TI Linux Strategy:
Community first,
Commercial complement
William A Mills
Chief Technologist, Open Linux Solutions
Texas Instruments
Introduction
• Basic summary
• How we got here & share
lessons learned
• How we see your options
• What next?
• Questions and feedback
Chose your path
TI processor customers can CHOOSE your Linux path: Community or commercial
Community first path
•
Stable
Fast
System
Tested
Fresh
Call ME
Support
Roll Your
Own
•
•
•
Commercial
Kernel, multimedia, and graphics
Smaller set of applications
Customer builds up solution
•
•
•
•
Linux
Options
TI delivers LSP/DVSDK to community
Open source assets
Customer assets
Faster access, newer kernels
More customer responsibility
Commercial complement path
Community
•
Or Before
TI LSP
Development
Pull from latest prior
Kernel tree
•
•
•
Commercial Linux partner pulls from
community
Partner adds value: Production testing, tools
integration, support, application bundles, etc.
for customers
Service and subscription sales
Executing with a number of commercial
vendors
Where we are
• When TI first entered the embedded Linux space it formed a relationship with
MontaVista
• Early in the relationship, TI relied on MontaVista for its Linux expertise
• TI’s main value in a Linux solution is in
–
–
–
Kernel drivers
DSP and/or Multimedia acceleration (on most parts)
Graphics processor acceleration (on applicable parts)
• TI came to realize kernel development needs to be
–
–
–
as public as possible
as close to upstream as possible
as up-to-date as possible
• TI views solution deployment as a different stage
–
We think there are multiple valid choices here
• TI has made changes to be more agile, to put more focus on the community,
and to support multiple commercial vendors
• Meanwhile, MontaVista has also made changes to adapt to the same trends
Old kernel development flow
Kernel.org
MontaVista
Baseline
TI PSP
Kernel
MontaVista
LSP
Comerical
Customer
Davinci
tree
New kernel development flow
Kernel.org
Davinci
tree
Community
Customer
TI Driver
Development
Comercial
Linux
Provider
Comerical
Customer
Evolving commercial complement
Linux products
Commercial
complement
TI
LSP
Build-up
VALUE
Commercial Linux
Vendor
Value Add
TI DVSDK
TI LSP
TI LSP
TIME
• More testing
• Tools integration
• Popular middleware
• Call-me support
• Maintenance
• Etc.
Community first
• Kernel
• I/O drivers
• Multimedia DSP
Deployment models
1)
2)
3)
Community: Stay current with the tip
•
Must be flexible to ship new kernel versions
•
Will require due diligence & testing for each version pulled in
•
Skill level: III (Moderate)
Community: Maintain your own baseline
•
Allows control of changes made: little or a lot
•
Will require in-house kernel team
•
Will require due diligence for each version pulled in
•
Skill level: V (Advanced)
Commercial: Commercial Linux provider maintains the
baseline
•
Most stable & tested
•
Most support
•
Skill level: I (Easy)
Deployment models
2.6.26
TI Driver
Development
2.6.27
Bug Fixes &
Features
2.6.28
Public
git
Stay up
w/ Tip
Own
Stable
Vendor Patches
Vendor Linux
V.x
Vendor Linux
V.x + 1
Bug Fixes &
Features
2.6.29
Bug Fixes &
Features
2.6.30
GIT Linux DVSDK/SDK release plans
Release
OMAP3530
Done, see DVSDK 3.0 page
OMAPL-138
Will be released as GIT Linux from day
one
OMAPL-137
GIT Linux release will be made after
OMAP-L138
DM355, DM365
Under development in DVSDK 3.10,
Q409/Q110 release
DM6467
Under development in DVSDK 3.11,
Q409/Q110 release
GIT Linux v. MVL Pro 5.0 Comparison
Note: MontaVista Linux 6 is leveraging community kernel
MVL 5.0 Pro
GIT Linux
Kernel Version
Uses 2.6.18 (Sept 2006)
Uses latest available kernel
Kernel bug-fixes
Applied to 2.6.18, so no need to
change kernel versions
Applied to current release, which changes every
few months. User may need new kernel to get a
fix.
File System
Comprehensive host and target file
systems with GUI tools for optimization.
Not part of kernel. TI is addressing through
Arago. Initially may be less user-friendly than
MVL.
Linux run-time
Licensing
No but need to maintain MV license for
access to updates and some tools.
Contact MontaVista for more
information.
TI offering is clearly free as GIT Linux
distributions are open source.
Tools licensing
GNU Tools free. IDE requires annual
subscription.
GNU Tools free.
CodeSourcery offers IDE w/ annual subscription.
Developer network
support
MV and its partners
Multi-vendor, including MV
Commercial Linux partners
Partner
Products
Device Support
MontaVista
MVL 6.0. This will take the TI GIT
release and productize it.
OMAP-L138 is likely first product
WindRiver Systems
WindRiver Linux. Back ports GIT PSPs
to Linux 2.6.27, which is the basis for
their current offerings.
OMAP35x is released. OMAP-L138
under development.
RidgeRun
Directly contributes to TI GIT work
(DM365). Offers competitive pricing for
SDKs, support, and NRE for add-on
features. GStreamer experts
DM355 and DM365 supported
Commercial Linux Partners
Partner
Products
Device Support
Timesys
LinuxLink combines tools, Linux kernel
ports, test benches, applications, and
support.
OMAP35x, OMAP-L137, DM355,
DM6446
Mentor Graphics
Will be our partner for Android, which
requires Linux
OMAP35x will be first
Does own Linux ports as part of
vertical product offerings in multimedia
products
Most OMAP and DaVinci devices
(formerly Embedded Alley)
Ingenient
Do your research
• There is no one right choice
• Each project and team has its own needs
• However, many people underestimate what it
takes to “DIY”
– Make an informed choice
– Think about what is required for the whole product and
product lifecycle
– Learn from others
Conclusion
• Linux community first, commercial complement is TI’s new way of offering the
best of both Linux worlds to customers
– Fast updates, fresher kernels and roll your own flexibility of community first
• For innovation and maximum leverage of device architecture features and performance
– Stable, system tested, call-ME support of commercial for solid productization
• For efficient and robust productization and ongoing product support
– With coherency between the two as much as possible
• We are focusing on the community development and open standards
• More and more commercial Linux vendors are doing the same
• Transitions between community and commercial, and different levels of commercial
becomes easier as more focus moves toward upstream
References
• Greg Kroah Hartman on kernel development
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2SED6sewRw
• Cost of Deployment Models
– See: “Embedded Linux Total Cost of Development Analyzed”
– At: http://www.embeddedforecast.com/
– Also: Google “embedded linux diy” etc
• DaVinci™ technology & OMAP™ platform community resources
– Wiki: http://wiki.davincidsp.com/ or http://wiki.omap.com/
– Wiki documents mailing list, git repositories, etc
• Arago project: http://arago-project.org/
• Estes Baby Bertha (Skill Level I)
– http://www.estesrockets.com/rockets.php?pid=001261