MontaVista Unveils CGX 5.0 – An AI-Ready Embedded Linux Platform Secured by Design

 

With a focus on platform security, MontaVista is launching the next generation of CGX 5.0, their award-winning Carrier Grade eXpress Linux. Based on Linux kernel 6.6, Yocto 5.0, CGX 5.0 is the first release of CGX combining secure-by-design principles with extensive AI capabilities.

 

San Jose, CA, 09 Apr 2024 –– MontaVista® Software, LLC, a pioneering force in commercial Embedded Linux® solutions, proudly announces the release of CGX 5.0. This landmark 15th generation of the Carrier-Grade Linux product line introduces a suite of advanced security features and updates, emphasizing MontaVista’s commitment to secure, reliable, and innovative embedded systems development.

Crafted on the robust foundation of the Yocto Project 5.0 LTS release and the Linux kernel 6.6 LTS, CGX 5.0 offers a commercially supported Linux distribution designed for a wide range of embedded applications across industries, while keeping to the name Carrier Grade with its long legacy. With over a decade of security maintenance and support operations, MontaVista continues to lead the industry in providing reliable long-term value to its customers.

Enhanced Security and Compliance Features:

  • Secure by Design: CGX 5.0 enhances MontaVista’s security-first approach, delivering an out-of-the-box secure configuration as standard. This initiative ensures that every CGX-enabled board support package (BSP) is hardened against vulnerabilities from the start.
  • Comprehensive CVE and SBOM Management: The release expands on MontaVista’s robust CVE management and introduces standard Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) generation. This crucial feature aids in transparently managing component trustworthiness and compliance, aligning with industry best practices for supply chain security.
  • Security Consulting and Certification Support: MontaVista’s MVSecure service has been further developed to assist customers in achieving compliance with the latest cybersecurity certifications and standards, including the EU Cyber Resilience Act, the US Executive Order on Cybersecurity, Cyber Trust Mark, and more. This streamlined service facilitates secure boot, SELinux configurations, and comprehensive Linux integrity management.

AI-Readiness for Next-Generation Embedded Systems:

CGX 5.0 is engineered to support the ever-growing demand for AI and Machine Learning in embedded systems. By including optimized support for GPUs and TPUs, CGX 5.0 enables AI-readiness across a wide range of embedded platforms. This allows developers to seamlessly integrate advanced AI capabilities into their solutions, from intelligent edge computing devices to complex industrial systems, ensuring efficient and powerful processing for AI algorithms.

Key Features and Benefits of CGX 5.0:

  • Broad Architecture and Vendor Support: CGX 5.0 continues to support key BSPs from leading semiconductor vendors across architectures including x86-64, ARMv7, ARMv8, PowerPC, and RISC-V, facilitating wide-ranging applicability across multiple industries involved in embedded systems development.
  • Enhanced System Lifecycle Management: With improved OTA update capabilities and a continuous stream of CVE patches delivered seamlessly to the CGX SDK build system, CGX 5.0 simplifies the maintenance and security of deployed systems over their entire lifecycle.
  • OpenCGX Ecosystem Expansion: The OpenCGX ecosystem grants developers access to trial BSPs and free evaluation of CGX, fostering innovation and collaboration within the embedded community.
  • Embedded Core with Hard Real Time and GNU GPL handling: As always, CGX 5.0 includes the core embedded features set honed over 20+ years with our customers facilitating building world-leading embedded products. This includes, among other things, support for hard real-time latency response times and helping customers manage their GPL compliance with configuration options to prune out unwanted open-source licenses such as GPLv3.

Setting a New Benchmark for Secure Embedded Linux Solutions

“As we introduce CGX 5.0 to the market, our focus remains firmly on delivering secure and reliable solutions to the embedded systems ecosystem,” stated Iisko Lappalainen, VP of Product Management at MontaVista. “CGX 5.0’s advanced security features, hardened embedded core feature set and AI-readiness demonstrate our unwavering commitment to addressing the complex needs of our customers. We invite developers and companies to explore how CGX 5.0 can transform their embedded projects, ensuring they are secure, compliant, and future proof.”

CGX 5.0 is available for immediate early access, with general availability projected for Q4.

Interested parties are encouraged to contact MontaVista at sales@mvista.com or visit www.mvista.com for more information on how CGX 5.0 can accelerate their embedded projects.