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Index

AutoSD Features and Concepts

AutoSD is a binary distribution developed within the Automotive SIG that serves as the public, in-development preview of the upcoming Red Hat In-Vehicle Operating System (OS). This section explores the key technologies and concepts that make AutoSD uniquely suited for automotive environments.

Core value propositions
- **Safety-critical ready** --- Mixed-criticality architecture enables safety-critical and non-safety workloads on shared hardware with proven isolation and Freedom from Interference (FFI). [➤ Learn about mixed criticality](con_mixed-criticality.md) - **Real-Time performance** --- Optimized `kernel-automotive` delivers deterministic, low-latency performance for time-critical automotive applications. [➤ Real-Time Kernel details](../about/con_real-time-linux-kernel.md) - **Reliable updates** --- OSTree provides atomic, fail-safe updates with rollback capabilities and bandwidth-efficient delta compression. [➤ Understand OSTree](con_ostree.md) - **Developer experience** --- Complete toolchain with declarative manifests, containerized applications, and extensive hardware support accelerates development. [➤ Open source development](con_open-source-development.md)
Software-Defined Vehicle architecture

AutoSD enables the next generation of automotive computing:

The container isolation architecture diagram shows how to run an entire software stack on a single OS in a way that isolates containers, applications, and guest OS instances from one another and from the rest of the system

AutoSD's layered architecture provides isolation, safety, and manageability for automotive workloads

Key technologies deep dive

Learn about the core technologies that make AutoSD suitable for automotive use cases.

Mixed criticality and safety

Challenge: Automotive systems must run both safety-critical and non-critical applications on shared hardware while ensuring Freedom from Interference.

AutoSD solution: Container-based isolation with dedicated partitions

  • Root partition: System services and safety-critical applications
  • QM partition: Non-critical applications with resource constraints
  • Container isolation: Process, network, and filesystem separation
  • Resource management: CPU, memory, and I/O allocation controls

Real-world impact: Run infotainment (QM) and brake lights (ASIL B) on the same ECU without interference.

Explore mixed criticality →

Real-time and performance

Challenge: Automotive applications require predictable, low-latency responses for safety and user experience.

AutoSD solution: kernel-automotive with Real-Time Linux optimizations

  • Deterministic scheduling: PREEMPT_RT kernel configuration
  • Priority-based execution: Real-time scheduler with automotive priorities
  • Interrupt handling: Threaded interrupts and IRQ affinity tuning
  • Memory management: NUMA awareness and memory allocation strategies

Real-world impact: Guarantee fast response times for critical control loops and sensor processing.

Learn Real-Time concepts →

Immutable OS and updates

Challenge: Automotive systems need reliable, fail-safe updates that work across diverse hardware platforms.

AutoSD solution: OSTree-based immutable filesystem with atomic operations

  • Atomic updates: Complete success or automatic rollback
  • Delta compression: Bandwidth-efficient over-the-air updates
  • Dual boot: A/B deployment slots for safety
  • Cryptographic verification: Signed updates with tamper detection

Real-world impact: Deploy updates to vehicle fleets with zero downtime and automatic rollback on failure.

Understand OSTree →

Container-native applications

Challenge: Modern automotive software requires flexible deployment, lifecycle management, and security isolation.

AutoSD solution: Podman and systemd integration with automotive-specific features

  • Systemd integration: Services managed as system units
  • Quadlet: Declarative container deployment
  • Resource limits: CPU, memory, and I/O constraints
  • Network policies: Micro-segmentation and communication control

Real-world impact: Deploy applications as containers with hardware-level isolation and systemd reliability.

Explore container integration →

Development and distribution model

AutoSD is developed within the open source ecosystem and delivered as a reliable, industry-grade distribution.

Open source development

AutoSD follows upstream-first development:

Diagram shows code flow from open source projects, such as the Linux mainline kernel from kernel.org, to Fedora, Fedora Enterprise Linux Next (ELN), to CentOS Stream. CentOS Stream receives contributions from many CentOS SIGs, which then flow to both RHEL and AutoSD. The Automotive SIG contributes AutoSD code back to various open source projects. Finally, RHEL and AutoSD code converges to form Red Hat In-Vehicle OS.

AutoSD participates in the full open source to enterprise development lifecycle

Benefits:

  • Innovation: Latest technologies from automotive and Linux communities
  • Transparency: Complete source code availability and build reproducibility
  • Collaboration: Industry-wide cooperation on common challenges
  • Quality: Battle-tested code from multiple downstream products

Learn about development model →

Package management and distribution

Binary distribution benefits:

  • Ready-to-deploy: Precompiled packages reduce build time and complexity
  • Consistency: Reproducible deployments across development and production
  • Supply chain: Verified, signed packages with complete dependency resolution
  • Architecture support: Native ARM64 and x86_64 optimizations

Understand RPM and package management →

Advanced capabilities

Learn about the specialized features in AutoSD that cover security, orchestration, and reliability mechanisms designed to meet the stringent requirements of automotive systems.

Security and tamperproofing

Multi-layer security architecture:

  • Boot security: UEFI Secure Boot and TPM measurement
  • Filesystem integrity: OSTree and composefs verification
  • Container security: SELinux policies and namespace isolation
  • Update security: Cryptographic signatures and rollback protection

Tamperproof guarantees: Detection and prevention of unauthorized system modifications

Learn security features →

Service orchestration

BlueChi multi-node management:

  • Service coordination: Manage services across multiple ECUs
  • Health monitoring: Automatic failure detection and recovery
  • Resource sharing: Coordinated resource allocation
  • Configuration management: Centralized policy distribution

Explore BlueChi →

Watchdog and reliability

Automotive-grade reliability:

  • Hardware watchdogs: Integration with automotive SoC watchdog timers
  • Software watchdogs: Application-level health monitoring
  • Fault recovery: Automatic restart and failover mechanisms
  • Diagnostic logging: Comprehensive failure analysis capabilities

Understand watchdog systems →

Implementation paths

Use the following adoption routes for different roles - safety engineers, software architects, and developers, and understand the tools, patterns, and practices most relevant to each.

For safety engineers

Focus on mixed criticality, FuSa compliance, and safety architecture patterns.

Key topics:

For software architects

Understand system design, service orchestration, and application deployment patterns.

Key topics:

For developers

Learn application packaging, deployment, and integration techniques.

Key topics:

Important safety information

Functional Safety Disclaimer

--8<-- "docs/fusa_disclaimer.md"

Ready to build?

Now that you understand AutoSD's foundational concepts, put them into practice:

  1. Quick Start guide → - Build your first AutoSD image
  2. Custom images → - Create more advanced AutoSD images
  3. Hardware deployment → - Deploy to automotive platforms

AutoSD combines proven open source technologies with automotive-specific optimizations to enable the next generation of Software-Defined Vehicles.