ACRN (hypervisor)

2018: Exit of ACRN

In March, 2018 the Linux Foundation non-profit organization announced a hypervisor exit open source which is focused on Internet of Things (Internet of Things, IoT). The project received the name ACRN.

According to developers, the hypervisor consisting of 25 thousand code lines provides expense reduction (on development and deployment) and readiness of tasks in real time and also simplifies architecture of systems and is suitable for use in crucial elements of Internet of Things.

ACRN can be applied on devices with limited resources and guarantees low delays (low latency) and adequate responsiveness in interaction with the equipment. Virtualization of the CPU resources, input-output, a network subsystem, transactions with graphics and a sound is supported. A set of mediators of input-output is provided for a joint appeal to the resources, general for all virtual machines.

Optimization of ACRN under devices with limited resources and focus on isolation of critical workloads and ensuring their priority do the project useful to many IoT applications" — the chief executive of Linux Foundation Jim Zemlin said.

The new hypervisor is executed directly over the equipment and supports simultaneous operation of guest operating systems, such as Linux, RTOS and Android, "providing the powerful solution for consolidation of workloads", the vice president and the general manager of the Intel Open Source Technology Center Imad Sousou noted.

ACRN uses technologies of Intel for creation of a lightweight hypervisor for the built-in devices. Besides, the contribution to development of the project was made by LG Electronics and Aptiv companies.

Example of use of a hypervisor of ACRN by LG Electronics company for consolidation of work of an electronic control unit in cars

In the press release the example of use of a hypervisor by LG Electronics company for consolidation of work of an electronic control unit in cars is given (see an illustration above).^[1]

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