MontaVista and Altera Deliver World's First On-the-Fly Reconfigurable Embedded Linux System
SAN JOSE & SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2002--
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition Supports
Altera's Low-Cost EPXA1 Development Kit
Altera Corporation (NASDAQ:ALTR) and MontaVista Software, Inc.,
the company powering the embedded revolution, today announced that the
MontaVista(TM) Linux(R) Professional Edition now supports Altera's
Excalibur(TM) EPXA1 Development Kit. Together, the two companies are
providing embedded system designers with a direct path to lower
product costs and reduce time-to-market with the world's first
on-the-fly reconfigurable embedded Linux system, utilizing the
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition, the leading embedded Linux OS
and development platform, and Altera's Excalibur embedded processor
solutions.
"MontaVista Linux Professional Edition and the EPXA1 Development
Kit are complemented by a series of step-by-step, illustrated
reference designs, providing a time-saving, reliable solution for the
development of a complete range of deeply embedded applications," said
Gopa Periyadan, vice president of System and Software Services at GDA
Technologies, Inc., an Altera design partner working with the
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition. "With the flexibility of the
FPGA fabric, it's easy to architect system-on-a-programmable-chip
(SOPC) applications where the Excalibur device boots Linux under the
control of the processor and obtains a new FPGA configuration from an
external interface."
The EPXA1 Development Kit includes a development board plus a
complete set of embedded system tools targeting the Excalibur EPXA1
device, allowing software and hardware development to begin even
before a design is committed to a custom PCB. The Excalibur EPXA1
device--the smallest of Altera's Excalibur embedded processor
PLDs--integrates a complete embedded ARM922T(TM) processor subsystem
with an FPGA fabric to provide designers with the ability to quickly
create and evaluate differentiated end products. For more information
on Altera's Excalibur embedded processor solutions, visit
www.altera.com/products/devices/excalibur/exc-index.html.
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition is a complete embedded
operating system and cross-development environment. The product
contains an array of cross-development tools for system and
application development and provides a modern operating system
featuring real-time functionality, multi-process and multi-threaded
support, rich networking capabilities, and hundreds of deployable
utilities, libraries, drivers, and other run-time components.
"MontaVista Software's support of the Excalibur EPXA1 Development
Kit gives designers the freedom to develop software independent of the
hardware design process," said Joe Hanson, director of Excalibur
marketing and applications at Altera. "The availability of a Linux
solution with support for the EPXA1 Development Kit is a real benefit
to embedded software designers eager to build on the open-source
operating system."
An Ethernet-based system reconfiguration reference design ships
with the EPXA1 Development Kit and illustrates the features of the
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition and Excalibur EPXA1 device. The
FPGA image is remotely uploaded to the Excalibur device and the
appropriate device drivers are dynamically loaded to the kernel,
enabling use of a single platform to build flexible and scalable SOPC
solutions. The ability to dynamically reconfigure hardware and/or
software in Altera's Excalibur EPXA1 device is a benefit to many
industrial and communications applications requiring in-field
reprogrammability.
"The dynamic, configurable nature of Linux perfectly complements
Altera's FPGA architecture," said Trent Winegar, vice president,
worldwide sales and business development, MontaVista Software.
"MontaVista Linux, targeting Altera's EPXA1 Development Kit, offers
developers unparalleled flexibility and a jump-start on getting to
market."
Altera's EPXA1 Development Kit includes a Preview Kit for
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition. The Preview Kit offers a
hands-on demonstration of the powerful development environment
provided with MontaVista Linux Professional Edition and demonstrates
MontaVista Linux running on the Excalibur EPXA1 device.
Product Availability
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition 2.1 with support for
Excalibur devices is shipping now and is available as a product
subscription through MontaVista Software and its worldwide
distribution channels. MontaVista Linux product subscriptions provide
developer teams with the MontaVista Linux kernel, deployment
components, utilities, development tools, software updates, and access
to the MontaVista Zone and comprehensive technical support. A Preview
Kit is available from Altera and MontaVista Software, and provides
users with a means of evaluating the product and associated
development tools. For more information on the fully available EPXA1
Development Kit, visit
www.altera.com/products/devkits/altera/kit-epxa1.html.
About MontaVista Software
MontaVista Software is a leading global supplier of systems
software for intelligent connected devices and their associated
infrastructure, for applications ranging from communications
infrastructure to consumer electronics. MontaVista powers the embedded
revolution by providing GNU/Linux-based open-source systems software
solutions. Founded in 1999 by real-time operating system (RTOS)
pioneer James Ready, MontaVista Software's principal products include
MontaVista Linux Professional Edition and MontaVista Linux Carrier
Grade Edition. The Professional Edition comprises a Linux-based
embedded source and binary distribution, cross development
environments, and a versatile set of tools for the OMAP, x86/IA-32,
PowerPC, StrongARM, MIPS, SH, ARM, XScale, Xtensa, and other
microprocessor architectures. The Carrier Grade Edition is a
next-generation high availability product that is the first commercial
off-the-shelf (COTS) Linux platform for telecommunications and
carrier-grade applications. MontaVista Software also provides several
complementary technology products addressing specific customer needs,
such as Java development and runtime, powerful graphics capabilities,
and more.
Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, in Sunnyvale,
Calif., MontaVista Software is a privately held company funded by
leading investors such as Alloy Ventures, US Venture Partners, RRE
Ventures, WR Hambrecht + Co., IBM, Intel Capital, Panasonic, Sony, and
Yamaha Corporation. For more information about MontaVista Software,
please visit www.mvista.com.
About Altera
Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) is the world's pioneer in
system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. Combining programmable
logic technology with software tools, intellectual property, and
technical services, Altera provides high-value programmable solutions
to approximately 14,000 customers worldwide. More information is
available at www.altera.com.
Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera
logo, specific device designations, and all other words that are
identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted
otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in
the U.S. and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus
Torvalds. MontaVista is a trademark of MontaVista Software, Inc.
ARM922T is a trademark of ARM Limited. All other product or service
names are the property of their respective holder.
CONTACT: Altera Corporation
Bruce Fienberg, 408/544-6397
newsroom@altera.com
or
MontaVista Software
Joe Samagond, 408/328-9234
jsamagond@mvista.com
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