open and reliable real-time operating systems (RTOS) and software tools to embedded developers. The company’s LynxOS family of operating systems offers open standards with the highest level of safety and security features, enabling many mission-critical systems in defense, avionics and other industries. Additionally, LynuxWorks’ BlueCat Linux provides the features and support of embedded Linux for companies wanting to use open source technology for their embedded applications. The Eclipse-based Luminosity IDE gives a powerful and consistent development system across all LynuxWorks operating systems. Since it was established in 1988, LynuxWorks has created technology that has been successfully deployed in thousands of designs and millions of products made by leading communications, avionics, aerospace/defense, and consumer electronics companies. LynuxWorks’ headquarters are located in San José, CA.
LynuxWorks is a trademark and LynxOS and BlueCat are registered trademarks of LynuxWorks, Inc. Other brand or product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective holders. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.