Mentor Blogs

The concept of machine-to-machine communication (M2M) is the foundation of the Internet of Things (IoT). Of the few core technologies that help facilitate this, zero configuration networking (zeroconf) is key. Zero configuration networking is what allows your personal, portable wireless devices to talk to other similar devices – without any additional setup required from the user. In the pre-zeroconf … Read More

M2M, mDNS, smart energy, zeroconf, Networking, RTOS

I was having some trouble with my Internet connection recently. I will probably never know exactly what was wrong [as ADSL is, for intents and purposes, magic], but investigating the problem was interesting. I am not a networking specialist, so I would expect that messing with the settings inside a router would be hard, but the manufacturers have made it very simple. I began to wonder why there are … Read More

HTTP, Networking, Web, Nucleus

For quite a few years, the need to update the primary protocol used by the Internet – the Internet Protocol or IP – has been apparent and has been becoming increasingly urgent. There are a number of reasons why a protocol designed in the 1970s is inadequate for the 21st Century, but addressing capacity is the really urgent issue. I think it’s amazing that IPv4 [I have no idea what … Read More

IPv6, NAT, Wi-Fi, Networking, Nucleus

I am not a networking specialist. If you are an expert in this area, this posting will be teaching a grandmother to suck eggs [strange expression - I wonder what it actually means]. Obviously, over years of working with embedded systems, I have learned quite a lot about protocols, so learning about a new one is not starting from scratch. For many, networking begins and ends with TCP/IP. However, there … Read More

Networking, TCP/IP, USB

I was recently approached for help by a Mentor Graphics customer, who was planning a new project and needed to select an operating system. They wanted guidance with that choice. Of course, one is tempted to say that it does not matter which of our products they chose [as, between them, Nucleus RTOS and Mentor Embedded Linux do cover most possibilities], but I felt they needed something more objective. There … Read More

Windows CE, Source Code, Linux, Low Power, RTOS, Networking, Nucleus

Multicore is a hot topic at the moment. The subject crops up in numerous articles and I have written about it before. Surveys suggest that, before long, more than half of embedded designs will be implemented using multiple CPUs. There are broadly two hardware architectures: homogeneous multicore, where there are numerous identical cores, and heterogeneous multicore, where the cores differ in architecture. … Read More

Networking, Multicore, Nucleus, Multi-OS

I have always for medical electronics interesting and I have blogged about it from time to time [here and here, for example]. Part of the reason for my interest stems from an occasional feeling that so much of the electronics around me is ultimately pointless. Many Mentor Embedded customers are making consumer devices, cell phones and other gadgets. Do we really need all of these? Aren’t they really … Read More

Android, User Interface, Linux, Networking, Inflexion UI, Low Power, Nucleus, Multicore, Medical, RTOS

In the early days of PCs, the software was very fragile - from a security point of view. Virus software could easily infiltrate a system and it was common practice to be very careful with the use of media from non-trusted sources. Then, everyone started to be connected to the Internet and the problem became orders of magnitude worse and we all have a justifiable paranoia about the security of our online … Read More

Networking, Automotive

There are two aspects of any product that give me great pleasure: good design and quality of manufacture. This applies to just about anything: a pair of shoes, a car, a house , a piece of software … Assessing both these parameters can be hard. A pair of shoes must look good, be comfortable to wear and last well; this takes time to evaluate. A car needs to be enjoyable to ride in, drive well and offer … Read More

RTOS, Development Tools, Networking, Evaluation

There is a good, albeit rather general, rule that applies to the management of a successful business: focus on what you do well, then do it better than everyone else. There are numerous examples of how companies have been very successful by following this approach. But the world of embedded software is commonly an exception … To start with, I can cite some examples of good practice: Have you heard … Read More

Networking, Nucleus Kernel, Nucleus, RTOS, Nucleus Networking

I will be straight with you. I am not a networking specialist. I look at the long list of protocols that we support with Nucleus OS and I recognize a large proportion of them. I probably know what they are used for and may even know what the arcane abbreviations and acronyms stand for. But I have little clue about their inner workings. That is fine. Nobody can be an expert in everything and I have colleagues … Read More

Nucleus Kernel, TCP/IP, Networking, Nucleus, RTOS