What Off-the-Shelf Development Solutions Are Available?
The spectrum of available options in building embedded systems includes commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software, modified off-the-shelf (MOTS) software, government off-the-shelf (GOTS) software, and niche off-the-shelf (NOTS) software. Developers can leverage them strategically, depending on project requirements, constraints, and objectives.
In contrast, by designing custom components from the ground up, software developers have complete control over the architecture, functionality, and performance characteristics of the embedded system. This level of customization can meet specific performance, power consumption, memory footprint, and real-time requirements that off-the-shelf solutions might not address. However, such development also comes with a high price tag and can slow time-to-market. There are some projects for which such development simply is not practical.
Off-the-shelf software can sometimes prove more practical to development teams than designing custom components.
By understanding the strengths and limitations of each off-the-shelf approach, developers can optimize development time, cost, flexibility, and security while delivering robust and reliable embedded solutions.
What Is COTS?
Commercial off-the-shelf software consists of preexisting software components or modules that can be integrated into a larger embedded software solution. COTS components, such as communication protocols, device drivers, or operating system kernels, are typically developed by third-party vendors to fulfill common functions or tasks within embedded systems.
COTS software offers a wide range of features and functionalities, including support for communication protocols, compatibility with different hardware platforms, and integration with popular development tools and environments. By leveraging pre-built software components, developers can focus on integrating and customizing them to meet the specific requirements of their application. They can license or purchase the necessary COTS components at a fraction of the cost of developing them internally.
COTS software advantages include reduced development time, lower cost, and access to proven and reliable functionality. This efficiency is particularly advantageous for projects with tight schedules and budgets. Developers can emphasize higher-level system integration and customization rather than reinventing the wheel.
What Is MOTS?
Modified off-the-shelf software is preexisting COTS software that is customized to better suit the specific requirements of a particular embedded application. Customization can involve alterations to functionality, performance optimizations, or integration with proprietary hardware or software components. Thus the MOTS approach offers a balance between the convenience of COTS and the customization required for some applications.
Developers also benefit from the continuous improvement and support provided by the original COTS vendors. Using a stable and well-supported software foundation, developers can ensure that their customized solutions remain compatible with any updates and enhancements to the underlying COTS components. Software maintenance and support become more efficient.
MOTS is ideal for projects that require a degree of customization beyond what standard COTS solutions offer but that cannot support the overhead of building everything from scratch. Modifying existing software is usually less time-consuming, while high-level quality and reliability are maintained.
What Is GOTS?
Government off-the-shelf software is developed for the unique needs, requirements, and security concerns of government agencies or organizations. Unlike COTS or MOTS software, available to a wide range of customers, GOTS solutions are typically developed in-house or by trusted contractors and are specifically for government use.
GOTS software incorporates robust security features to adhere to the strict security protocols of sensitive or classified environments such as defense, aerospace, or intelligence. It can be tailored to the agency’s specific missions and objectives — for example, supporting interoperability with other government systems, proprietary hardware, or software platforms.
GOTS solutions also provide government agencies with greater control over the technology stack and reduce dependence on commercial vendors. This mitigates the risks associated with vendor lock-in, supply chain vulnerabilities, and potential back doors or security vulnerabilities in third-party software. Government agencies maintain sovereignty over their embedded systems, protect sensitive information, and ensure the integrity and reliability of their mission-critical operations.
What Is NOTS?
Similar to GOTS, niche off-the-shelf software serves more specialized markets than do COTS products. NOTS software is often developed by vendors to serve a specific industry or user base that has distinct needs. NOTS solutions bring the advantage of a high degree of customization, while simultaneously pushing the organization using them to supply in-house expertise to manage and evolve the software over time.
How Can Wind River Help?
Wind River Linux
Wind River® Linux is a software development environment that creates optimized Linux distributions for embedded devices.
Based on the Yocto Project implementation of the OpenEmbedded Core (OE-Core) metadata project, Wind River Linux builds on this core functionality by adding Wind River–specific extensions, tools, and services to facilitate the rapid development of embedded Linux platforms. This includes full support for Yocto Project workflows and build commands to help reduce your development time.
The build system consists of a complete development environment that includes a comprehensive set of standard Linux runtime components, both as binary and source packages. It also includes cross-development tools that can be used to configure and build customized runtime systems and applications for a range of COTS hardware. Wind River Linux also supports many leading COTS boards.
Wind River Linux optimizes Linux distributions with extensions, tools, and services that aid development.
VxWorks Safety Platforms
VxWorks® makes it easier and more cost-effective for technology suppliers to meet the stringent safety certification requirements of industries including railway, industrial manufacturing, medical device, automotive, aerospace, and avionics software.
VxWorks Safety Platforms
VxWorks 653 is a safe, secure, and reliable real-time operating system (RTOS) that delivers an open virtualization platform with robust time and space partitioning on the latest PowerPC multi-core processor platforms.
- Trust: World leader in ARINC 653 real-time operating environments, with a proven track record of more than 220 customers across more than 440 programs in more than 80 civilian and military aircraft, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Airbus A400M, and the Northrop Grumman UH-60V Black Hawk avionics upgrade
- Robust partitioning: Support for a partitioned open architecture that enables suppliers to modify an application that is part of an existing certified system and retest only the scope of the components that have changed, dramatically reducing recertification costs and total cost of ownership (TCO)
- Multilevel safety: High safety and security assurance with multi-core scheduler utilizing hardware virtualization assist
- COTS certification evidence: COTS certification artifacts that can accelerate the time required to accomplish certification while reducing schedule risk
- Independent build, link, and load: Designed based on a multi-supplier, role-based supply chain per RTCA DO-297 that allows application suppliers to asynchronously develop, test, and deliver software applications independently
- Maintenance and support: Full access to the Wind River worldwide support organization and a specialized team of Professional Services engineers with extensive experience in delivering design, integration, and optimization services
- Unmodified guest OS: Support for integration of both legacy and new applications to the latest PowerPC multi-core processor platforms; VxWorks and Wind River Linux guest OSes supported out of the box
VxWorks Cert Edition
VxWorks Cert Edition provides a COTS RTOS solution for delivering safety-critical applications that must achieve the highest and most stringent certification levels, such as RTCA DO-178C DAL-A and EUROCAE ED-12C software considerations in airborne systems, IEC 61508 ASIL-3 industrial functional safety, IEC 62304 Class C medical device safety, and ISO 26262 ASIL-D automotive safety. With VxWorks Cert Edition, you can take full advantage of the technological advances in microprocessors that VxWorks enables while knowing that you have a strong operating system foundation to meet the most demanding safety certification standards.
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