Optimised Real-time Ubuntu is now generally available on Intel SoCs

Canonical delivers Real-time Ubuntu on Intel Core processors with TSN and Intel TCC support

London, 26 July 2023: Canonical today announced the availability of Real-time Ubuntu optimised on Intel Core processors.  The solution enables enterprises to harness the power of optimised Linux on Intel silicon for a wide range of use cases, from telco workloads to life-saving medical equipment, and automation systems for the factory floor. 

“With the support of optimised Real-time Ubuntu on cutting-edge Intel silicon, enterprises can handle the most demanding workloads,” said Cindy Goldberg, VP of Silicon Alliances at Canonical. “Canonical’s collaboration with Intel allows us to provide a reliable and secure framework for developers and manufacturers, ensuring the longevity and success of their devices in the field.” 

Addressing the growing need for real-time capabilities 

As organisations navigate a software-defined transformation to the edge, they face the challenge of supporting real-time and best-effort workloads on the same system, driven by the need for flexibility, scalability, and changes in the workforce. Furthermore, enterprises across industries face the ever-increasing demand for real-time Linux to optimise operations, improve efficiency, and ensure mission-critical systems perform reliably. Canonical has collaborated with Intel to address those challenges head-on, bringing together their expertise and supporting stringent, deterministic workloads.  

By optimising Ubuntu, the world’s most popular Linux OS, with Intel Core processors, Canonical provides a secure, performant and scalable solution. By bringing responsiveness to critical applications, enterprises running optimised Real-time Ubuntu on Intel SoCs will drive innovation, streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and achieve optimal productivity. 

Enabling real-time capabilities from silicon to software 

A holistic approach, like the robust stack featuring Ubuntu and Intel technologies, is necessary to achieve real-time capabilities, encompassing the silicon layer, the OS, user space applications, and networking.  

Intel Time Coordinated Computing (Intel TCC) is at the forefront of delivering optimised computing and time performance for real-time applications. With comprehensive support for IEEE* 802.1 Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), Intel TCC offers a range of enhancements throughout the platform stack. These optimisations prioritise real-time workloads’ access to cache, memory, and networking. They minimise disruptions from other workloads and enhance overall workload performance. 

Support for TSN ensures that time-sensitive applications and workloads receive the necessary processing and network priority. TSN guarantees timeliness in critical operations by enabling efficient workload and data scheduling through time synchronisation across network nodes . Additionally, Intel TCC provides temporal isolation and optimisation within the System-on-Chip (SoC), meeting stringent time requirements at the silicon layer. 

Accelerating product development and integration 

Optimised Real-time Ubuntu on Intel SoCs is a production-ready solution developers and enterprises alike can rely on for real-time compute. The collaboration between Intel and Canonical goes beyond a joint engineering endeavour, enabling enterprises to succeed in their digital transformation journeys and navigate the shift to the edge.  

Canonical ensures seamless integration, certification, and shorter time-to-market by pre-integrating essential software components and partnering with board manufacturers and ODMs. This approach allows organisations to focus on their core applications and value proposition. With up to 10 years of package updates, customers using Real-time Ubuntu on Intel processors gain long-term support and security maintenance.  

“With Real-time Ubuntu on Intel technology, our customers are able to build upon a readily available and supported commercial Linux distribution to accelerate solution development and improve operational and business outcomes, from factory automation and industrial control to many other workloads that require time-sensitive and real-time compute”, said Jeni Panhorst, General Manager Network & Edge Compute Division at Intel. “We are pleased to see our collaboration with Canonical coming to fruition with this release of Intel-optimised Real-time Ubuntu, supporting Intel Time Coordinated Compute and Time Sensitive Networking”. 

Canonical also offers extended support and OEM images to meet specific customer requirements, ensuring a reliable and secure framework for their devices throughout their lifecycle. Enterprises can contact Canonical for extended support, custom board enablement, or production deployment. 

Get started with Real-time Ubuntu on Intel SoCs 

Learn how to enable optimised Real-time Ubuntu on Intel silicon in two simple steps 

Learn about the basics of Real-time Ubuntu 

Dive deeper into Intel TSN and TCC on Real-time Ubuntu 

Contact Canonical to deploy Real-time Ubuntu in production  

About Canonical 

Canonical is the publisher of Ubuntu, the OS for most public cloud workloads as well as the emerging categories of smart gateways, self-driving cars and advanced robots. Canonical provides enterprise security, support and services to commercial users of Ubuntu. Established in 2004, Canonical is a privately held company.

Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries .