Presentation

on
Real Time Operating Systems
 Contents

• Real Time System Fundamentals

• Real Time Operating System (RTOS)

• Linux as RTOS

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 What are Real-time Systems ?

• Real-time systems

Those systems in which the correctness of the

system depends not only on the logical result
of computation, but also on the time at which
the results are produced.

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 Types of Real Time Systems

• Based on Hard deadline: Penalty due to

missing deadline is a higher order of
magnitude than the Reward in meeting the
deadline.

• Based on Soft deadline: Penalty often equal /

lesser magnitude than Reward.

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 A Sample Real Time System (1)

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 A Sample Real Time System (2)
• Mission: Reaching the destination safely.

• Controlled System: Car.

• Operating environment: Road conditions.

• Controlling System
- Human driver: Sensors - Eyes and Ears of the driver.
- Computer: Sensors - Cameras, Infrared receiver, and
Laser telemeter.

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 A Sample Real Time System (3)

• Controls: Accelerator, Steering wheel, Break-pedal.

• Actuators: Wheels, Engines, and Brakes.

• Critical tasks: Steering and breaking

• Non-critical tasks: Turning on radio

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 A Sample Real Time System (4)

• Performance is not an absolute one. It measures

the goodness of the outcome relative to the best
outcome possible under a given circumstance.

• Cost of fulfilling the mission → Efficient solution.

• Reliability of the driver → Fault-tolerance is a

must.

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 Contents

• Real Time System Fundamentals

• Real Time Operating System (RTOS)

• Linux as RTOS

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 RTOS Kernel
• RTOS Kernel provides an Abstraction layer that
hides from application software the hardware
details of the processor / set of processors upon
which the application software shall run.

Application Software

RTOS

Hardware
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 RTOS Kernel Functions

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 Task Management

• Set of services used to allow application software developers

to design their software as a number of separate chunks of
software each handling a distinct topic, a distinct goal, and
sometimes its own real-time deadline.

• Main service offered is Task Scheduling

– controls the execution of application software tasks
– can make them run in a very timely and responsive fashion.

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 Task Scheduling
• Non Real -time systems usually use Non-preemptive
Scheduling
– Once a task starts executing, it completes its full execution

• Most RTOS perform priority-based preemptive task

scheduling.

• Basic rules for priority based preemptive task scheduling

– The Highest Priority Task that is Ready to Run, will be the Task
that Must be Running.

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 Priority based Preemptive Task
Scheduling

• Every Task in a software application is assigned a

priority.

• Higher Priority = Higher Need for Quick Response.

• Follows nested preemption

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 Nested Preemption

Timeline for Priority-based Preemptive Scheduling

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 Task Switch (1)
• Each time the priority-based preemptive scheduler is
alerted by an External world trigger / Software
trigger it shall go through the following steps that
constitute a Task Switch:

– Determine whether the currently running task should

continue to run.
– Determine which task should run next.
– Save the environment of the task that was stopped (so it
can continue later).
– Set up the running environment of the task that will run
next.
– Allow the selected task to run.
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 Task Switch (2)
• A Non Real time operating system might do task
switching only at timer tick times.

• Even with preemptive schedulers a large array of

tasks is searched before a task switch.

• A Real time OS shall use Incrementally arranged

tables to save on time.

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 Task Switch (3)

Task Switching Timing

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 Intertask Communication &
Synchronization

• These services makes it possible to pass

information from one task to another
without information ever being damaged.

• Makes it possible for tasks to coordinate &

productively cooperate with each other.

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 Inter-Task communication &
Synchronization
• The most important communication b/w tasks in an OS is the
passing of data from one task to another.

Message Message
Producer Task Receiver Task

• If messages are sent more quickly than they can be handled, the
OS provides message queues for holding the messages until they
can be processed.

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 Message passing in OS
• Most General Purpose OS actually copy messages twice as they
transfer them from task to task via a message queue.

Message Sender Message

Task RAM

Message
Message Receiver
RAM Task

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 Message passing in RTOS
• In RTOS, the OS copies a pointer to the message,
delivers the pointer to the message-receiver task,
and then deletes the copy of the pointer with
message-sender task.

Message Sender RAM

Task
Message Message

Message Receiver RTOS

Task msg_ptr

msg_ptr

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 Dynamic Memory Allocation
in General Purpose OS

• Non-real-time operating systems offer memory allocation

services from what is termed a Heap.

• Heaps suffer from a phenomenon called External Memory

Fragmentation.

• Fragmentation problem is solved by Garbage collection /

Defragmentation.

• Garbage collection algorithms are often wildly non-

deterministic.
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 Dynamic Memory Allocation
in RTOS
• RTOS does it by a mechanism known as Pools.

• Pools memory allocation mechanism allows application

software to allocate chunks of memory of 4 to 8 different
buffer sizes per pool.

• Pools avoid external memory fragmentation, by not permitting

a buffer that is returned to the pool to be broken into smaller
buffers in the future.

• When a buffer is returned the pool, it is put onto a free buffer

list of buffers of its own size that are available for future re-
use at their original buffer size
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 Contents

• Real Time System Fundamentals

• Real Time Operating System (RTOS)

• Linux as RTOS

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 Dark Side of Linux
in Real-Time
• The Linux kernel (< version 2.6) is neither preemptive nor
reentrant by user processes.

• Processes are heavy-weight: Linux has insufficient

resource handling.

• Fair share scheduling algorithm .

• Unbound amount of CPU time used by interrupt handlers

under Linux, and these run at a higher priority than any user
process.

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 Typical Solutions for Linux

• 3 ways to deal with Linux’ s poor real-time

performance :

– Ignore the problem (only for soft real-time).

– Work around and run real-time applications under an

RTOS with Linux itself as a separate task. e.g. RT-
Linux.

– Adapt Linux and run a Linux compatible RTOS kernel

instead of the Linux kernel.

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 Ignore the problem Approach
• The most popular approach is to ignore the problem.

• Mostly works for soft real-time systems.

• Design recommendations to reduce latency

– If possible, address all real-time response needs directly
with interrupt service routines.
– Avoid known excessive interrupt-off periods in Linux.
– If a process component is required in the real-time
control path, then consider aggregate system loading &
Adapt processes.

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 Work Around Approach
• Linux kernel runs as a task under a small real-time executive.

• Real-time tasks are run directly under the real-time executive

• Non-real-time tasks are run under Linux.

• Applications that work on such a system can include machine

control, process control, and instrumentation applications.

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 Work Around - Advantages

• The real-time executive can be small and simple making it

easier to verify its real-time performance.

• The Linux kernel running non-real-time tasks is "standard"

Linux so it is compatible with other Linux distributions and
can easily be updated.

• Supports hard real-time applications.

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 Work Around - Disadvantages
• Not applicable if real-time part of the software is large / not
easily separated from the code that needs a Linux
environment

• Tasks running under the real-time executive do not have

access to the Linux facilities, device drivers, etc.

• Tasks running under the Linux kernel and can access the
facilities are not real-time.

• Programmers tend to increase the number of facilities in the

real-time kernel until the real-time executive replicates
facilities of Linux.
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 Adapt Linux
• The original Linux kernel is replaced with a compatible
kernel with hard real-time performance characteristics.

• The kernel is only a small part of a whole operating system. If

just the Linux kernel is replaced and the libraries, utilities, and
file structure remain the same.

• The real-time kernel must support all the facilities of a Linux

kernel while still remaining fully preemptive and reentrant.

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 Adapt Linux Approach
Advantages & Disadvantages
• Advantages:
– No limits on the size and complexity of the real-time
application code.
– Third party software not originally envisioned for real-
time use can be invoked by real-time tasks
– With the same programming interfaces, programmers
who understand Linux would already be experts in the
real-time environment.

• Disadvantages:
– With modified Linux you are NOT sure of full
compatibility with standard Linux application

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Any Questions?
Thank You !