Emul8 - path to continuous integration for IoT systems
Michael Gielda
Antmicro Ltd
Why? - history
1 hour of coding
1 day of testing
Problems
physical aspect
limited output, very little memory (especially small 'Things')
debug one device - OK
Problems^2
debug more devices - how to observe the entire system
even simple protocols are hard to debug
physical hardware debugging changes execution, not reproductible
Current situation
multiple standars
no way to compare
lock-in
Is IoT secure? Is IoT ready?
So, how do we make it ready?
with the right tools, of course
Simulation/emulation
not a new concept
Contiki regression testing suite using COOJA+MSPSim
COOJA/MSPSim - problems
old fashioned, GUI-driven
no support for modern platforms
COOJA
still, second best thing after sliced bread
QEMU
standard for Linux development
that's where we started ourselves!
QEMU - problems
designed for single platforms
main aim is to run Linux - what if you want to run something else as a 'primary citizen'
use C for everything:
a lot of copy pasting code
lack of modern language features
Emul8
simulate different kind of nodes, good support for Cortex-M
allow for any kind of software, especially various RTOS
multiple nodes in one environment, connected by networks, also host-guest networking
provide extra features through leveraging modern coding techniques
easily model new peripherals (or hack together minimal ones that just work for your use case)
Emul8 - features
Unmodified software
Automation
Observability
State saving / loading
API-based
Plugins
Blockers
your nodes are extremely complex to simulate
your system is extremely simple
you are battling extremely difficult networking problems
90% of the time this is not the case, at least for a large chunk of your system
Bar the blockers, why NOT use emulation
you just like challenges
you secretly think this whole IoT thing is just not possible
NOT possible
NOT possible
Instruction Set Simulation
fast
good for software development
Fast is important!
Simple takeaways
bugs in toolchains
illegal memory accesses
unused code
bugs in protocols
all kinds stupid bugs
More advanced perks
detailed tracing
visualisation tools
reverse execution
How it changes workflow
clone entire setups
traceable, reproducible development
enable large-scale continuous integration
Continuous integration
running our own tests in Jenkins - other CI frameworks possible
using Robot framework
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Status - launch
Status - try it
available from GitHub
more info and getting started on dedicated website
Docker image available, see our blog note
But... we're missing a piece
Back in 2012
Current work
port of regression testing for Contiki with leaner wireless simulator
integration of lossy medium simulation with Emul8
new tigther integration with Robot
work on packaging, ease of use
System description - Emul8
device model
board definition
emulation script
System description - on top of that
network setup description
robot scripts
continuous integration setup
Platforms
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TI, ST, Freescale NXP, SiLabs
non-Cortex-M platforms: Cortex-A. ARM926, LEON, PowerPC, experimental x86 support
Challenges
model the right systems
produce the right tools
more manuals, tutorials
make people understand such tools are needed
How we can help?
diagnose if it makes sense for you
implement your board models
build continuous integration setup
help adopt new workflow
build custom tools
Future plans
sensor data input, injected faults
drag and drop design of IoT networks
maps with sensors
...
Thank you for your attention
Questions?