ProfessionalMaster’sProgram(PMP)inElectricalEngineering
Course:ModernintroductiontoEmbedded&Real-TimeSystems
Length:10-week,1-quartercourse
History:
2016-2-11:updatedthecoursework|AndrewN.Sloss
2015-7-20:updated&addedequipmentestimate|AndrewN.Sloss
2015-7-15:cleanupandimprovedocument|AndrewN.Sloss
2015-7-12:updateandrestructuredthedocument|AndrewN.Sloss
2015-7-7:startedmodifyingthecoursecontent|AndrewN.Sloss
Course
GOAL
IntroduceEmbedded&Real-TimeSystems
MESAUREMENT
StudentswillgainanappreciationofEmbedded&Real-TimeSystemsthroughlearninghowto
characterizehardwareandsoftware.Thiswillinvolvebeingintroducedtoaspecifichardware
platform,exploringreal-timerequirements,computationlimits,analysisofdifferentscheduling
algorithms,andtheconfigurationofmemory.Inaddition,studentswillbeintroducedtosome
hardersubjectsinEmbedded&Real-TimeSystemsincludingpowermanagement,reliability,
safety-criticalsystemsandfinallysimulation.Uponcompletionoftheprogram,studentswill
haveafirmunderstandingofrealworldissuesandcharacterizationmethodsandtechniques
forEmbedded&Real-TimeSystems.
Topicstobecoveredduringthecourse:-
1. Introduction&Characterization
2. Fundamentals
3. Memory
4. Powermanagement
5. CriticalSystemsI-Reliability
6. CriticalSystemsII-Safety-Critical
7. Simulation
8. CourseWork–HardwareCharacterization
NOTES
ThecourseassumesthestudentunderstandComputerScienceconceptsincludingtheC
languageandfundamentalcomputerarchitecture.Theoverarchingaimistoprovidethe
studentswithasetofusefulproblem-solvingtoolsfoundintheEmbeddedSystemsIndustry.As
wellasrevisitthescientificmethodasitpertainstoEmbedded.
Eachlessonwillcompriseaninteractiveportionwherethestudentswillbeencourageto
providequestionsespeciallyaroundEmbeddedSystemsandcharacterization.
1.Introduction&Characterization
ESTIMATEDLESSON1
GOAL
Introducehardware-softwarecharacterization.Explainhowthatcharacterizationisusedto
definetherequirementsofafinalEmbedded&Real-TimeSystem.
MEASUREMENT
Givenarequirementthestudentsshouldbeabletoprovidethecorrecthardware-software
configuration.ThislessonwillintroduceEmbedded&Real-time,basicsystemdesign,
exceptionsandhandlingexceptions(includinginterrupts),andthetypeofkernel/executives
requiredforaspecificsolution.LaterpartofthelessonwillfurtherintroducetheconceptRealTimeandthedifferentmethodstodeterminewhetheraproblemcanbeschedulablethrough
RateMonotonic(RMS)andEarliestDeadlineFirstscheduling(EDF).
STRUCTURE
- IntroductiontoEmbedded&Real-TimeSystems,andtheCharacterizationTheme
- Applications,Tasks,ThreadsandProcesses
- Exceptions,Interrupts,Stacks,ContextSwitch,Ready-ListandScheduler
- Deterministic(Real-Time)andnon-deterministicbehavior
- SystemLevelCharacterization
- Schedulingalgorithms
- Re-entrant/nonre-entrantkernel
- Nestedandnon-nestedinterrupthandling
- Introduceschedulingalgorithms
1. Shortest-job-first
2. First-come-first-serve
3. Round-robin
4. Priority-scheduling
- Introducereal-timeschedulingdesign
1. Askthequestionisthesystemschedulable?
2. RateMonotonicscheduling
3. EarliestDeadlineFirstScheduling
2.Fundamentals
ESTIMATEDLESSON1
GOAL
FundamentalslessonwillexplaintwoimportantareasinEmbedded,namelythe
boot/initializationprocessandtheconstraintsondevelopmenttoolsandenvironmentsfor
Embedded&Real-Timesystems.
MEASUREMENT
Studentswillbeintroducedtoahardwarebootflowforagenerichardwareplatform.Thiswill
involvegoingthroughtheorderandthespecificpiecesofhardwarethatarerequiredtobe
initializedbeforeanOperatingSystem/Executiveisfunctioning.Onthesoftwaresidestudents
willbere-introducedtocompilers,debuggerandintroducedtohardware-assist
debugging/traceforEmbedded&Real-Timedevelopment.
STRUCTURE
- Coveracompletebootprocessofasimpledevice
- Re-visitcompilers,debuggersandarchitectures
- Covercompileroptimizations
- Hardwareassistedtools:JTAGProbes,HardwareTrace,LogicalAnalyzersandOscilloscopes
3.Memory
ESTIMATEDLESSONS2
GOAL
Provideanoverviewoftheuseofcachesandintroducethedifferentformsofmemory
managementwith-respect-toEmbedded&Real-TimeSystems.Coveringsimple
microcontrollerstothemoreadvancedmulticoresystems.
MEASUREMENT
Studentswillbeintroducedtothecomplexitiesofmemorysystems.Afterthesetwolectures
theywillhaveabasicunderstandingofcachesandinparticularhowdifferentcachepolicy
effecttheoverallperformanceofasystem.Intertwinedistheneedtounderstandthedifferent
memorymanagementtechniques-linearmemory,protectedmemoryandfullvirtualmemory.
Studentswillhaveagoodunderstandingonthetradeoffsofusingdifferentmemory
managementmethods.
STRUCTURE
- Memorylayout
- CachesRevisited
• Cachelines
• Cachelockdown
• VirtualandPhysicalcaches
- MemoryProtection
• Protectionregions
- MemoryManagementUnit
• TLB–softwareandhardwareoperations
• VirtualMemory
• Demandpaging
• Loadingandunloadingapplications
• Sharedresources
- MessagingPassing
• Mailboxes(revisitedwithconnectionwithmemorydesign)
- DirectMemoryAccess(DMA)
- Implicationsontools
4.PowerManagement
ESTIMATEDLESSONS1
GOAL
Introducethecomplexityofpowermanagementatthehardwarelevel.Powermanagementis
particularlyimportantforInternet-of-Things,Mobiledevicesaswellasdormanttethered
devices.
MEASUREMENT
Studentswillbeintroducedtopowermanagementasasubject.Andhowpowermanagement
coverseverythingfromtetheredtountethereddevices.Explainthedifferencebetweenpower
andenergyefficiencyequationsandwhyfrequencyisfundamentallyimportant.Introduce
mobilephonepowerdemands,differenttechniquesusedtosavepowerconsumptionand
finallysomebatterycharacteristics.
STRUCTURE
- Introducepowermanagement
• Tetherandnon-tethered(mobile)
• Powerstatemachine
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MobilePowerManagement
IntroducethePowerandEnergyequations
Processorfeaturesthathelpwithpowercontrol
• Voltagescaling
• Frequencyscaling
• Wait-on-interrupt
Peripherals
• Ethernet
• LCD
• Harddrives
BasicBatteryCharacteristics
• Charging/dischargingofbatteries
• Historyeffects
PowerTransmission
PowerHarvesting
DiscussionofthecomplexityofPowerManagement
5.CriticalSystemsI:Reliability
ESTIMATEDLESSONS1
GOAL
IntroducereliabilityforEmbedded&Real-TimeSystemsandexplainthedifficultieshardware
agingincurs.
MEASUREMENT
Studentwillbeintroducedtoreliabilityasasubjectandtheinterestingareaofwhytechnology
fails.ThelessonwillincludedescribingOccam’srazor,hardwareagingandthefundamental
reliabilityequations.Explaindifferentmethodsofrecoveryonceadeadlockhasoccurred.
Studentwillbeawareofdifferentembeddeddesignsthatcanhelpinreliabilitysuchas,voting,
watchdogtimers,andbasicreset.
STRUCTURE
- IntroducesubjectofReliabilityandrelationshipwithSafety-Critical
- ExplainOccam’sRazor
- Hardwareagingandthebathtubfailurecurve
- Discusswhysystemsfail?
- DefinethetermsSLOC,MTTF,MTTR,andMTBF
- Availability(Uptime)
- FaultTolerance
-
-
Revisitinterrupthandling
Describedeadlocks
• Deadlockidentification
• Deadlockrecovery
• Priorityinversion
Hardwareassistance
• Watchdogtimers(re-visit)
BasicReset
6.CriticalSystemII:Safety-Critical
ESTIMATEDLESSONS1
GOAL
Introducetheaspectsofsafety-criticalforEmbedded&Real-TimeSystems.
MEASUREMENT
StudentswillbeintroducedtoSafety-Criticalandtheconsequencesoffailure.Thisincludes
havingacomprehensiveunderstandingofthephilosophybehindsafety-criticalandthe
consequencesofbypassingthephilosophy.Understandthemeaningoftheimportantterms
andthedifferentmethodstodesignasafety-criticalsystem.Thestudentswillbeintroducedto
onesafety-criticalstandardDO-178B,aswellastheMISRACstandardforsafety-criticalC
writingstyle.
STRUCTURE
- Introducetheconceptofsafety-critical
- Describesecurity,integrity,vulnerability,threatandrisk
- Complexityanalysis
- Consistencychecking
- Instrumentingcode
- Writingcodetocheckforstackoverflowandunderflow
- Redundancy(Byzantinealgorithms)
- MISRACStandard
- Example:safety-criticalstandardDO-178B
7.Simulation
ESTIMATEDLESSONS1
GOAL
IntroducetheaspectsofSimulationforEmbedded&Real-TimeSystemsandhowsimulation
canbeusedasanimportanttoolfordesignanddevelopment.
MEASUREMENTS
Introduceandexploretheconceptofsimulation.Includingthedifferencesbetweensimulation
andemulationofsystems.Beabletodefinecycleaccurate,cycleapproximateandinstruction
levelmodeling.Definetheadvantagesandscopeofsimulationandhencediscusstheproblems
thatsimulationintroduces.
STRUCTURE
- Introducesimulationmodeling
o Why?
o How?
o Cost?
- Differenttypesofsimulationmodels
o Cycleaccuratemodeling
o Cycleapproximatemodeling
o Instructionlevelmodeling
- Co-design/Co-simulation
8Coursework–HardwareCharacterization
GOAL
CharacterizeanduseahardwareplatformforEmbedded&Real-TimeDevelopment.
MEASUREMENT
Takeadevelopmentplatforminitializetheboard,characterize/exploreitsfeaturesandcreate
yourownproject(andpresentyourprojectfindings).Thisincludessettingupabootimage,
initializingtheWi-Fiandinstallingtelnet/SSH/Samba.Measuringinterruptlatency,memory
performance,codeperformance,communicationrequirementsandpotentiallytheabilityto
connectsensorsandinterrupts.
EQUIPMENT
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RaspberryPi2
MiniSDCard16GB
Wi-FiUSB
PowerSupply