Phoenix-RTOS is a

real-time operating system A real-time operating system (RTOS) is an operating system (OS) for real-time computing applications that processes data and events that have critically defined time constraints. A RTOS is distinct from a time-sharing operating system, such as Unix ...

designed for

Internet of Things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...

appliances. The main goal of the system is to facilitate the creation of "Software Defined Solutions".

History

Phoenix-RTOS is the successor to the Phoenix

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

, developed from 1999 to 2001 by Pawel Pisarczyk at the Department of Electronics and Information Technology at

Warsaw University of Technology The Warsaw University of Technology () is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors (including 145 titular professors). The student body ...

. Phoenix was originally implemented for

IA-32 IA-32 (short for "Intel Architecture, 32-bit", commonly called ''i386'') is the 32-bit version of the x86 instruction set architecture, designed by Intel and first implemented in the i386, 80386 microprocessor in 1985. IA-32 is the first incarn ...

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...

s and was adapted to the ARM7TDMI processor in 2003, and the

PowerPC PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...

in 2004. The system is available under the GPL license.

Phoenix-RTOS 2.0

The decision to abandon the development of Phoenix and write the Phoenix-RTOS from scratch was taken by its creator in 2004. In 2010, the Phoenix Systems company was established, aiming to commercialize the system. Phoenix-RTOS 2.0 is based on a

monolithic kernel A monolithic kernel is an operating system software architecture, architecture with the entire operating system running in kernel space. The monolithic model differs from other architectures such as the microkernel in that it alone defines a high ...

. Initially versions for the

processor and configurable

eSi-RISC eSi-RISC is a configurable CPU architecture. It is available in five implementations: the eSi-1600, eSi-1650, eSi-3200, eSi-3250 and eSi-3264. The eSi-1600 and eSi-1650 feature a 16-bit data-path, while the eSi-32x0s feature 32-bit data-paths, ...

were developed. In cooperation with

NXP Semiconductors NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a Dutch semiconductor manufacturing and design company with headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is the third largest European semiconductor company by market capitalization as of 2024. The company employs approx ...

, Phoenix-RTOS 2.0 was also adapted to the Vybrid (

ARM Cortex-A5 The ARM Cortex-A5 is a 32-bit processor core licensed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARMv7-A architecture announced in 2009. Overview The Cortex-A5 is intended to replace the ARM9 and ARM11 cores for use in low-end devices. The Cortex-A5 of ...

) platform. This version is equipped with

PRIME A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

(Phoenix-PRIME) and the G3-PLC (Phoenix-G3) protocol support, used in

Smart Grid The smart grid is an enhancement of the 20th century electrical grid, using two-way communications and distributed so-called intelligent devices. Two-way flows of electricity and information could improve the delivery network. Research is main ...

networks. Phoenix-RTOS runs applications designed and written for the

Unix Unix (, ; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multi-user computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, a ...

operating system.

Phoenix-RTOS 3.0

Phoenix-RTOS version 3.0 is based on a

microkernel In computer science, a microkernel (often abbreviated as μ-kernel) is the near-minimum amount of software that can provide the mechanisms needed to implement an operating system (OS). These mechanisms include low-level address space management, ...

. It is geared towards measuring devices with low power consumption. The main problem with the first implementation was low kernel modularity and difficulties with the management process of software development (

device driver In the context of an operating system, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabli ...

s, file system drivers). It is an open source operating system (on

BSD license BSD licenses are a family of permissive free software licenses, imposing minimal restrictions on the use and distribution of covered software. This is in contrast to copyleft licenses, which have share-alike requirements. The original BSD lic ...

), available on

GitHub GitHub () is a Proprietary software, proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug trackin ...

HaaS modules

The Phoenix-RTOS can be equipped with HaaS (Hardware as a Software) modules that allow the implementation of rich devices functionality, e.g. modems. Existing HaaS modules include: # Phoenix-PRIME - software implementation of PRIME PLC standard certified in 2014. # Phoenix-G3 - a software implementation of the G3-PLC standard.

Implementations

In 2016, Energa-Operator (based in Poland) installed 6.6k Data Concentrator Units with balancing meter functionality in its network, based on the Phoenix-RTOS. License agreements to use the system in the mass production of smart meters have been signed.

External links

Phoenix-RTOS vendor

PRIME Alliance

G3-PLC Alliance

References

{{Reflist, 30em Embedded operating systems Real-time operating systems