Audience
OS tailored solution for anyone wanting to run containers on embedded devices
About balenaOS
Containers will revolutionize connected devices, and balenaOS is the best way to run them. Made to survive harsh networking conditions and unexpected shutdowns. A minimal Linux with the services needed to run Docker reliably on an embedded device - nothing else. Based on Yocto Linux for easy porting to most capable device types across varied CPU architectures. Actively developed in the open; community participation warmly welcomed. In our quest to build balenaCloud, a platform that brings the tools of modern software development to the world of connected hardware, we started by porting Docker to ARM chips in 2013. We soon realised that we also needed an operating system optimized for the use case: a minimal OS ideal for running containers on embedded devices.
Other Popular Alternatives & Related Software
balenaEngine
An engine purpose-built for embedded and IoT use cases, based on Moby Project technology from Docker. 3.5x smaller than Docker CE, packaged as a single binary. Available for a wide variety of chipset architectures, supporting everything from tiny IoT devices to large industrial gateways. Bandwidth-efficient updates with binary diffs, 10-70x smaller than pulling layers in common scenarios. Extract layers as they arrive to prevent excessive writing to disk, protecting your storage from eventual corruption. Atomic and durable image pulls defend against partial container pulls in the event of power failure. Prevents page cache thrashing during image pull, so your application runs undisturbed in low-memory situations. balenaEngine is a new container engine purpose-built for embedded and IoT use cases and compatible with Docker containers. Based on Moby Project technology from Docker, balenaEngine supports container deltas for 10-70x more efficient bandwidth usage.
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VxWorks
The World’s Leading Real-Time Operating System for the Intelligent Edge
For nearly 35 years, VxWorks has been used to ensure the security, safety, and reliability you need to design and build mission-critical embedded systems that simply must work.
VxWorks® is the industry’s most trusted and widely deployed real-time operating system (RTOS) for mission-critical embedded systems that must be secure and safe. It delivers a proven, real-time, and deterministic runtime combined with a modern approach to development. Regardless of industry or device type, companies building intelligent edge systems rely on the VxWorks pedigree of security, safety, high performance, and reliability.
VxWorks is a deterministic, priority-based preemptive RTOS with low latency and minimal jitter. It is built on an upgradable, future-proof architecture to help you rapidly respond to changing market requirements and technology advancements.
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OpenBalena
Use our building blocks to host your own device deployment and management server. Deploy and manage one device, or one million. Extend openBalena to fit your needs. Remotely update the software on your devices with a single command. Benefit from the power of virtualization, optimized for the edge. Access your devices regardless of their network environment. Adding devices to your fleet is a breeze. OpenBalena is a platform to deploy and manage connected devices. Devices run balenaOS, a host operating system designed for running containers on IoT devices, and are managed via the balena CLI, which you can use to configure your application containers, push updates, check status, view logs, and so forth. OpenBalena’s backend services, composed of battle-tested components that we’ve run in production on balenaCloud for years, can store device information securely and reliably, allow remote management via a built-in VPN service, and efficiently distribute container images to your devices.
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balena
Balena is a complete set of tools for building, deploying, and managing fleets of connected Linux devices. We provide infrastructure for fleet owners so they can focus on developing their applications and growing their fleets with as little friction as possible. Our tools are designed to work well together as a platform, but you can also pick and choose the components you need for your project, and adapt them to your particular use case. We know that no two IoT projects are the same and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. If you're eager to learn more about the inner workings of balena, you're in luck. The core balena platform, or what we call balenaCloud, encompasses device, server, and client-side software, all designed to get your code securely deployed to a fleet of devices.
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Company Information
balena
Founded: 2013
United Kingdom
www.balena.io/os/
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