MQX
Encyclopedia
MQX RTOS is a real-time
operating system
developed by Precise Software Technologies Inc., and currently sold by ARC International
, Embedded Access Inc, and Freescale.
Like most real-time operating systems, MQX RTOS includes a multitasking
kernel with pre-emptive scheduling
and fast interrupt
response, extensive inter-process communication
and synchronization
facilities, and a file system
.
Major distinguishing features of MQX include powerful, preemptive real-time performance with optimized context switch and interrupt times, enabling fast, highly predictable response times. Its small, configurable size conserves memory space for embedded applications and it can be configured to take as little as 6 KB of ROM, including kernel, interrupts, semaphores, queues and memory manager.
MQX RTOS includes a TCP/IP stack (RTCS), embedded MS-Dos file sysytem (MFS), USB Host/Device Stack, as well as Design, Task-Aware debugging (TAD), Remote debugging and performance analysis tools.
MQX RTOS is generally used in embedded system
s. MQX development is done on a "host" machine running Unix or Windows, cross-compiling
target software to run on various "target" CPU
architectures.
MQX RTOS has been ported to a number of platforms and now runs on practically any modern CPU that is used in the embedded market. This includes Kinetis, ColdFire, PowerPC
, ARC
, ARM
, StrongARM
, xScale
CPUs.
All new Kinetis (ARM - CortexM4) and ColdFire® devices are to be enabled with complimentary Freescale MQX RTOS. Freescale plans to expand the availability of this complimentary integrated enablement software to include many embedded processors in its broad portfolio.
/Freescale PowerPC
and ARM
. In 2004, Embedded Access assumed distribution and support of the MQX RTOS on non-ARC processor architectures. In 2009, Freescale began shipping the MQX RTOS complimentary with selected ColdFire MCUs. The MQX RTOS has been used in thousands of embedded projects by over 1000 companies, who have shipped millions of products running MQX. Today companies such as ABB, Agilent, ATI Technologies, Bauch and Lomb, General Dynamics, Daewoo, Exabyte, General Electric, B.F. Goodrich, Liebert, Matrox, Mitel Networks, Philips, Porsche, QLogic, SICK, Sony, Tyco and Xerox use MQX in applications such as Industrial Control, Networking, Storage and Consumer Electronics.
Real-time operating system
A real-time operating system is an operating system intended to serve real-time application requests.A key characteristic of a RTOS is the level of its consistency concerning the amount of time it takes to accept and complete an application's task; the variability is jitter...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
developed by Precise Software Technologies Inc., and currently sold by ARC International
ARC International
ARC International plc was a developer of configurable microprocessor technology and is now owned by Synopsys. ARC developed synthesisable IP and licensed it to semiconductor companies....
, Embedded Access Inc, and Freescale.
Like most real-time operating systems, MQX RTOS includes a multitasking
Computer multitasking
In computing, multitasking is a method where multiple tasks, also known as processes, share common processing resources such as a CPU. In the case of a computer with a single CPU, only one task is said to be running at any point in time, meaning that the CPU is actively executing instructions for...
kernel with pre-emptive scheduling
Scheduling (computing)
In computer science, a scheduling is the method by which threads, processes or data flows are given access to system resources . This is usually done to load balance a system effectively or achieve a target quality of service...
and fast interrupt
Interrupt
In computing, an interrupt is an asynchronous signal indicating the need for attention or a synchronous event in software indicating the need for a change in execution....
response, extensive inter-process communication
Inter-process communication
In computing, Inter-process communication is a set of methods for the exchange of data among multiple threads in one or more processes. Processes may be running on one or more computers connected by a network. IPC methods are divided into methods for message passing, synchronization, shared...
and synchronization
Synchronization
Synchronization is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time....
facilities, and a file system
File system
A file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...
.
Major distinguishing features of MQX include powerful, preemptive real-time performance with optimized context switch and interrupt times, enabling fast, highly predictable response times. Its small, configurable size conserves memory space for embedded applications and it can be configured to take as little as 6 KB of ROM, including kernel, interrupts, semaphores, queues and memory manager.
MQX RTOS includes a TCP/IP stack (RTCS), embedded MS-Dos file sysytem (MFS), USB Host/Device Stack, as well as Design, Task-Aware debugging (TAD), Remote debugging and performance analysis tools.
MQX RTOS is generally used in embedded system
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
s. MQX development is done on a "host" machine running Unix or Windows, cross-compiling
Cross compiler
A cross compiler is a compiler capable of creating executable code for a platform other than the one on which the compiler is run. Cross compiler tools are used to generate executables for embedded system or multiple platforms. It is used to compile for a platform upon which it is not feasible to...
target software to run on various "target" CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
architectures.
MQX RTOS has been ported to a number of platforms and now runs on practically any modern CPU that is used in the embedded market. This includes Kinetis, ColdFire, PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
, ARC
ARC
ARC may refer to:- Business :* African Rainforest Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit* Airport Regions Conference, a European organization of major airports* Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation, a British stone quarrying company...
, ARM
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
, StrongARM
StrongARM
The StrongARM is a family of microprocessors that implemented the ARM V4 instruction set architecture . It was developed by Digital Equipment Corporation and later sold to Intel, who continued to manufacture it before replacing it with the XScale....
, xScale
XScale
The XScale, a microprocessor core, is Intel's and Marvell's implementation of the ARMv5 architecture, and consists of several distinct families: IXP, IXC, IOP, PXA and CE . Intel sold the PXA family to Marvell Technology Group in June 2006....
CPUs.
All new Kinetis (ARM - CortexM4) and ColdFire® devices are to be enabled with complimentary Freescale MQX RTOS. Freescale plans to expand the availability of this complimentary integrated enablement software to include many embedded processors in its broad portfolio.
History
MQX had it origins at Dy4 Systems Inc., a company based in Ottawa, Canada. A small team of software engineers at Dy4 consisting of Jeremy James, Mati Sauks and Craig Honegger started researching novel applications for embedded multiprocessors in 1984. This work led to the use of a real-time operating system in writing firmware for Dy4 single board computers. In 1989, Jeremy James and Mati Sauks commercialized the Harmony Real-time Operating System under the name of MPX, which was developed for portable multiprocessor real-time systems by the National Research Council Canada and created a company called Precise Software Technologies Inc. This effort led to the development of the Precise Real-Time Executive technology that was the basis of a product call MQX and MQX+m, which were real-time executives for single processor and multiprocessor applications. The unique asynchronous message passing paradigm delivered by MQX when it was introduced in 1991 and the royalty-free licensing model were accepted immediately in the embedded real-time market. Since the introduction of MQX, which stands for Message Queue eXecutive, Precise continually added functionality to the MQX RTOS through it various iterations and versions. Precise Software Technologies Inc. was acquired by ARC International in March, 2000 and continued to develop, license and sell MQX on many new processor architectures including Freescale ColdFire, IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
/Freescale PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
and ARM
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
. In 2004, Embedded Access assumed distribution and support of the MQX RTOS on non-ARC processor architectures. In 2009, Freescale began shipping the MQX RTOS complimentary with selected ColdFire MCUs. The MQX RTOS has been used in thousands of embedded projects by over 1000 companies, who have shipped millions of products running MQX. Today companies such as ABB, Agilent, ATI Technologies, Bauch and Lomb, General Dynamics, Daewoo, Exabyte, General Electric, B.F. Goodrich, Liebert, Matrox, Mitel Networks, Philips, Porsche, QLogic, SICK, Sony, Tyco and Xerox use MQX in applications such as Industrial Control, Networking, Storage and Consumer Electronics.
Competitive operating systems
Similar real-time operating systems are available from other vendors:- VxWorksVxWorksVxWorks is a real-time operating system developed as proprietary software by Wind River Systems of Alameda, California, USA. First released in 1987, VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems.- History :...
- eCosECoseCos is an open source, royalty-free, real-time operating system intended for embedded systems and applications which need only one process with multiple threads. It is designed to be customizable to precise application requirements of run-time performance and hardware needs...
- embOSSegger Microcontroller SystemsSegger Microcontroller Systems is a multinational company dealing in middleware for embedded devices and development tools. The company, founded in 1991, is headquartered in Hilden, Germany with a US office in Westminster, Massachusetts....
- INTEGRITYIntegrity (operating system)INTEGRITY is a real-time operating system produced and marketed by Green Hills Software. It is royalty-free, POSIX-certified, and intended for use in embedded systems needing reliability, availability, and fault tolerance. It is built atop the velOSity microkernel and is intended mainly for modern...
- Nucleus RTOSNucleus RTOSNucleus OS is a real-time operating system and toolset created by the Embedded Systems Division of Mentor Graphics for various central processing unit platforms. Nucleus OS is an embedded software solution and is in an estimated 2.11 billion devices worldwide.Development is typically done on a...
- OS-9OS-9OS-9 is a family of real-time, process-based, multitasking, multi-user, Unix-like operating systems, developed in the 1980s, originally by Microware Systems Corporation for the Motorola 6809 microprocessor. It is currently owned by RadiSys Corporation....
- RTEMSRTEMSRTEMS is a free open source real-time operating system designed for embedded systems....
- open source RTOS - ThreadXThreadXThreadX, developed and marketed by Express Logic, Inc. of San Diego, California, USA, is a real-time operating system . Similar RTOSes are available from other vendors such as VxWorks, Nucleus RTOS, OSE, QNX, LynxOS, etc...
- TRONTRON ProjectTRON is an open real-time operating system kernel design, and is an acronym for "The Real-time Operating system Nucleus". The project was started by Prof. Dr. Ken Sakamura of the University of Tokyo in 1984...
- u-velOSity
- VRTX