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June 2018

CIP Member Spotlight: Hitachi

By Blog

The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) project aims to speed implementation of Linux-based civil infrastructure systems, build upon existing open source foundations and expertise, establish de facto standards by providing a base layer reference implementation, and contribute to and influence upstream projects regarding industrial needs. CIP is driven by some of the world’s leading manufacturers of civil infrastructure systems and industry leaders including Cybertrust, Codethink, Hitachi, Plat’Home, Renesas, Siemens, Moxa and Toshiba.

This spotlight series highlights CIP members and how they are contributing to open source software solutions that will benefit the world’s technical systems. Today, we highlight Hitachi in a conversation with Hidehiro Kawai, Researcher.

What does your company do and what is your role? 
Hitachi is a global company that provides solutions and products in a variety of fields, including electric power, transportation, IT, etc. for more than 100 years.  Our main mission is to create a better society by social innovation.  We have good knowledge of IT and OT (operational technology) for many fields, competitive products, and digital solutions powered by AI or machine learning.  Closer collaboration with customers and our technologies will realize the social innovation.

As a researcher for Hitachi, my role is to develop an industrial grade open platform which supports our innovations. Specifically, I’m working to develop a software-based fault tolerant system for civil infrastructures which requires high availability, integrity and robustness.

Why is your company investing in an open source “base layer” of industrial grade software?  
An open platform and open source technology will become a key factor to making things innovative in the IT industry and civil infrastructure systems.  Sharing efforts for a non-competitive “base layer” will accelerate our innovation. Currently, systems are becoming more open and flexible to incorporate new valuable technologies. For example, global businesses are working with more open source technologies to maximize trends with IoT, edge computing and more.

Why did your company join CIP? Can you provide a use case scenario? 
The best part of open source software is that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. But even with continuous updating it is not easy to keep this software reliable and secure for more than 10 years. This is where CIP comes in. We thought it would be better if we joined the CIP project and shared this effort among other industry leaders.

The CIP framework would be suitable for IoT controllers which requires real-time processing, super long-term support, flexibility, security and connectivity – all, which be provided by CIP.

How are you currently active in CIP?

As a Platinum member, Hitachi is active on the Governing Board as well as the Technical Steering Committee (TSC). I am the representative for TSC and share CIP requirements, issues and updates among the Hitachi group. This helps Hitachi understand CIP’s progress and mission as well as helps make CIP’s activities more effective.

What benefits have you seen or what do you expect to achieve? 
Though it may take several years to get a return on our investment from CIP, we believe that it is important to keep contributing to CIP. In order to ensure the safety and security for the civil infrastructure platform, we need to keep working with OSS and develop long term support for more than 10 years.

Recently, CIP has put a focus on security and is considering to provide a framework or tools to assist and comply with security standards like IEC 62443. This is a huge milestone and, once we’ve achieved this, all CIP members and contributors will get see benefits.

Where do you see civil infrastructure systems in 20 years? 
I am amazed at how innovation moves so quickly. In 20 years, I think most of our life will be automated or assisted by AI. In fact, AI will be rooted in open source technology and collaboration with contributors and projects who will provide tons of data. I think we may even see a day where AI maintains the CIP kernels!

PC Pop: Linux Foundation training and certification will land in China

By In the News

With the development of computer technology, especially the rise of Internet technology and related enterprises, open source software has become the mainstream in various aspects such as operating system, compiler tool chain, database, WEB server, and mobile operating system. It is because when companies such as Google use open source software to form a unique business model, more and more developers and enterprises are beginning to pay attention to the development of open source software.

Read more at PC Pop.

Linux.com: CIP – Keeping the Lights on with Linux

By In the News

Modern civil infrastructure is all around us — in power plants, radar systems, traffic lights, dams, weather systems, and so on. Many of these infrastructure projects exist for decades, if not longer, so security and longevity are paramount.

And, many of these systems are powered by Linux, which offers technology providers more control over these issues. However, if every provider is building their own solution, this can lead to fragmentation and duplication of effort. Thus, the primary goal of Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) is to create an open source base layer for industrial use-cases in these systems, such as embedded controllers and gateway devices.

Read more at Linux.com.

Info Tech: Opening Up New Ways to Build and Secure Civil Infrastructure

By In the News

Even as The Linux Foundation’s projects continue to grow and mature, enterprises and government agencies and organizations struggle with the question of the sustainability when adopting open source technologies.

While Red Hat and similar companies have long made it possible for even the largest initiatives to be built and managed, through certification programs, professional services, and ongoing support businesses, city planners and others responsible for multi-million and even multi-billion-dollar projects are cautious if not conservative when it comes to too much open source (vs. locked down vendor provided solutions).

The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) Project “aims to create an interoperable open source software platform that is secure, reliable and sustainable for more than 10 years” according to a news release issued out of Tokyo on June 20th.

Read more at Info Tech.

Pro-Linux: The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) project has announced a collaboration with the Debian LTS initiative

By In the News

The Civil Infrastructure Platform , a Linux Foundation collaboration project , was announcedin 2016 and introduced the first version of its code in October 2017 . CIP is a project that directly deals with the lifelines of every modern society, such as infrastructure such as electricity, oil, gas and water pipelines, health care, communication links and transport routes.

At the Open Source Summit Japan, the project has now announced a collaboration with the Debian LTS initiative . The Debian LTS initiative aims to support each Debian release for at least five years, two years longer than would be the case. Since Debian 6, this has always worked as advertised, but funding for this work has been pretty tight at all times. This is likely to change as CIP will support the initiative financially. In particular, CIP aims to work with Freexian , the service company that coordinates the LTS initiative. The goals are to maximize interoperability, security and long-term support for free software for embedded systems.

Read more at Pro-Linux.

IoT Evolution World: Cybertrust Joins the CIP Project As Ecosystem for Large Scale Critical Infrastructure Initiatives Grows

By In the News

When it comes to critical infrastructure, including development of the smart grid, smart cities, transportation systems, and more, security is no longer an afterthought. Given digital elements now been embedded into the “built world” for all the right reasons – to manage physical assets more efficiently, to predict maintenance associated with those assets, and to make life better for residents and visitors – more and more attention is being paid to the unintended consequences, for example security breaches, ransomware attacks, and cyber-terrorism.

Late last year, Cybertrust and MIRACLE LINUX merged to form a new company under the name of Cybertrust Japan Co., Ltd, bringing together Cybertrust’s digital authentication and Miracle Linux embedded system and the message upon announcing the merger was built around trust.

Read more at IoT Evolution World.

Civil Infrastructure Platform Announces Collaboration with the Debian LTS Initiative and Welcomes Cybertrust as a New Member

By Announcement

CIP aims to create an interoperable open source software platform that is secure, reliable and sustainable for more than 10 years

TOKYO, JAPAN – June 19, 2018 – The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) Project, which aims to provide a base layer of industrial grade open source software components, tools and methods to enable long-term management of critical systems, today announced a new collaboration with the Debian LTS Initiative to use Debian, the universal operating system that is available to developers & companies as free, open source software. This collaboration builds upon CIP’s mission of creating an
an open source framework that provides the software foundation needed to deliver essential services for civil infrastructure and economic development on a global scale.

In this new partnership, CIP will specifically help with Debian Long Term Support (LTS), which aims to extend the lifetime of all Debian stable releases to more than 5 years. CIP will work with Freexian, a multi-faceted services company that is leading the effort for Debian LTS, to maximize interoperability, security and LTS for open source software for embedded systems.

CIP will contribute in several ways, including:
● Funding for Debian LTS activities
● Working toward interoperability by harmonizing software and other elements
● Collaborating on common elements

“CIP’s mission of creating industrial grade open source software aligns with our goal of developing a free and universal operating system,” said Chris Lamb, Debian Project Leader. “We are excited about this collaboration as well as the CIP’s support of the Debian LTS project which aims to extend the support lifetime to more than five years. Together, we are committed to long term support for our users and laying the ‘foundation’ for the cities of the future.”

CIP has had a long history of working with Debian as most control systems for transportation, power plants, healthcare and telecommunications run on Debian embedded systems.

Hosted by The Linux Foundation, CIP aims to speed implementation of Linux-based civil infrastructure systems, build upon existing open source foundations and expertise, establish de facto standards by providing a base layer reference implementation, and contribute to and influence upstream projects regarding industrial needs. This collaboration with Debian will help CIP get one step closer to achieving their goals of providing long term support for critical systems through industrial grade software and a universal operating system.

A Growing Ecosystem
In addition to the new collaboration with Debian, CIP also welcomes Cybertrust Japan Co, Ltd. as a new Silver member. By joining CIP, Cybertrust, a company that supplies enterprise Linux operating systems, advances its commitment to building secure and reliable embedded equipment and systems.

“Linux industrial or automotive-grade embedded systems are exposed to serious security threats and our customers expect long term Linux security patches,” said Tatsuo Ito, Vice President, and CTO for Cybertrust. “CIP has this expertise and shares the same goals as we do. We believe that together, we can address these critical issues.”

Cybertrust joins other industry leaders, such as Codethink, Hitachi, Moxa, Plat’Home, Renesas, Siemens and Toshiba, in their work to create a reliable and secure Linux-based embedded software platform that is sustainable for decades to come.

“The CIP Project continues to achieve milestones to build an interoperable open source platform that is secure, reliable and sustainable for more than 10 years,” said Urs Gleim, Head of the Central Smart Embedded Systems Group at Siemens and CIP Governing Board Chair. “We are thrilled that Cybertrust has joined CIP and will provide expertise in security and digital authentication based on Server Linux Distributor (Asianux) and their OTA implementations.”

Open Source Summit Japan
CIP will be at The Linux Foundation’s Open Source Summit Japan from June 20 – 22, 2018. The project will have a booth in the sponsor showcase and interactive demos from Hitachi, Plat’home and Renesas. CIP leaders will also be on-site to answer questions, discuss the importance of industrial grade open source software and how it impacts the city of the future. Additionally, CIP has two speaking sessions including a CIP introduction and overview for the CIP Kernel Maintenance. For more details about those sessions, click here.

Additional CIP Resources:
● CIP Website: https://www.cip-project.org/
● CIP Wiki Page: https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/civilinfrastructureplatform/start
● CIP Core: https://www.cip-project.org/blog/2017/10/23/cip-launches-cip-core
● Board At Desk: https://www.cip-project.org/blog/2017/10/18/cip-launches-bd-v1-0

About CIP
The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) is an open source project hosted by The Linux Foundation. The project is focused on establishing an open source base layer of industrial grade software to enable the use and implementation of reusable software building blocks that meet the safety, reliability and other requirements of industrial and civil infrastructure. For additional information, visit https://www.cip-project.org/.

About The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage/ Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

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CIP Member Codethink Reveals Technical Report Card

By Blog

CIP’s mission is to extend the life of industrial systems and solutions by up to 10 years. To do this, a lot of testing, testing and more testing has to happen! Codethink helps lead CIP’s Technical Steering Committee and plays an integral role in the technical community. As such, Codethink shares updates and progress reports on an ongoing basis. In this new blog post, Agustin Benito Bethencourt shares what Codethink has been focusing on this year and the results of these efforts.

CIP 4.4 kernel maintenance
Ben Hutchings, CIP’s Debian kernel maintainer, has been the 4.4-cip kernel
maintainer for almost two years now. His role is to design, establish and consolidate the CIP kernel maintenance process, integrating it with the upstream stable kernel process as much as possible, reducing exceptions to the minimum, since they will be maintained by CIP on its own for the coming years. Until now, almost all of those exceptions are directly related to platform
specific features.

This year, as maintainer, Ben is focused on security as well as supporting the CIP community, providing advice and answering questions about the Linux Kernel and the Debian LTS process.

Several versions of the CIP kernel have been released so far in 2018, being the latest one published this past May 18th, version 4.4.130-cip23. A new version of the CIP kernel will be published right before the Open Source Summit Japan 2018 starts.

If you are interested in using the CIP 4.4 kernel, please visit: https://gitlab.com/cip-project/cip-kernel/

After industrial leader Moxa joined CIP in 2017, Codethink put efforts in promoting other kernel developers from CIP Members to participate in the kernel 4.4 stable review process. This is being one of the most rewarding activities for Codethink. Bringing new blood to a critical process for so many companies could become one of the most relevant contributions CIP can
make to the Kernel community.

Testing
After the strategy change decided by CIP at the end of 2017, Codethink has put Board at Desk(B@D)[3], the tool based on kernelci.org used to test the kernel, in maintenance mode, at least until the new CIP testing infrastructure is up and running. kernelci and LAVA versions have been updated, some minor improvements to ease the configuration has been merged, the Renesas board IWG20M is now supported in B@D and the documentation has been improved. Led by Robert Marshall from Codethink Ltd, two activities will focus the test automation efforts the coming weeks/months:

* Move B@D into containers, which will allow us to share efforts with AGL and
integrate B@D with the new CIP testing infrastructure.

* Modify the current integration process so B@D becomes more resilient to
upstream changes with heavy impact to the tool.

These actions will reduce the maintenance effort so they will allow us to
focus on creating tests.

Other activities
Codethink contributes to CIP in several other areas as well. Agustín Benito will talk about the CIP kernel process at Open Source Summit Japan 2018 and introduce CIP to Open Source developers at the OpenSouthCode  in June. Codethink has also contributed to the CIP blog with an article earlier this year and is an active participant at the CIP Technical Steering Committee.

For more information, visit CIP’s wiki page: https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/civilinfrastructureplatform/ciptesting