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Embedded Linux developer LynuxWorks Inc., shaking off the legal uncertainty around Linux and whether it includes unauthorized Unix code, has embraced the upcoming Linux 2.6 kernel in its latest product.
The San Jose, Calif., company this week will announce availability of a public beta program for the next version of its embedded Linux operating system, BlueCat Linux 5.0, which is based on the as-yet-unreleased Linux 2.6 kernel.
The 2.6 kernel is the release that makes Linux “suitable for the embedded market as it comes out of the box,” LynuxWorks CEO Inder Singh told eWEEK last week.
BlueCat Linux 5.0, the first embedded Linux implementation based on the 2.6 kernel, is scheduled for release in November. Meanwhile, the 2.6 production kernel isnt expected to be released much before the end of the year.
The enhanced real-time features in the 2.6 kernel will provide developers with greater performance that was unattainable in earlier versions of Linux. The kernel is pre-emptible and has an embedded scheduler at a much lower latency, Singh said.
LynuxWorks targets the communications and defense aerospace markets with its products and counts Lockheed Martin Corp., Rockwell International Corp. and The Boeing Co. among its customers.
The beta is targeted at developers interested in testing the Linux 2.6 kernel for a range of development applications, from small consumer devices to large systems. Singh said he is not seeing a pullback from government and enterprise customers as a result of The SCO Groups legal threats against IBM and the corporate Linux community.
Not all Linux users are unconcerned, however. Robert Proffitt, an embedded-programming consultant in Boston, said he is worried by the SCO moves and would feel more comfortable paying for a license than waiting until the matter is resolved in court.
Proffitt welcomed BlueCat Linux 5.0 and LynuxWorks move to release an embedded operating system based on the 2.6 kernel. “These better kernels are always welcome,” he said.