What is hybrid-runtime?
Hybrid-runtime enables the deployment of software onto other processors, such as Cortex-M or Cortex-R-based CPUs. The deployment is made possible by using cloud-native technologies in the system, with Linux running on the Cortex-A application cores.
Example use cases
Here are some examples where this functionality can be useful:
- System-wide firmware updates made easy, secure and controllable at scale. The hybrid runtime makes it possible to update what’s running on the Cortex-M on-demand, for example, to address bugs, security vulnerabilities, performance, or to update functionality.
- Partitioning applications over multiple IPs. It enables applications to be divided into different services, where each service runs on a different core, depending on its requirements. In a scenario where you want to preserve energy, one part can run on a Cortex-M while the main CPU is asleep. Then, once an event is detected, Cortex-A is woken up and can start running its part of the application. The parts can then be deployed and managed in a uniform way.
- Taking full advantage of the system’s capabilities. This is useful in a system with boards that are idle for a majority of the time. By making it easy to access them, you can leverage existing cores on every edge node.
More details on the runtime can be found on the
hybrid-runtime GitHub page
.