Real-Time Component Integration Using Runnable Virtual Nodes

We present the concept of runnable virtual nodes (RVNs) as means to achieve predictable integration and temporal error-containment of real-time software components. An RVN exploits the latest techniques for hierarchical scheduling and is intended as a coarse-grained component for single-node deployment, that provides functional and temporal isolations with respect to its environment. It uses a two-level deployment process, i.e. deploying functional entities to RVNs and then deploying RVNs to physical nodes. The two-level deployment process not only gives development benefits with respect to compos ability, system integration, testing, validation and certification but also leverages the hierarchical scheduling to preserve the validity of an RVN's internal temporal behaviour when integrated with other components. We have applied our approach to a simple case study, implemented in the ProCom component-technology executing on top of FreeRTOS-based hierarchical scheduling and present our initial results as a proof-of-concept.