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sequality software engineering e.U. • Softwarepark 26 • A-4232 Hagenberg • Tel. +43 7236 26 101 office@sequality.at • www.sequality.at • FN 352387 t Landesgericht Linz • UID: ATU65951446

Embedded Linux with Real-Time – An Evaluation

Embedded Linux system are increasingly required to perform complex tasks under strict timing

contraints. While Embedded Linux has become the defacto standard for embedded operating

systems due to its flexiblity, openness and rich ecosystem, it

is not inherently designed for real-time applications. The

thesis shall evaluate the suitablity of Embedded Linux for

real-time use cases by analysing its performance, limitations

and available solutions. Specifically, the Linux real-time

enhancement PREEMPT_RT offers an interesting approach

to bring real-time features to Linux. The PREEMPT_RT patch

was fully merged in mainline Linux in September 2024 and

now is available as a kernel configuration option.

The goal of the thesis is to conduct a series of practical

experiments and benchmarking tests on selected

Embedded Linux hardware to compare latencies,

predictablity and system responsiveness. To do that,

benchmarks should not be performed with existing synthetic benchmark suites, but with an own

implementation of an Ethernet-communication and/or CAN-Bus-communication szenario that

reflects typical system requirements of an automotive-off-highway project at sequality.

Tasks:

• Set up comparable embedded systems with standard Embedded Linux, Embedded Linux with

PREEMPT_RT and/or other Real-Time solutions

• Implement typical communication szenarios to measure latencies and system performance

under various system loads, e.g. Ethernet UDP Roundtrip, CAN-Roundtrip

• Perform benchmarking tests and interpret results

• Evaluate reliablity, maintainability and the ecosystem available for these systems

Technologies and Frameworks:

• Embedded Linux, PREEMPT_RT

• C/C++, Ethernet (UDP/TCP), Socket-CAN

• Overview of alternative real-time approaches (e.g. Zephyr, FreeRTOS)

Contact:

DI (FH) Stefan Larndorfer, Stefan.Larndorfer@sequality.at

sequality software engineering, Softwarepark 26, A-4232 Hagenberg

www.sequality.at