Real-time Linux in real time

The increasing market demand for systems characterized by low-latency, deterministic behavior and the emphasis on the use of commodity hardware and software have led to a new breed of real-time operating systems (OSs), known as enterprise real-time OSs. In response to the demand for accelerated access to such features in a Linux (TM) kernel, the IBM Linux and Java (TM) Technology Centers collaborated to provide the first commercially available enterprise real-time Linux kernel with real-time Java support. Extending the PREEMPT RT patch from Ingo Molnar of Red Hat, Inc., the kernel contains additional features that were required to meet the demands of enterprise real-time OS customers. This paper describes how IBM developers helped to direct, implement, and test the real-time Linux kernel, bringing it from software patches to a finished product in nine months.