Punctuality Matters: Using Linux to Manage Time-Critical Situations
The robustness of Linux is widely acknowledged, but it can’t quite match the microsecond management of a real-time operating system (RTOS) for time critical situations such as CNC machine instructions, vehicular control, or health sensor collection. If your software must record, manage, or control events within a narrow and precise time window and you’re invested in Linux for core development, you can consider some of these strategies for handling time-critical tasks without abandoning your familiar environment.
Linux can be nudged closer to real-time performance using kernel patches specifically designed for real-time applications like PREEMPT_RT. These patches modify the Linux kernel to reduce latency and improve the predictability of task scheduling by minimizing the duration of non-preemptible critical kernel code. This does not transform Linux into a hard real-time system, but it provides sufficient precision for many scenarios. Bear in mind that this solution requires you to keep your real-time patches aligned with your Linux kernel, which might slow down the frequency of kernel updates your team can manage. You also must navigate issues such as page swapping that can disrupt timing.