Timesys Announces Hosted Embedded Board Farm 2.3 Release

Press Release (ePRNews.com) - PITTSBURGH - Nov 22, 2022 - Timesys Corporation, an industry pioneer and a leading provider of embedded, open-source software security solutions, has announced that the Embedded Board Farm (EBF) 2.3 release includes a new hosted feature that is expected to ease embedded development kit supply-chain issues and improve the workflow for work-from-home developers and engineers.

A Test Automation and Remote Access Infrastructure Solution

The Timesys Embedded Board Farm enables developers, testers, support engineers, sales engineers, and others to securely and remotely access project hardware and run customized Board Support Packages (BSPs) for Embedded Linux, as well as other popular embedded RTOS, from anywhere in the world. Unlike virtual BSP access solutions that just simulate the target software, the EBF provides remote access to live hardware, enabling the team to work with real products to develop and debug BSPs and associated application software for any embedded operating system or RTOS.

With the Timesys Embedded Board Farm solution, embedded product development is now also able to embrace modern Continuous Integration/Continuous Testing (CI/CT) processes, streamlining the product development lifecycle with a standardized test automation infrastructure.

2.3 EBF Release: Internet Accessibility

In the 2.3 EBF release, Timesys has expanded its on-premise Embedded Board Farm and Test Automation Infrastructure solution to enable a hosted Embedded Board Farm. The hosted feature allows anyone with the proper credentials to access hosted boards from anywhere over the internet without requiring a virtual private network (VPN) setup.

With this new feature, semiconductor companies and SOM (System On Module) vendors are able to either self-host, or have Timesys and their partners host, development kits for pre-sales evaluation. This allows early-Silicon-access to selected customers in a cost-effective manner, resulting in an effective management of alpha and beta releases.

Timesys has worked with its long-time strategic partner in Japan and Lineo over the past nine months to develop this capability, and Lineo is now delivering this service to their Japanese customers.

“For our customers, the shortage of evaluation boards due to the lack of semiconductors was a serious problem, hindering development. However, they were able to solve the problem by introducing Timesys EBF and sharing a small number of evaluation boards over the network. They are also relieved of their transport problems, dramatically reducing their administrative burden.” Akira Kobayashi, President and Director of Lineo, said of the solution, adding, “Some companies prohibit connection to VPN due to security policy, but with hosted Embedded Board Farm, it is now possible to easily connect via the internet without setting up a VPN, making it easier to introduce. In addition, we can provide a separate mechanism to identify connected terminals for security concerns, so it is possible to limit the terminals that can be connected.”

In addition, the hosted service addresses constrained supply chain issues by allowing companies to timeshare development kits in a secure fashion. Companies can undergo training without spending resources on buying expensive hardware and maintaining labs. Sales teams can demonstrate products to customers and show live hardware at any time and any place, and remote developers, field, and support engineers can work from home using the same workflow as the on-prem capabilities without requiring a VPN setup.

“We’re so excited to work with Lineo systems in expanding the EBF capabilities needed by customers to solve their problems.” Atul Bansal, CEO of Timesys, said.

The Embedded Board Farm solution offered by Timesys cuts hardware-access-dependent development and testing costs and tightens production schedules with shared remote access.

To learn more about how Silicon, SOM, and device manufacturers can leverage Embedded Board Farm to streamline development with multi-user access and bring devices to market faster, visit https://www.timesys.com/solutions/embedded-board-farm/.

About Timesys

Timesys Corporation (https://www.timesys.com/) is a pioneer and industry leader in open-source software security, development tools, and engineering services and consulting, spanning the embedded software market. With Timesys’ expertise, OEMs, ODMs, and design houses cut development costs and accelerate time-to-market for devices and IoT systems and applications using embedded Linux, Android, FreeRTOS, Zephyr, and other open-source solutions.

With more than 20 years of embedded development experience, Timesys’ broad portfolio, embedded expertise, and extensive partner ecosystem are used by 1000+ customers to develop leading products and applications including medical, automotive, industrial, networking, aerospace, and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

Timesys, the Timesys logo, and Embedded Board Farm are trademarks or registered trademarks of Timesys Corporation. All other company and product names mentioned are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.