Architecture for real-time system?

Question

Hi,

I would like to ask some advices or experiences from architecture or technology for building real-time system. Before I have some experience on developing "Queuing Management System", I have done by sending TcpServer and TcpClient message to all operators when a operator changed the queue number. But I think this strategy a lot complicated and issues.

Could anyone guide me some ideas or frameworks?

Answer 1

I havent worked on anything real-time, but I would assume that looking into real-time linux would be a good start to understanding the problems and solutions they have come up with dealing with real-time applications.

Answer 2

First up: hardcore real-time peeps will take issue with the use of ".NET" and "real-time" in the same sentence, due to .NET's non-deterministic nature ;)

Having said that, if you're just implementing a supervisory or visualisation layer over an existing real-time system (say, implementing a SCADA-type system), then .NET should be fine. Then your network architecture can boil down to two scenarios:

• Clients poll from a server: you create a centralised server which contains much of your process logic, and clients poll from this server periodically.
• Server supports a publish/subscribe mechanism: clients subscribe to the server's information, and the server sends out updates when they occur.

There's no one "right" way to do the above comms; it depends a lot on size and frequency of updates, network traffic, etc.

Answer 3

I'd recommend looking at QNX.