AN EVALUATION OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM BEHAVIOR

With embedded processor technology moving towards faster and smaller proces-sors and systems on a chip, it becomes increasingly difficult to accurately evaluate real-time performance. This research describes an evaluation method using an embedded architecture software emulator that models the Motorola M-CORE processor architec-ture. This emulator is used to evaluate and compare the real-time performance of a pub-lic-domain experimental Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) against a bare-bones multi-rate task scheduler. The results of the experiment, as shown in arrival time JIT-TER, response-time DELAY, and CPU BREAKDOWN figures, show the trade-offs between job load, job frequency, and kernel overhead. This research suggests full-sys-tem software emulation to be a valid method of evaluating embedded systems ’ behavior and real-time performance