Intel Corp has updated its iRMX real-time operating system to support its 32-bit 80386 and 80486 processors, in a move that it hopes will bring it into competition with minicomputer-based real-time systems from the likes of DEC, Encore, Data General and Norsk Data. And along with the new iRMX III software, the company also extended its Multibus II bus architecture with a new modular interface extension – known as Mix – which should facilitate the building of high-performance input-output subsytems, according to Intel. iRMX III remains compatible with previous releases, but supports larger segment sizes (4Gb rather than the previous 64Kb limit), will run in 80386 protected mode, and also supports the 387 maths co-processor. Existing 16-bit software will run after re-compilation, but performance-critical segments of code can be converted for 32-bit operation gradually, running alongside the older code. It is available on Multibus I, II and AT bus architectures and is supported by existing iRMX development tools. Intel claimed that iRMX III was the first true 32-bit real-time system available, dismissing products from Motorola, Wind River Systems and Ready Systems as real-time kernels, and claiming that real-time Unix implementations of Unix were inflexible, needing to be re-written with every new release of AT&T Unix. iRMX III can connect with standard operating systems such as Unix V.3 or MS-DOS on adjoining processors via Multibus at the Transport layer, allowing real-time results to be displayed or stored using standard software. The Mix interface for high-end input-output-intensive operations is processor- and bus-independent, and consists of a 386/020 baseboard with 80386 CPU, DMA controller, message passing co-processor and from 1Mb to 16Mb of DRAM. It will support up to three Mix modules for custom input-output solutions: Intel itself has produced the first three for wide area networks, local area networks and terminal connections. Mix development kits are available now, iRMX III next quarter: no tags.
