ZAYA
Microcontainers
Containerisation enables operating system-level virtualisation for running multiple identical or diverse executions. Each container functions as an isolated environment that runs independent executables, including native applications, background services (microservices), and even complete operating systems, thanks to virtualisation.
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ZAYA brings containerisation technology to (MMU-less) microcontrollers and embedded systems, called microcontainers.
Here, a developer can build a modular design using independent and isolated ZAYA microcontainers. Moreover, in addition to isolations, microcontainers provide additional security features, such as microcontainer access policy, to offer a secure environment compliant with PSA (Platform Security Architecture).
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Microcontainers also offer a deployment-friendly environment; each microcontainer, any size, can be deployed/upgraded to the field independently.
Enhanced security
Microcontainers offer developers a powerful tool to enhance security in application development. These microcontainers enable the isolation of individual apps and services from one another. This isolation ensures that if one component is compromised, it doesn't affect the security and functionality of other applications or services running on the system.
In essence, ZAYA's Microcontainers provide a robust and secure environment for developers to build and deploy applications with minimised risk of security breaches or disruptions caused by interactions between different software components.
Access policy
ZAYA Microcontainer Access Policy is a powerful way to control how Microcontainers interact with device resources. It is a crucial security feature, offering a simple yet robust layer of security that works across different architectures. This simplifies things for developers, preventing potential security issues if configurations are missed.
ZAYA Resource represents a physical or logical entity like HW Peripherals or memory areas, each with its privilege level. The Microcontainer can only access resources specified in the Microcontainer Access Policy, and its privilege level must match or exceed that of the designated resource. This solution is platform-agnostic, managing and hiding complex security mechanisms in the background, underscoring the importance of the access policy in securing Microcontainers.
Assigned resources are limited to each container's specific boundaries, ensuring they can only access what is permitted. This strict security measure prevents any unauthorised attempts to access resources outside of the designated scope.
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This approach guarantees that each container operates within its designated scope, enhancing overall system security by restricting access to resources beyond the defined permissions.
Ideal for
for (MMU-less) microcontrollers
and embedded systems
Classical microcontrollers come with some limitations, such as limited memory and lack of memory management units (MMU), and these limitations prevent embedded framework vendors from offering traditional technologies like containers.
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ZAYA offers an innovative, ultra-efficient and rich programming model using the full potential of the Microcontrollers and Embedded Systems, like built-in HW modules Cores.
Thanks to ZAYA’s microcontainer technology, the developer can create native code (application or middleware), background services and a Guest RTOS in different microcontainers at the same time.
