Blog
Wie man (k)ein Betriebssystem für Produkte baut
Distributionen wie Raspbian lassen die passgenaue Zusammenstellung eines Betriebssystems kinderleicht aussehen. Image herunterladen, Pakete installieren, noch ein paar Änderungen - fertig. Alles wie auf dem Laptop oder Server. Warum ein Betriebssystem aus einer klassischen Distribution im Produkt-Kontext zur Katastrophe führen kann, beleuchtet der Vortrag "Raspbian vs. Build-Systeme: Das richtige Werkzeug für solide Produkte".
CLT-2021: Mach es einfach anders!
"Mach es einfach anders!" - unter diesem Motto finden die CLT dieses Jahr im virtuellen Raum statt. Wie auch in den letzten Jahren ist Pengutronix als Sponsor dabei. Anders ist, dass wir dieses Jahr unser eigenes kleines Programm mit spannenden Kurzvorträgen und täglich zwei Quiz-Runden mit tollen Hauptgewinnen mitbringen.
Showcase: Fail-Safe (OTA) Field Updating
Being able to robustly and securely update embedded systems and IoT devices in the field is a key requirement of every product today. The update framework RAUC is the basis for a modern and future-proof solution. In this showcase we present the basic principles of a fail-safe update system and how Pengutronix can support you with implement this for your platform.
Showcase: Graphics on i.MX8MP
Enabling the graphics output pipeline on the i.MX8M Plus (i.MX8MP for short), is the most recent example on how open-source and upstream driver support for GPU and display engines can reduce effort and risk in a new project.
Showcase: Preempt RT and Time Sensitive Networking
Nowadays, even small and cheap microcontrollers offer enough calculation power to perform time critical tasks within an industrial environment. However, as soon as actors and sensors are spread over an entire facility and are to be connected over Ethernet, the actual moment when a data packet will get processed becomes very hard to predict. At this point, Linux running a Preempt RT Kernel altogether with a network featuring Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) capabilities can help.
Showcase: Remote Working
Project work with our customers includes the handling of hardware prototypes. Since work is generally done in parallel, on many project for many customers, there is a constant flood of hardware prototypes accumulating on the desks of our developers. These accumulations of loose boards can become a problem. This is especially the case when a number of people work on a prototype. Another common annoyance occurs when a project has not been worked on for a period of time, as this might involve moving the hardware from one desk (or storage location) to another and setting it up again. Right now, in a situation where working from home is more common and relevant than ever, this has become even more of an issue. The distances between desks and storage locations of our developers are now measured in kilometers, rather than meters.
Showcase: Embedded off-the-shelf
A firmware upgrade is due. A newly implemented feature needs to be rolled out, a security issue patched or new hardware support added. The software, while capable, is complex. Pengutronix' strategy to handle this complexity is working on a version- controlled Board Support Package (BSP) with continuous updates and tests on the latest mainline Linux kernel.
Showcase: Continuous Testing
About 70,000 patches go into the Linux kernel every year, and many of them are bug fixes. The same applies to most other open source projects that are part of a modern Linux system. In order to benefit from the work in the community, the sensible strategy is to constantly update to the latest software version and keep the system up to date. Of course, with this amount of changes, new bugs can be added or incompatibilities can arise.
Using OP-TEE to Authenticate IoT Devices
Deploying IoT devices into the field poses the question of how to authenticate these devices against your own services. While software authentication of bootloader, kernel, and filesystems ensures that only trusted software is run on the device, preventing extraction of authentication data from the device requires the use of a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) or equivalent mechanisms. This blog post introduces OP-TEE and PKCS#11 as a software alternative.
Pengutronix at FOSDEM 2021
"FOSDEM is a free event for software developers to meet, share ideas and collaborate. Every year, thousands of developers of free and open source software from all over the world gather at the event in Brussels. In 2021, they will gather online." -- FOSDEM