NXP Semiconductors announced OpenIL, a Linux distribution meant for smart factory automation. Credit: Sayoko Shimoyama NXP Semiconductors, a world leader in secure connectivity solutions, just announced a Linux distribution that is intended to support factory automation. It’s called Open Industrial Linux (OpenIL), and it’s promising true industrial-grade security based on trusted computing, hardened software, cryptographic operations and end-to-end security. The fact that factory managers and industrial equipment manufacturers are turning to Linux is not surprising considering its operational stability, professional approach to system security, and its obvious low cost of ownership. The importance of the security and reliability of manufacturing security to the well being of any industrial nation is clear from the focus that DHS places on this sector. OpenIL is helping to usher in a new trend in smart factory automation referred to as Industry 4.0. This “smart factory” vision was initiated in Germany and provides features such as high flexibility, self-optimization, self-configuration, self-diagnosis, and intelligent worker support. What is Industry 4.0? Industry 4.0 provides a focus on: Interoperability — communicating through the Internet of Things (IoT) or Internet of People (IoP) Information transparency — enriching digital plant models with sensor data Technical assistance — helping people by aggregating and providing visualization of information and supporting their decisions Decentralized decisions — the ability of cyber systems to make some decisions on their own and to perform tasks autonomously OpenIL includes real-time OS extensions and TSL (time-sensitive networking) support. It also makes it easy for OEMs to add their own software through the Linux file system. OpenIL features OpenIL includes the following: Xenomai — a real-time framework for Linux XML and NETCONF network configuration utilities Precision time synchronization using gPTP Ethernet drivers for time-sensitive networking Support for edge computing services You can read more about OpenIL by clicking on the link provided and even download source to get started as a contributor. Check out NXP Semiconductors™ N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) for more information on that company’s activities and its support for this critical step forward in factory automation and security. Related content how-to How to find files on Linux There are many options you can use to find files on Linux, including searching by file name (or partial name), age, owner, group, size, type and inode number. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 24, 2024 8 mins Linux opinion Linux in your car: Red Hat’s milestone collaboration with exida With contributions from Red Hat and critical collaborators, the safety and security of automotive vehicles has reached a new level of reliability. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 17, 2024 5 mins Linux how-to How to print from the Linux command line: double-sided, landscape and more There's a lot more to printing from the Linux command line than the lp command. Check out some of the many available options. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 11, 2024 6 mins Linux how-to Converting between uppercase and lowercase on the Linux command line Converting text between uppercase and lowercase can be very tedious, especially when you want to avoid inadvertent misspellings. Fortunately, Linux provides a handful of commands that can make the job very easy. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 07, 2024 5 mins Linux PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe