MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition is an embedded development platform that allows telephone operators to implement systems that feature high reliability, availability and serviceability. The latest release of this platform builds a whole range of new features on top of a Linux Standard Base compliant system powered by the 2.6.21 Linux kernel.

One of the greatest improvements in MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition is the support for next-generation cellular wireless standards like 4G, a successor to the GSM and 3G standards, and LTE, the 3GPP Long Term Evolution. These new technologies promise increased network speed, in excess of 100Mbit/s for downloads, along with higher capacity nodes that will support a larger number of simultaneous users.

The OpenSAF integration opens the way for developers to integrate more open-source projects into their solutions, namely the OpenSAF middleware, a project that is backed by the many infrastructure market leaders, like Nokia Siemens Networks or SUN Microsystems. The in-built virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) capabilities enable the use of less pricey commercial off the shelf hardware for secure mobile phone or wireless networks and, at the same time, allows larger telecommunication operators to sell services to smaller carriers without additional physical equipment.

Another interesting feature, which is on par with the latest developments in high-availability Linux systems, is the run-time application patcher. This software allows engineers to apply binary patches to a running system, like bug fixes or updates, without requiring a reboot or any other kind of service interruption. Coupled with the Field-Safe Application Debugger, live application core dump support and the Flight Recorder system, this technology allows operators to troubleshoot and fix problems quickly, with downtime periods that can be measured in the tens or hundreds of milliseconds.

All of these technologies are built upon a real-time Linux kernel that has support for single-core or multicore processors and even for application-specific chips that feature synchronous or asynchronous multiprocessing. The system can run on hardware that complies to the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) and MicroTCA architectures, as they are defined by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group.