Real Time Linux distributions

[shaiko]

Hello,

What are the most common Linux distributions that are specifically designed for embedded systems?

 

[Tahmid]

https://elinux.org/Embedded_Linux_Distributions

Besides that, I know that the Intel platforms (Galileo, Edison) utilize Yocto even though they can be made to use Debian.

 

[shaiko]

Do the "Vendor Distributions" cost money?
Do the work only on the specific CPUs that the vendor manufactures?

 

[Tahmid]

They tend to be made for specific processors/microcontrollers, and a lot of them can be very expensive.

By the way, I just realized that you're asking for real time linux distros and not embedded linux distros. I seem to have misread the first time. A lot of the embedded distros I mentioned are not necessarily strict real time.

Take a look at these:

https://rt.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Main_Page
https://www.osadl.org/Realtime-Linux.projects-realtime-linux.0.html

 

[shaiko]

I thought Linux is supposed to be Free and Open-source all around...how is it that companies charge money for it ?
I'm not too familiar with the subject, can you explain a little more...

I think the 2 versions that you mentioned aren't true Linux.
It's what's called a microkernel...while true Linux is considered to be a "Monolithic Kernel"

 

[Tahmid]

A simple Google search reveals the difference:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4537850/what-is-difference-between-monolithic-and-micro-kernel

 

[shaiko]

A simple Google search reveals the difference:
**broken link removed**

I've read this before posting...

This is what I asked about:
I thought Linux is supposed to be Free and Open-source all around...how is it that companies charge money for it ?
I'm not too familiar with the subject, can you explain a little more...

 

[Tahmid]

I don't have specific examples in mind for embedded real time platforms, but for desktop environments for example, Red Hat Enterprise is not free. You tend to pay for official technical support I believe.

 

[legend01]

You can read more about uclinux of great flexibility.. there are different ports for different processors available online. . But note that there is not strong realtime operation in linux