Upstreaming Linux On Arm
Product software quality issues feed into longer software update cycles, higher software support costs and now an increasing regulatory burden. An increased support load can further impact development resourcing leading to a spiral of technical debt to be maintained.
Yet it can be hard to explain to business decision makers how the organisation can escape this spiral of support cost and delay in fixes and updates especially to driver and BSP code.
Future-proof you product with Linaro
The upstream Linux kernel enforces a quality standard for code which the community accepts and maintains. Meeting this standard is an objective quality measure that ensures low technical debt and, if the code is accepted into the upstream kernel, it enables a shared approach with the community to the burden of support. Close alignment with the upstream kernel pays off for faster update cycles, less time rebasing and testing bug and security fixes, and a kernel migration path for customers providing multiple options for long-term support.
Your customers and management can see the benefits of the improvement of code quality which comes from close alignment with the upstream kernel.
Top contributors to the Linux kernel
Linaro specialises in upstreaming to the Linux kernel, having helped many customers over the years upstream their existing software contributions. We are consistently featured as a top ten contributor to the Linux kernel, with many of our engineers acting as maintainers of subsystems or architectures in the Linux kernel. Because of the active role we play in the open source community, we have the know-how and connections to accelerate your upstream development.
We strongly believe that the open source approach leads to the best technical implementation and are therefore committed to not only upstreaming code but also maintaining it.
In addition to upstreaming to the Linux kernel, Linaro also specialises in upstreaming to U-Boot, OP-TEE and Yocto.
Testimonial
“At Square, we face the challenge of maintaining our Terminal and Register hardware products, which are based on short-support-cycle mobile technology, in an industry that requires long lifespans and up-to-date security patching. After the Qualcomm SD615 processor (2014) powering our devices went end-of-life in 2018, Square chose to engage with the Arm Linux specialists at Linaro for upstream-based extended life. Having seen their previous work on the DragonBoard 410c, we were confident that upstreaming was the right path and Linaro was the right partner to deliver a new Linux kernel paired with an up-to-date Android release.
The team dispatched from Linaro Developer Services was highly experienced in how to accomplish this without compromising on productization-level stability, battery life, or performance. As a result of this collaboration, Square is able to continue providing regular OS and kernel upgrades to our Terminal and Register customers for 5-10 more years. In particular, Linaro's expertise and assistance in bringing SoCs and boards into mainline ensures upstream support doesn't decay over time & provides a platform for the community to continue contributing to and benefiting from the work, reducing long term software burden. ”
Benjamin J. Li, Hardware, Square
