Installation of INtime Distributed RTOS is performed using a USB drive.

Sources for the INtime installation package:

1. INtime SDK CD shipped with an SDK purchase
   Use for INtime SDK installation or INtime for Windows Deployment installation.
2. Download from TenAsys.com website
   1. INTIME SDK full_installer.exe (for INtime SDK - Development)
   2. INtime SDK ISO image (CD)
   3. INtime Runtime installer.exe (for INtime for Windows Deployment)
   4. INtime Host only installation.exe (for INtime Windows host only Deployment)
   5. INtime SDK tools_installer.exe (for INtime SDK tools only without local node)
3. Build a USB drive for INtime Distributed RTOS Deployment installation from INtime SDK

Platform Requirements

The INtime Distributed RTOS target system must be installed on a PC platform capable of booting from USB media with IDE, or SATA, NMVe, eMMC interface and storage media attached. The INtime Distributed RTOS runtime installation software is initially booted from a USB flash drive and installed on the selected boot media.

A keyboard is required for installation; both PS/2 and USB types are supported.

The CPU must include an APIC interrupt controller and the BIOS must advertise the fact. INtime Distributed RTOS does not run using the legacy 8259 PIC.

A supported network controller interface is required for connection to the Windows development system – onboard or on a card. Supported devices are listed at this location:

https://tenasys.com/my-tenasys/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-page/?pageNum=4

INtime can be installed on hosts with up to 64 hardware threads. INtime can be assigned to a maximum of 32 hardware threads. Note that Hyperthreading provides 2 hardware threads for each hardware core when enabled.

Each INtime process can address a maximum of 4GB memory. Multiple processes can be loaded on each INtime instance (thread) enabling access to the entire 64-bit memory address space.

INtime for Windows development environment configuration with the Windows and INtime components running on the same platform.

The INtime Distributed RTOS configuration is designed to support an end product that has an INtime application working on a platform by itself. For this reason the default installation of INtime Distributed RTOS configuration does not include the installation of an INtime Node (INtime RTOS and application) on the same platform as the INtime SDK. The resultant development environment looks as shown in the figure below, with the SDK running on a Windows platform and the INtime user application running on a separate platform, the target platform. The resultant output of that environment is to have an INtime application running stand-alone on a target platform that is running an INtime Node.

INtime Distributed RTOS development setup running on separate platforms connected by Ethernet.

Note that the INtime for Windows and INtime Distributed RTOS development environments are identical except for the INtime Distributed RTOS having the Windows and the INtime components running on separate platforms connected via Ethernet. Because of those similarities it is possible to develop stand-alone INtime application with an INtime for Windows configuration setup and then move the application to target platform.

INtime Distributed RTOS target installation

The steps below describe the installation process to install INtime Distributed RTOS onto the target system.

The installation process assumes the target system supports booting from USB media.

Preparing a USB drive for installation

This step prepares a USB drive for installation of the INtime software on a target system. The USB drive will be formatted before installing the installation software. If the partition type of the USB drive is MBR (Master Boot Record) it cannot be used to install INtime Distributed RTOS on hosts with a UEFI only BIOS. Repartition the USB drive to GTP (GUID Parition Table) with the Windows utility: diskpart.

• Insert the USB drive into the system where the SDK is installed. Use Windows Explorer to determine which drive letter has been assigned to the device.
• Navigate to the "%INTIME%rtos" folder and start the create_installstick.bat command file. This command is also found as "Create an INtime Distributed RTOS USB installer" in the INtime start menu.

At the prompt, enter the driver letter of your USB drive:
Enter USB Drive letter:
eg, d:
--

• Enter the drive letter and press Enter. The drive will be formatted and the files copied to it. At the end you will see the prompt:

Press any key to continue ...

• Press Enter and remove the drive from the system
• Prepare the target system to boot from a USB device, insert the device and boot the system.

If the USB drive install media is booted with legacy/MBR it will only allow a legacy/MBR installation.

If the USB drive install medis is booted with UEFI/GPT and the prior installation used MBR an option is provided to convert to GPT.
Enter 'n' to not retain the MBR format and use UEFI instead.

Alternatively, when prompted 'Do you want to use the entire device', enter 'n'. This will drop you intro an interactive gpartsh prompt. At gpartsh> enter 'help' and 'gpt'. This will convert your device to GPT format. Then 'exit' to leave gpartsh.

Adding Installation Configuration to the INtime Distributed RTOS USB installer

This step prepares the INtime Distributed RTOS USB installer with a specific configuration. It can suppress any user input and show only progress dialogs during installation. No reboots will be initiated automatically. These options allow users to customize their setup during installation effectively.

Customization of the INtime Distributed RTOS installation can be achieved using command-line options, and then a specific installation configuration can be generated to automate the configuration process.

Installer Command Line Options

The INtime Distributed RTOS USB installer accepts some command line options for initial configuration. These options allow you to control debugging, verbosity, and file paths for configuration and backups.

Setting Up Installer Command Line Options

The installer command line options are stored in a text file (rtconfig.ins) on the USB stick. The parameter (INSTALL_ARGS) should be described in the section ([INIT]). Multiple command line options can be used together to customize the installation process. For example:

[INIT]

INSTALL_ARGS = '-v -f answer.txt -b backup.txt' 

Installation Configuration Parameters

All configuration parameters for the installation process must be stored in a text file. This text file must then be copied into the install.img file on the USB disk.

The parameters are described in the following section:

Time Zone Table

Manage install.img

You can use WinImage or ImDisk to edit and manage the install.img. Check Pack/Unpack Archives: ImDisk.

Create an Installation Configuration File

For the first-time setup, we recommend specifying the backup file path for the installation configuration in rtconfig.ins. You can then use this backup file as your default installation configuration. Remember that the installation configuration file must be copied to install.img.

Install INtime for Hypervisor

If you edit the INSTALL_ARGS, reload the rtconfig.ins. You can type:

If you edit the install.img, reload it.  You can type:

Restart installation, you can type:

If you encounter any problem that blocks you install INtime, you can type:

Partition Installation Workflow: Size, Naming, and Validation Procedures

The standard INtime Distributed RTOS has two partitions: boot and root.

• The boot partition is used to store boot data and is read-only. This design protects the data from being lost due to sudden power loss.
• The root partition stores all the files used in the real-time environment.
• In a Hypervisor environment, INtime RTOS is booted from the boot media on Windows or Linux. In this case, only the root partition is used, and the boot partition becomes irrelevant.

 We can set up partitions with parameters:

• Partitioning Scheme: MBR or UEFI/GPT
• Partition Sizes: boot_part_size, root_part_size
• Partition Names: boot_part_name, root_part_name

Partitioning Scheme

If the partition type of the USB installation media is MBR (Master Boot Record), it will only allow a legacy/MBR installation. On the other hand, if the partition type of the USB installation media is UEFI/GPT (UEFI-compatible GUID Partition Table), it will only allow a GPT installation.

Outcome of partition types:

Partition Sizes

Partition Names

Configuration 1: MBR, with Custom Ids

Outcome:

Configuration 2: MBR or UEFI/GPT, Do partitioning, Do gpartsh

• Do partition: yes
• Do gpartsh: yes

Outcome:

• Custom sizes and names are ignored.
• Partitioning relies on gpartsh end result.

Configuration 3: MBR, Do partitioning, with Custom Sizes

• Do partition: yes
• Do gpartsh: no
• Disk name: /dev/ada0
• Disk size: 20G
• Virtual Disk has already two partitions, s1 or s2
• Virtual Disk has available space for partitioning
• Boot partition: size: 256MB
• Root partition: size: not defined

Outcome:

• Disk is destroyed and partitions are created.
• Custom names are ignored.
• Boot Partition: 256MB, named /dev/ada0s1.
• Root Partition: Remaining of the disk, named /dev/ada0s2.

Configuration 4: UEFI/GPT, Do partitioning, with Custom Names

• Do partition: yes
• Do gpartsh: no
• Disk name: /dev/ada0
• Disk size: 20G
• Virtual Disk has already two partitions, p1 or p2
• Virtual Disk has available space for partitioning
• Boot partition: name: p3
• Root partition: name: p4

Outcome:

• The disk is destroyed, and partitions are created.
• Custom names are ignored.
• Boot Partition: 4G, named /dev/ada0p1.
• Root Partition: Remaining of the disk, named /dev/ada0p2.

Configuration 5: UEFI/GPT, Do partitioning

• Do partition: yes
• Do gpartsh: no
• Disk name: /dev/ada0
• Disk size: 20G

Outcome:

• The disk is destroyed and partitions are created.
• Boot Partition: 4G, named /dev/ada0p1.
• Root Partition: Remaining of the disk, named /dev/ada0p2.

Configuration 6: UEFI/GPT, boot partition non-existing

• Do partition: no
• Do gpartsh: no
• Disk name: /dev/ada0
• Disk size: 20G
• Virtual Disk has no boot partition, p1

Outcome:

• The disk is not destroyed, and error: boot partition /dev/ada0p1 does not exist!.

Configuration 7: UEFI/GPT, root partition non-existing

• Do partition: no
• Do gpartsh: no
• Disk name: /dev/ada0
• Disk size: 20G
• Virtual Disk has boot partition, p1
• Virtual Disk has no root partition, p2

Outcome:

• The disk is not destroyed, and error: root partition /dev/ada0p2 does not exist!

Configuration 8: UEFI/GPT, Hypervisor, with Custom Ids

• Do partition: no
• Disk name: /dev/ada0
• RTS Hypervisor: yes
• Virtual Disk has already two partitions, p3 or p4
• Boot partition: id: 3
• Root partition: id: 4

Outcome:

• Custom sizes are ignored.
• Boot partition id is ignored.
• Root Partition: named /dev/ada0p4.

Configuration 9: UEFI/GPT, Hypervisor, root partition non-existing

• Do partition: no
• Do gpartsh: no
• Disk name: /dev/ada0
• Disk size: 20G
• Virtual Disk has one partition, p2

Outcome:

• The disk is not destroyed, and error: root partition /dev/ada0p1 does not exist!

Configuration 10: UEFI/GPT, Hypervisor, with Custom root Id

• Do partition: no
• Do gpartsh: no
• Disk name: /dev/ada0
• Disk size: 20G
• Virtual Disk has one partition, p2
• Root partition: id: 2

Outcome:

• The disk is not destroyed, and root Partition: named /dev/ada0p2.

Create a partition through gpartsh

In the interactive mode, when prompted 'Do you want to use the entire device', enter 'n'. This will drop you enter an interactive gpartsh prompt. Using the installation configuration file, if do_gpartsh is 1, this will also drop you enter an interactive gpartsh prompt.

Command Line Options

Pack/Unpack Archives: ImDisk

Here is a sample c# code for using ImDisk to copy and paste files or folders to the image. Run the code in administrator mode.

Syntax examples:

put file

ImDiskHelper.exe put install.img .\drtos\answers.txt \bin

get file

ImDiskHelper.exe get install.img answers.txt

Customized Files or Folders

This section explains how to use the custom_zip parameter to package and include your own files or folders when creating an installation image.

Prepare Your Custom Zip File

1.       Gather Your Files or Folders

Decide which files or folders you want to include in your installation image. Please ensure that these files are properly organized and tested for compatibility with your installation environment.

2.       Create the Zip File

Create a zip archive. Important: ensure that the zip archive does not contain any additional directory layers that might alter the intended file structure. All files and folders should be placed so that when the zip file is extracted, its contents appear directly in the root directory.

3.       Place the Zip File Correctly

Put the zip file is in the appropriate location if your installation process requires it to be at the root of install.img. Rember set the archive as archive file in the img file.

4.       Specify the archive file path in custom_zip parameter (e.g. mycustom.zip). Check Installation Configuration Parameters. Be aware that the zip file name needs to be Lowercase and set zip file as archive in the image.

Installation of the INtime Distributed RTOS target system

On boot an automatic installation script will be invoked. It will ask a number of configuration questions and at each step you will be prompted to continue. If you choose not to continue, in general the previous step will be repeated.

1. Keyboard selection
   Select a keyboard type from the menu by entering its number and pressing Enter.
2. Disk selection
   A list of disk devices is displayed with their drive names. Select the drive you wish to install INtime software on.
3. Partitioning the disk
   
   Note: The following installation instructions assume you have an empty hard disk on which you will be installing the INtime RTOS. If your disk is already partitioned, you will have to either delete your existing partition in step 4 before you create a new partition or you will have to create a second partition and activate that partition for booting.
   A bootable partition must be created on the disk.
   1. From the initial menu, select option 2 to modify the partition table and then option 2 to create a partition.
   2. Type 1 to create partition 1. Choose option 2 to create a FAT32 partition.
   3. Enter the partition limits. Enter cylinder 0 for the start of the partition, then reading the information above the menu, select an ending cylinder number to create a partition of at least 100 Mbytes.
   4. Press Enter to return to the original menu
   5. Select option 3 to activate (make bootable) your partition and select your partition number (number 1 in the above example)
   6. Press Enter once more to return to the initial menu then Enter again to exit the utility, following the prompts to save your new partition table.
4. Format the partition
   Type 'y' to start the format utility then type 'yes' to start the format operation.
5. Install the files
   Type 'y' to unpack the INtime software files into your partition.
6. Set the default time zone
   Follow the prompts to select your time zone if the default does not apply.
7. Set time and date
   This step allows you to adjust the PC real-time clock (battery clock) depending on whether you wish the time to be kept in UTC or your local time zone. Most PCs keep their clock in local time, but you may choose to adjust this so that the battery clock keeps time in UTC (Universal Coordinated Time, or GMT).
8. Network configuration
   You will be given a list of interfaces detected by the installer. Choose the interface you wish to be the default system interface, which will be used to connect to your development system.
   1. DHCP – enter ‘y’ if you wish your network address to be assigned by your local DHCP server
   2. IP Address (if DHCP not selected). Enter an IPv4 address appropriate for your local network
   3. Netmask. Enter an appropriate netmask for your local network. Pressing ENTER will accept the suggested value, or you can enter a new value.
   4. Gateway. May be left blank, otherwise the address of the forwarding gateway for your local subnet.
   5. Type hostname; note the hostname should be a unique name that is recognizable among the devices on your network. Host name may contain only the ASCII letters 'a' through 'z' (in a case insensitive manner), the digits '0' through '9', and the characters ('-',’_’)
   6. Type Domain Name; may be left blank, or choose your local internet domain name, for example mydomain.com. Domain Name has the same character restrictions as hostname and use the '.' character to separate subdomain names.
   7. Type the domain name and DNS server. May be left blank, or give the name of your local domain and the IP address of a DNS server.
9. Set the Administrator password
   This password is used to gain access to the web-based configuration utility on the target and the INshell commands. A password is required. You will be prompted to reenter it for confirmation purposes.
10. Reboot the system
    Remove the installation media and allow the system to reboot.
11. When the system reboots, enter the license within 10 minutes. The 10 minute limit will apply unless a valid license is found.
    The license can be entered in one of several ways:
    1. In the Web interface using the "Activate manually: install license file." option in the License tab.
    2. In INshell, either in the Web interface, INshell tab, or on the DRTOS console:
       1. FTP the license.lic file (default name) into the root directory of the DRTOS system.
       2. Then using the INshell command: "license add".
    3. Using FTP to install the Lisense String in a file named "lservrc" in the root directory of the DRTOS system.

Licensing the deployment target

The INtime SDK comes with a license to run the development tools and local INtime for Windows nodes. All customers under a support agreement have the ability to self serve a Deployment Trial License - 30-day node locked, for use with either INtime for Windows or INtime Distributed RTOS. Note that with the exception of INtime Distributed RTOS before Version 7, runtime licenses can be used for any version of that product. Only INtime SDK licenses are version dependent.

For detailed instructions for obtaining licenses for deployment see the procedures on our website:

https://tenasys.com/run-time-install/

Or:

https://tenasys.com/policies/

For INtime Deployment Trial Licenses (for development, testing, or demonstrations):

INtime-Deployment-Trial-License-Procedure

To help you select the most appropriate method for deployment see this guide:

Customer Operations Manager Guide