Our Customers’ Profiles
We collaborate with a diverse range of customers in the telecommunications industry, including:
- Network Infrastructure Providers
Supporting companies that build routers, switches, and other essential components for high-performance, scalable networking. - Wireless Communications Innovators
Assisting in the development of small cell solutions, wireless access points, and private LTE and 5G networks.
- Satcom Technology Developers
Enabling advancements in satellite communications systems, including ground terminals and high-power amplifiers for reliable global connectivity. - Telecom Monitoring and Optimization Specialists
Delivering engineering services for network visibility, packet analysis, and performance monitoring tools that ensure efficient data flow across telecom networks. - Defense and Secure Communications Providers
Supporting secure, mission-critical communication systems for government and defense applications, with a focus on reliability and compliance.
Case Studies
Case Study 1
Prototype Development of New Networking Architecture
Overview
We collaborated with a customer to develop a prototype implementation of a new autonomous networking architecture called uNet (not to be confused with U-Net), as outlined in their research and the Konsulko-prepared “unet-study” paper. The project required significant development and integration work across kernel, user space, and interoperability layers.
Key Contributions
Kernel Development: Added support for the uNet protocol, including:
- Integration with Ethernet for encapsulating and decapsulating uNet datagrams.
- Creation of a uNet protocol family socket to enable user space applications to interact with the protocol using standard POSIX methods.
- Enhancements to Linux’s neighbor cache for managing uNet-specific data.
IPv4/IPv6 Transport Support:
- Developed methods to encapsulate and transport uNet packets over IP networks, using tunneling and native uNet IP mapping.
User Space and Supplicant Development
- Built user space helpers and native uNet support for protocol interoperability.
- Designed a uNet supplicant to enable encryption functionality through netlink sockets for securing data transport.
Testing and Interoperability
- Verified compatibility between kernel-level implementation and the existing user-space library, ensuring performance and consistency.
- Created a qemu-based networking topology for testing and evaluation
Impact
This project provided the customer with a functional prototype of their novel uNet networking architecture, advancing the system’s capabilities and enabling further development toward a scalable, secure autonomous network protocol.
Case Study 2
Embedded Linux Engineering for Networking Router
Overview
We supported a customer developing a router based on the NXP Layerscape QorIQ processor, helping to achieve critical milestones for hardware and software functionality.
Key Contributions
- Enabled the U-Boot prompt with working communication between the TI Phy and Microchip Switch and attached Ethernet devices.
- Successfully booted the system to OpenWrt, ensuring proper network communication across all ports:
- WAN interface via the TI Phy.
- LAN interfaces via the Microchip Switch ports.
- Provided detailed documentation in a README, outlining the steps taken to achieve functionality.
Stretch Goals
As part of future phases, we outlined consulting and training on:
- Device tree setup.
- Driver code modifications.
- Best practices for kernel and OpenWrt versioning.
Impact
Our work enabled the customer to achieve a functional prototype with reliable network communication, laying the foundation for further development and potential knowledge transfer.
Case Study 3
Yocto Project Customization for Advanced Telecommunications Hardware
Overview
We partnered with a customer to customize a Yocto distribution for a complex telecommunications board integrating key functions such as a Routing Engine (RE), Control Board (CB), and Central Clock Generator (CCG). The board featured an Intel Haswell-EP processor and Wellsburg PCH controller based on Intel’s Grantley platform.
Key Contributions
- Board Support Package (BSP): Developed and integrated a BSP into Yocto, enabling seamless support for the customer’s hardware.
- Linux Device Tree (DT) Overlays: Architected a solution for dynamic insertion and removal of DT nodes, submitting source code patches upstream and attempting to “mainline” the DT overlays support.
- Driver Development
- Leveraged and ported existing device drivers for compatibility with the board.
- Developed new drivers for peripherals without existing support, as required.
Dedicated Engineering Support
- Assigned a dedicated Linux kernel engineer with significant experience in embedded systems.
- Focused on porting, debugging, patch management, and cleanup/reworking of features.
Impact
This project enabled the customer to fully utilize their hardware’s capabilities within a customized Yocto environment, ensuring scalability, maintainability, and upstream compatibility for their advanced telecommunications systems.
Case Study 4
Secure Embedded System with Webserver and Device Driver Development
Overview
We collaborated with a customer to enhance their embedded system, focusing on securing the operating system, enabling new functionality through a web interface, and adding support for additional hardware. The project was executed in multiple phases, addressing various aspects of the system.
Key Contributions
Phase I: Analyze and Update
- Conducted a high-level review of project configuration to identify potential “red flag” issues.
- Updated the system to the latest stable Digi package and provided support for migrating dependencies, including:
- OTA updates using SWUpdate.
- In-application network configuration.
Phase II: Secure and SNMPv3
- Secured the OS by:
- Disabling the root user.
- Enabling terminal access only for updates.
- Restricting open ports to SNMP.
- Integrated SSL to support SNMPv3 using net-snmp.
Phase III: Embedded Webserver
- Designed and implemented an embedded webserver template using Flask to demonstrate a back-end application interface, featuring:
- Live data rendering (e.g., temperature measurements, system faults, RTC, OS version).
- Configuration controls for SNMP credentials.
- File upload and download functionality (e.g., configuration files, software updates).
Phase IV: Device Driver for SPI FRAM
- Developed a custom device driver for SPI FRAM (FM25V02A 256k), enabling additional memory functionality within the system.
Impact
This project enhanced the customer’s embedded system with advanced functionality, improved security, and better hardware integration. The embedded webserver provided a user-friendly interface for real-time data access and system management, while the SPI FRAM driver extended the system’s memory capabilities.
Case Study 5
Driver Development for High-Performance FPGA Ethernet Systems
Overview
We collaborated with a customer to enhance their system’s Ethernet capabilities, focusing on enabling functionality for 1G/10G switching through driver development. The system featured an Ethernet PHY chip for switching and an FPGA-based Ethernet MAC communicating via the USXGMII protocol.
Key Contributions
Configured and controlled the FPGA’s Ethernet MAC using the Processing System (PS).
Leveraged and customized an existing Xilinx driver to enable seamless integration between the Ethernet MAC and external Ethernet PHY chip.
Supported efficient communication and control through the USXGMII protocol, ensuring robust Ethernet functionality.
Impact
This project enabled the customer to achieve reliable Ethernet communication and efficient integration of FPGA-based components with external Ethernet PHYs, laying the groundwork for scalable and high-performance network capabilities.
Why Choose Konsulko Group
End-to-End Support
We assist with hardware design, board bring-up, and embedded Linux software development, providing engineering expertise throughout your product development cycle.
Flexible Collaboration
Whether you’re a startup or an established company, we adapt to your needs to provide customized engineering services.
At Konsulko Group, we are passionate about helping you engineer innovative technologies.
Contact us today to explore how our engineering services can help bring your innovative products to life.
