Integration of Linux Communication Stacks Into Embedded Operating Systems

Abstract

As the explosion of Internet, Internet connectivity is required for versatile computing systems. TCP/IP protocol is the core technology for this connectivity. However, to implement TCP/IP protocol stacks for a target operating system from the scratch is a time-consuming and error-prone task. Because of the spirit of GNU GPL and open source codes, Linux gains its popularity and has the advantages of stability, reliability, high performance, and well documentation. These advantages let making use of the existing open source codes and integrating Linux TCP/IP protocol stacks into a target operating system become a feasible and cost-effective way. In this paper, we describe how to integrate Linux communication stacks into LyraOS, a component- based operating system for embedded systems. Under the component design principle, the communication stack should also be implemented as a separate and self-contained component. So the integration work should deal with the difference of system design principles and kernel architectures. This work includes modifying Linux communication stack codes and implementing LyraOS kernel support modules. Performance evaluation shows that for TCP transmission, LyraOS performed better than Linux by 7.39%. The experience of this integration study can be of practical value to serve as the reference for embedding TCP/IP stacks into a target system.