[comp.realtime] real-time UNIX

mitch@lynx.uucp (Mitch Bunnell) (11/19/89)

A portable real-time Unix compatible operating system does exist, and it
is becoming very popular very quickly.  It is LynxOS and is available from
Lynx Real-Time Systems, Inc..

LynxOS contains NO AT&T code is not a derivative of AT&T UNIX.  It is
source code compatible with 4.3 BSD UNIX, System V 3.2, and POSIX 1003.1.
It is binary compatible with System V 3.2. On our 386 AT and PS/2 versions,
for instance, you can run INTERACTIVE (386/ix) of-the-shelf software
such as Wordperfect, Q-calc, Informix, LPI Fortran, etc..

LynxOS has the Berkely features such as long file names (255 not 14 characters
like System V), symbolic links, stopped jobs, job control, sockets, and
reliable signals.  GNU emacs, gcc, and gdb are available (free of course).
X-windows and TCP/IP are also available (however, not free).

LynxOS was written from scratch by a group of dedicated programmers
who joined together in the summer of 1985 for the purpose of creating
a real-time Unix compatible operating system.  This operating system
is not only fully preemptive but also multithreaded so asynchrounous
activity such as terminal line editing, block device handling and networking
do not interfere with real-time task response. This asynchronous processing
is done at the priority of the highest priority user task that is accessing
the device. (It is NOT a message passing OS; more than one thread can
access the same OS data structures)

Did you know the standard TCP/IP code has an interrupt routine that can
take as long as 6 milliseconds to run on a 3.5 MIP machine?
Preemption alone will not save your real-time response.
LynxOS handles this problem and many others that would keep it from
guaranteeing worst case interrupt and task response.
We test our system by having low priority tasks access the network and
mass storage while timing high priority tasks responding to external events.

LynxOS is available on several platforms including 386 AT compatibles and
IBM PS/2 model 70 and 80 (the 386 models).  It is also available for
the Motorola MVME 147 board (68030).  It will be out soon for the
Data General AViiON series (88000), the Silicon Graphics workstations (MIPS)
and the SUN 3 series.

LynxOS source code can be licensed from Lynx Real-time Systems, Inc..
Our current source licensees include Data General, Control Data, Wang,
Techtronix and Emulex.

Lynx also sells 386 AT compatible systems and VME systems based on the
Motorola 147 board.

---------------------------

Mitchell Bunnell
Lynx Real-time Systems, Inc.	(408) 370-2233
550 Division St
Campbell, CA 95008

"Jim, I feel here that Scott may be too tall in the area of height with
reference to Vanilla, who is too near the ground in the area of being
too short at this time." Timmy Jones (a.k.a Eric Idol)

dupont (Pierre Dupont) (10/04/90)

I would like to know of any real-time Unix implementations that are 
System V compatible and claim to conform to the POSIX 1003.1 and 1003.4
standards. Any information such as the hardware platforms it runs on and
any first-hand experience with the product would be appreciated.

mbrown@tonic.osf.org (Mark Brown) (10/04/90)

In article <1990Oct3.171822.18380@mdivax1.uucp>,  writes:
|> I would like to know of any real-time Unix implementations that are 
|> System V compatible and claim to conform to the POSIX 1003.1 and 1003.4
|> standards. Any information such as the hardware platforms it runs on and
|> any first-hand experience with the product would be appreciated.

This is gonna be kind of tough, considering that 1003.4 isn't a standard
yet (hence, no one can "conform")...

Mark Brown   IBM AWD / OSF  |"Coffee for my breakfast, whiskey by the side
The Good     mbrown@osf.org | it's a dark and gloomy mornin',
The Bad     uunet!osf!mbrown| gonna rain outside, outside ---
The Ugly     (617) 621-8981 |              ...and the forecast calls for pain."

gt0178a@prism.gatech.EDU (Jim Burns) (10/04/90)

in article <1990Oct3.171822.18380@mdivax1.uucp>,  says:

> I would like to know of any real-time Unix implementations that are 
> System V compatible and claim to conform to the POSIX 1003.1 and 1003.4

Add HP-UX to your list. It's SVID, and 1003.1 (don't know about 1003.4).

> standards. Any information such as the hardware platforms it runs on and

HP 9000/300 & 800

> any first-hand experience with the product would be appreciated.

Like what? I use mostly IPC's, not real-time priorities (implemented as
0-127, w/*no* automatic nicing for long running procs.) The 800 is
definitely a peppy system, and IMHO is one of the better combination
BSD/SysV implementations.
-- 
BURNS,JIM
Georgia Institute of Technology, Box 30178, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp:	  ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!gt0178a
Internet: gt0178a@prism.gatech.edu

amen@SGI.COM (Bob Amen) (10/09/90)

From article <1990Oct3.171822.18380@mdivax1.uucp>, by <somebody>:
+ I would like to know of any real-time Unix implementations that are 
+ System V compatible and claim to conform to the POSIX 1003.1 and 1003.4
+ standards. Any information such as the hardware platforms it runs on and
+ any first-hand experience with the product would be appreciated.

	Silicon Graphics version of Unix (IRIX) has guarenteed interrupt
response (time from receipt of interrupt to 1st line of user code) of 1.3
millisec.  It is SVID compliant and is POSIX 1003.1 compatable.  We are
working on full POSIX compliance which should be achieved by the next
release of IRIX (shceduled for sometime Q1 CY91).  When P1003.4 is decided
on SGI will implement the standards.
-- 
	      Bob Amen (amen@sgi.com) (+1 213 312-0227)
	Silicon Graphics Computer Systems -- Los Angeles Office