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CIP Core supports Debian 11-based reference images

By Announcement, Blog, In the News

Author: Kazuhiro Hayashi,  CIP Core Team Chair, Toshiba

The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) project has five Working Groups – Security, Kernel, Testing, Software Update and CIP Core. The CIP Core Working Group [1], which was launched in 2019, is responsible for developing, testing and maintaining tools to generate CIP Core reference file system images. We are excited to announce that the working group now supports Debian 11-based reference images. 

The CIP Core images consist of CIP kernel and Debian base systems and provide run-time environments that work with CIP reference hardware [2. ] This library of images is the foundation for CIP developers to enhance new features, test existing functions, and maintain them for the long-term. CIP users can evaluate the features with the reference images in relation to their use cases.

The isar-cip-core [3] now supports 5.10 based CIP kernel [4] and Debian 11 bullseye packages. Isar-cip-core is a set of extensions for isar (an image generation tool) to support CIP reference hardware and other features including, but not limited to, security and software updates. Debian 11 bullseye is currently the “stable” version and will be maintained by Debian project and the LTS project until June 2026. After June 2026, the Debian Extended LTS project will inherit its maintenance. The 5.10 CIP kernel is being maintained by the Linux kernel community as a long term release kernel until Dec. 2026. After this, CIP will maintain it until Jan 2031.

By supporting 5.10 CIP kernel + bullseye based CIP Core images, users can use the latest stable versions of CIP kernel and userland with all the CIP reference hardware[2], some of which are only supported by the 5.10 kernel. 

The CIP Security Working Group[5] is targeting version 5.10 CIP kernel and the bullseye based CIP image to achieve IEC-62443-4-x certification. The CIP Software Updates Working Group[6] is actively improving secure software update mechanisms by SWUpdate and secure boot and expanding devices where the features have been supported, with the latest version of CIP Core image as well as the previous.

The CIP Core Working Group plans to continue to introduce more useful features like above to the 5.10 kernel + bullseye based image and maintain them in cooperation with other working groups and related open source software communities. Contact us via the cip-dev mailing list for feedback, questions, or discussions.

[1] https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/civilinfrastructureplatform/cip-core

[2] https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/civilinfrastructureplatform/ciptesting/cipreferencehardware

[3] https://gitlab.com/cip-project/cip-core/isar-cip-core

[4] https://www.cip-project.org/blog/2020/12/02/cip-to-embark-on-kernel-5-10-development-for-slts

[5] https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/civilinfrastructureplatform/cip-security

[6] https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/civilinfrastructureplatform/cip-sw-updates

CIP Expands Work on SLTS Kernel Maintenance

By Announcement, Blog, In the News

The Civil Infrastructure Platform project (cip-project.org) – released the first 5.10-based version of its super-long-term stable (SLTS) kernel. The 5.10-based release made official the third CIP kernel series available after 4.4-cip and 4.19-cip. It demonstrates how CIP remains committed to maintaining all SLTS versions for a minimum of 10 years after the original release.

With the recent discontinuation of the 4.4 LTS kernel by its maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman, the CIP project now requires organized backports to one of its kernels for the first time, independently of the LTS project. The CIP kernel team already expanded its capacity last year and is well prepared to handle this task.

The CIP kernel developers will remain  involved in the review process of patches targeting related LTS kernels. CIP is actively engaged in enhancing the test infrastructure for the Linux Kernel, both through its work on the CIP SLTS Kernels and CIP’s participation in the KernelCI project.

About The Civil Infrastructure Platform (“CIP”)

The Civil Infrastructure Platform (“CIP”) is a collaborative, open source project hosted by the Linux Foundation. The CIP project is focused on establishing an open source “base layer” of industrial grade software to enable the use and implementation of software building blocks in civil infrastructure projects. Currently, civil infrastructure systems are built from the ground up, with little re-use of existing software building blocks.

The CIP project intends to create reusable building blocks that meet the safety, reliability and other requirements of industrial and civil infrastructure. By establishing this ‘base layer’, CIP aims to:

  • Speed up implementation of civil infrastructure systems;
  • Build upon existing open source foundations and expertise without reinventing non-domain specific technology;
  • Establish (de facto) standards by providing a base layer reference implementation;
  • Contribute to and influence upstream projects regarding industrial needs;
  • Motivate suppliers to actively support these platform / provide an implementation; 
  • Promote long term stability and maintainability of the base layer of code; and
  • Adopt the security standard IEC 62443

With respect to project governance, a Governing Board is responsible for financial matters while the Technical Steering Committee oversees the technical direction of the project.

For more information, please visit https://www.cip-project.org/

 

 

VES LLC Joins CIP as a Silver Member

By Announcement, Blog, In the News

Leader in custom Government off the Shelf (GOTS) infrastructure solutions becomes the newest member of Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP)

Today, the Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) welcomes VES LLC as its newest member. VES is a small business Headquartered out of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland with a focus on solving the Department of Defense’s (DoD) hardest Software Systems Integration challenges. VES is joining CIP to further their development of custom Government off the Shelf (GOTS) infrastructure solutions, integrating Mission Command systems, and prototyping emerging technologies for use in the Army and Joint tactical architecture.

The Civil Infrastructure Platform strives to create an open source “base layer” of industrial-grade software to enable the use and implementation of software building blocks in civil infrastructure projects. Embedded systems are crucial to civil infrastructure, including within Army operating systems and across the DoD. Given VES’ area of expertise, and CIP’s mission to establish an open source “base layer” of industrial-grade software, there’s strong alignment with both CIP and VES.

“As CIP grows, it is exciting to bring in a broader array of organizations wishing to establish a Linux-based open source base layer for industrial-grade, civil infrastructure.” said Yoshitake Kobayashi, Technical Steering Committee Chair of CIP, “We are excited to have VES on board and welcome all future collaboration within the CIP community.” 

Matthew Vidovich
CEO, VES LLC

“We are very excited to join the CIP and become an integral member of an expansive network focused on open source solutions with other industry leaders.” said VES CEO, Matt Vidovich.  “Each member of our core VES leadership team brings over 17 years of open systems architecture experience across the Department of Defense, commercial, and international markets.  We look forward to expanding our relationships and impact with other stakeholders sharing the same purpose and passion on solving the toughest open source problems with enduring solutions.”

Brad Lilly, VES Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Systems

Brad Lilly, VES Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Systems, stated “As a segment leader in custom DoD Linux Distributions, VES is committed to the ongoing security and maintainability for our customer’s systems. CIP has given us a strong base to build on, and we are excited to begin contributing back to help ensure CIP’s long term success.” 

Established in 2014, VES has specialized expertise in building GOTS versions of embedded Linux for Army operating systems needs, and in developing and deploying the Army Mission Command Infrastructure architecture.

Interested in becoming a CIP member, learn more here. 

CIP to Embark on Kernel 5.10 Development for SLTS

By Announcement, Blog

Starting early next year Civil Infrastructure Platform will start development for the next major super long-term support (SLTS) kernel version based on upstream kernel 5.10.

This will be the third SLTS kernel maintained by CIP for the extended time frame of 10 years. The SLTS kernels differentiate from regular LTS releases in that they accept certain hardware-enabling backports of upstream accepted changes. By having the latest kernel features and device supports, the new SLTS kernel will give a new starting point for long term support. This will benefit users who are planning to embark on new industrial-grade device developments or Board Support Package (BSP) developments.

If you are relying already on CIP SLTS 4.4 or 4.19 kernels or plan to make use of the upcoming version, please consider joining the project to ensure its sustainability and help expanding SLTS support also in the future. Being a member furthermore allows to influence the project direction, the choice of reference hardware and kernel configurations that will be supported and tested.

By starting the SLTS kernel development, CIP would be ready to align with a new Debian release which is expected in 2021. The Debian Project aims to provide Linux-based operating system, Debian, to be widely used with long-term support. This enables CIP to take advantage of their activities to achieve CIP’s goal. 

End-users of CIP include systems for electric power generation and energy distribution, oil and gas, water and wastewater, healthcare, communications, transportation, and community management. These systems deliver essential services, provide shelter, and support social interactions and economic development. They are society’s lifelines, and CIP aims to contribute to and support these important pillars of modern society. Developing the next major SLTS kernel version helps CIP continue on its goal to create an interoperable open source software platform that is secure, reliable and sustainable for at least 10 years. 

Civil Infrastructure Platform Announces New Super Long Term Support Kernel that Advances Automation, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

By Announcement

The New CIP SLTS Kernel Expands the Support Architecture to include ARM64

SAN FRANCISCO –  February 25, 2019 – The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) Project, which enables long-term management of infrastructure systems through a base layer of industrial grade open source software components, tools and methods, today announced the release of the Super Long Term Support (SLTS) Kernel. The new kernel expands architectural support for the 64-bit Arm® Cortex, which enables developers to use it in a variety of use cases including building automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

As requirements for reliability, connectivity and feature-richness increase, the amount of software needed to implement and maintain civil infrastructure systems has grown to unprecedented levels. These systems are the foundation for modern society and are ubiquitously responsible for supervision, control, and management of infrastructure for communities and industries across the globe. With these demands, there are unique challenges for safety, security and reliability requirements as updates are needed on an ongoing basis.

Hosted by the Linux Foundation, CIP aims to speed implementation of Linux-based civil infrastructure systems through industrial grade software and a universal operating system, 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.

“We depend on technical systems on a daily basis to keep us safe. Often times these are Linux-based systems that have to be maintained for more than ten years,” said Yoshitake Kobayashi, CIP Chair of the Technical Steering Committee and Senior Manager of The Open-Source Technology Department, Toshiba Corporation. “It is critical for us to better prepare our civil infrastructure systems, and the SLTS CIP kernel gets us one step closer to sustainability for up to multiple decades. With the new support for Arm64, the kernel can be applied to broader applications that are the future backbone of our lives.”

CROSS-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Real-time Linux is a critical component for industrial grade systems. In addition to real-time management and data,  industrial systems require safety, security and reliability, which is why CIP plans to collaborate with the new Enabling Linux in Safety Applications (ELISA) project at the Linux Foundation. ELISA is an open source project to create a shared set of tools and processes to help companies build and certify Linux-based safety-critical applications and systems whose failure could result in loss of human life, significant property damage or environmental damage. Building off the work being done by SIL2LinuxMP project and Real-Time Linux project, ELISA will make it easier for companies to build safety-critical systems such as robotic devices, medical devices, smart factories, transportation systems and autonomous driving using Linux.

“Long-term maintenance and support is essential for the safety, security, and reliability required by embedded systems operating in industrial and infrastructure environments,” said Kate Stewart, Senior Director of Strategic Programs at the Linux Foundation. “With ELISA, we are collaborating with the broader Linux Foundation community like CIP to make this initiative successful. We look forward to working with CIP and its members on establishing processes and tooling to support certification of Linux-based safety-critical applications.”

CIP has also launched two new working groups to help manage specific aspects of the development process.

The Security Working Group will work with various security standards that help to address cyber security issues. Led by Renesas Electronics, the focus of the workgroup is for suppliers to certify using IEC 62443-4-x standards, which is one of the most important  security specification  for industrial products. They will keep the CIP platform up to date by certifying against various available standards and minimize the development time and cost for suppliers by creating a well-defined process for certification.

The Software Update Working Group will provide a robust software update tool that integrates and strengthens the industrial-grade open source base layer. Led by the Toshiba Corporation, the working group will focus on the software architecture, integrating chosen software into the Linux image build tools used by CIP Core and implementing the software update reference boards.

CIP is driven by some of the world’s most innovative industry leaders such as Codethink, Cybertrust, Hitachi, Moxa, Plat’Home, Renesas, Siemens and Toshiba and closely collaborates with other open source projects, such as Linux Kernel LTS, Debian Project, KernelCI. Many members plan to support the SLTS CIP kernel including Renesas, which recently announce RZ/G2 MPUs that will serve as a reference hardware for Arm64 for the certification and release of CIP Linux packages.

The source files for the CIP SLTS kernel can be found here: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/cip/linux-cip.git/log/?h=linux-4.19.y.

Additional CIP Resources:

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

Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation’s projects are critical to the world’s infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more.  The Linux Foundation’s methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.

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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Industry Leader Moxa joins Civil Infrastructure Platform Project

By Announcement

Moxa strengthens its commitment to building smart cities based on interoperable open source platform that is secure, reliable and sustainable for more than 10 years

SAN FRANCISCO – January 18, 2017 – 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 that Moxa has joined as a Silver Member. The move helps Moxa, an edge-to-cloud connectivity solution provider that offers a wide range of industrial networking, monitoring and computing products, strengthen its commitment to building smarter factories and cities on an interoperable open source platform that is secure, reliable and sustainable.

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.

“Every solution Moxa creates offers reliability, safety and is easy to integrate,” said SZ Lin, Software Supervisor for Moxa. “We are excited to join the CIP project and believe it will help us ensure high-quality software components that will address the long-term needs of smart cities and the future of manufacturing.”

CIP addresses the needs of long-term software for the power generation and distribution, water, oil and gas, transportation and building automation industries. Moxa joins other industry leaders, such as Codethink, Hitachi, Plat’Home, Renesas, Siemens and Toshiba, in their work to create a reliable and secure Linux-based embedded software platform that can be sustained for more than 10 years.

“CIP is committed to developing, testing and maintaining an industrial grade software that lays the foundation needed for essential global civil infrastructure and economic systems for the next few decades,” said Urs Gleim, Head of the Central Smart Embedded Systems Group at Siemens and CIP Governing Board Chair. “Moxa brings extensive experience in industrial innovation that will be a welcome addition to the CIP members as we work together to create a better future of our communities.”

The CIP community is working to address major challenges civil infrastructure projects face such as:

  • Speed and cost: The community’s work building foundational elements that may be shared across civil infrastructure projects will save time and money.
  • Interoperability: CIP’s open framework supports existing standards.
  • Security and safety: The project’s industrial-grade software foundation is designed to enable delivery of critical services like power, gas and water.
  • Reliability: Because it is based on Linux, CIP will provide a proven software base for system designs.
  • Sustainability: CIP will help establish a long-term maintenance infrastructure for selected open source components, accounting for product life cycles of more than 10 years.

Last year, the project made great strides in developing the tools needed to test and maintain the CIP kernel, such as the CIP Core and Board At Desk v1.0. For more information about CIP and its mission, visit https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/civilinfrastructureplatform/start.

About Moxa

Moxa is a leading provider of edge connectivity, industrial computing, and network infrastructure solutions for enabling connectivity for the Industrial Internet of Things. With over 30 years of industry experience, Moxa has connected more than 50 million devices worldwide and has a distribution and service network that reaches customers in more than 70 countries. Moxa delivers lasting business value by empowering industry with reliable networks and sincere service for industrial communications infrastructures. Information about Moxa’s solutions is available at www.moxa.com.

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.

Civil Infrastructure Platform Announces the Release of CIP Core

By Announcement

Open Source Community Working to Create Linux Base Layer of Industrial Grade Software will Showcase Achievements at ELC Europe

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC and SAN FRANCISCO – October 23, 2017 – The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP), 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 the release of the CIP Core. The CIP Core, a ​reference ​minimal file system ​that offers a customizable environment that developers can use to test the CIP kernel and core packages, will be on display at Embedded Linux Conference Europe with planned workshops, demos and Q&A sessions.

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.

Hosted by The Linux Foundation, CIP addresses the needs of long-term software for the power generation and distribution, water, oil and gas, transportation and building automation industries. CIP members such as Codethink, Hitachi, Plat’Home, Renesas, Siemens and Toshiba are working to create a reliable and secure Linux-based embedded software platform that can be sustained more than 10 years and up to 60 years.

“CIP is committed to creating, testing and maintaining an open source software foundation needed to deliver essential services for civil infrastructure and economic development on a global scale,” said Yoshitake Kobayashi, Chair of CIP’s Technical Steering Committee and the Senior Manager of Open Source Technology Department at Toshiba. “The CIP Core is a major milestone that will provide a platform for developers to easily build a reference file system and quickly test the CIP kernel with specific application and use cases. This customizable testing will eventually became a part of the product solution.”

CIP Core features include: 

  • Creating reference file system images to test and demonstrate use of the CIP kernel and core packages, a selected set of open source software components that require super long-term support.
  • Achieving its first milestone after releasing reference file system images for the Beaglebone Black, the iWave RZ/G1M Qseven Development Kit, QEMU x86_64 and the DE0-Nano-SoC development kit.
  • Consolidating the CIP kernel and core packages into a minimal reference file system that can be tested and used for further development.
  • Leveraging released file system images that were generated with Deby, a reproducible and maintainable embedded Linux distribution currently based on poky and Debian LTS source code.

Board at Desk v1.0:

CIP also recently launched Board AT Desk (B@D) v1.0, a customized and easy to deploy instance of the kernelci and LAVA projects that should allow developers to test Linux kernels on boards connected to their own development machines using the tooling provided by one of the most successful Open Source testing projects, kernelci.org. B@D v1.0 is provided as a vagrant virtual machine (VM) image/recipe and as a VM image, known as a Vagrant box.

With this release, CIP is moving towards a “shared and trusted testing” target for not just those directly involved in maintaining the CIP kernel but any kernel developer that has physical access to a board. It reduces the deployment, configuration and maintenance costs. B@D introduces a “local” approach to kernelci.org which is a distributed service centrally managed. In addition, CIP intends to increase the number of developers and organizations willing to participate in kernelci.org by providing a simple mechanism to evaluate the technologies developed by that community (LAVA and kernelci) which CIP considers upstream. For more information about the B@D v1.0, read this blog post.

CIP at Embedded Linux Conference Europe:

Live demonstrations of the CIP kernel and LTS will be on display at the Embedded Linux Conference Europe taking place on October 23-25, 2017. The CIP booth (Booth M17) will be filled with innovative member solutions from Codethink, Plat’Home, Renesas, Siemens and Toshiba.

CIP members Agustin Benito Bethencourt, Principal Consultant at FOSS and Codethink, and Ben Hutchings, developer at Codethink and CIP lead maintainer, will also share insight, tips and experience about maintaining a Linux kernel over a long period of time on Tuesday, October 24 at 4:55 p.m. This session will describe the kernel maintenance challenges CIP is facing, the plans to overcome them and what additional measures will be taken in the near future to walk towards maintaining the CIP kernel for 30 years or more.

Additionally, Yoshitake Kobayashi and Urs Gleim, head of the Research Group of the Smart Embedded Systems at Siemens Corporate Technology and chair of the CIP governing board, will provide a CIP overview on Tuesday, October 24 from 11:45 a.m.– 12:25 p.m.. They will introduce attendees to the project’s strategy, use cases, technical roadmap, policies and milestones.

CIP is also hosting open workshops and a developer meeting before and during the show for Linux developers and maintainers. On Sunday, October 22, CIP members will lead three workshops for testing, collaboration and Q&A sessions in the Athens room at the Hilton Prague. The workshop schedule is below. For more information or to register for a session, visit the CIP wiki.

Workshops on Sunday, October 22:

2 p.m.: AGL Testing & B@D Collaboration Discussion

4 p.m.: B@D 101

5:30 p.m.: CIP Kernel Maintenance Q&A

Additionally, CIP members will host a Q&A session on Tuesday, October 24 at 1 p.m. The meeting is open to any and all developers interested in CIP, LTS, Linux maintenance and Debian. For more information, visit the CIP wiki.

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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[News Release] Renesas Electronics Extends Embedded Technology Leadership by Joining Civil Infrastructure Platform Project

By Announcement, In the News

Becomes first semiconductor supplier to join open source project working to create a base layer of industrial grade software

SAN FRANCISCO, February 15, 2017 – The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) project today announced that Renesas Electronics Corporation has joined as a Platinum member. The CIP community is working to establish an open source base layer of software to enable the use and implementation of software building blocks that meet the safety and reliability requirements of industrial and civil infrastructure. Renesas joins founding Platinum members Hitachi, Siemens and Toshiba and Silver members Codethink and Plat’Home. CIP is hosted by The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit advancing professional open source management for mass collaboration.

CIP launched in the spring of 2016 to address the needs of organizations in industries such as power generation and distribution, water, oil and gas, transportation and building automation for reliable and secure Linux-based embedded systems that can be sustained over a period of 10 to as many as 60 years. By establishing this base layer, CIP aims to speed implementation of 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.

“As the first semiconductor supplier to join the Civil Infrastructure Platform project, we are pleased to extend our commitment to open technology development,” said Ichiro Tomioka, Vice President, Head of the ICT & Office Business Division at Renesas Electronics Corporation. “Contributing to the development of shared technology is critical to Renesas Electronics, in addition to our work with Yocto Project and Automotive Grade Linux. We are one of the most active contributors to Linux itself. We hope to work with the CIP community to further advance this important project.”

About the Civil Infrastructure Platform Project

The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) is a collaborative, 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/.

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The Linux Foundation Launches First Linux-Based Civil Infrastructure Project

By Announcement

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Embedded Linux Conference) – April 4, 2016 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP), an open source framework that will provide the software foundation needed to deliver essential services for civil infrastructure and economic development on a global scale. Early supporters of CIP include Codethink, Hitachi, Plat’Home, Siemens and Toshiba.

Civil infrastructure systems deliver critical services that are considered the lifelines of society: electric power, oil and gas, water, health care, communications, transportation and more. A 2014 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report estimated the annual global infrastructure demand is $4 trillion and will climb to nearly $9 trillion by 2025 due to the rapid growth of emerging markets. Countries like Brazil, China, and Japan, for example, are experiencing accelerated rates of growth in civil infrastructure projects to match the pace of production and trade with other countries around the world. Without an open source software platform leveraged across these multinational projects, infrastructure development faces duplication of effort, loss of development time, fragmentation and interoperability issues across other civil infrastructure systems.

“Linux and open source software can accelerate innovation, enable interoperability and transform technology and business economics for an industry. The Civil Infrastructure Platform is a great example of this opportunity,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director, The Linux Foundation. “Through collaboration and open source development, developers will be able to build the common framework that will support some of society’s most important functions for decades to come.”

The Civil Infrastructure Platform will aim to work upstream with the Linux kernel and other open source projects to establish a “base layer” of industrial-grade software. This base layer will enable the use of software building blocks that meet safety, security, reliability and other requirements that are critical to industrial and civil infrastructure projects. As an open source software project built collaboratively across industries, the platform will address major challenges civil infrastructure projects face:

  • Speed: As an open source solution, CIP enables engineers to save time building foundational elements shared across civil infrastructure projects both small and large;
  • Cost: By developing CIP as an open source project, the development costs are shared and controlled by thousands of developers;
  • Interoperability: CIP provides an open framework that integrates existing standards to support plug and play based system designs;
  • Reliability: Based on Linux, CIP will provide a robust software base for system designs;
  • Security and Safety: CIP will provide a software foundation that enables secure and safe delivery of critical services like power, gas, and water, even in times of disaster;
  • Sustainability: The initial focus of CIP will help establish a long-term maintenance infrastructure for selected open source components, accounting for product life cycles of 10-60 years. To achieve this, CIP members will collaborate on agreed-upon areas required to meet civil infrastructure systems’ requirements.

Comments from early supporters

Hitachi
“Hitachi’s mission is to contribute to society through the development of superior, original technology and products. Thus, Hitachi has a long history of contributions that help provide society’s infrastructure such as power, water, urban and transport systems which require both safety and reliability. The aim of the Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) is to provide a platform which satisfies these needs, and we believe that it will become a common, global platform through which we can achieve an even more comfortable and efficient society,” said Masaaki Iwasaki, laboratory manager of the OSS Technology Laboratory in the Research and Development Group of Hitachi, Ltd.

Siemens
“As a global leader in technology for products and solutions that drive our world’s infrastructure, Siemens is committed to address future challenges of digitalization by providing and supporting long-lived, robust and industrial-strength solutions,” said Marquart Franz, senior principal key expert for IT platforms at Siemens Corporate Technology. “With ever-increasing software intensity of our systems, partnering and open source development are necessary to ensure high quality core components based on IT technology. CIP will help us focus on these challenges.”

Toshiba
“We are committed to creating a secure, reliable and maintainable software platform for infrastructure systems by leading and contributing to CIP as a key member,” said Shigeyoshi Shimotsuji, executive vice president of Industrial ICT Solutions Company, Toshiba Corporation. “Collaborative open source development is the best way to not only overcome common issues but also to lead innovation for the future. Toshiba believes that CIP will become an essential software platform to improve our life.”

Yoshitake Kobayashi of Toshiba Corporation and Urs Gleim of Siemens AG will represent the project by presenting an overview talk of CIP at Embedded Linux Conference on Tuesday, April 5 at 9:00 am PT.

CIP is an independently funded software project hosted by The Linux Foundation. The Linux Foundation’s projects span the enterprise, mobile, embedded and life sciences markets and are backed by many of the largest names in technology. For more information, please visit: http://collabprojects.linuxfoundation.org/ or 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.

 

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Media Contact
Whitney True
The Linux Foundation
504.427.1242
wtrue@linuxfoundation.org