A Selection Methodology for the RTOS Market
Philip Melanson, S. Tafazoli · ESASP · 2003
In past years, the market of Operating Systems (OS) has been quite active. One of those key markets is to support embedded real-time applications in which the OS must guarantee the timeliness as well as the correctness of the processing. Many OS claim to be Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS), but often, it is only by reviewing the OS specifications or detailed information that one can truly identify the OS that enables realtime applications. Designers are faced with and impressive task when selecting an RTOS for their space mission. Whether for historical reasons or due to the rapid evolution of the RTOS market, it appears that RTOS are not evaluated for each mission but rather imposed. Although reasons for imposing this choice can be well justified, other times one is left to wonder if the lack of evaluation to mission requirements can lead to increased risks down the road. How does one select the proper RTOS for space missions, which will a) meet the requirements, b) correspond with the knowledge and expertise of the staff and c) continue to be a strategic choice for the future? The purpose of this paper is to compare commercially available RTOS that are suitable for space missions requiring hard real-time capabilities. It is our belief that this research identifies the important products for space missions and presents a methodology to select the appropriate RTOS that will meet design requirements and other relevant criteria. Lastly, the paper will present the volatility of the market in the past two years and determine the implications for embedded systems used in space missions.