Our open source L4Re Micro Hypervisor for MPU-based platforms is here! We are introducing it as reference hypervisor for the new 16nm real-time processors in the S32Z and S32E families from NXP Semiconductors, which are equipped with 8 Arm® Cortex®-R52 cores and run at up to 1 GHz. The L4Re Micro Hypervisor is included with NXP’s S32Z/E Vehicle Integration Platform (GreenVIP).
By extending our virtualization capabilities and working with NXP, we can now offer the first open-source hypervisor for Cortex-R52 processors in general.
Our L4Re Micro Hypervisor leverages the field-proven L4Re Operating System Framework, which provides open-source building blocks to design systems that consolidate multiple applications with different security, safety, and real-time requirements. The use-case-specific system design with L4Re’s framework allows minimizing the trusted computing base of the overall system. Kernkonzept provides customer-specific solutions with minimal trusted computing bases to minimize attack surfaces and certification efforts.
The L4Re Operating System Framework is a general-purpose system of separate modules that provide flexibility to meet the security requirements of various use cases in automotive, avionics, industrial, networking and many other markets. With the L4Re Micro Hypervisor, system designers can place functionality on the Arm Cortex-R52 and benefit from more flexibility in system design.
The new hardware-based virtualization allows multiple systems to be consolidated onto a single platform and unlocks the potential of these new processor types. With L4Re, functionality can be placed to run directly on the new L4Re Micro Hypervisor as a native application or in virtual machines – depending on customer requirements. Multi-core systems such as NXP’s S32Z and S32E processors are supported to run multiple workloads or VMs in parallel.
NXP’s S32Z and S32E real-time processor families for software-defined vehicles enable secure integration of vehicle-wide functions and create a new class of processors: they combine the real-time behavior of microcontrollers with an unprecedented combination of gigahertz performance, multiple application isolation and memory expansion capabilities. They offer scalability with 16nm processors and a roadmap to 5nm solutions. The S32Z and S32E processors target domain and zone control, functional safety, electrification and intelligent actuation for software-defined vehicles. All of these functions and applications are supported by the L4Re Micro Hypervisor.
Our L4Re Operating System Framework’s virtualization technology provides the foundation for building future secure and certifiable systems as needed in autonomous driving and many other use cases. Being available in NXP’s GreenVIP, the open-source L4Re system allows for an instant start.