Introduction to embedded Linux

Florent Gluck - Florent.Gluck@hesge.ch

September 19, 2024

*
Merci à la société Bootlin (https://bootlin.com) d’où provient une grande partie de ces slides.

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Embedded Linux
Embedded Linux?

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Rationale

Why Linux as an embedded system?

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Aspencore 2023 Embedded Survey (1/4)

Source: Aspencore 2023 Embedded Survey

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Aspencore 2023 Embedded Survey (2/4)

Source: Aspencore 2023 Embedded Survey

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Aspencore 2023 Embedded Survey (3/4)

Source: Aspencore 2023 Embedded Survey

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Aspencore 2023 Embedded Survey (4/4)

Source: Aspencore 2023 Embedded Survey

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Supercomputers Linux market shares

Source: https://www.top500.org/

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Servers operating system shares 2023

Source: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com

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Automotive global operating system shares

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Motivation

• Low cost.
• Open-source ecosystem provides many components for standard
features: hardware support, network protocols, multimedia, graphic,
cryptographic libraries, etc.
• As soon as hardware device, protocol, or feature is widespread
enough → high chances of open-source components supporting it.
• Allows to quickly design and develop products, based on existing
components.
• No need to re-develop another kernel, TCP/IP stack, USB stack or
graphical toolkit library.
• Instead: allows focusing on the added value of the product.

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Low cost

• Free software can be duplicated on as many devices as needed,

free of charge.

• If only free software is used → cost of software licenses is zero.

• Development tools are also free, unless one chooses a
commercial embedded Linux edition.

• Net result = higher budget for hardware and/or increase the

company’s skills and knowledge.

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Open-source software

• Open-source: source code for all components in the system!

• Allow unlimited modifications, changes, tuning, debugging,

optimization, for an unlimited period of time.

• Without lock-in or dependency from a third-party vendor.

• To remain true, non open-source components must be avoided
when designing and developing the system.

• Allow full control over the software part of the system.

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Quality of open-source software

• Many open-source components are widely used, on millions of

systems.

• Usually higher quality than what an in-house development can

produce, or even proprietary vendors.

• Of course, not all open-source components are of good quality,

but most of the widely-used ones are.

• Allows to design a system with high-quality core components.

• Open-source being freely available → easy to get a piece of

software and evaluate it.

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Community support

• Open-source software components are developed by communities of

developers and users.
• Usually easier to find solution on the web than with proprietary
components.
• Community can provide high-quality support: can directly contact
the main developers.
• Often better than traditional support, but one needs to understand
how the community works to properly use the community support.
• Speed up in problems’ resolution when developing the system.

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Involvement in the community

• Possibility to take part in the development of components: bug

reporting, testing, bug fixes, development, etc.

• Motivation:
• For engineers: way to get recognition outside the company,
communication with others in the field, new opportunities, etc.
• For managers: motivation factor for engineers, allows companies
to be recognized in the open-source community → get support
more easily.

• Potential job opportunities!

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Embedded Linux use cases

Embedded Linux used in many fields and industries. . .

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Internet of Things

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Automotive

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Space

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Domotics

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Cashier registers (1/2)

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Cashier registers (2/2)

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Point of sale terminal

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Routers (Open-WRT)

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Electronics appliances

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Home appliances

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Industrial automation

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Agriculture machine

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Embedded hardware for Linux
systems
Processor and architecture (1/2)

Linux kernel supports a wide range of 32 and 64 bits architectures:

• x86 and x86-64 (PC but also embedded: multimedia, industrial)

• ARM, with hundreds of different SoC (multimedia, industrial)
• PowerPC (real-time, industrial applications)
• MIPS (networking applications)
• SuperH (TV boxes, multimedia applications)
• Blackfin (DSP architecture)
• Microblaze (soft-core for Xilinx FPGA)
• Coldfire, SCore, Tile, Xtensa, Cris, FRV, AVR32, M32R

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Processor and architecture (2/2)

• Both MMU and non-MMU architectures are supported (w/o

memory protection for non-MMU arch).

• Possible to compile Linux without MMU support on

architectures featuring an MMU (eg. x86).

• Linux is not designed for small microcontrollers.

• Besides the toolchain, the bootloader and the kernel, all other
components are generally architecture-independent.

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RAM + storage requirements

• RAM
• Very basic system: 8MB!
• More realistically: ≥ 32 MB of RAM (use-case dependent)
• Storage
• Very basic system: 4MB storage!
• Support for RAW flash storage (NAND & NOR)
• Support for block flash storage (SD/MMC, eMMC, etc.)

• Not necessarily worth it to be too restrictive: more

RAM/storage allows to re-use existing components.

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How to choose the hardware?

• Make sure the hardware is supported by the Linux kernel and the
bootloader (typically U-Boot).
• Support in the projects’ (kernel, bootloader) official versions is a lot
better: better quality, and availability of new versions.
• Some vendors do not contribute their changes back to the mainline
Linux kernel. A good metric is the “delta” between their kernel and
the official one.
• Huge difference in dev time and cost between a properly supported
hardware in the official Linux kernel and a poorly supported one.

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Embedded Linux system
architecture
Global architecture

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Software components

• Cross-compilation toolchain
• Compiler that runs on the development machine but generates
code for the target.
• Bootloader
• Initiated by the hardware, performs basic initialization, loads
and executes the kernel.
• Linux kernel
• Handles hardware, memory and process management. Provides
services to user space applications.
• C library
• Interface between kernel and user space applications.
• Libraries and applications
• User applications and libraries running on top of the C library.

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Board Support Package (BSP)

Collection of software used to boot and run the hardware

platform

• The BSP provides:

• low level bootloader (1st stage bootloader)
• bootloader (2nd stage bootloader)
• operating system and drivers for the specific hardware
• minimal set of software needed for user interactions and
communication
• For evaluation boards, manufacturers often provide a
Linux-based BSP

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