Arm Mbed is known as a free, open source platform and operating system that makes it easier to design IoT products based on Cortex-M micro-controllers, but the company figured out it might be a good idea to make something similar for IoT devices based on Arm Cortex-A processor and that’s exactly what Mbed Linux OS is made for.
Embedded & IoT devices normally need to be supported for many years, often optimized for cost and battery life, and make sure security patchsets are applying to your products. Companies often managed to do all those themselves but it’s not the most cost-effective solution, so instead Arm decided to leverage Linux and offer Mbed Linux OS optimized for IoT devices yo their customers. The solution comes with built-in security, device management (e.g. OTA firmware upgrades) via the Pelion IoT Platform, common development tools for faster time to market, and so on.
Some of the highlights for Mbed Linux OS:
A few of the highlights of what we have planned are:
- Secure, signed boot and signed updates to protect against unauthorized changes based on Arm’s Platform Security Architecture principles.
- Applications can be deployed in OCI compliant containers for improved security
- Integration with Pelion for device provisioning, connectivity and updates, including support for Pelion Device Management Application that simplifies in-field provisioning, and removes the need for legacy serial connections for initial device configuration.
- Optional commercial support for customers who need the reassurance of a firm SLA and platform longevity.
- Tools to help you get prototyping and demoing quickly, including support for popular development boards (Raspberry Pi, Raspberry Pi 3) and production ready modules (NXP i.MX 7Solo based WaRP7).
- Mbed Linux OS and test suites will be open source.
There are not many other details at this stage, with the announcement made right before Arm Techcon 2018, and the developer preview is actually planned for Spring 2019. You can register your interest on the product page.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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It’s a shame they didn’t fund #include “os” instead to support Cortex-A and integrating mbed over that instead. It’s a really awesome project where you run your programs **really** bare metal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4etEwG2_LY
It did not last too long. “Mbed Linux OS has been deprecated as a product in the Pelion portfolio.”