INTEGRITY Operating System

Overview of INTEGRITY Operating System

The INTEGRITY RTOS is a leading operating system that features a partitioning architecture designed to meet the highest requirements for security, reliability, and performance in embedded applications. It is widely recognized for its robustness and has received numerous certifications, which further validate its safety, security, and reliability standards. As a result, the INTEGRITY RTOS sets the industry standard for real-time operating systems, making it a preferred choice for developers who prioritize security and safety in their applications.

Introduction to INTEGRITY Operating System

INTEGRITY is an advanced real-time operating system (RTOS) developed by Green Hills Software. It is designed with a robust partitioning architecture, which allows developers to build applications that meet the highest standards for reliability, security, and performance. The INTEGRITY OS has a proven track record in a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, medical, and industrial automation, where safety and security are paramount. The INTEGRITY OS offers a rich set of features, including POSIX compatibility, message-passing support, and advanced memory protection, making it suitable for a wide range of applications. Additionally, the INTEGRITY OS has been certified by numerous standards organizations, including Common Criteria, which attests to its high level of security and reliability.

History and Inventions of INTEGRITY Operating System

The development of the INTEGRITY Operating System began in the late 1990s when Green Hills Software, founded by Dan O’Dowd in 1982, aimed to create an RTOS with a strong focus on safety, security, and real-time performance.

In 2000, INTEGRITY was first introduced to the market as a secure and reliable RTOS designed to meet the stringent demands of safety-critical systems. It was built on a partitioned architecture, which isolates applications and prevents system-wide failures resulting from software bugs or malicious code.

Over the years, INTEGRITY has seen several innovations and improvements, some of which include:

Partitioning: INTEGRITY’s partitioned architecture isolates applications and data, ensuring that a failure in one partition does not compromise the system’s overall stability or security. This design has proven valuable in safety-critical applications and has become a key feature of the operating system.
Security Certification: INTEGRITY has achieved several security certifications, including the Common Criteria EAL6+ High Robustness certification, making it one of the most secure commercial operating systems available. It has been widely adopted in industries where data security is paramount, such as defense and aerospace.
Multicore Support: INTEGRITY was designed with multicore processor support in mind, enabling it to take advantage of the performance gains offered by modern multicore processors while maintaining its safety, security, and real-time capabilities.
Advanced Debugging and Development Tools: Green Hills Software has developed a suite of advanced debugging and development tools, such as the MULTI Integrated Development Environment (IDE), that seamlessly integrate with the INTEGRITY Operating System, simplifying the development process for engineers.
Platform for Autonomous Systems: INTEGRITY has evolved into a platform suitable for autonomous systems, such as self-driving cars, unmanned aerial vehicles, and robotics. Its safety, security, and real-time capabilities make it a preferred choice for these next-generation systems.

Throughout its history, the INTEGRITY Operating System has continually evolved to meet the increasing demands of safety-critical and high-security applications, solidifying its position as a trusted solution for industries requiring the highest levels of reliability, safety, and security.

Features of INTEGRITY Operating System

The INTEGRITY Operating System, developed by Green Hills Software, is a real-time operating system designed for safety-critical and high-reliability applications. It is known for its security, reliability, and performance. The following are some of the key features of the INTEGRITY Operating System:

Hard Real-Time Performance: INTEGRITY provides deterministic, hard real-time performance, ensuring time-critical tasks are executed with minimal latency and predictable timing. This is crucial for applications with strict timing requirements, such as avionics, automotive control systems, and robotics.
Memory Protection: INTEGRITY implements advanced memory protection features, such as hardware-enforced address space separation and memory partitioning. These features prevent errant or malicious code from affecting other tasks or the system as a whole, ensuring high system reliability and security.
Secure Partitioning: The operating system supports secure partitioning, allowing multiple applications with different levels of safety and security requirements to run concurrently on the same hardware. This enables system designers to isolate safety-critical and non-critical tasks, ensuring that failures in non-critical tasks do not compromise the safety-critical tasks.
POSIX Compliance: INTEGRITY is POSIX-compliant, which ensures compatibility and portability between different operating systems. This makes it easier for developers to write portable applications and simplifies the migration of existing applications to the INTEGRITY platform.
Scalability: INTEGRITY is highly scalable and can be used in a wide range of applications, from resource-constrained embedded devices to high-performance systems. This flexibility enables developers to choose the appropriate hardware and software configurations to meet their specific needs.
Certification: INTEGRITY has achieved various safety and security certifications, such as DO-178B/C Level A for aerospace, ISO 26262 ASIL D for automotive, and EAL6+ for security. These certifications demonstrate the high level of reliability and security provided by the operating system, making it a trusted choice for safety-critical and high-reliability applications.
Multicore Support: INTEGRITY supports multicore processors and provides mechanisms for load balancing, task migration, and interprocessor communication. This allows developers to take advantage of multicore architectures to improve system performance and efficiency.
Integrated Development Environment: Green Hills Software provides the MULTI Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for INTEGRITY, which offers a comprehensive set of tools for debugging, profiling, and analyzing applications running on the operating system.
Wide Range of Middleware and Drivers: INTEGRITY supports a wide range of middleware, communication protocols, and device drivers, enabling developers to build complex and feature-rich applications for various domains.

Architecture of INTEGRITY Operating System

INTEGRITY is a real-time operating system (RTOS) developed by Green Hills Software, primarily designed for safety-critical and high-reliability embedded systems. It is widely used in industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, medical devices, and industrial control systems. The architecture of the INTEGRITY operating system focuses on security, safety, reliability, and real-time performance.

Key components of the INTEGRITY operating system architecture include:

Memory Protection: INTEGRITY uses hardware-enforced memory protection to ensure that each task and kernel service runs in its own protected memory space. This prevents unauthorized access or modification of memory regions, reducing the risk of system failure due to software bugs, memory corruption, or security breaches.
Partitioning and Separation: INTEGRITY supports strict partitioning and separation of processes, enabling developers to isolate safety-critical components from non-critical components. This ensures that potential faults in non-critical components do not impact the safety-critical parts of the system.
Secure Kernel: The INTEGRITY kernel is designed to be small, fast, and secure. The kernel’s security features include access controls, authentication, and secure boot to protect the system from unauthorized access, tampering, or other security threats.
Real-Time Scheduler: INTEGRITY uses a priority-based, preemptive scheduler to ensure real-time performance and timely execution of tasks. The scheduler supports fixed-priority scheduling and rate-monotonic scheduling, allowing developers to prioritize tasks based on their importance and real-time requirements.
Multicore and Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) Support: INTEGRITY supports multicore processors and SMP, allowing developers to take advantage of the increased performance provided by modern multicore architectures. INTEGRITY also offers support for Asymmetric Multi-Processing (AMP) configurations for heterogeneous systems.
Inter-Process Communication (IPC): INTEGRITY provides a rich set of IPC mechanisms, including message queues, semaphores, mutexes, and events. These mechanisms allow for efficient and secure communication between processes and synchronization of shared resources.
File System and Networking Support: INTEGRITY includes support for various file systems and networking protocols, enabling embedded systems to interact with storage devices and communicate with other systems over networks.
Development Tools and Middleware: INTEGRITY is supported by the Green Hills MULTI integrated development environment (IDE) and a range of middleware components, including graphics libraries, communication stacks, and virtualization solutions. These tools help developers build, test, and optimize their applications for the INTEGRITY operating system.

The architecture of the INTEGRITY operating system is built upon the principles of security, safety, and real-time performance. By providing strict partitioning, memory protection, and advanced scheduling features, INTEGRITY is well-suited for safety-critical and high-reliability embedded systems across a wide range of industries.

Working Principle of INTEGRITY Operating System

INTEGRITY is a real-time operating system (RTOS) developed by Green Hills Software that focuses on safety, security, and real-time performance for safety-critical and high-reliability embedded systems. The INTEGRITY operating system works by providing an environment in which applications can run efficiently, securely, and predictably.

Here’s an overview of how the INTEGRITY operating system works:

System Initialization: When the system boots, the INTEGRITY kernel initializes the hardware, sets up memory protection, and starts the essential system services. During this phase, the kernel also performs a secure boot process, ensuring that the operating system and applications are trusted and have not been tampered with.
Task Execution: INTEGRITY uses a priority-based preemptive scheduler to manage the execution of tasks (or threads) within the system. The scheduler assigns priorities to tasks based on their importance and real-time requirements. Higher-priority tasks can preempt lower-priority tasks, ensuring that critical tasks receive the necessary CPU time to meet their deadlines.
Memory Protection and Partitioning: The INTEGRITY operating system enforces strict memory protection and partitioning using hardware mechanisms. Each task runs in its own protected memory space, preventing unauthorized access or modification of memory regions. This isolation helps to contain software faults and improve system reliability. Partitioning is also used to separate safety-critical components from non-critical components, further enhancing the system’s safety.
Inter-Process Communication (IPC): INTEGRITY provides a rich set of IPC mechanisms to enable efficient and secure communication between tasks and processes. These mechanisms include message queues, semaphores, mutexes, and events, allowing tasks to share data and synchronize their activities.
Resource Management: The INTEGRITY kernel manages various system resources, such as memory, file systems, and network interfaces, ensuring that tasks have access to the resources they need to perform their functions. Resource allocation and deallocation are handled securely and efficiently by the kernel.
Middleware and Device Drivers: INTEGRITY supports various middleware components and device drivers, enabling embedded systems to interact with peripherals, storage devices, and networks. Middleware components include graphics libraries, communication stacks, and virtualization solutions, which developers can use to build feature-rich applications for INTEGRITY.
Exception and Interrupt Handling: The INTEGRITY operating system handles exceptions and interrupts that occur during system operation, ensuring that tasks can respond to events and hardware signals promptly. Exception handling helps to maintain system stability and recover from errors, while interrupt handling enables real-time responsiveness to external events.
Debugging and Development: Developers can use the Green Hills MULTI integrated development environment (IDE) and other debugging tools to build, test, and optimize their applications for the INTEGRITY operating system. These tools help developers to identify and fix issues, improve performance, and ensure their applications meet the stringent requirements of safety-critical and high-reliability systems.

By providing a secure, predictable, and efficient environment for running embedded applications, the INTEGRITY operating system enables developers to create high-performance, reliable systems for a wide range of industries, including aerospace, automotive, medical devices, and industrial control systems.

Supported Hardware Platforms by INTEGRITY Operating System

INTEGRITY, developed by Green Hills Software, is a real-time operating system (RTOS) designed for safety-critical and high-reliability embedded systems. It supports a wide range of hardware platforms, including various processor architectures and system-on-chip (SoC) devices. Some of the supported hardware platforms for the INTEGRITY operating system include:

ARM: INTEGRITY supports various ARM architectures, such as ARMv7 (Cortex-A and Cortex-R series) and ARMv8 (64-bit Cortex-A series). This includes processors from vendors like NXP, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, and others.
Intel: INTEGRITY supports Intel x86 and x86_64 architectures, including Intel Core, Intel Atom, and Intel Xeon processors.
Power Architecture: INTEGRITY supports processors based on the Power Architecture, such as NXP’s QorIQ series, which are commonly used in networking, automotive, and industrial applications.
MIPS: INTEGRITY supports MIPS processor architectures, including MIPS32 and MIPS64, used in various embedded systems such as networking and consumer electronics.
RISC-V: INTEGRITY is extending its support to the RISC-V architecture, an open-source processor architecture that is gaining popularity in the embedded systems community.
Other Architectures: INTEGRITY also supports other processor architectures, such as SPARC, SH-4, and more, depending on specific requirements and customer needs.

In addition to processor architectures, INTEGRITY supports various system-on-chip (SoC) devices that combine processors, memory, and peripheral interfaces into a single integrated circuit. This includes SoCs from vendors like NXP, Xilinx, and Renesas, among others.

The wide range of supported hardware platforms makes INTEGRITY a versatile choice for developers working on safety-critical and high-reliability embedded systems in various industries, such as aerospace, automotive, medical devices, and industrial control systems.

Devices used with INTEGRITY Operating System

Currently, there are lot of devices is being used with INTEGRITY Operating System. We can not predict the devices used as it is their internal data.

Applications of INTEGRITY Operating System

INTEGRITY is a real-time operating system (RTOS) developed by Green Hills Software, designed for safety-critical and high-reliability embedded systems. It is widely used across various industries, with applications that demand high levels of security, reliability, and real-time performance. Some of the key applications of the INTEGRITY operating system include:

Aerospace and Defense: INTEGRITY is used in avionics systems, flight control systems, mission computers, and other critical aerospace and defense applications, where safety and reliability are of utmost importance.
Automotive: INTEGRITY is used in automotive applications, such as advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), electronic control units (ECUs), and infotainment systems, where real-time performance and safety are crucial.
Medical Devices: INTEGRITY is employed in medical devices, including patient monitoring systems, infusion pumps, and surgical robots, where reliability and safety are paramount to protect patients’ well-being.
Industrial Control Systems: INTEGRITY is used in industrial automation and control systems, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), motion controllers, and robotics, where real-time performance and reliability are critical for smooth operation and process control.
Telecommunications: INTEGRITY is used in networking equipment, such as routers, switches, and base stations, where high performance, security, and real-time capabilities are necessary for managing data traffic and maintaining network stability.
Railway and Transportation Systems: INTEGRITY is employed in railway signaling, train control systems, and other transportation applications, where safety and real-time performance are essential for efficient and secure operation.
Energy and Utilities: INTEGRITY is used in power generation and distribution systems, smart grid applications, and nuclear power plant control systems, where reliability, security, and real-time performance are crucial for ensuring safe and stable operation.
Security and Surveillance: INTEGRITY is employed in secure communication systems, encryption devices, and surveillance equipment, where security, data integrity, and real-time performance are critical for protecting sensitive information and maintaining situational awareness.

Advantages of INTEGRITY Operating System

The INTEGRITY operating system, developed by Green Hills Software, offers several advantages for safety-critical and high-reliability embedded systems. Some of the key benefits include:

Safety and Security: INTEGRITY is designed with a strong focus on safety and security, incorporating features such as hardware-enforced memory protection, secure boot, and strict partitioning. These features help protect the system against unauthorized access, software bugs, and memory corruption, making INTEGRITY suitable for safety-critical applications and industries with stringent security requirements.
Real-Time Performance: INTEGRITY uses a priority-based, preemptive scheduler that ensures real-time performance and timely execution of tasks. This allows developers to meet the stringent timing requirements of real-time systems, such as those found in aerospace, automotive, and industrial control applications.
Reliability: The INTEGRITY operating system provides robust memory protection and error handling mechanisms that help contain software faults and enhance system reliability. By isolating tasks and processes within their own protected memory spaces, INTEGRITY can prevent system-wide crashes and improve overall system stability.
Scalability: INTEGRITY supports a wide range of hardware platforms and processor architectures, including ARM, Intel, Power Architecture, MIPS, and RISC-V, among others. This allows developers to leverage INTEGRITY for various embedded systems projects and adapt to evolving hardware technologies.
Certifications: INTEGRITY has been certified for various safety and security standards, such as DO-178B/C (aerospace), IEC 61508 (industrial safety), and ISO 26262 (automotive safety). These certifications demonstrate INTEGRITY’s suitability for safety-critical applications and can simplify the certification process for developers building systems that must meet these standards.
Middleware and Development Tools: INTEGRITY is supported by a comprehensive suite of middleware components, development tools, and the Green Hills MULTI integrated development environment (IDE). These tools help developers build, test, and optimize their applications for the INTEGRITY operating system, streamlining the development process and improving productivity.
Technical Support: Green Hills Software offers professional technical support, training, and consulting services to help developers effectively utilize the INTEGRITY operating system in their projects. This support can be invaluable for organizations working on safety-critical and high-reliability systems.

Disadvantages of INTEGRITY Operating System

Despite the numerous advantages of the INTEGRITY operating system, there are some potential drawbacks that developers should consider:

Proprietary and Licensing Costs: INTEGRITY is a proprietary operating system, and the use of its software, middleware, and development tools often requires licensing fees. These costs can be significant, particularly when compared to open-source alternatives like FreeRTOS, Linux, or RT-Thread, which may be more affordable for smaller projects or organizations with limited budgets.
Learning Curve: Developers unfamiliar with the INTEGRITY operating system may face a learning curve when adapting to its architecture, development environment, and programming model. While Green Hills Software provides documentation, training, and support services, the time required to become proficient with INTEGRITY can impact project timelines.
Limited Community Support: Compared to more popular open-source operating systems like Linux, the community support for INTEGRITY may be limited. This means that developers might have fewer resources, such as online forums, tutorials, and example projects, to help them troubleshoot issues and learn from others’ experiences.
Hardware Compatibility: While INTEGRITY supports a wide range of processor architectures, it may not support every specific hardware configuration or peripheral device. Developers may need to invest additional time and effort to create custom drivers or adapt existing ones for their specific hardware requirements.
Middleware Availability: Although INTEGRITY offers a range of middleware components and support for various protocols, the selection may be less extensive than that available for more popular operating systems like Linux. Developers may need to invest additional time and resources to implement or adapt middleware components for their specific application requirements.

Future Development and Enhancement of INTEGRITY Operating System

While specific future development plans for the INTEGRITY operating system may not be publicly disclosed, it is reasonable to expect that Green Hills Software will continue to evolve and enhance INTEGRITY based on industry trends, customer requirements, and technological advancements. Some potential areas of future development and enhancement for the INTEGRITY operating system might include:

Support for Emerging Hardware Platforms: As new processor architectures and system-on-chip (SoC) devices emerge, Green Hills Software is likely to extend support for INTEGRITY to accommodate these new technologies, ensuring that the operating system remains compatible and adaptable to evolving hardware environments.
Enhanced Security Features: Security is a crucial aspect of safety-critical and high-reliability systems, and future developments may focus on improving and expanding the security features offered by INTEGRITY, such as secure boot, encrypted communication, and advanced intrusion detection.
Improved Real-Time Performance: As real-time applications become more complex and demanding, future enhancements to the INTEGRITY operating system may target improved real-time performance and predictability, ensuring that critical tasks can meet their timing requirements in a wide range of applications.
Expansion of Middleware and Software Components: Green Hills Software may continue to develop and expand the range of middleware and software components available for INTEGRITY, providing developers with a comprehensive ecosystem of tools and libraries to build feature-rich applications for various industries.
Integration with Emerging Technologies: As new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and edge computing, become more prevalent in embedded systems, future developments of the INTEGRITY operating system may focus on integrating and supporting these technologies to enable advanced functionality in safety-critical and high-reliability systems.
Support for Industry Standards and Certifications: Green Hills Software may continue to pursue certifications and compliance with industry standards to demonstrate the suitability of the INTEGRITY operating system for safety-critical applications and streamline the certification process for developers.
Enhanced Development Tools and Debugging Capabilities: Future enhancements to the INTEGRITY operating system might include improved development tools, debugging capabilities, and support for advanced development methodologies, helping developers to create, test, and optimize their applications more efficiently.

Ultimately, the specific future development and enhancement plans for the INTEGRITY operating system depend on Green Hills Software’s strategic priorities and customer requirements. Nonetheless, it is likely that the company will continue to invest in the operating system to ensure it remains a reliable, secure, and high-performance solution for safety-critical and high-reliability embedded systems across various industries.

INTEGRITY Operating System Usage, Availability, Licensing, Pricing and Download Details

The INTEGRITY Operating System, developed by Green Hills Software, is a real-time operating system (RTOS) designed for safety-critical and high-reliability embedded systems. It is used across various industries and offers a range of features tailored to the needs of real-time, secure, and reliable applications.

INTEGRITY Operating System Usage

INTEGRITY Operating System is commonly used in safety-critical and secure embedded applications, including avionics, automotive, medical devices, defense systems, and industrial control systems, due to its highly secure and reliable architecture, small footprint, and efficient real-time performance.

INTEGRITY Operating System Availability

INTEGRITY Operating System is a proprietary software developed by Green Hills Software, and it is available for purchase directly from the company or its authorized distributors. The availability of INTEGRITY varies depending on the target hardware and specific requirements of the application. Additionally, Green Hills Software provides evaluation versions of the operating system for interested parties to test and evaluate before committing to a purchase.

INTEGRITY Operating System Licensing

INTEGRITY is a proprietary operating system, which means it requires a commercial license for usage. Licensing terms and conditions can vary depending on the project, hardware platform, or specific customer requirements. In addition to the operating system itself, Green Hills Software offers licenses for development tools, middleware, and software components.

INTEGRITY Operating System Pricing

Pricing for INTEGRITY depends on several factors, including the hardware platform, project requirements, middleware components, development tools, and the level of technical support needed. To obtain detailed pricing information, you will need to contact Green Hills Software and discuss your project requirements.

INTEGRITY Operating System Download Details

To access and download the INTEGRITY operating system, you must first contact Green Hills Software to discuss your project requirements. Once you have obtained the appropriate licenses, you will be provided with access to the INTEGRITY software, development tools, and any necessary middleware components.

For more information about the INTEGRITY operating system, including licensing, pricing, and downloads, visit the Green Hills Software website (https://www.ghs.com/) and get in touch with their sales or support team. They can help you determine your project requirements and provide the necessary information to get started with the INTEGRITY operating system.