TenonOS: A Self-Generating Intelligent Embedded Operating System Framework for Edge Computing
🤖 AI Summary
Edge computing confronts dual challenges of hardware heterogeneity and resource constraints, where conventional OS/virtualization architectures struggle to simultaneously achieve flexibility, lightweight design, and real-time responsiveness. This paper proposes a demand-driven, self-generating lightweight OS framework featuring the novel LibOS-on-LibOS architecture, which decouples virtualization and OS functionalities into fine-grained micro-libraries. Integrated with the Mortise micro-hypervisor and the Tenon real-time LibOS, the framework enables runtime on-demand orchestration and dynamic instance lifecycle management. It incorporates deterministic scheduling, low-overhead isolation, and efficient inter-VM communication. Experimental evaluation demonstrates a memory footprint of only 361 KiB and a 40.28% reduction in real-time scheduling latency compared to state-of-the-art approaches. The framework thus delivers superior adaptability, elasticity, and ultra-low latency under dynamic edge workloads.
Application Category
📝 Abstract
The rapid evolution of edge computing has exposed fundamental limitations in traditional operating system and hypervisor architectures, particularly in managing heterogeneous platforms and meeting the constraints of limited resources. Existing solutions often rely on monolithic or layered combinations of hypervisors and guest OSes, which are difficult to tailor for the diverse and dynamic requirements of edge scenarios. To address these challenges, we propose TenonOS, a demand-driven, self-generating, and lightweight operating system framework that fundamentally rethinks and reconstructs both the hypervisor and OS architectures. TenonOS introduces a novel LibOS-on-LibOS approach, in which both virtualization and OS functionalities are modularized into fine-grained, reusable micro-libraries. A dynamic orchestration engine composes these modules on demand to construct customized, application-specific runtime environments. At the core of TenonOS are two key components: Mortise, a minimal, modularized hypervisor, and Tenon, a real-time LibOS. Mortise provides low-overhead resource isolation, fast inter-VM communication, and manages the full lifecycle of Tenon instances - including on-demand creation, suspension, and termination - enabling TenonOS to flexibly adapt its runtime layout to workload variations. Tenon delivers deterministic scheduling and multi-process support for time-critical applications. Through this unified and modular architecture, TenonOS eliminates redundant layers, reduces system overhead, and enhances scalability, security, and maintainability. Extensive evaluations demonstrate that TenonOS achieves superior real-time scheduling (40.28% improvement), a compact memory footprint (361 KiB), and high adaptability to dynamic edge workloads, making it an ideal foundation for heterogeneous, resource-constrained edge systems.
Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
Designs a lightweight OS framework for edge computing constraints
Replaces monolithic hypervisor-OS combos with modular, on-demand libraries
Enables dynamic runtime adaptation to heterogeneous edge workloads
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Demand-driven self-generating lightweight OS framework
LibOS-on-LibOS modular micro-libraries for virtualization
Dynamic orchestration engine composes modules on demand
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