| What's up with Red Hat's embedded strategy? |
Jun. 21, 2002
[Updated June 22, 2002] Earlier this week, CNET editor Stephen Shankland reported that Red Hat has discontinued development of its eCos open source embedded operating system, laying off seven of its nine-member U.K.-based eCos development team. "That area is something we have moved on from," said Red Hat chief operating officer Tim Buckley in a June 18 interview, according to Shankland.
Just what "area" is it that Red Hat has "moved on from"?
To gain further insight into Red Hat's current embedded market strategy, LinuxDevices.com founder Rick Lehrbaum caught up with Red Hat's Chief Technology Officer, Michael Tiemann. Asked whether Red Hat is still in the Embedded Market, Tiemann replied: "Yes -- but our strategy is to expand the scope of Linux to encompass the embedded space."
This approach differs from that of other embedded Linux companies (Lineo, LynuxWorks, MontaVista, RedSonic, TimeSys, etc.) who have invested considerable resources in developing specialized Linux distributions and toolkits which carefully target the unique requirements of a broad spectrum of embedded or real-time applications and devices.
According to Tiemann, "the embedded world that [Red Hat is] most interested in needs a Linux platform that extends into the embedded space," as opposed to a unique version of Linux tailored specifically to embedded devices.
Hence, the move away from products like eCos (an open source embedded operating system which Red Hat inherited via its acquisition of Cygnus Solutions in late 1999) and uClinux (a version of Linux geared towards resource-constrained 'deeply embedded' devices which Red Hat got involved in via its mid-2000 acquisition of Wirespeed), as well as a reduction of investment in developing embedded-oriented tools like the Embedded Linux Developers Suite (ELDS).
What does Tiemann mean by "a Linux platform that extends into the embedded space"?
"It's exactly what I said in my guest editorial published last month by LinuxDevices.com," pointed out Tiemann. In How Linux will Revolutionize the Embedded Market, Tiemann expresses his belief that "if Linux is truly going to revolutionize the embedded systems market, it's going to do so on its own terms, and the embedded systems market needs to adapt to those terms, not the other way around."
In the conclusion to his guest editorial, Tiemann says "the deeper I look into environments adopting Linux, from embedded to enterprise, the more I believe that Linux has the requisite DNA and development model to truly scale from embedded to enterprise as a single platform, and Red Hat's focus will remain on ensuring that what works for the mainframe, and the server, and the workstation, also works for the appliance, the carrier, the router, the PDA, and the cellphone; and, of course, vice-versa."
This, then, represents Tiemann's articulation of Red Hat's current strategy: to treat the embedded market as but one aspect of a continuum that increasingly demands greater consistency of technology, APIs, middleware, and tools due to growing end-to-end application connectivity and interoperability.
Is Red Hat planning to supply a product that conforms with the OSDL's specs for Carrier Grade Linux? "Yes," said Tiemann. "As far as I know, we have the world's best high availability story for Linux, and that is Red Hat's Advanced Server."
Tiemann also pointed out that Venture Development Corporation's recently completed embedded Linux market study determined that the most popular Linux distribution for embedded system development is Red Hat Linux, according to a survey of developers. "Without even trying, we've won the 'roll-your-own' market," Tiemann asserted. 'Roll-your-own' has traditionally accounted for the majority of embedded operating system market share. In VDC's survey, Red Hat Linux ranked first, 'Roll-your-own' was second, and then came several commercial Embedded Linux products.
Is Red Hat still pursuing opportunities with customers requiring Linux to be embedded in applications such as set-top boxes, home services gateways, and other embedded devices?
"Yes, we're continuing to talk with a lot of people in these spaces," said Tiemann. "But as you know, companies in the network device and consumer electronics markets have not been investing lately."
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