Integrity (operating system)
Encyclopedia
INTEGRITY is a real-time operating system
(RTOS) produced and marketed by Green Hills Software
. It is royalty-free, POSIX
-certified, and intended for use in embedded system
s needing reliability, availability, and fault tolerance. It is built atop the velOSity microkernel
and is intended mainly for modern 32- or 64-bit
embedded system designs that support an MMU
. INTEGRITY uses hardware memory protection
to isolate and protect itself and user tasks from incorrect operation caused by accidental errors or malicious tampering. Supported platforms include variants of ARM
and XScale
, Blackfin
, Freescale ColdFire
, MIPS
, PowerPC
, and x86
computer architectures.
There is also INTEGRITY-178B, a certifiable version for Safety-Critical applications.
ARINC-653-1
–compliant real-time operating system
(RTOS) manufactured and marketed by Green Hills Software
. It is a subset of the securely partitioned INTEGRITY real-time operating system. It targets demanding, safety-critical applications containing multiple programs with different levels of safety criticality, all executing on a single processor. (The "178B" indicates conformance to DO-178B
.)
INTEGRITY-178B is used in several military jets such as the F-16, F-22 and F-35
, as well as the commercial airframes Airbus A380
and Boeing 787
.
The INTEGRITY-178B kernel's design guarantees bounded computation times by eliminating features such as dynamic memory allocation. An MMU
is used to provide full-system memory protection for all components, including user applications, device drivers, and inter-partition communications. Clocks and timers are protected with access permissions and implemented entirely in software. INTEGRITY-178B uses memory protection and error-handling to provide a secure system with built-in fault isolation and tolerance. At the lowest level, the kernel is protected from malicious access through its object-oriented design and access verification. The auditing and security engineering capabilities have allowed INTEGRITY-178B to obtain the EAL6
rating by the NSA. The TOE Architecture in the Security Target
for the evaluation excludes components such as the file system and networking components from the definition of the TOE, focusing almost entirely on the core kernel itself. Other operating systems, such as Windows or Linux
, though evaluated at lower levels of assurance, generally include these capabilities within their TOE.
Real-time operating system
A real-time operating system is an operating system intended to serve real-time application requests.A key characteristic of a RTOS is the level of its consistency concerning the amount of time it takes to accept and complete an application's task; the variability is jitter...
(RTOS) produced and marketed by Green Hills Software
Green Hills Software
Green Hills Software is a privately owned company that builds operating systems and development tools for embedded systems. The company was founded in 1982 by Dan O'Dowd and Carl Rosenberg...
. It is royalty-free, POSIX
POSIX
POSIX , an acronym for "Portable Operating System Interface", is a family of standards specified by the IEEE for maintaining compatibility between operating systems...
-certified, and intended for use in embedded system
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
s needing reliability, availability, and fault tolerance. It is built atop the velOSity microkernel
Microkernel
In computer science, a microkernel is the near-minimum amount of software that can provide the mechanisms needed to implement an operating system . These mechanisms include low-level address space management, thread management, and inter-process communication...
and is intended mainly for modern 32- or 64-bit
64-bit
64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...
embedded system designs that support an MMU
Memory management unit
A memory management unit , sometimes called paged memory management unit , is a computer hardware component responsible for handling accesses to memory requested by the CPU...
. INTEGRITY uses hardware memory protection
Memory protection
Memory protection is a way to control memory access rights on a computer, and is a part of most modern operating systems. The main purpose of memory protection is to prevent a process from accessing memory that has not been allocated to it. This prevents a bug within a process from affecting...
to isolate and protect itself and user tasks from incorrect operation caused by accidental errors or malicious tampering. Supported platforms include variants of ARM
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
and XScale
XScale
The XScale, a microprocessor core, is Intel's and Marvell's implementation of the ARMv5 architecture, and consists of several distinct families: IXP, IXC, IOP, PXA and CE . Intel sold the PXA family to Marvell Technology Group in June 2006....
, Blackfin
Blackfin
The Blackfin is a family of 16- or 32-bit microprocessors developed, manufactured and marketed by Analog Devices. The family is characterized by their built-in, fixed-point digital signal processor functionality supplied by 16-bit Multiply–accumulates , accompanied on-chip by a small and...
, Freescale ColdFire
Freescale ColdFire
The Freescale ColdFire is a microprocessor that derives from the Motorola 68000 family architecture, manufactured for embedded systems development by Freescale Semiconductor .-Instruction set:...
, MIPS
MIPS architecture
MIPS is a reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by MIPS Technologies . The early MIPS architectures were 32-bit, and later versions were 64-bit...
, PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
, and x86
X86 architecture
The term x86 refers to a family of instruction set architectures based on the Intel 8086 CPU. The 8086 was launched in 1978 as a fully 16-bit extension of Intel's 8-bit based 8080 microprocessor and also introduced segmentation to overcome the 16-bit addressing barrier of such designs...
computer architectures.
There is also INTEGRITY-178B, a certifiable version for Safety-Critical applications.
Associated tools
- MULTI IDEIntegrated development environmentAn integrated development environment is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development...
for building INTEGRITY projects (graphical configuration, version control, compiler/toolchain errors) and debugging the kernel and applications that run on the INTEGRITY operating system. - EventAnalyzer for visual analysis of system level events associated with INTEGRITY tasks and address spaces.
- TimeMachine tool suite for INTEGRITY application execution path analysis, forward/backward execution and single stepping, and other debugging capabilities for INTEGRITY configurations that can acquire instruction and data trace information.
- Green Hills probe and SuperTrace probe for downloading INTEGRITY kernels to target hardware, and examining trace information.
- UMLUnified Modeling LanguageUnified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
and modeling (Telelogic RhapsodyTelelogic RhapsodyNow called IBM Rational Rhapsody, a modeling environment based on UML, Rhapsody is a visual development environment for systems engineers and software developers creating real-time or embedded systems and software...
and IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Rose RealTime UML). - Flash memoryFlash memoryFlash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
programmer.
Associated middleware
- Networking - wired/wireless TCP/IP IPv4IPv4Internet Protocol version 4 is the fourth revision in the development of the Internet Protocol and the first version of the protocol to be widely deployed. Together with IPv6, it is at the core of standards-based internetworking methods of the Internet...
/IPv6IPv6Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
protocols - Graphics - 2D/3D/Video
- USBUniversal Serial BusUSB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
(includes 2.0) - File systemFile systemA file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...
s- Virtual file systemVirtual file systemA virtual file system or virtual filesystem switch is an abstraction layer on top of a more concrete file system. The purpose of a VFS is to allow client applications to access different types of concrete file systems in a uniform way...
server for use with Unix-likeUnix-likeA Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
, DOSDOSDOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
/FATFile Allocation TableFile Allocation Table is a computer file system architecture now widely used on many computer systems and most memory cards, such as those used with digital cameras. FAT file systems are commonly found on floppy disks, flash memory cards, digital cameras, and many other portable devices because of...
12/16/32, or ISO 9660ISO 9660ISO 9660, also referred to as CDFS by some hardware and software providers, is a file system standard published by the International Organization for Standardization for optical disc media....
file systems - Wear levellingWear levellingWear leveling is a technique for prolonging the service life of some kinds of erasable computer storage media, such as Flash memory used in solid-state drives and USB Flash drives...
Flash file systemFlash file systemA flash file system is a file system designed for storing files on flash memory devices. These are becoming more prevalent as the number of mobile devices is increasing, the cost per memory size decreases, and the capacity of flash memories increases....
s - Partitioning Journaling file systemJournaling file systemA journaling file system is a file system that keeps track of the changes that will be made in a journal before committing them to the main file system...
s
- Virtual file system
INTEGRITY-178B
INTEGRITY-178B is a royalty-free ARINCARINC
Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated , established in 1929, is a major provider of transport communications and systems engineering solutions for eight industries: aviation, airports, defense, government, healthcare, networks, security, and transportation...
ARINC-653-1
ARINC 653
ARINC 653 is a software specification for space and time partitioning in Safety-critical avionics Real-time operating systems...
–compliant real-time operating system
Real-time operating system
A real-time operating system is an operating system intended to serve real-time application requests.A key characteristic of a RTOS is the level of its consistency concerning the amount of time it takes to accept and complete an application's task; the variability is jitter...
(RTOS) manufactured and marketed by Green Hills Software
Green Hills Software
Green Hills Software is a privately owned company that builds operating systems and development tools for embedded systems. The company was founded in 1982 by Dan O'Dowd and Carl Rosenberg...
. It is a subset of the securely partitioned INTEGRITY real-time operating system. It targets demanding, safety-critical applications containing multiple programs with different levels of safety criticality, all executing on a single processor. (The "178B" indicates conformance to DO-178B
DO-178B
DO-178B, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification is a document dealing with the safety of software used in airborne systems....
.)
INTEGRITY-178B is used in several military jets such as the F-16, F-22 and F-35
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
, as well as the commercial airframes Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
and Boeing 787
Boeing 787
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It seats 210 to 290 passengers, depending on the variant. Boeing states that it is the company's most fuel-efficient airliner and the world's first major airliner to use...
.
The INTEGRITY-178B kernel's design guarantees bounded computation times by eliminating features such as dynamic memory allocation. An MMU
Memory management unit
A memory management unit , sometimes called paged memory management unit , is a computer hardware component responsible for handling accesses to memory requested by the CPU...
is used to provide full-system memory protection for all components, including user applications, device drivers, and inter-partition communications. Clocks and timers are protected with access permissions and implemented entirely in software. INTEGRITY-178B uses memory protection and error-handling to provide a secure system with built-in fault isolation and tolerance. At the lowest level, the kernel is protected from malicious access through its object-oriented design and access verification. The auditing and security engineering capabilities have allowed INTEGRITY-178B to obtain the EAL6
Evaluation Assurance Level
The Evaluation Assurance Level of an IT product or system is a numerical grade assigned following the completion of a Common Criteria security evaluation, an international standard in effect since 1999. The increasing assurance levels reflect added assurance requirements that must be met to...
rating by the NSA. The TOE Architecture in the Security Target
Security Target
In an IT product certification process according to the Common Criteria ,a Security Target is the central document, typically provided by the developer of the product,...
for the evaluation excludes components such as the file system and networking components from the definition of the TOE, focusing almost entirely on the core kernel itself. Other operating systems, such as Windows or Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, though evaluated at lower levels of assurance, generally include these capabilities within their TOE.