embedded systems An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is em ...

, a board support package (BSP) is the layer of

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

containing hardware-specific

boot loader A bootloader, also spelled as boot loader or called bootstrap loader, is a computer program that is responsible for booting a computer and booting an operating system. If it also provides an interactive menu with multiple boot choices then it's o ...

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, in sometimes

operating system kernel A kernel is a computer program at the core of a computer's operating system that always has complete control over everything in the system. The kernel is also responsible for preventing and mitigating conflicts between different processes. It is ...

s, and other routines that allow a given

embedded operating system An embedded operating system (EOS) is an operating system designed specifically for embedded computer systems. These systems aim to enhance functionality and reliability to perform dedicated tasks. When the multitasking method employed allows ...

, for example 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 ...

(RTOS), to function in a given hardware environment (a

motherboard A motherboard, also called a mainboard, a system board, a logic board, and informally a mobo (see #Nomenclature, "Nomenclature" section), is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems. It ho ...

), integrated with the embedded operating system. The board support package is usually provided by the SoC manufacturer (such as

Qualcomm Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...

), and it can be modified by the OEM.

Software

Third-party hardware developers who wish to support a given embedded operating system must create a BSP that allows that embedded operating system to run on their platform. In most cases, the embedded operating system image and

software license A software license is a legal instrument governing the use or redistribution of software. Since the 1970s, software copyright has been recognized in the United States. Despite the copyright being recognized, most companies prefer to sell lic ...

, the BSP containing it, and the hardware are bundled together by the hardware vendor. BSPs are typically customizable, allowing the user to specify which drivers and routines should be included in the build based on their selection of hardware and software options. For instance, a particular single-board computer might be paired with several peripheral chips; in that case the BSP might include drivers for peripheral chips supported; when building the BSP image the user would specify which peripheral drivers to include based on their choice of hardware. Some suppliers also provide a root file system, a

toolchain A toolchain is a set of software development tools used to build and otherwise develop software. Often, the tools are executed sequentially and form a pipeline such that the output of one tool is the input for the next. Sometimes the term is us ...

for building programs to run on the

embedded system An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is e ...

, and utilities to configure the device (while running) along with the BSP. Many embedded operating system providers provide template BSP's, developer assistance, and test suites to aid BSP developers to set up an embedded operating system on a new hardware platform.

History

The term ''BSP'' has been in use since 1981 when Hunter & Ready, the developers of the

Versatile Real-Time Executive Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) is a real-time operating system (RTOS) developed and marketed by the company Mentor Graphics. VRTX is suitable for both traditional board-based embedded systems and system on a chip (SoC) architectures. It ha ...

(VRTX), first coined the term to describe the hardware-dependent software needed to run VRTX on a specific hardware platform. Since the 1980s, it has been in wide use throughout the industry. Virtually all RTOS providers now use the term BSP. In modern systems, the term has been extended to refer to packages that only deal with one processor, not the whole motherboard.

Windows CE Windows CE, later known as Windows Embedded CE and Windows Embedded Compact, is a discontinued operating system developed by Microsoft for mobile and embedded devices. It was part of the Windows Embedded family and served as the software foun ...

and Android also use a BSP.

Example

The

Wind River Systems Wind River Systems, Inc., also known as Wind River (trademarked as Wndrvr), is an Alameda, California–based company, subsidiary of Aptiv PLC. The company develops embedded system and cloud software consisting of real-time operating systems sof ...

board support package for the ARM Integrator 920T single-board computer contains, among other things, these elements: * A config.h file, which defines constants such as ROM_SIZE and RAM_HIGH_ADRS. * A

Makefile In software development, Make is a command-line interface software tool that performs actions ordered by configured Dependence analysis, dependencies as defined in a configuration file called a ''makefile''. It is commonly used for build automati ...

, which defines binary versions of VxWorks ROM images for programming into

flash memory Flash memory is an Integrated circuit, electronic Non-volatile memory, non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for t ...

. * A boot ROM file, which defines the boot line parameters for the board. * A target.ref file, which describes board-specific information such as switch and jumper settings, interrupt levels, and offset bias. * A

VxWorks VxWorks is a real-time operating system (or RTOS) developed as proprietary software by Wind River Systems, a subsidiary of Aptiv. First released in 1987, VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems requiring real-time, Deterministic system, ...

image. * Various C files, including: :flashMem.c—the device driver for the board's flash memory :pciIomapShow.c—mapping file for the PCI bus :primeCellSio.c—TTY driver :sysLib.c—system-dependent routines specific to this board :romInit.s—ROM initialization module for the board; contains entry code for images that start running from ROM Additionally the BSP is supposed to perform the following operations: *Initialize the processor *Initialize the board *Initialize the RAM *Configure the segments *Load and run OS from flash

References

{{Embedded systems Booting Firmware Motherboard Embedded systems

Software

History

Example

See also

References