Zephyr (operating system) explained

Zephyr
Logo Caption:Zephyr Project logo
Developer:Linux Foundation,
Wind River Systems
Family:Real-time operating systems
Working State:Current
Source Model:Open source
Latest Release Version:3.7.0
Latest Release Date:[1] [2]
Marketing Target:Internet of things, Embedded Systems
Programmed In:C
Language:English
Supported Platforms:ARM (Cortex-M, Cortex-R, Cortex-A), ARC, MIPS, Nios II, RISC-V, Xtensa, SPARC, x86, x86-64
Kernel Type:Microkernel (pre-v1.6)
Monolithic (v1.6+)
License:Apache 2.0
Preceded By:Wind River Rocket

Zephyr is a small real-time operating system (RTOS)[3] for connected, resource-constrained and embedded devices (with an emphasis on microcontrollers) supporting multiple architectures and released under the Apache License 2.0. Zephyr includes a kernel, and all components and libraries, device drivers, protocol stacks, file systems, and firmware updates, needed to develop full application software.[4]

It is named after Zephyrus, the ancient Greek god of the west wind.[5]

History

Zephyr originated from Virtuoso RTOS for digital signal processors (DSPs).[6] In 2001, Wind River Systems acquired Belgian software company Eonic Systems, the developer of Virtuoso. In November 2015, Wind River Systems renamed the operating system to Rocket, made it open-source and royalty-free.[7] Compared to Wind River's other RTOS, VxWorks, Rocket had much smaller memory needs, especially suitable for sensors and single-function embedded devices. Rocket could fit into as little as 4 KB of memory, while VxWorks needed 200 KB or more.[7]

In February 2016, Rocket became a hosted collaborative project of the Linux Foundation under the name Zephyr.[6] [8] [9] Wind River Systems contributed the Rocket kernel to Zephyr, but still provided Rocket to its clients, charging them for the cloud services.[7] As a result, Rocket became "essentially the commercial version of Zephyr".[10]

Since then, early members and supporters of Zephyr include Intel, NXP Semiconductors, Synopsys, Linaro,[11] Texas Instruments, DeviceTone, Nordic Semiconductor, Oticon, and Bose.[12]

, Zephyr had the largest number of contributors and commits compared to other RTOSes (including Mbed, RT-Thread, NuttX, and RIOT).[13]

Features

Zephyr intends to provide all components needed to develop resource-constrained and embedded or microcontroller-based applications. This includes, but is not limited to:[4]

Configuration and build system

Zephyr uses Kconfig and devicetree as its configuration systems, inherited from the Linux kernel but implemented in the programming language Python for portability to non-Unix operating systems.[14] The RTOS build system is based on CMake, which allows Zephyr applications to be built on Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows.[15]

Utility tool "West"

Zephyr has a general-purpose tool called "west" for managing repositories, downloading programs to hardware, etc.

Kernel

Early Zephyr kernels used a dual nanokernel plus microkernel design.[16] [17] [18] In December 2016, with Zephyr 1.6, this changed to a monolithic kernel.[17] [18]

The kernel offers several features that distinguish it from other small OSes:[4]

Security

A group is dedicated to maintaining and improving the security.[19] Also, being owned and supported by a community means the world's open source developers are vetting the code, which significantly increases security.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Zephyr v3.7.0. GitHub.
  2. Web site: Announcing Zephyr 3.7. Zephyr blog.
  3. News: Meet Linux's little brother: Zephyr, a tiny open-source IoT RTOS. 2016-02-17. LinuxGizmos.com. 2018-02-23. en-US.
  4. Web site: Zephyr Project documentation: Introduction . en.
  5. Web site: West (Zephyr’s meta-tool) — Zephyr Project Documentation. docs.zephyrproject.org.
  6. Web site: Clarysse . Ivo . November 22, 2019 . Zephyr – An Operating System for IoT . Zephyr Project.
  7. News: Turley . Jim . 25 November 2015 . Wind River Sets Rocket RTOS on Free Trajectory . Electronic Engineering Journal . Techfocus Media . en-US . 2018-02-23.
  8. News: Guerrini . Federico . 2016-02-19 . The Internet of Things Goes Open Source with Linux Foundation's Zephyr Project . . 2017-01-12.
  9. Web site: The Linux Foundation Announces Project to Build Real-Time Operating System for Internet of Things Devices . . 17 February 2016 . Zephyr Project . Linux Foundation . https://web.archive.org/web/20160310073146/https://www.zephyrproject.org/news/linux-foundation-announces-project-build-real-time-operating-system-internet-things-devices . 2016-03-10.
  10. Web site: Wind River Welcomes Linux Foundation's Zephyr Project . Patel . Niheer . 17 February 2016 . Wind River Systems . 18 February 2016 . 21 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160221003830/http://blogs.windriver.com/wind_river_blog/2016/02/wind-river-welcomes-linux-foundations-zephyr-project.html . dead .
  11. News: Osborne . Charlie . 2016-02-19 . The Linux Foundation's Zephyr Project: A custom operating system for IoT devices . . . 2017-01-12.
  12. Web site: Zephyr Project – A proven RTOS ecosystem, by developers, for developers.
  13. Web site: Zephyr GitHub page . . January 26, 2022.
  14. Web site: scripts/ folder . . 12 May 2020.
  15. Web site: Application Development: Zephyr Project Documentation . Zephyr Project.
  16. Web site: Wasserman . Shawn . February 22, 2016 . How Linux's IoT Zephyr Operating System Works . Engineering.com.
  17. Web site: Helm . Maureen . December 15, 2016 . Announcing Zephyr OS v1.6.0 . Zephyr Project.
  18. Web site: Wong . William G. . July 6, 2017 . Zephyr: A Wearable Operating System . Electronic Design.
  19. News: Wallen . Jack . 2016-02-18 . Linux Foundation announces Zephyr Project, an open source IoT operating system . . . 2017-01-12.