Lynx Software Technologies released LynxElement, the industry’s first unikernel to be POSIX compatible and available for commercial use. LynxElement will be offered as part of the LYNX MOSA.ic portfolio of products for a diverse set of mission-critical use cases.
Utilizing LYNX MOSA.ic’s software framework for building and integrating complex multi-core safety- or security-critical systems, Lynx has based its Unikernel product on its LynxOS-178 real-time operating system, to enable compatibility between the Unikernel and the standalone LynxOS-178 product. This allows customers to freely transport applications between each environment and is FACE and POSIX API compatible. The Lynx framework provides built-in security for the Unikernel, paving a solid path to security and safety certification in mission-critical applications and making it enterprise-ready.
The initial focus of LynxElement is centered on security, and a common use case would be to run security components like IDS and VPNs. By using a data diode and filter, the Unikernel can enable a customer to replace a Linux virtual machine, to save memory space and drastically reduce the attack space while guaranteeing timing requirements and safety certifiability.