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 RTOS for Altera FPGAs, supporting Nios V and Nios II in Platform Designer. Download it and run the examples on your own PC.
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 provides interrupt handling for multiprocessor environments, where processors can be dedicated to managing external events.
GeMRTOS
GeMRTOS for Altera’s FPGAs
See what building a multiprocessor system with GeMRTOS actually looks like.
Eleven 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 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 its scheduling and event handling are not polled: 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.
Download it, or have us design with it
FPGA design services on GeMRTOS, the Generic Embedded Multiprocessor RTOS for Altera FPGAs, from the team that develops the kernel.
FPGA design services with GeMRTOS | Download and run the examples