OS Malevich – how we made a system that embodies the idea of simplicity (2017)

Summary

A year ago, we set out on a difficult task. We wanted to preserve the best parts of the existing Ajax Hub operating system while removing any weaknesses and laying a solid foundation that would allow us to further develop the Ajax security system. After all, the hub is like a brain trust. It needs to be the most exceptional and reliable link in the chain. Thousands of engineering hours, hundreds of iterations and several elegant software solutions led us to OS Malevich. It’s not just another update. It’s a completely new hub operating system. Once you’ve reached a dead end, don’t be afraid to turn back Three years ago, we decided to create an intelligent security management center— Ajax Hub. We wrote out the technical requirements and began to think about how to do it. There were three options— use C, use a real-time operating system or use Linux. A typical C program that would ensure the absolute control as an operating system since we would have written every component of the system ourselves. The trade off was that the project would have taken a long time, its scalability would have been poor and it would have required a lot of debugging. Linux offered a lot of ready-made solutions, as well as the possibility of parallel and, therefore, rapid development. We would be able to program in high-level languages, make use of abstractions and build a more complex application. But at the same time, we would have vulnerabilities, we wouldn’t have time limits for operations and we often wouldn’t have the best drivers. This would be unacceptable— we sell safety and reliability. So we chose a real-time operating system (RTOS). It gave us the opportunity to create a simultaneously multifunctional and reliable application. Real-time operating systems are used in elevators, car brakes and ballistic missiles. They are maximally reliable, because, if a mechanism does not work within a strict timeframe, then the event no longer makes sense and a catastrophe occurs. This is a key d...