Open Kernel Labs Releases New Embedded Hypervisor and Kernel

Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs), a global provider of systems software and virtualization technology for embedded systems, has announced a new embedded hypervisor OKL 3.0 and a system software platform OKL 4 Nano.

 

OKL 3.0 features two compatible configurations and suits a wide range of product portfolio of mobile device manufacturers, claims OK Labs. The hypervisor increases uniformity of the software architecture and encourages increased software reuse. In effect, it helps reduce cost and time to market.

 

Reuse of software and expertise has become difficult in the present scenario because different product lines use different types of processors and operating systems. OKL4 Nano, with a memory footprint of less than 4 KB, provides a fully compatible execution environment to different classes of mobile devices that do not have high-end processing resources.

 

OKL4 users can now select the compatible OKL4 Nano configuration with the knowledge that applications written to run on OKL4 Nano can also run in another device on OKL4 3.0 without modification. Saving users from using one execution environment in lower-end handsets and then deploying a new virtualization solution like OKL4 3.0 in higher-end smartphones, the company said.

 

The new OKL4 native applications are OS agnostic with respect to application stacks and therefore are reusable alongside Linux in one device and Symbian (News - Alert) in another.

 

"In a highly competitive market, mobile device developers are looking for any way to get more compelling products to market as quickly and inexpensively as possible," said Steve Subar, CEO, OK Labs, in a statement. "Not all mobile devices require virtualization, but all require an execution environment to manage applications. Only OKL4 offers both."

 

OKL4 3.0 is an open source. The full configuration of OKL 3.0 adds support for flexible security policies, resource allocation, and virtualization. The Secure HyperCell technology of OKL4 3.0 combines virtualization support without requiring a separate real-time operating system (RTOS). Secure HyperCell is delivered as small software units to meet resource usage, security and performance requirements of mobile devices.