Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

XtratuM/PPC: a hypervisor for partitioned system on PowerPC processors

  • Published:
The Journal of Supercomputing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 08 November 2012

Abstract

High-performance processors give opportunities and challenges for development of real-time and embedded applications. New advances in hardware introduce new questions as alternatives to enable multiple applications to share a single processor and memory, so that the high-performance hardware that contains millions of transistors can be fully utilized, as also the way to keep system dependable and stable by making applications stay in spatial and temporal isolation inside same system. It is introduced in this paper XtratuM, a real-time hypervisor designed and implemented based on the concept of a partitioned system, by enabling partitions to execute simultaneously in spatial and temporal isolation without interfering with each other, but sharing the same hardware. Still in this paper, we provide a brief introduction on partitioned systems and its significance, also presenting the prototype implementation of XtratuM on PowerPC architecture including essential parts: hypercalls, timer, interrupt, and memory management implementations. Benchmark applications have been carried out to illustrate that the model implemented by XtratuM is suitable to offer the capability of spatial and temporal isolation under real-time requirements.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kim D (2001) Strongly partitioned system architecture for integration of real-time applications. Dissertation, University of Florida

  2. Tokar JL (2003) Space & time partitioning with ARINC 653 and pragma profile. In: IRTAW’03: Proceedings of the 12th international workshop on Real-time Ada. ACM, New York. ISSN:1094-3641

    Google Scholar 

  3. Rushby J (1981) Design and verification of secure systems. In: The 8th ACM symposium on operating system principles, Pacific Grove, California, 14–16 December 1981. ACM Operating systems review, vol 15, no 5, pp 12–21

    Google Scholar 

  4. Vanfleet MW, Luke JA et al (2005) MILS: architecture for high-assurance embedded computing. J Def Softw Eng 18(8):12–16

    Google Scholar 

  5. Scott Harrison W, Hanebutte N et al (2005) The MILS architecture for a secure global information grid. J Def Softw Eng 18(10):20–24

    Google Scholar 

  6. Cook A (1995) ARINC 653—challenges of the present and future. Microprocess Microsyst 19(10):575–579. doi:10.1016/0141-9331(96)84158-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Delange J, Pautet L et al (2009) Validating safety and security requirements for partitioned architectures. Lecture notes in computer science, vol 5570. Springer, Berlin, pp 30–43. ISBN 978-3-642-01923-4

    Book  Google Scholar 

  8. Cook A, Hunt KJR (1997) ARINC 653—achieving software re-use. Microprocess Microsyst 20(8):479–483. doi:10.1016/S0141-9331(97)01113-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Masmano M, Peiró S et al (2012) IO virtualisation in a partitioned system. In: Proceeding of the 6th embedded real time software and systems congress (ERTS2 2012), Toulouse, France, February 2012

    Google Scholar 

  10. Behmann F (2009) Virtualization for embedded power architecture CPUs. Electronics Products September 2009 Issue, pp 32–33

  11. Fuchsen R (2008) Virtualization concepts for safety-critical systems. Boards & Solutions— Eur Embed Comput Mag April:36–37

    Google Scholar 

  12. VMware Inc (2006) White Paper—Virtualization Overview

  13. Santos S, Rufino J, Schoofs T, Tatibana C, Windsor J (2008) A portable ARINC 653 standard interface. In: Proceeding of the IEEE/AIAA 27th digital avionics systems conference (DASC08), St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, October 2008

    Google Scholar 

  14. Masmano M, Ripoll I, Crespo A et al (2009) XtratuM: a hypervisor for safety critical embedded systems. In: Proceeding of the eleventh real-time Linux workshop, Dresden, German, pp 263–272

    Google Scholar 

  15. Kernel based virtual machine. http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/PowerPC

  16. Rui Z, Baojun W, Siro A, McGuire N, Qingguo Z (2007) XtratuM for PowerPC. In: The 9th real-time Linux workshop, Linz, Austria

    Google Scholar 

  17. SYSGO product datasheet of PikeOS. http://www.sysgo.com/fileadmin/user_upload/datasheets/PikeOS.pdf

  18. da Silva Pascoal EMC (2008) AMOBA–ARINC653 simulator for modular space based applications. Dissertation, Universidade de Lisboa

  19. Baumann C, Bormer T (2009) Verifying the PikeOS microkernel: first results in the verisoft XT avionics project. In: Huuck R, Klein G, Schlich B (eds) Doctoral symposium on systems software verification (DS SSV’09), Department of Computer Science, RWTH Aachen, June 2009, number AIB-2009-14 in Aachener Informatik Berichte, pp 20–22.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Baumann C, Beckert B et al (2009) Formal verification of a microkernel used in dependable software systems. In: Buth B, Rabe G, Seyfarth T (eds) Computer safety, reliability, and security (SAFECOMP 2009). Lecture notes in computer science, vol 5775. Springer, Hamburg, pp 187–200

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  21. Kalinich S (2009) Networking in space: or the longest ethernet cord ever. http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2009/6/3/networking-in-space-or-thelongest-ethernet-cord-ever.aspx

  22. Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (2006) PPC440 Processor user’s manual, revision 1.04, April 21, 2006

  23. Real-Time Systems GmbH, http://www.real-time-systems.com/real-time_hypervisor

  24. XtratuM Project, http://www.xtratum.org

  25. PIKA Technologies Inc., PIKA technologies selects AMCC, http://www.pikatechnologies.com/english/View.asp?mp=803&x=978

  26. LynuxWorks Inc., RTOS for Software Certification: LynxOS-178, http://www.lynuxworks.com/rtos/rtos-178.php

  27. Masmano M, Ripoll I, Crespo A et al (2005) Framework for real-time embedded systems based on COntRacts: nanokernels for multidomain support Industrial Informatics and Real-Time Systems Group, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia

  28. Masmano M, Ripoll I, Crespo A (2005) An overview of the XtratuM nanokernel. In: Workshop on operating systems platforms for embedded real-time applications, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain

    Google Scholar 

  29. Salzberg Rodriguez C, Fischer G, Smolski S (2005) The Linux kernel primer: a top-down approach for X86 and PowerPC architectures. Prentice Hall, New York. ISBN: 0-13-118163-7

    Google Scholar 

  30. Bovet DP, Cesati M (2005) Understanding Linux kernel, 3rd edn, O’Reilly. ISBN: 0-596-00565-2

  31. Buttazzo GC (2005) Rate-monotonic vs. EDF: judgement day. Real-Time Syst 29(1):5–26

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  32. Chang H-C, Li K-C, Lin Y-L, Yang C-T, Wang H-H, Lee L-T (2005) Performance issues of grid computing based on different architecture cluster computing platforms. In: AINA’2005, pp 321–324

    Google Scholar 

  33. Li K-C, Weng T-H (2009) Performance-based parallel application toolkit for high-performance clusters. J Supercomput 48(1):43–65

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 60973137, Gansu Sci. & Tech. Program under Grant No. 1104GKCA049, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant No. lzujbky-2010-89 and lzujbky-2012-44, 2011 Google Faculty Award Program, China and National Science Council (NSC), Taiwan, under grant NSC101-2221-E-126-002-. The authors also appreciate Prof. Alfons Crespo and other members of the Real-Time Systems Group, Department of Computer Engineering and RiuNet of Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain, where co-author Rui Zhou developed his master thesis (“Partitioned System with XtratuM on PowerPC”, http://hdl.handle.net/10251/12738).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Rui Zhou, Qingguo Zhou & Yong Sheng

  2. Dept. of Computer Science and Information Engineering (CSIE), Providence University, Shalu, Taichung, Taiwan

    Kuan-Ching Li

Authors
  1. Rui Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Qingguo Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yong Sheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kuan-Ching Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kuan-Ching Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zhou, R., Zhou, Q., Sheng, Y. et al. XtratuM/PPC: a hypervisor for partitioned system on PowerPC processors. J Supercomput 63, 593–610 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11227-012-0833-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11227-012-0833-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation