ID A19C: Soup to Nuts with
Free Software
Innovation: New business models
mean new opportunities
Renesas Electronics America Inc.
DJ Delorie
Senior Engineer, Global Engineering Services, Red Hat Inc
13 October 2010
Version: 1.1
DJ Delorie
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Senior Engineer, Global Engineering Services,
Red Hat Inc
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Porting GNU Tools to embedded MCUs
since 1998
Wrote M32C GCC/sim, RX binutils/sim,
SH2A GCC/binutils, currently M32C, RX co-maintainer
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
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Created DJGPP (GNU for MS-DOS)
Designed PC/AT Motherboards
Co-maintainer of gEDA's PCB layout editor
Author of “Easy R8C/M16C/M32C/R32C Flash Programming”
Designing Open Hardware with Renesas MCUs since 2004
BS ECE from Clarkson University
www.delorie.com
Renesas Technology and Solution Portfolio
Microcontrollers
& Microprocessors
#1 Market share
worldwide *
ASIC, ASSP
& Memory
Advanced and
proven technologies
Solutions
for
Innovation
Analog and
Power Devices
#1 Market share
in low-voltage
MOSFET**
* MCU: 31% revenue
basis from Gartner
"Semiconductor
Applications Worldwide
Annual Market Share:
Database" 25
March 2010
** Power MOSFET: 17.1%
on unit basis from
Marketing Eye 2009
(17.1% on unit basis).
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Renesas Technology and Solution Portfolio
Microcontrollers
& Microprocessors
#1 Market share
worldwide *
Solutions
for
Innovation
ASIC, ASSP
& Memory
Advanced and
proven technologies
Analog and
Power Devices
#1 Market share
in low-voltage
MOSFET**
* MCU: 31% revenue
basis from Gartner
"Semiconductor
Applications Worldwide
Annual Market Share:
Database" 25
March 2010
** Power MOSFET: 17.1%
on unit basis from
Marketing Eye 2009
(17.1% on unit basis).
4
Microcontroller and Microprocessor Line-up
Superscalar, MMU, Multimedia
High Performance CPU, Low Power
High Performance CPU, FPU, DSC
 Up to 1200 DMIPS, 45, 65 & 90nm process
 Video and audio processing on Linux
 Server, Industrial & Automotive
 Up to 500 DMIPS, 150 & 90nm process
 600uA/MHz, 1.5 uA standby
 Medical, Automotive & Industrial
 Up to 165 DMIPS, 90nm process
 500uA/MHz, 2.5 uA standby
 Ethernet, CAN, USB, Motor Control, TFT Display
 Legacy Cores
 Next-generation migration to RX
General Purpose
 Up to 10 DMIPS, 130nm process
 350 uA/MHz, 1uA standby
 Capacitive touch
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Ultra Low Power
Embedded Security
 Up to 25 DMIPS, 150nm process  Up to 25 DMIPS, 180, 90nm process
 190 uA/MHz, 0.3uA standby
 1mA/MHz, 100uA standby
 Application-specific integration  Crypto engine, Hardware security
Microcontroller and Microprocessor Line-up
Superscalar, MMU, Multimedia
High Performance CPU, Low Power
High Performance CPU, FPU, DSC
 Up to 1200 DMIPS, 45, 65 & 90nm process
 Video and audio processing on Linux
 Server, Industrial & Automotive
 Up to 500 DMIPS, 150 & 90nm process
 600uA/MHz, 1.5 uA standby
 Medical, Automotive & Industrial
 Up to 165 DMIPS, 90nm process
 500uA/MHz, 2.5 uA standby
 Ethernet, CAN, USB, Motor Control, TFT Display
 Legacy Cores
 Next-generation migration to RX
General Purpose
 Up to 10 DMIPS, 130nm process
 350 uA/MHz, 1uA standby
 Capacitive touch
7
Ultra Low Power
Embedded Security
 Up to 25 DMIPS, 150nm process  Up to 25 DMIPS, 180, 90nm process
 190 uA/MHz, 0.3uA standby
 1mA/MHz, 100uA standby
 Application-specific integration  Crypto engine, Hardware security
Innovation
New business models mean new
opportunities.
All images may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners
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My Position
Free Software enables mass uptake, freedom to innovate.
Using Free Software for your business gives you control and
flexibility; using Free Software in your products gives your
customers control and flexibility.
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Microsoft and Apple’s Position!
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Agenda
 Business – Using Free Software to manage your daily tasks
 EDA – Using Free Software to design Hardware
 Embedded Development with Free Software Toolchains
 Free Software Philosophy
 Q&A
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Examples of Innovation Through Freedom
 IBM PC
 Original PC included schematics and BIOS sources
 ISA slot encouraged third party options
 Giving users control and flexibility increased popularity
 LAMP Stack – Linux, Apache, MySQL, Python
 Basis for many business back-ends and web sites
 Anyone can offer support, or contribute changes
 Quake III
 License allowed for third party levels and mods
 Kept game 'fresh and relevent' long after the initial release
 GNU Toolchain
 Many contributors, many users = ubiquitous
 Nokia, Android, iPhone
 Based on Free Software, value add is the extras
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What does “Free Software” mean?
 The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
 The freedom to study how the program works, and change it
to make it do what you wish.
 The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your
neighbor.
 The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to
others. By doing this you can give the whole community a
chance to benefit from your changes.
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Free Software: Business
 Desktop
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GNOME/KDE desktops
Firefox web browser
Evolution mail/news reader
Evince PDF reader
 Open Office
 Word compatible
 PDF export by default
 HTML/Web export by default
 Servers
 MySQL, PostgreSQL, mail, web, DNS, DHCP, NFS, samba,
routers, firewall, FTP, IRC...
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Free Software: EDA Tools
 gEDA/PCB
 Suite of GUI and text tools from schematics through layout
 Text-based file formats with published specifications
 Linux, Unix, Mac, and Windows
 Kicad
 Integrated GUI tools from schematics through layout
 Text-based file formats with published specifications
 Linux, Unix, Mac, and Windows
 Gerbers
 Gerbv, gerbview
 Icarus/GTKWave
 Verilog compiler, simulator, trace viewer
 NGSpice
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gEDA/PCB
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Kicad
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Gerbers, PDF, PNG Exports
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NGSpice, Icarus Verilog, GTKWave
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Free Software: Embedded Development
 GNU Toolchain – gcc, gdb, etc
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Owned by the Free Software Foundation
Managed by maintainers – Red Hat, KPit, Renesas, others
Many third-party support offerings
Performance comparable to proprietary tools
Debug via embedded stub or third party drivers
 Serial Mode Programming
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Documented hardware standard for Renesas chips
Allows for programming over any serial link
E8a, RS-232, USB, Embedded UARTs
 Source Control
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CVS, SVN, GIT
GNU Toolchain
Maintainers
New ports
Distros
New Features
FSF
Support Packages
New Optimizations
USERS
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Eclipse IDE
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Serial Mode Programming
E8a
RS-232
Open Protocol
USB
Embedded
UART
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Free Software: Philosophy
Free Software isn't a “religion”. It is a set of beliefs that can be leveraged to
add value anywhere in the business plan, from internal operations to customer
experience
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Sharing
Community
Support
License
Licensing
Philosophy: Sharing
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Each participant helps the project grow
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Each participant must share responsibility and control
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Adding features
Providing feedback
Testing
Can't “own” the software design
Must work together
Expected to help fix bugs you find
Philosophy: Community
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Business demonstrates care and trust in customers
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Growing pains are public
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Gives customer freedom to innovate
Treats customers like partners, not minions
Lets customers share in the development process
Design defects are easier to spot by customers
“Release early, release often” means more bugs may
escape to the public
Must be willing to accept constructive critisicm from the
community!
Philosophy: Support
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Free Software enables third-party support options
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No central “author” to be a know-all
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Public contributions are best understood by their
individual authors
Public forums and B2B help common
Value in support, customization, accessories
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Customers can pass sources along to others to help with
support
Customers can support themselves
Focus on your core competencies, let others provide
niche solutions that you'd otherwise be unable or
unwilling to supply.
Philosophy: License
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The Free Software license gives freedoms to the users,
but prevents users from denying those freedoms to others
“Freedom for the software”
No worries about “unauthorized copying” or piracy – it
just doesn't exist with Free Software
Community-driven extensions and enhancements are
allowed, if not encouraged, by the license
“Security by obscurity” is no longer an option
No concept of “Software IP” - there's no intrinsic value in
something that can be trivially copied for no cost.
Philosophy: Licensing
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Licensing models are simplified
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Software License is no longer a revenue stream
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No activation keys
No per-seat fees
No license dongles
Value, and thus revenue, is in the people behind the
software – support packages, customization, training, etc.
Customers can buy support packages that meet their
needs, not their employee count.
Attracts smaller customers
Allows for unlimited “try before you buy”
Online Resources
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www.fsf.org
www.gnu.org
spins.fedoraproject.org/fel
www.gpleda.org
www.kicad-eda.org
www.redhat.com/services/custom
www.kpitgnutools.com
www.kernel.org
www.firefox.com
www.openoffice.org
What do you think of using Free Software in
your business?
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Great!
Pretty good
Could be better
Needs Improvement
Questions?
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Feedback Form
Please fill out the feedback form!
If you do not have one, please raise your hand
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Renesas Electronics America Inc.