1. Home
  2. Embedded Programming
  3. When is more than one PIT needed?

When is more than one PIT needed?

Hello,

I need to be able to put a process to sleep for 100-1000 microseconds (until now, I've been using a generic Linux kernel on a low-voltage x86 CPU). AFAIU, the x86 platform comes with several timers[*] and I had hoped one of them would prove useful in my situation.

[*] I tried to list all the timers in:
formatting link
(I found PIT, RTC, (L?)APIC timer, ACPI timer, HPET, TSC.)

At some point, I was convinced that the simplest solution would be to purchase a PCI card with multiple Programmable Interval Timers, such as ADLINK's PCI-8554:

formatting link

Then I ran into the relatively new hrtimers infrastructure[*] which seems to let me do what I need. (I'm not sure how, though.)

[*]
formatting link

I'm confused. It seems a generic Linux kernel can indeed provide high-resolution timers without any additionnal hardware.

Then when is a card with multiple PITs needed? Have any of you ever been in a situation where software came up short, and the multiple PITs were mandatory? What are the typical uses of such a card?

Regards.

Reply to
Spoon
Loading thread data ...

Perhaps there is a more appropriate newsgroup for this query?

Reply to
Spoon

This may not be what you want but you might want to look at rtai linux. It's basically a real time kernel with linux riding on top. I assume you are working on one of the small board form factor pentium

2 or up?
Reply to
Wulf

You assume correctly.

(Low-voltage Pentium 3 in a µATX motherboard.)

Reply to
Spoon

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.