At this week's Smart Network Developer Forum, QNX Software Systems Ltd. was to unveil the latest version of its RTOS and a new open-source licensing model. The Forum will be run by Freescale Semiconductor, formerly Motorola Inc.'s Semiconductor Products Sector.QNX Software (www.qnx.com) said it has optimized its RTOS for graphics and networking designs. At the same time, the company has released a new licensing model that will allow designers to gain access to the source code for key parts of the RTOS at a much lower price.
The enhanced version 6.3 of QNX's OS delivers multilayering capabilities and support for 3-D graphics, both of which are instrumental in gaming and automotive applications. Version 6.3 also delivers support for multiheaded display operation.
In addition, QNX has added functions in the network communications portion of the RTOS to improve networking and security capabilities, the company said. Specifically, the IPv6 and IPSec stacks have been upgraded, and stacks for network address translation and IP filtering have been added. QNX has also added support for the SIP control transport protocol (SCTP), delivered support for providing distributed processing across interconnects, and added new security capabilities like Internet key exchange and secure socket layer.
Available in June, version 6.3 is priced at about $8,500 per seat.
For designers looking for source code, QNX has built a licensing model that will allow access to key parts of the RTOS, such as file sharing and networking modules. "Designers can access some modules for around $10,000, not the few hundred thousand that it would have cost in the past," said Dave Curley, vice president of marketing at QNX.
But designers shouldn't expect to get access to QNX's RTOS kernel for that price. That still remains a prized possession that QNX will provide only to select customers at a high price.
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