The Future of the Linux Distro for Embedded Devices
The interview started with a segment about how the connected future might look and why cloud developers and embedded developers must work together to realize that connected future. Next, the conversation turned to embedded developers and then to how a portable Linux distro containerized can solve these problems.
The Connected Future Of Everything
Ricardo says that we are entering a world in which different types of embedded and cloud developers will merge to achieve a single goal. Kubernetes, cloud technology, and its ecosystem have ushered in an era where almost all companies are software companies. Companies no longer see developers and the technology that they create as an ancillary service, but as integral parts of their DNA.
Developers have been the backbone of companies in embedded environments. As we get closer to the Internet of Things, cloud developers and embedded developers will need to combine their technology with best practices in order for IoT-connected worlds.
Where Is Linux Going?
Combining the cloud and embedded worlds is what will lead to it that can be used for IoT devices. Ricardo believes that the future of building and using embedded Linux distros will be in the cloud’s infrastructure. An embedded distro, for example, must be portable and easy to use. Cloud developers can also spin up Kubernetes instances with no need to think about which Linux operating system they are using.
A Stable Embedded Linux Distro
It should be immutable and offer many options for cloud developers just like infrastructure. It must be portable, flexible, customizable, and able to run any app, just like containers in the cloud.
When faced with a new project, most developers turn to popular distros such as Ubuntu or Fedora by Red Hat. You might choose the distro you feel most comfortable with. What if you could get rid of a distro from one vendor and just use the features you need from every distro? A world in which embedded features could be shared between developers would be even better for collaboration and faster development.
How Embedded Developers See Firmware
Before we can get into the details about creating an immutable Linux distro we must first understand the requirements of embedded developers.
Many People Don’t Think Of Projects As A Distro
Many embedded developers don’t see a distro as a concept. They will create a customized or stripped-down version, or a modular distro, such as OpenWRT. Or they might take the time to make one with Buildroot. Also, see ” Guide for Building Embedded Linux System with Containers”.
Each Use Case Requires Customization
A distro-like build system has been tried by some developers for embedded devices. Linaro, for example, has created several reference distros which allow developers to build OSes on most boards. It was not supported by all chipsets. Ricardo says that many developers end up creating their own boards and chipsets and then customizing them for their particular use cases.
The Same Board Across Diverse Product Lines
In the past, it was easy to build an OS for a specific device because most devices didn’t connect. However, as the world evolves, the process of customizing each device based on its use case can become more complicated. Some companies have hundreds of product lines, including washing machines and TVs. Although only a few boards can power each piece of equipment, the features will vary.
It’s not about choosing the best distro for each board, but how can you make each of them modular from a software perspective so they can be used anywhere in your product line?
Software-Defined IoT Infrastructure
A device can be defined by its function. It is not the distro that must enable these features. Instead of having a container engine in an extensive distro that runs on Qualcomm SDK, Broadcom HDK, OpenWRT, or Pantavisor, you can have a portable and modular containerized embedded platform.
Pantavisor is a completely new method of creating embedded Linux systems. You can use containers to create the features you need in your Linux system when you are designing, building, and implementing it with Pantavisor Linux. System containers are brought up by Pantavisor at Linux boot time. It also maintains the blueprint for all containers in the system, and how they interact with each other.
Pantavisor is not a large distro that has no purpose other than to host an app container engine. Pantavisor helps you think of product design as a collection of modular functions and moves you away from a large distro. You can, for example, take a networking container and put it in another project. You can also take advantage of specific containerized features if you are certain it is better for Wi-fi. Ricardo says that instead of focusing on the Web Server you should use, it is better to think about what kind of networking you require.
A system like this opens up new ways of thinking about embedded systems, product design, and collaboration. For example, you can start to think about your embedded system as portable microservices in the same way that cloud application developers look at it.
Linux Administrator
One can become a Linux administrator by either studying directly or having a few years of experience as a technician. This profile allows professionals to know everything that a technician does and many more. System admins are responsible for managing important services such as http, http, DNS; cron jobs, and setting up backups. The candidate must also be able to manage firewalls, packages, and secure servers. Most administrators work on server-oriented distributions, such as CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and CentOS. So in case you are planning to learn more about systems-administration job responsibilities then you should be smart to pick one of these distributions to study with.
Web Programmer and Application
Linux is rapidly growing in corporate environments. A large part of the web content publishing business relies on Linux, PHP, and MySQL. This means that more programmers are needed to write plugins and code in multiple languages. They can also design databases and apps, addons and scripts in different languages. Linux is gaining popularity in the desktop space, and many software companies and groups will target Linux desktops with their applications and games. These games and applications are usually programmed in high-level programming languages like GTK+ or QT, as well as low-level languages like C++, C, and Assembler.
Job Support
Many companies are looking for certified professionals to help them or their customers. Many large companies are switching to Linux to cut down on licensing costs due to the popularity of Linux in the corporate and enterprise arenas. This profile is for a support technician. The candidate will support employees to do their jobs without being confused or hindered by changes in their OS, applications, and methodologies. If you want to learn, APTRON Noida offers the best Linux training on an expert level.
Final Thoughts
This post discusses the future of Its and the inspiration behind Pantavisor Linux. Pantavisor Linux provides a framework to build, control, and maintain containerized embedded systems.
