Linux embedded system

EMJ squeezes Linux into embedded computers - EMJ Embedded Systems' EMJ-Linux operating system for embedded systems - Product Announcement

EMJ Embedded Systems has injected Linux into the world's smallest computers - embedded PCs - by shrinking the operating system from about 100 MB to 10 MB.

According to Jim Estill, president of Guelph, Ont.-based EMJ Canada, the EMJ-Linux OS consists of a 1.4 MB boot disk, which contains everything needed to perform a network installation.

Currently, EMJ-Linux version 0.9 is a 5.7 MB compressed file (9.8 MB uncompressed), designed to download directly to an embedded PC's flash drive or to an IDE drive.

Squeezing EMJ-Linux into embedded PCs was achieved with the help of the company's software engineer partners, who joined forces to reduce memory requirements by stripping the OS of features not needed in embedded PCs, such as printer and graphics drivers, Estill says.

The availability of Linux for embedded PCs saves hardware developers the trouble of having to modify Linux to run on these miniature devices, he continues. "There's a lot of flexibility for the developers because with Linux, you have the source code. A lot of embedded PCs use weird operating systems - there's a lot more proprietary stuff in the embedded world - so why not use Linux and then everything runs."

EMJ offers the OS on the DIMM-PC/486 from German firm Jumptec AG. This embedded PC measures 40 mm by 68 mm, but packs the same punch as a standard 486 PC, Estill says.

It ships with 16 MB DRAM, 16 MB IDE-compatible flash memory and supports two serial ports and a parallel port, as well as floppy and hard drive interfaces, a real-time clock and watchdog timer, and an I2C-bus.

According to Estill, the product is ideal for use in applications such as security apparatuses, medical instruments, factory automation and global positioning systems, and could even extend into the automotive industry.

EMJ offers the Jumptec product to resellers who build it into customized hardware solutions, or resell it to other firms that use the product in a solution of their own.

Linux is most efficiently used in very specific environments like the embedded marketplace, "where there are people who understand and support that OS," says Dave Marshall, an analyst with International Data Corp. (Canada) Ltd. in Toronto.

According to Estill, the chief attraction of embedded Linux, from a customer standpoint, is that the OS is free of charge - something that could translate into substantial economic benefits.

"With a vending machine that uses our Linux OS," he said, "the manufacturer pays for the embedded hardware and can ship any number of units.

"But if you're shipping thousands of units of a product and are paying extra for the OS on each one, that just doesn't make business sense."

Marshall agreed that a "well-implemented" Linux strategy could reduce costs as well as time to market.

"It's also logical to assume that access to an open source code will promote greater technical co-operation and sharing among companies," he says.

However, EMJ is not the only firm bringing Linux into the embedded market. The Tempe, Ariz.-based Motorola Computer Group (MCG) announced in August that it has teamed up with Lineo Inc. and Caldera Systems Inc. to extend Linux into the embedded market.

The announcement came on the heels of the launch of Embedix - the embedded Linux OS developed by Lineo.

MCG also announced its first Linux-based offerings developed as a result of this strategy: the EMS series of products for telecommunications and the SLX series, a network appliance for Internet, intranet and virtual private network applications.