SECO has unveiled Clea OS, an embedded Linux framework, as the newest addition to its Clea software stack. This release marks a significant development in the creation of integrated IoT solutions, enabling developers and businesses to build and deploy IoT infrastructure more efficiently.
Introducing Clea OS
Clea OS is an industrial-grade embedded Linux operating system, designed to simplify the development and maintenance of electronic products requiring high levels of reliability and security. Fully integrated with Clea’s Cloud components, it streamlines development, deployment, device monitoring, and remote access, allowing designers to focus on accelerating product innovation.
Clea OS is compatible with almost the entire SECO edge product range, supporting both x86 and Arm processors. It offers a robust networking and provisioning framework, with a focus on long-term reliability and a smooth development workflow. Previously a core element of the Clea software suite, Clea OS is now available as a standalone system, allowing a wider audience to benefit from its capabilities in running containers on connected devices.
Key features
Clea OS has been designed to optimise DevOps processes for industrial embedded systems. It is available in two versions:
- Minimal version: Provides only the essential services for secure updates and dependable Docker operation on embedded devices
- Full version: Pre-configured with all the tools required for testing and developing complex applications, such as human-machine interface (HMI) systems
The OS reduces maintenance needs through regular updates and long-term support (LTS). It fully supports SECO hardware and facilitates continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), ensuring an efficient development process.
Security is central to Clea OS, which integrates the latest kernel patches from microprocessor vendors and ensures all components remain up to date. It supports reliable updates via an A/B partitioning layout scheme, ensuring minimal downtime and maintaining system integrity. Furthermore, Clea OS is connected out-of-the-box to the Clea IoT stack, enabling secure remote device management, over-the-air (OTA) updates, and monitoring.
Using the Yocto Project, Clea OS allows developers to build custom Linux distributions tailored to specific needs, offering the flexibility to modify recipes, add custom layers, and configure systems to suit unique applications. Built on open-source software, it avoids vendor lock-in and is highly customisable to meet product-specific requirements.
Broader hardware support
Clea OS now supports a wide range of hardware platforms, including devices based on NXP, Intel, Qualcomm, Mediatek, and Rockchip processors, as well as the Raspberry Pi 4 and QEMU emulation for Arm, Arm64, and x86 architectures. This extended compatibility enables developers to deploy Clea OS across varied environments and hardware configurations, promoting greater scalability and flexibility in IoT infrastructure.
Looking ahead, SECO plans to introduce secure boot, software bill of materials (SBOM) generation for all SECO hardware solutions, and continuous vulnerability assessments, strengthening the system’s security from the ground up.
“Clea OS is a unique industrial grade Linux distribution that stands out for its unified compatibility with a wide range of processor architectures and silicon vendor support – from low-power Arm SoC, to high-end x86 server platforms. Its added value lies in its seamless integration with the Clea suite, enabling the latest IoT and security functionalities right out of the box,” said Marco Sogli, Head of Global Software of SECO.
“We are working hard to bring an open, end-to-end IoT developer platform solution to the market and empowering developers and organisations to focus on their use cases rather than solving IoT technology challenges. We are proud to release the latest version of Clea OS, which goes in this exact direction,” said Davide Catani, Chief Technology Officer of SECO.
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