BSDCan2007 - Confirmed Schedule
BSDCan 2007
The Technical BSD Conference
| Speakers | |
|---|---|
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Howard Harvey |
| Schedule | |
|---|---|
| Day | 3 |
| Room | SITE B0138 |
| Start time | 16:30 |
| Duration | 01:00 |
| Info | |
| ID | 18 |
| Event type | Lecture |
| Track | Embedded |
| Language | English |
| Feedback | |
|---|---|
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Embedding NetBSD
Embedding NetBSD - Portability Lesson's from the Lunatic Fringe
The use of embedded BSD in "software defined" hardware environments (such as FPGAs) that will exhibit a plethora of distinctly hostile behaviours entails a number of engineering decisions and trade-offs that are decidedly outside the norm of conventional hardware/software systems design. We'd like to share what we have learned about embedding BSD, and how we solve some of the problems that are related to the use of BSD operating systems in some rather unanticipated environments.
General Dynamics Canada has undertaken the use of NetBSD to deliver a number a number of ruggedized communications devices.
These products involve a number of interesting technologies, such as embedding NetBSD and related peripherals inside FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) devices. FPGA's are a rather novel place to run an operating system, and they offer a number of skull stretching challenges, as well as some distinctly funky solutions to problems you may not realize you have.
Portability means different things to different people, and we have a rather unique perspective on the use of BSD in the process of developing hardware and software that exposes aspects of portability that are by turns both fascinating and maddening, often simultaneously.
We use NetBSD in ruggedized (seriously ruggedized!) platforms such as wheeled and tracked vehicles operating under conditions that can be described as distinctly hostile. People talk about "bullet proof" code, we actually know what it means to develop a bulletproof BSD-based computing solution.