Red Hat will make a Linux operating system for embedded
devices through a partnership with embedded systems maker Wind
River Systems.
Red Hat Embedded Linux will be integrated with Wind River
development tools and middleware to allow Wind River users to
create embedded Linux applications.
The Red Hat deal will extends Wind River's application
development platform into Linux, giving developers who use Wind
River another operating system option to develop their applications
for. Previously, users of Wind River development tools could only
create applications that ran on Wind River's proprietary VxWorks
operating system.
"This is significant for users of Wind River's products. It will
let their customers make choices in terms of supporting either
VxWorks or Linux. They recognise that users want more choice and
that some users will be happy with a proprietary solution and
others will want a more open solution," said Paul Zorfass, a senior
analyst at IDC/First Technology.
There is a rising interest in the market for developing embedded
applications running on Linux because the open-source operating
system offers quicker deployment and lower costs compared with
proprietary embedded operating systems, Zorfass said.
This is the first time Red Hat has developed an embedded Linux
operating system, said Red Hat spokeswoman Leigh Day.
In the past, the company worked with individual clients to
customise existing Red Hat software to run on embedded devices. Red
Hat Embedded Linux should be ready by early 2005.
Red Hat Embedded Linux will, initially, be targeted for carrier
grade network equipment such as high-end routers and switches.
In addition to serving providers of telecommunications and data
transmission services, Wind River also focuses on makers of digital
consumer devices, such as PDAs and mobile phones, of aerospace and
defence products and cars.
Wind River also announced an upgrade to its proprietary
operating system, VxWorks. Improvements in version 6.0 include a
new suite of memory protection features and a scalable message
passing architecture.
VxWorks 6.0 also integrates with the company's application
development environment, Wind Power IDE 2.0.
Wind Power IDE 2.0 will be available in May and will support the
open source Eclipse application development framework and Red Hat
Embedded Linux.
Juan Carlos Perez writes for IDG News Service