Multiprocessor RTOS for Altera FPGAs
GeMRTOS is an Altera Solution Acceleration Partner
GeMRTOS: The Generic Embedded Multiprocessor RTOS for Altera FPGAs
Nios II and Nios V supported in Altera’s Platform Designer
GeMRTOS is designed for multiprocessor operation from the start, not adapted to it. Scheduling, event handling and inter-processor mutual exclusion are part of the kernel and its FPGA controller — so multiprocessor behaviour is something you configure, rather than something you build.
What is GeMRTOS
GeMRTOS is a native multiprocessor real-time operating system (RTOS) specifically designed for embedded systems. Built for flexibility, GeMRTOS supports a wide array of processors and configurations. Currently compatible with both Nios II and Nios V processors, it integrates seamlessly into Altera’s Platform Designer, allowing for easy configuration and scalability. This adaptability makes GeMRTOS ideal for diverse real-time multiprocessor applications.
In multiprocessor systems, the challenge of maintaining real-time schedulability is significantly more complex than in uniprocessor systems. The core of GeMRTOS lies in its hybrid scheduling framework, which is designed to optimize the execution of real-time tasks across multiple processors. This hybrid scheduler supports both preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling policies, allowing for fine-tuned control over task prioritization and execution. Additionally, GeMRTOS introduces a novel approach to interrupt handling in multiprocessor environments, where processors can be dedicated to managing external events, thereby reducing latency and improving overall system efficiency.
GeMRTOS
GeMRTOS for Altera’s FPGAs
See what building a multiprocessor system with GeMRTOS actually looks like.
Ten complete example applications ship with it — task models, semaphores, message queues, hardware triggers, multiprocessor scheduling, fault handling and networking — each with an automated check on its own output, delivered running on development boards and in a Windows simulation layer that needs no FPGA.
GeMRTOS
Hybrid Scheduling for Real-Time Systems
One of the primary challenges in multiprocessor systems is ensuring real-time schedulability. GeMRTOS addresses this with its innovative hybrid scheduling framework, optimizing the execution of tasks across multiple processors. By supporting both preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling, GeMRTOS provides users with precise control over task execution and prioritization. Additionally, GeMRTOS minimizes interrupt latency by dedicating processors to manage external events, resulting in improved system performance.
GeMRTOS
Event-driven efficiency
GeMRTOS runs without a periodic scheduler tick and without polling loops: system functions execute only when system state actually needs to change. Time, external events and inter-processor mutual exclusion are arbitrated by the GeMRTOS controller in FPGA hardware, so response timing does not depend on tick phase or on how busy the software happens to be.
GeMRTOS
GeMRTOS: Versatile Multiprocessor Architecture
GeMRTOS’s processor-agnostic architecture lets the same application design move across processor configurations. It is delivered as Platform Designer IP components and integrates through the standard Quartus® Prime flow — no bespoke toolchain, no parallel build system.
Licence it, or have us design with it
GeMRTOS is available as an IP licence, and as a custom application-design service delivered by the team that develops the kernel — so there is no handover between the company that licenses you an RTOS and the people who make it work in your product.
FPGA design services with GeMRTOS | Download and run the examples