Turning open source into a multicore standard

By Stephen Evanczuk, Embedded, Jan. 26, 2016 – Ideally, multi-OS deployments on multicore systems promise the best-of-both-worlds combination of (embedded) Linux functionality and RTOS performance. In practice, orchestrating an ideal collaboration between different OSs running on separate cores in an SoC is a tough job and can leave systems hobbled with worst-of-either-world execution. Available for some time in open source, the OpenAMP (Open Asymmetric Multi Processing) framework offers a solution. Yet, crowdsourcing something as delicate as a real-time heterogenous platform is a noble cause but can engender conflicts when participating developers find themselves forced to balance the common good with the specialized needs of their own applications. Not surprisingly,compatibility typically erodes with each new fork (see "Android") -- each meant to address one more unique use model. With its announcement of an OpenAMP standards working group, the Multicore Association (MCA) is looking to forestall compatibility issues and help ensure stability of this important framework over the long term.

Open source OpenAMP is a framework that defines consistent features for life cycle management, interprocess communication and resource sharing among processors on a single SoC -- augmenting mainline Linux's existing LCM and IPC capabilities for working with other Linux environments. Thus, OpenAMP enables a Linux "master" to bring up a "remote" processor running its own bare-metal or RTOS environment, which in turn establishes communications channels with the master.

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