The validation of the De-RISC platform involves several end-user use-case applications, representative of aerospace scenarios.
The second use-case which will be developed in De-RISC Project named Command and Data Handling Subsystem, is intended as a representative subset of an on-board satellite application, focused on time and space partitioning and inter-partition communications, both fundamental capabilities of mixed-critical systems.
This application was originally developed as part of the EMC² Artemis project by Thales Alenia Space. The purpose of this use-case is to evaluate the usage of multi-core processors in the context of mini- and micro-satellite constellations. In that context it was initially used with a SoC based on Cobham Gaisler LEON4FT cores, and a previous version of fentISS XtratuM, to evaluate their capabilities in terms of time and space partitioning, and the performance of inter-partition communications. More information can be found in [1].
Porting this use-case on XNG and NOEL-V is currently ongoing, with a particular focus on the various inter-partition communication services offered by the XNG hypervisor. The use-case is composed of five partitions, with real-time constraints ranging from 120ms downto 10ms. We plan to experiment with a number of deployments in terms of processor core allocation and partition scheduling, in order to validate respectively space- and time-isolation principles. It will then allow us to perform an interesting comparison of the capabilities of the De-RISC platform with previous-generation systems.
[1] Andreetti D., Federici F., Muttillo V., Pascucci D. and Pomante L., “Analysis and Design of a Command & Data Handling Platform Based on the LEON4 Multicore Processor and PikeOS Hypervisor,” DAta Systems In Aerospace, European Space Agency, Paris, France, 2017, p. 4.