Real-time Ubuntu is now generally available
Canonical (the company behind the development of the popular Linux distribution, Ubuntu) made it known through an announcement the general availability of "Real-time Ubuntu", which is a new and specialized version of the operating system designed for workloads and applications with time limits.
Real-time Ubuntu, is a version of Ubuntu, which is geared towards providing end-to-end security for workloads limited in time. The special thing about this version is the realtime kernel included with the distribution.
According to Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical
"The Real-time Ubuntu kernel delivers industry-grade performance and resiliency for software-defined manufacturing, monitoring and operational technology," said Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth. “Ubuntu is now the world's best silicon-optimized AIOT platform across Nvidia, Intel, MediaTek and AMD-Xilinx silicon.”
The kernel in real time recently developed within Ubuntu is better able to serve use cases dependent on extreme latency, providing deterministic response times to service events, Canonical said.
Thus, can minimize response time guarantees within a specified timeframe, making it ideal for time-sensitive applications in the automotive, aerospace, industrial, public sector, retail, and telecommunications sectors.
Real-time Ubuntu is based on Ubuntu version 22.04 which has as the heart of the system to the kernel of Linux 5.15 integrating PREEMPT_RT out-of-tree patches for x86 and Arm-based computer architectures. The PREEMPT-RT patch set ensures that the kernel is more preemptive than standard Linux, reducing latency and ensuring predictable task execution over time.
Canonical is pitching Real-time Ubuntu as an ideal platform for telecom providers' 5G network transformation needs, saying it delivers higher performance and guaranteed ultra-low latency for the most critical telecom infrastructure. Another use case is robotic automation.
Real-time Ubuntu it's not just about enabling low latency performance, but also about saving costs. By leveraging Canonical's experience with the new release and real-time kernel, you will reduce the in-house provision of fixes, security patches, and platform testing, which can be prohibitively expensive.
Rather than having to configure Ubuntu Server for low latency workloads and increased security, enterprises can trust that Real-Time Ubuntu has taken these things into account. To that end, Arno Van Huyssteen, CTO of Canonical, in-house provision of fixes, security patches, kernel module integration, and OS platform testing can be cost prohibitive for organizations, so leveraging experience and Canonical's support ensures that customers can achieve their business objectives while realizing economic benefits and investment returns from a no-compromise open source adoption strategy.”
The company says that real-time computing capabilities are essential for a wide range of industrial applications, including industrial personal computers and human-machine interfaces. Because determinism is so critical to these types of applications, you need to implement them with a real-time operating system running on edge servers or implement real-time control loops with strict response times.
“Ubuntu-certified hardware is an ideal solution for companies shipping embedded Linux into production,” said Eric Kao, director of Advantech Co. Ltd. “We have large-scale, mass deployments of Ubuntu boards underway. By relying on a production-grade real-time Linux distribution backed by Canonical for several years, we allow our enterprise customers to focus on what drives their business, shortening the speed to market.”
Canonical said it is offering two variants of Ubuntu Realtime, with Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS now available through its Ubuntu Pro enterprise-level subscription. There's also a free tier for personal and small-scale use, but the Ubuntu Pro version provides support. long-term, enterprise-grade software for the kernel, ensuring longevity.
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