“Embedded Linux developer Lineo Inc. has released for beta
testing RTnet, a modification to the Linux networking subsystem
that permits embedded devices to communicate in hard real time
using Internet protocols over Ethernet. According to the company,
this represents the first time that such communications have been
possible using nonproprietary operating systems.”
“We wanted to extend the hard real-time ability from a single
system to a distributed processing environment,” said David Beal,
product marketing manager for real-time solutions at Lineo. “RTnet
allows you to [use] one computer to collect the information and
another to act on it.” The technology uses standard 10/100 Ethernet
on a dedicated network, Beal said, and supports several popular
Ethernet card brands, including 3Com.”
“According to Lineo, RTnet supports IP, ICMP and UDP protocols,
and provides real-time tasks with an implementation of sockets,
including an interface nearly identical to the standard Linux UDP
sockets interface. The report said that RTnet is expected to
communicate with existing network stacks and works with Linux 2.2.x
kernels and with both RTAI 1.3 and RTLinux 2.3.”