Formulating Optimized Storage and Memory Space Specifications for Linux Network Embedded Systems

Embedded systems are constantly becoming more complex, as they are increasingly equipped with more functionality. Networking capability is one of the most desired features even for embedded systems, hence network applications, typically used in desktop systems, are required to become available in the embedded system domain. Rewriting these applications to fit into embedded root file systems takes time and effort that may entail a considerable cost. On the other hand, using the existing desktop applications is a good strategy, although introducing many challenges. Formulating storage specifications is easy, but it is not the same for memory as traditionally used memory tools do not utilize the Proportional Set Size value. A thoroughly architecture-independent development methodology is proposed about the construction of an optimized medium-sized network embedded system utilizing the large GNU/Linux code base and emulation. It expands from building, optimizing and comparing libraries, commonly used in embedded systems, optimizing applications to emulating the final system, constructed by an integrated building environment, so as to check functionality and to acquire insight about useful metrics that aid the decision making process. An application of the methodology, focused on the ARM architecture, was deployed demonstrating the value of it, which proves much more efficient than using Android for such constraint environments.