Glossary of terms and abbreviations¶
This page provides clear and concise definitions of key terms used by the Automotive Special Interest Group (SIG). It serves as a reference to ensure consistent understanding and communication within the community.
ASIL¶
Automotive Safety Integrity Level. A classification system used to define the necessary safety requirements for automotive systems, ranging from ASIL A (least critical) to ASIL D (most critical). AutoSD is not suitable for ASIL-rated workloads: see Red Hat In-Vehicle OS’s ASIL B certification.
Automotive Image Builder¶
A tool used to build custom OS images tailored to automotive requirements, integrating with CentOS Stream and utilizing RPM packages.
Automotive-image-runner is a wrapper around QEMU that you can use to launch OS images as virtual machines, as well as other tools that the build process relies on
AutoSD¶
Automotive Stream Distribution. An upstream binary distribution developed within the Automotive SIG, serving as a public, in-development preview of Red Hat In-Vehicle OS.
Automotive SIG¶
The CentOS Automotive SIG (Special Interest Group) is a community of people who develop, test, and contribute to AutoSD, an upstream distribution (OS) based on CentOS Stream that could be used in an automotive environment. AutoSD will not be certified for functional safety, however, and should be considered as a research project or a proof of concept.
CentOS Stream¶
CentOS Stream is a continuously delivered distribution that tracks just ahead of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) development. CentOS Stream is positioned midstream between Fedora and RHEL.
component¶
In Linux, a part of the OS comprised of one or more packages, such as the kernel, hardware drivers, user space applications, and system tools and utilities, or one or more pieces of hardware, circuits, chips, or peripheral devices that run or communicate with parts of the OS.
container¶
An OCI container is a way to isolate and limit process interactions with minimal overhead and footprint. In most cases, a container is limited to a single process providing a specific service. Containers package and isolate applications so they can be run consistently across different environments. They share some resources (CPU, memory, storage), but run in isolated environments to prevent conflicts between applications.
A container image is a pre-built, binary file that contains all of the necessary components to run an application inside a container; a container is the working instantiation of an image.
A containerized application refers to the application that is running in a container, instantiated from the container image.
downstream¶
Red Hat software offerings (such as Red Hat In-Vehicle OS) based on upstream community projects (such as AutoSD). See also Upstream.
Freedom From Interference (FFI)¶
The ability of safety-critical components to function independently from non-safety-critical components on shared hardware.
Functional Safety (FuSa)¶
Reducing risks to an acceptable level to ensure that systems work safely even when things go wrong. Functional safety is defined by ISO 26262.
Hardware Enablement Program¶
A program that facilitates the integration of automotive hardware platforms for the Red Hat In-Vehicle Operating System (OS).
mixed criticality¶
Running software applications with varying levels of criticality (such as safety requirements) on a single computing platform, ensuring that less critical applications do not interfere with critical ones.
Open Container Initiative (OCI)¶
A project within The Linux Foundation to define open industry standards around container formats and runtimes.
OSBuild¶
OSBuild (Operating System Build). A tool to build OS images and include applications as RPMs or container images.
OSBuild manifests¶
OSBuild manifests are JSON or YAML files that define the content and structure of OSBuild images.
OSTree¶
Object System Tree. A version control system that provides mechanisms to manage OS updates and ensure system integrity for AutoSD, an image-based operating system.
partitioning¶
Separation of functions or elements. Partitioning can refer to hardware, to software, or to both. A fault containment strategy. This allows use of non-functional requirements to achieve Freedom from Interference (FFI).
A partition divides the storage space of a physical disk into one or more isolated sections, each of which can be treated as a separate “disk” by the operating system. Isolating applications in separate partitions can minimize the impact of faults, improve security, and streamline management processes. Combining partitioning with containers can ensure that applications operate independently, receive dedicated resources, and are fully isolated from one another.
The AutoSD system includes a pre-defined QM partition where you can deploy non-critical (QM) applications. The rest of the system is called the root partition in this documentation.
QM¶
Quality Management. A software category used for non-safety-critical functions where failure doesn’t pose a direct safety hazard.
QM partition¶
The containerized environment, available in AutoSD, where you can deploy non-critical (QM) applications.
This partition is an imageless container that allows mixed-critical workloads in
Red Hat In-Vehicle OS by isolating non-critical QM applications from other applications.
The QM partition uses a subsection of the host filesystem as its root filesystem: /usr/lib/qm.
RHEL¶
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
root partition¶
The AutoSD (or Red Hat In-Vehicle OS) part of the system that is not included in the QM partition,
that is, everything under / other than /usr/lib/qm.
This division of resources supports isolation of non-critical QM applications from other applications.
RPM¶
RPM Package Manager (a recursive initialism). A utility that manages files in the RPM format, referred to as RPM packages.
SDV¶
Software-Defined Vehicle. A vehicle that decouples hardware from software, has features primarily enabled through software, and can be updated. An SDV is upgradeable, optimized, customizable, personalized, autonomous, intelligent, and connected. It responds to its environment and supports service-based business models.
SELinux¶
Security-Enhanced Linux
SEooC¶
Safety Element out of Context. Systems, hardware, or software developed for an assumed context, and not a specific item, vehicle, or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
Special Interest Group (SIG)¶
A SIG is a group of people who are interested in collaborating on the same goal.
The CentOS Automotive SIG is a group of people who are interested in developing an operating system (OS) based on CentOS Stream that could be used in an automotive environment. This OS will not be safety certified, however, and should be considered as a research project or a proof of concept (POC).
Source RPM (SRPM)¶
RPM packages that contain the source files used to build binary RPM packages.
SoC¶
System on a Chip
upstream¶
Refers to a community or customer project that sends data to a downstream project. For example, Fedora is an upstream, community distribution of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and AutoSD is upstream to Red Hat In-Vehicle OS.
workload¶
A workload is an application or program that runs on AutoSD. It could be complex software or a single process, interactive or non-interactive. These tasks may have different levels of importance or criticality, requiring automotive systems to handle workloads with mixed criticality.