NETsilicon Introduces `Out-of-the-Box' Solution to Accelerate Delivery of Networked Devices
Business Wire - April 24, 2000 08:22
WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 2000--
NET+OS breaks cost and time barriers in embedded development with
a complete hardware and software solution including networked
system-on-chip microprocessor, networking software, development tools
and royalty-free RTOS
NETsilicon, the leading provider of network-enabled, system-on-chip solutions for embedded systems (Nasdaq:NSIL) today announced NET+OS(TM), an out-of-the-box development environment that offers the fastest time-to-production of any commercially available embedded solution. NET+OS integrates a leading embedded development environment, an optimized real-time operating system (RTOS) and NETsilicon's award-winning NET+Works(TM) architecture to deliver a solution for immediate applications and hardware development - one CD, one install, one product, one support package. For the first time, a complete product from one supplier contains all the development tools, networking software and hardware needed to begin immediate application development using system-on-chip technology to deliver Internet- and Ethernet-connected devices.
"Customers have asked us to provide a complete solution that optimizes the development process and lowers the cost," according to Eric Kraieski, Vice President of Product Marketing at NETsilicon. "For many, the high start-up and royalty fees represent a significant barrier to starting development of a new product. NET+OS is the ideal solution. It simplifies the procurement process because everything comes from one vendor. It speeds the development process because hardware, software and tools are integrated into a single product. And just as important, NET+OS lowers the product materials cost with a royalty-free RTOS and system-on-silicon hardware implementation."
NET+OS has demonstrated clear value during the beta test period. "This approach is so compelling that more than 25 customers have already purchased NET+Works with NET+OS and are engaged in active product development," said Michael Evensen, Vice President, Industrial Automation and European Embedded Markets for NETsilicon. "Current customer applications include controllers for industrial automation, Internet telephony, building security controls, data communications and point-of-sale terminals."
"NET+OS has been a great opportunity for us, allowing us to save development time while we concentrated our resources on application functionalities instead of laborious integration of RTOS, stacks, services, protocols and development tools, and hardware from multiple vendors," according to Pierre Crockaert, R&D Manager at ACT'L S.A. "We are using NET+OS and NET+Works as the network interface for a new product called EWON, a remote control device integrating PLC (IO+Control in Basic language), Telecom (Ethernet+PSTN+GSM) and WebSCADA (alarms, logging, graphs and real-time display) features."
PerkinElmer's Molecular Spectroscopy Division is an early user of NET+OS. The development team is using NET+OS and NET+Works as the network interface on a high-end accessory for one of their infrared spectrometer products. "We installed the NET+OS development environment and were up and running in under three hours," said George Sealy, Principal Software Engineer.
3S, one of the beta users of NET+OS, is using the system to facilitate data exchange between Industrial Automation controllers using TCP/IP, UDP/IP and CAN networks. "Because the NET+OS development environment is optimized for the hardware, we were able to develop a new SoftPLC application on our CoDeSys platform from start to finish in less than two days, including de-bugging," said Roland Wagner, Technical Sales and Training Manager at 3S.
NET+OS includes Green Hills Software's MULTI(R)2000 Integrated Development Environment for Windows(TM), ThreadX(R) RTOS from Express Logic, Inc. and the NET+Works `best of breed' drivers, protocols and services for Web, email, FTP, flash and SNMP applications. This comprehensive solution comes complete with a NET+ARM(TM) development board including an integral 10/100 Ethernet, two serial ports, two parallel ports, RAM, ROM and a JTAG port. The package also includes a de-bug tool that connects the JTAG port to the parallel port of the development PC and is used for code downloading and de-bugging. With NET+OS, development engineers can begin loading applications the same day they receive the NETsilicon development kit.
"We're pleased that NETsilicon chose Green Hills," said John Carbone, Vice President of Marketing at Green Hills Software. "The selection demonstrates the value we bring to complex applications. Our ARM-optimized compilers and easy-to-use development environment will help NET+OS users get to market faster."
"We are seeing great interest in the NET+Works family of embedded solutions and are pleased to be an integral component of this total solution," said William E. Lamie, Express Logic's President. "ThreadX delivers 4.8us context switching performance while requiring as little as 4Kbytes on the NET+ARM platform. These exceptional speed and size characteristics, coupled with complete connectivity, make NET+OS an extremely attractive solution."
The NET+Works family of embedded solutions combines a suite of standards-based networking software with the NET+ARM family of ARM-based API compatible network microprocessor to offer unique scalability and production cost savings over multi-vendor solutions. With this announcement, the NET+Works architecture now supports three major RTOS alternatives including ThreadX, VxWorks(R) and pSOS (R), with support for Embedded Linux(R) announced for availability later this year.
About ACT'L S.A.
ACT'L S.A. is an engineering company founded 1993 by Serge Bassem and Pierre Crockaert. The company's products and services are focused in three areas: custom electronic design, embedded Internet products and applications and factory automation. ACT'L S.A. headquarters is located at 10a Avenue de l'Artisanat 1420 Braine l'Alleud, Belgium. Further company information may be found at actl.be.
About PerkinElmer
PerkinElmer, Inc. is a $1.7 billion high technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating in four businesses - Life Sciences, Fluid Sciences, Optoelectronics, and Analytical Instruments. The company has operations in over 100 countries, and is a component of the S&P 500 Index. Additional information is available at www.perkinelmer.com or at 1-877-PKI-NYSE.
About 3S - Smart Software Solutions
Founded in 1994 by Dieter Hess and Manfred Werner, 3S - Smart Software Solutions developed and launched CoDeSys (Controller Development System), a leading IEC 1131-3 programming tool for industrial controllers. Today, no less than 22 specialists work at 3S - Smart Software Solutions on the further development and marketing of CoDeSys. Their clients can be found in virtually every area of automation, i.e. from industrial controller manufacturers to users and system integrators. 3S - Smart Software Solutions GmbH, Fischerstr 19, D - 87435 Kempten. 3s-software.com.
About Green Hills Software
Incorporated in 1982, Green Hills Software, Inc. is a leading supplier of software development tools for 32- and 64-bit embedded systems. Green Hills offers a family of optimizing C, C++, Embedded C++, Ada 95, FORTRAN and Pascal compilers. The company's unique MULTI Integrated Development Environment automates the edit-compile-debug cycle by integrating advanced facilities such as an RTOS-aware source-level debugger, performance profiler, program builder and version control system. Green Hills Software's tools support all major 32-bit and 64-bit advanced microprocessor families and target environments, including instruction set simulators, ROM Monitors, commercial and home grown real-time operating systems (RTOS) and in-circuit emulators (ICE). Green Hills Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, and has offices throughout the US, with international offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. For sales information on Green Hills Software products, please call 1-805-965-6044 or email inquiries to sales@ghs.com.
About Express Logic and ThreadX
Express Logic's ThreadX provides real-time embedded developers with the most technically advanced multitasking solution on the market today. Its picokernel design results in very high-performance with extremely small memory requirements. ThreadX also provides embedded developers with significant technical innovations including extremely fast software timers and a mechanism to help reduce context switching called preemption-threshold. In addition to ThreadX, Express Logic also offers embedded developers a complete line of embedded graphics, file, networking, and additional communication protocol solutions. All Express Logic solutions are licensed on a product-line basis, including source-code and without any run-time royalties. For more information, please contact Express Logic at 1-888-THREADX or visit their web site at www.expresslogic.com.
About NETsilicon
NETsilicon, Inc. (Nasdaq: NSIL) is the leading provider of integrated system-on-silicon and software solutions that connect electronic devices to the Internet and Ethernet networks. Using NETsilicon's solutions based on the NET+Works(TM) architecture, manufacturers can easily and affordably build network connectivity into their products. Once Internet-enabled, products can be managed, serviced, and accessed from anywhere. By making it easy to network-enable products, NETsilicon helps manufacturers reduce product time to market, lower costs, and free their engineers from the difficult task of integrating multi-vendor networking components. NETsilicon's solutions are used in a broad range of industries including imaging, industrial automation, telecommunications, building controls, security, and point of sale. NETsilicon embedded networking solutions are paving the way for the device-centric networks of tomorrow.
For additional company, product or financial information, please visit the NETsilicon Web site, www.netsilicon.com, send email to info@netsilicon.com, or call 800-243-2333. For calls originating outside the US, call 781-647-1234. NETsilicon headquarters is located at 411 Waverley Oaks Road #227, Waltham, MA 02452.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially due to a variety of factors, including without limitation the company's ability to develop, produce, and market products that incorporate new technology on a timely basis, that are priced competitively and achieve significant market acceptance; higher expenses associated with the development and marketing of new products; changes in product mix; risks of dependence on third-party component suppliers; inventory risks due to shifts in market demand; the presence of competitors with broader product lines and greater financial resources; intellectual property rights and litigation; needs for liquidity; and the other risks detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The NETsilicon logo, NET+Works and NET+OS are trademarks of NETsilicon, Inc. NET+ARM is a trademark of ARM Limited and is exclusively sublicensed to NETsilicon, Inc. MULTI is a registered trademark of Green Hills Software, Inc. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. ThreadX is a registered trademark of Express Logic, Inc. VxWorks and pSOS are registered trademarks of Wind River Systems, Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners |
