Freescale streamlines embedded design with a complimentary real-time operating system and software stacks

The increasing complexity of industrial applications and expanding functionality of semiconductors are driving embedded developers toward solutions that combine proven hardware and software platforms. We understand that today’s embedded products are more complex and are expected to be developed in even less time.

Trends in embedded systems:

• Systems are growing in complexity
• Schedules and budgets are more demanding
• Movement from 8-bit to 32-bit solutions
• More peripheral interaction
• Software remains an integral part of system design. Research shows a growing shift in project resources moving from hardware to software at a rate of 2:1

To help accelerate time to market and improve application development success, Freescale Semiconductor is offering the Freescale MQX Real-time Operating System (RTOS) with TCP/IP and USB software stacks to particular ColdFire® microcontroller (MCU) families at no additional charge.

Freescale plans to expand the availability of this complimentary, integrated, enablement software to include many embedded processors in its broad portfolio. The first line of Freescale embedded controllers to feature the Freescale MQX Software Solutions is the MCF5225x family of ColdFire® MCUs. Now shipping, this family of MCUs comes complete with RTOS, TCP/IP stacks, and USB stacks - all features of the Freescale MQX Software Solutions.

Click Here to download the software and read the License Agreement

Freescale MQX Software Solutions Benefits

• Full-featured and powerful
• Proven and valuable
• Simple and scalable
• Business-friendly licensing model

Full-Featured and Powerful

The combination of Freescale MQX Software Solutions and a silicon portfolio creates a comprehensive source for hardware, software, tools and service. Freescale helps accelerate success with a highly integrated, full-featured, powerful and optimized solution.

• Freescale MQX RTOS offers powerful, preemptive real-time performance with optimized context switch and interrupt times, enabling fast, highly predictable response times. Its small, configurable size conserves memory space for embedded applications and it can be configured to take as little as 6 KB of ROM, including kernel, interrupts, semaphores, queues and memory manager.
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Freescale MQX Real-Time TCP/IP Communication Suite (RTCS) is a fast and low-footprint embedded internet stack that supports a rich set of standard protocols that span from data link to application layer such as FTP, Telnet, DHCP, DNS servers and clients, and SNMP clients. It provides great flexibility ranging from simple application such as Ethernet-Serial to complex gateway systems. It also allows developers to add Web servers, e-mail, network management, security and routing to their designs.
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Freescale MQX File System (MFS) includes an MS-DOS compliant FAT file system used with mass storage devices (via USB or serial protocol), RAM disks or the FTP server included with RTCS. Like a desktop PC file system, it supports long file names, multiple disk volumes and directory handling. It also includes a Trivial Files System (TFS) for use in HTTP server.
• Freescale MQX USB Host/Device is compliant with the 1.1 and 2.0 standards and support low-speed (1.5 Mb/s), full speed (12Mb/s), and high speed (480 Mb/s) communication. The USB stack is fully integrated with Freescale MQX RTOS and the MFS and includes a variety of class drivers.
• Third Party Pre-Integrated Software for Freescale MQX Software Solutions is supported by a network of global partner expertise committed to providing world-class service and solutions. Freescale MQX Software Solutions easily scales across pre-integrated 3rd party software and tools such as security, industrial protocols (CAN, 1588, PROFINET etc…) and graphical plug-ins.
• Freescale MQX Design and Development Tools Freescale MQX™ Design and Development Tools: Freescale MQX RTOS Task-Aware Debugging features plug into the CodeWarrior™ and IAR debugger, creating a powerful embedded debugging environment that will help speed development, reduce costs and improve finished product quality.

Proven and Valuable

• Complimentary Freescale MQX Software Solutions with its silicon products, Freescale is helping alleviate much of the initial software investment hurdle faced by embedded developers. Comparable full-featured software offerings on the market today may cost developers as much as $95,000 (USD) in licensing fees.
• Running in millions of products over 15 years The Freescale MQX RTOS has been the backbone of embedded products based on Freescale silicon for more than 15 years and in millions of end-use products.
• Proven in multiple markets Freescale MQX Software Solutions spans a broad range of market segments and leading manufacturers worldwide.
• Supported today on many Power Architecture™ and ColdFire® Products
• Production quality code delivered in source with the silicon
• Business-friendly licensing model enables developers to keep their source modifications while being able to distribute the required binary code.

Simple and Scalable

• A straightforward application programming interface (API) with a modular, component-based architecture that makes it simple to fine-tune custom applications and to port and re-use code on a wide range of Freescale processor architectures
• Designed to be customized by features, size and speed. Optional packages enable to scale to different markets and architectures. The Freescale MQX RTOS contains 25 components (core services and as-needed services) that are linked in only if needed, preventing unused functions from bloating the memory footprint.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Full as well as lightweight component implementations are available including lightweight events, logs, timers and semaphores. For more information refer to the Freescale MQX User’s Guide.
• Full scalability New, custom components can be added with a simple API from Freescale MQX users and a growing Alliance Network
• Supports inter-processor communication by running Freescale MQX Software Solutions in the same system through simple message passing. For example: a 32bit MPU design that needs ADC or more GPIO can simply add a low-end ColdFire® MCU to enable those peripheral features.
• Freescale MQX Design and Development Tools. Ready-to-run project files and project stationery are available enabling developers to quickly create their own Freescale MQX- based solution. Stack utilization, CPU utilization, resource status (memory, messages, semaphores, etc), TCP/IP socket information are just a few of the development tools features
• Get started in minutes. Leverage Board Support Package (BSP), demos and labs tutorials for evaluation and demo boards to run Freescale MQX Software Solutions right out of the box.
• Your own team of MQX Experts.Have questions or need hands-on technical support? Freescale, a community of Freescale MQX users and partners are here to provide professional advice, design services, award-winning service and support, and a world of online resources.

Business Friendly Licensing Model

• The Freescale MQX RTOS is complimentary with Freescale silicon and is licensed with full source code, so there is no mystery and no legal ambiguity. The Frescale MQX RTOS provides excellent source code without potential exposure to the open-source legal complications. Our customers’ proprietary features and code remain as private as they decide. What’s more, the Freescale MQX RTOS is licensed without royalties, so it offers the best of both the professional software world and the open source world.