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What challenges do embedded systems developers encounter?

Developers face challenges that are unique to the embedded market or Linux specific, including wasting valuable time getting hardware up and running, vendor-lock in, managing the constantly changing open source landscape, and finding the right information to get the job done.

• Wasted time - Systems developers waste time getting up and running, including experimenting with alternative solutions, integrating open source software, enabling hardware, booting up systems and enabling features.
• One way path: No turning back - Developers find themselves constrained, locked into early software choices, unable to fully leverage the power of the open source community, and without the right tools to customize the software to their specific application requirements.
• Overwhelming amount of data - Embedded Linux development is information intensive and finding assistance from documents, the Internet, or software experts who can help answer specific hardware and software questions is a challenge.

What are MontaVista Linux 6 key benefits?

MontaVista Linux 6 has four key benefits that help address the above three key challenges of embedded Linux development for systems engineers:

• Faster Time-To-Development - MontaVista Linux 6 provides a complete embedded Linux distribution and software development kit (SDK) so systems developers can be up and running sooner and focus on product-differentiating features. Using the MontaVista Integration Platform, built on the de-facto standard open source build system, developers can leverage their existing work and move to MontaVista Linux 6 with the assurance of feature compatibility with a clear migration path. MontaVista Linux 6 makes it easy to relocate and maintain local build environments in order to get teams developing sooner, leveraging open source software, while insulating projects from community changes.
• Increased Flexibility in Integration and Customization - With MontaVista Linux 6 systems developers can fetch and integrate code from other team members, internal company teams and even outside vendors including ISVs and contractors. This unprecedented flexibility in a commercial solution enables developers to more easily customize their software stacks including the kernel, device drivers, libraries and applications. Systems developers can consistently build all target software from source – with just one command – and reproduce multiple build configurations. Finally, optional pre-set features help optimize projects by minimizing file-system footprints in resource-constrained devices.
• Expert Help - With MontaVista Linux 6, systems developers get support from the leader in embedded Linux commercialization and top experts in their field. While working with MontaVista, developers are sure not to be alone, but backed by over 10 years of experience. Get help from these experts via email and Web support and enjoy quick access to all software, updates, maintenance, and training required to assist delivering projects on time.
• Complete Developer Toolkit - Using either command line or the included Eclipse-based MontaVista DevRocket, developers get a completely integrated set of tools including C/C++ compilers, run-time libraries, and a source- and assembly-level debugger, all optimized for specific hardware. Commonly executed commands can be automated in order to speed up development and reduce error-prone tasks. MontaVista Linux 6 takes you beyond the typical edit-compile-debug cycle and provides a full set of performance monitoring tools for profiling, memory leak detection, memory usage analysis and system and application level tracing.

How does MontaVista Linux 6 differ from other offerings in the market?

Other competitors create board support packages ( BSP) which introduce the minimal set of changes necessary to run their horizontal products on a new hardware platform. Developers quickly find themselves on an island isolated from their semiconductor partner's valuable Linux technology and the open source community at large.

Only MontaVista engineers its product to be feature compatible with the respective semiconductor partner Linux distributions. With this new Market Specific Distribution (MSD) approach, developers can take a step forward to MontaVista's embedded Linux commercialization benefits rather than a step off a cliff.

Only MontaVista has the technology to build MSDs with this degree of market specific customization. MontaVista then empowers customers, via our Integration Platform, to use MSDs and introduce their own customizations that sculpt their finished product.

Do I have to start my project with MVL6, or can I use my semiconductor Linux?

When starting out with a new project, embedded Linux developers have the choice between open source, their semiconductor partner’s Linux technology, or a commercial distribution. Without MVL6, that decision involves making compromises that are difficult to move away from once development begins. MontaVista Linux 6 (MVL6) provides our customers with the flexibility to start quickly using open source, or the semi distribution, and easily move to the commercial quality of MVL6, maximizing their hardware investment, and taking advantage of the full power of Linux and the open source community. MVL6 helps to align the supply chain by fitting closely with the network of semi partners and our customers who are involved in the ultimate provision of product to end customers. With MVL6, developers can maintain the quality, control, and consistency they require to deliver commercial-ready devices to market faster while having the flexibility to tailor their design to their specific application requirements.

What are the feature differences between MontaVista Linux 6 and Professional Edition 5.0 or Mobilinux 5.0?

MontaVista Linux 6 is not the next version of either Pro or Mobilinux. Each MontaVista Linux 6 MSD is designed for the hardware and will be compatible with the semiconductor’s Linux technology. In addition, MontaVista adds hardware specific features, integrates and commercializes various technologies from the open source community, provides a hardening of the kernel, QA testing, and full support. MSDs allow customers to take full advantage of the available features for the specific hardware supported by the semiconductor vendor. Therefore, the difference between MontaVista Linux version 5 and 6 products will depend on each MSD.

Please contact a MontaVista sales representative at sales@mvista.com or 408-572-8000 for the details on what is included in each MSD, compared to the semi distribution.

How do Android and LiMo relate to MontaVista Linux 6?

MontaVista supports hardware based on customer demand. With its new product approach, MontaVista creates MSDs for specific hardware that can easily provide the Linux OS in environments like Android and LiMo that customers build their devices in. These MSDs are feature comparable and include a fully tested environment.

How does Moblin relate to MontaVista Linux 6?

Recently, MontaVista announced its support of the Intel Atom platform and Moblin. MontaVista Linux supports the full feature set of the Intel® Atom processor, and combined with Moblin it is ideally suited for any embedded application demanding connectivity, or multimedia and graphics intensive application support, in a low-power envelope.

Market Specific Distributions