LynxOS-178 package helps companies tackle certification challenges

Citation

(2003), "LynxOS-178 package helps companies tackle certification challenges", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 75 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2003.12775dab.010

LynxOS-178 package helps companies tackle certification challenges

LynxOS-178 package helps companies tackle certification challenges

Keywords: Software, Safety, Certification

LynuxWorks recently introduced LynxOS-178, a commercially available real-time operating system (RTOS) that meets the stringent DO-178B level A certifiable, standard for safety- critical systems. LynxOS-178 originated from a partnership between Rockwell Collins and LynuxWorks. Rockwell Collins made several enhancements to the original LynxOS product and created the Rockwell Collins' Virtual Machine Operating System (VMOS). VMOS was then certified to DO-178B level A and now the operating system and the certification artifacts are available from LynuxWorks to help speed time-to-market and reduce costs for manufacturers of safety-critical products for the military and aerospace industry.

"This ground-breaking solution will provide a low-risk path to DO-178B certification and speed safety-critical systems to market," said Dr Inder Singh, CEO of LynuxWorks. "Although there are operating systems being touted for DO-178B certification, this is the only commercially available operating system that has all the artifacts and components needed to achieve FAA DO-178B level A certification. This product also delivers unique features and capabilities, which we expect will make it appealing to a broader range of manufacturers who are developing product to very stringent safety and reliability standards".

Mature, stable and fully certifiable kernel- LynxOS is an embedded RTOS that has been rigorously exercised through millions of deployments since 1988 and forms the base of LynxOS-178. The LynxOS-178 operating system is the foundation of multiple safety-critical systems that have been certified to DO-178B, including the Bombardier Challenger 300 (primary flight display), the KC-135 (various modules) and other deployments.

Hard partitioning of resources in time and space-LynxOS-178 implements an ARINC 653-style time partition scheduling algorithm which gives each partition fixed execution time so that the system can be deterministically safe. Additionally, the system supports RTCA DO-255-compliant system partitioning which allows multiple applications of differing criticality levels within partitions to execute, completely isolated, on the same hardware resource. LynxOS-178 supports hard memory partitioning enabled by a processor MMU. Full MMU support provides the reliability advantages of protected memory and the performance advantages of hardware-mapped virtual addresses for hard partitioning between the virtual machines. With LynxOS-178, it is also said to enable each task to run protected in its own space for uncompromising reliability within a hard partitioned virtual machine, enabling easier application certification.

POSIX-based interfaces – Support for the well-known POSIX interfaces virtually eliminates the time and costs of training programming staff. Other product offerings based on lesser known or proprietary interfaces provide more of a challenge for companies when managing programming personnel and maintenance. Developers will reportedly save time and cost developing and maintaining applications based on the POSIX open standards.

Faster upgrades and enhancement certification-mountable file system support and dynamic device drivers ease the certification of upgrades and enhancements. Applications and drivers are not required to be linked to the operating system and can therefore be isolated, limiting re-certification efforts for the full operating system when only an application or driver needs modification.

Artifacts-LynxOS-178 includes a complete artifacts package for the kernel and user library including full DO-178B traceability through requirements, design, code, test and test results.

The availability of the off-the-shelf LynxOS-178 allows developers to get products to market quickly by leveraging software and artifacts that have been certified previously. LynxOS-178 fully satisfies the objectives of the DO-178B specification and enables developers to meet the technical requirements in the production of software for airborne systems. In the end, LynxOS-178 provides high value to developers by enabling the rapid time-to market delivery for safety- critical applications.

In the last few years, manufacturers of safety-critical systems in the medical, nuclear, communications infrastructure and other markets have seen the value of software that has been designed with this level of scrutiny. However, the costs for DO-178B-level assurance was, in many cases, cost prohibitive. Now with a commercial offering of LynxOS-178, this level of software quality is available.

Software certification is one of the key components to offering an operating system that is "trusted" or secure. This LynxOS-178 release is the first step towards offering a secure kernel to address the present growing need for secure, safety-conscious computing. The company intends to offer a common criteria evaluation assurance level (EAL7) RTOS which will meet the international standard for developing ultra-secure software that protect systems from threats such as cyber terrorism.

In addition to the LynxOS-178 kernel, the offering also includes a complete artifacts package for the kernel and user library, DO-178B required documentation, code coverage test suites and analysis for 100 per cent modified condition/decision coverage of the kernel and libraries, a full suite of standards-based development tools and support. The company will also soon release the industry's first commercial-off-the-shelf certifiable TCP/IP stack. Development seats, including the LynxOS-178 kernel and 1 year of priority support, start at $18,000.

Details available from: LynuxWorks. Tel: +33 1 30 85 06 00; Fax: +33 1 30 85 06 06; E-mail: gwinckler@lnxw.com; Web site: http://www.lnxw.com