A microkernel architecture for a highly scalable real-time middleware

Middleware systems support the development of dis-tributed real-time systems in particular in heterogeneous environments. We propose OSA+, a scalable service-oriented middleware architecture. OSA+ offers support not only for communication between but also for the execu-tion of tasks. It adapts to different hardware, operating and communication systems by the use of basic services. These services can be plugged into a microkernel platform. Thus, OSA+ can be used on PCs, workstations, but also in lower-priced embedded systems with scarce memory and CPU equipment. As case study for an OSA+ application, we present the Komodo project which consists of a multi-threaded Java microcontroller, a real-time Java virtual ma-chine, an adapted Java API, and a Java version of the OSA+ middleware.