Running RTOS on Application Cores in Heterogeneous SoCs: A Comparison between AMP and SMP systems

In embedded systems, the choice between Asymmetric Multi-Processing (AMP) and Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) architectures plays a crucial role in optimizing performance and real-time responsiveness. While SMP is commonly used in high-level operating systems like Linux, AMP, when paired with RTOS like FreeRTOS, provides specialized control over application cores, offering significant benefits in real-time embedded applications.

This talk explores the tradeoffs between AMP and SMP in the context of application cores (such as ARM Cortex-A53) in heterogeneous SoCs. Using FreeRTOS, we show how AMP can enhance system responsiveness, optimize task-specific operations and provide real-time isolation to specific tasks in automotive and industrial control. However, AMP introduces challenges, such as cache contention and static load balancing, which SMP systems address more effectively.

This talk covers key aspects including but not limited to: interrupt handling, memory configuration, resource management and shared memory access in both the systems, supported by relevant benchmark data (such as interrupt and task switch latency). It also mentions cases where a hybrid AMP / SMP approach can be deployed to combine real-time task isolation with scalable multi-core utilization. This talk guides engineers on selecting the most suitable architecture for embedded systems, ensuring optimal performance and real-time capabilities.

• A practical understanding of when to choose AMP, SMP, or a hybrid architecture for embedded multicore systems.

• Insights into implementing real-time workloads using RTOS on Cortex-A application cores.

• Knowledge of the performance and design trade-offs involving interrupts, memory, shared resources, and latency.

• Real-world guidance backed by benchmarks from automotive and industrial embedded use cases.