Lynx Software Technologies

Last updated
Lynx Software Technologies, Inc
Type Private
Industry Embedded software
Founded1988
Headquarters San Jose, California
Key people
Tim Reed, CEO,
Amanda Blum, CFO,
Alan Maillet, CRO,
Will Keegan, CTO
Gurjot Singh, Chairman
ProductsOperating Systems, Separation Kernel (Hypervisor), Tools
Website www.lynx.com

Lynx Software Technologies, Inc. (formerly LynuxWorks) [1] is a San Jose, California software company founded in 1988. [2] Lynx specializes in secure virtualization and open, reliable, certifiable real-time operating systems (RTOSes). Originally known as Lynx Real-Time Systems, the company changed its name to LynuxWorks in 2000 after acquiring, and merging with, ISDCorp (Integrated Software & Devices Corporation), an embedded systems company with a strong Linux background. In May 2014, the company changed its name to Lynx Software Technologies.

Contents

Over 30 years of processor evolution, Lynx has crafted and adapted platform architectures for builders of safety- and security-critical software systems. Lynx embraced open standards from its inception, with its original RTOS, LynxOS, featuring a UNIX-like user model and standard POSIX interfaces to embedded developers. LynxOS-178 is developed and certified to the FAA DO-178C DAL A safety standard and received the first and only FAA Reusable Software Component certificate for an RTOS. It supports ARINC API and FACE standards.

Lynx has created technology that has been deployed in thousands of designs and millions of products made by leading communications, industrial, transportation, avionics, aerospace/defense and consumer electronics companies. In 1989, LynxOS, the company's flagship RTOS, was selected for use in the NASA/IBM Space Station Freedom project. [3] Lynx Software Technologies operating systems are also used in medical, industrial and communications systems around the world. [4]

In early 2020, Lynx announced that the TR3 modernization program for the joint strike fighter had adopted Lynx’s LYNX MOSA.ic software development framework. The F-35 Lightning II Program (also known as the Joint Strike Fighter Program) is the US Department of Defense's focal point for defining affordable next generation strike aircraft weapon systems It is intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and their allies. After a competition between the Boeing X-32 and the Lockheed Martin X-35, a final design was chosen based on the X-35. This is the F-35 Lightning II, which will replace various tactical aircraft.

The company’s technology is also used in medical, industrial and communications systems around the world by companies like Airbus, Bosch, Denso, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Rohde and Schwartz and Toyota. [2]

Operating system evolution and history

LynxOS is the company's real-time operating system. It is UNIX-compatible and POSIX-compliant. It features predictable worst-case response time, preemptive scheduling, real-time priorities, ROMable kernel, and memory locking. LynxOS 7.0 is marketed as a "military grade", general purpose multi-core hard real-time operating system, and is intended for developers to embed security features during the design process, rather than adding security features after development. LynxOS and LynxOS-178 have been deployed in millions of safety-critical applications worldwide, including multiple military and aerospace systems.

In 2003, the company introduced the LynxOS-178 real-time operating system, a specialized version of LynxOS geared toward avionics applications that require certification to industry standards such as DO-178B. LynxOS-178 is a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) RTOS that fully satisfies the objectives of the DO-178B level A specification and meets requirements for Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) developers. LynxOS-178 is a native POSIX, hard real-time partitioning operating system developed and certified to FAA DO-178B/C DAL A safety standards. It is the only Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) OS to be awarded a Reusable Software Component (RSC) certificate from the FAA for re-usability in DO-178B/C certification projects. LynxOS-178 is the primary host for real-time POSIX and FACE applications within the LYNX MOSA.ic development and integration framework. LynxOS-178 satisfies the PSE 53/54 profiles for both dedicated and multi-purpose real-time as well as FACE applications.

The LynxSecure Hypervisor ("bare metal," type 1) and separation kernel was released in 2005. Within the LYNX MOSA.ic development framework, it acts as a programmable processor partitioning system leveraging hardware virtualization capabilities of modern multi-core processors to isolate computing resources.

In February 2019, Lynx announced LYNX MOSA.ic (pronounced “mosaic”). LYNX MOSA.ic is a software development framework for rapidly building security- and safety-critical software systems out of independent application modules. Designed to deliver on the vision of the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), its focus is to enable developers to collapse existing development cycles to create, certify, and deploy robust, secure platforms for manned and unmanned autonomous systems.

Lynx Software Technologies' patents on LynxOS technology include patent #5,469,571, "Operating System Architecture using Multiple Priority Light Weight kernel Task-based Interrupt Handling," November 21, 1995, and patent #5,594,903, "Operating System architecture with reserved memory space resident program code identified in file system name space," January 14, 1997. [5]

LYNX MOSA.ic

A modular software development framework, the framework allows developers to design and integrate multi-core safety and security systems for industries such as the avionics, industrial, automotive, and UAV/satellite industries. [6]

Features

There are three LYNX MOSA.ic bundles used for building secure applications. [7] These bundles include: LYNX MOSA.ic for Avionics, [8] [9] [10] LYNX MOSA.ic for Industrial, [11] [12] [13] and LYNX MOSA.ic for UAVs/Satellites. [14] These bundles are referred to as the "Mission Critical Edge," as they focus on security. [7] There are differences between these bundles' features, such as LYNX MOSAI.ic for Industrial's support for Azure IoT Edge and Windows 10 and LYNX MOSA.ic for Avionics' support for Arm and x86 processor architectures. [15]

LYNX MOSA.ic is built on Lynx Software Technologies' LynxSecure separation kernel hypervisor, which helps isolate applications and manage critical system assets. [16] LYNX MOSA.ic supports LynxOS-178, Linux, Windows, and third-party OS systems. [17] LYNX MOSA.ic also has support for bare metal applications such as Lynx Simple Applications (LSA). [18]

LYNX MOSA.ic's use of multi-core processors supports hardware virtualization. [19] LYNX MOSA.ic's modular structure allows users to isolate computing resources into self-managed independent environments. TRACE32 provides JTAG debug support for the independent applications stored in LYNX MOSA.ic's modules. [19]

History

LYNX MOSA.ic was first announced by Lynx Software Technologies in 2019. [20] [21] The framework was developed for integration with the U.S. Department of Defense's MOSA (Modular Open Systems Approach). [10]

Starting in 2020, LYNX MOSA.ic is being utilized by the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program Office to support the development of upgraded mission system avionics for F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. [22]

In August 2021, Lynx Software Technologies and Advantech announced a collaboration to offer Mission Critical Edge Starter Kits for IT/OT convergence through Lynx LYNX MOSA.ic for Industrial. [11] Lynx also partnered with CODESYS Group to integrate their control automation technology into the LYNX MOSA.ic for Industrial product in August 2021. In July 2021, Lynx also partnered with Collins Aerospace, providing LYNX MOSA.ic for Avionics as the foundation for Collins Aerospace's Perigon flight computer. [23] [24] Lynx Software Technologies released LYNX MOSA.ic for Industrial on the Microsoft Azure marketplace in 2021. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QNX</span> Real-time operating system (RTOS) software

QNX is a commercial Unix-like real-time operating system, aimed primarily at the embedded systems market.

pSOS is a real-time operating system (RTOS), created in about 1982 by Alfred Chao, and developed and marketed for the first part of its life by his company Software Components Group (SCG). In the 1980s, pSOS rapidly became the RTOS of choice for all embedded systems based on the Motorola 68000 series family architecture, because it was written in 68000 assembly language and was highly optimised from the start. It was also modularised, with early support for OS-aware debugging, plug-in device drivers, Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) stacks, language libraries, and disk subsystems. Later came source code level debugging, multiprocessing support, and further computer networking extensions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VxWorks</span> Real-time operating system

VxWorks is a real-time operating system developed as proprietary software by Wind River Systems, a subsidiary of Aptiv. First released in 1987, VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems requiring real-time, deterministic performance and, in many cases, safety and security certification for industries such as aerospace, defense, medical devices, industrial equipment, robotics, energy, transportation, network infrastructure, automotive, and consumer electronics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MontaVista</span> Software company

MontaVista Software is a company that develops embedded Linux system software, development tools, and related software. Its products are made for other corporations developing embedded systems and end products using Linux, such as automotive electronics, telecommunications and communications equipment, mobile phones, and other electronic devices and infrastructure. MontaVista also supplies Linux-based solutions and software to products that are software-only, such as enterprise networking, virtual network functions in Network Functions Virtualization, and appliance software that is hosted on a cloud hosting environment.

The LynxOS RTOS is a Unix-like real-time operating system from Lynx Software Technologies. Sometimes known as the Lynx Operating System, LynxOS features full POSIX conformance and, more recently, Linux compatibility. LynxOS is mostly used in real-time embedded systems, in applications for avionics, aerospace, the military, industrial process control and telecommunications. As such, it is compatible with military-grade security protocol such as wolfSSL, a popular Transport Layer Security (TLS/SSL) library.

Nucleus RTOS is a real-time operating system (RTOS) produced by the Embedded Software Division of Mentor Graphics, a Siemens Business, supporting 32- and 64-bit embedded system platforms. The operating system (OS) is designed for real-time embedded systems for medical, industrial, consumer, aerospace, and Internet of things (IoT) uses. Nucleus was released first in 1993. The latest version is 3.x, and includes features such as power management, process model, 64-bit support, safety certification, and support for heterogeneous computing multi-core system on a chip (SOCs) processors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Hills Software</span> American software company

Green Hills Software is a privately owned company that builds operating systems and programming tools for embedded systems. The firm was founded in 1982 by Dan O'Dowd and Carl Rosenberg. Its headquarters are in Santa Barbara, California.

INTEGRITY and INTEGRITY-178B are real-time operating systems (RTOSes) produced and marketed by Green Hills Software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FreeRTOS</span> Real-time operating system

FreeRTOS is a real-time operating system kernel for embedded devices that has been ported to 35 microcontroller platforms. It is distributed under the MIT License.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PikeOS</span> Real-time operating system

PikeOS is a commercial hard real-time operating system (RTOS) featuring a separation kernel-based hypervisor. This hypervisor supports multiple logical partition types for various operating systems (OS) and applications, each referred to as a GuestOS. PikeOS is designed to facilitate the development of certifiable smart devices for the Internet of Things (IoT) by adhering to the high standards of quality, safety, and security across different industries. In instances where memory management units (MMU) are not present but memory protection units (MPU) are available on controller-based systems, PikeOS for MPU is designed for critical real-time applications and provides up-to-standard safety and security.

Integrated modular avionics (IMA) are real-time computer network airborne systems. This network consists of a number of computing modules capable of supporting numerous applications of differing criticality levels.

SYSGO GmbH is a German information technologies company that supplies operating systems and services for embedded systems with high safety and security-related requirements, using Linux. For security-critical applications, the company offers the Hypervisor and RTOS PikeOS, an operating system for multicore processors and the foundation for intelligent devices in the Internet of Things (IoT).

Allied Standards Avionics Architecture Council, or ASAAC, is an effort to define and validate a set of Open Architecture Standards for Avionics Architecture, particularly in the field of Integrated Modular Avionics.

LynxSecure is a least privilege real-time separation kernel hypervisor from Lynx Software Technologies designed for safety and security critical applications found in military, avionic, industrial, and automotive markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XtratuM</span> Hypervisor

XtratuM is a bare-metal hypervisor specially designed for embedded real-time systems available for the instruction sets LEON2/3/4, ARM v7 and V8 processors and RISC-V processor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TenAsys</span> American software company

TenAsys is a privately owned company providing real-time software and services based on the x86 Intel Architecture and Microsoft Windows operating system.

DDC-I, Inc. is a privately held company providing software development of real-time operating systems, software development tools, and software services for safety-critical embedded applications, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. It was first created in 1985 as the Danish firm DDC International A/S, a commercial outgrowth of Dansk Datamatik Center, a Danish software research and development organization of the 1980s. The American subsidiary was created in 1986. For many years, the firm specialized in language compilers for the programming language Ada.

DO-178C, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification is the primary document by which the certification authorities such as FAA, EASA and Transport Canada approve all commercial software-based aerospace systems. The document is published by RTCA, Incorporated, in a joint effort with EUROCAE, and replaces DO-178B. The new document is called DO-178C/ED-12C and was completed in November 2011 and approved by the RTCA in December 2011. It became available for sale and use in January 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QP (framework)</span>

QP is a family of open source real-time embedded frameworks (RTEFs) and runtime environments based on active objects (actors) and hierarchical state machines. The QP family consists of the lightweight QP/C and QP/C++ frameworks, written in C (C99) and C++ (C++11), respectively.

References

  1. ↑ "StackPath". www.militaryaerospace.com. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  2. 1 2 Staff (2012-03-12). "LynuxWorks receives second FAA RSC certificate for LynxOS-178". Electronics Weekly. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  3. ↑ "LynuxWorks CEO ascends to visionary role". LinuxDevices.com . September 25, 2006. Archived from the original on October 22, 2006. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Embedded OS: Embedded Operating Systems Applications". LynuxWorks. Archived from the original on December 19, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Assignee: Lynx Real-Time Systems, Inc". PatenStorm.us. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ "LYNX MOSA.ic bundles for the Mission Critical Edge | The Electronics Industry Awards". June 28, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Lynx moves to strengthen Mission Critical Edge Computing with LYNX MOSA.ic bundles". COTS Journal. 2020-07-21.
  8. ↑ "LYNX MOSA.ic Selected For F-35 Lightning II Mission System Avionics". RTC Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  9. ↑ "Lynx Software Framework Adopted for Gray Eagle-ER UAS". www.defenseworld.net.
  10. 1 2 Whitney, Jamie (2020-07-23). "New frontiers in real-time software". militaryaerospace.com.
  11. 1 2 "Advantech collaborates with Lynx to offer Mission Critical Edge Starter Kit for IT/OT convergence". August 25, 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Lynx Software Technologies is making its MOSA.ic for Industrial Product Available in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace". What's New in Electronics. April 21, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Lynx Software Technologies announce new partnership". www.electronicspecifier.com.
  14. ↑ "StackPath". StackPath. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  15. ↑ Dahad, Nitin (June 16, 2020). "Separation kernels and VMs enable secure mission critical edge computing".
  16. ↑ "Lynx Software and CODESYS provide a bridge between IT and OT for industrial operators". August 13, 2021.
  17. ↑ Bush, Steve (June 15, 2020). "Lynx hones secure firmware for industrial, drone and avionics markets".
  18. ↑ Wong, William (2019-04-02). "Hard Partitioning Secures Embedded Virtual Machines". electronicdesign.com.
  19. 1 2 "TRACE32 provides JTAG Debug Support for Lynx MOSA.ic". eeNews Europe. March 11, 2019.
  20. ↑ Connect, I. D. G. (August 11, 2021). "CTO Sessions: Will Keegan, Lynx Software Technologies". IDG Connect.
  21. ↑ Staff, Embedded (February 27, 2019). "Lynx Software launches MOSA.ic software development framework".
  22. ↑ "LYNX MOSA.ic Supports Gray Eagle UAS Software Modernization | Aerospace Tech Review". www.aerospacetechreview.com. 11 November 2020.
  23. ↑ "Collins Aerospace Launches Perigon Offering to Support Future Flight Computing Requirements". aviationpros.com. 2021-07-20.
  24. ↑ "Collins Aerospace Developing Generational Leap in Flight Control Processing Power for Perigon". Aviation Today. August 6, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.