Symbian OS – today and tomorrow Keith de Mendonca Chief Technology Architect, Symbian Software India Pvt. Ltd Copyright Symbian 2007
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Symbian smartphones for everyone
• 165 million Symbian smartphones shipped in every segment, in every region
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Symbian OS technology model
Telephony
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Networking & Comms
Multimedia & Graphics
Generic OS Services
Kernel & Hardware Services
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Application Services
Today & tomorrow - Symbian OS product roadmap • Six-monthly releases aimed at all customers • Designed in close collaboration with Symbian OS licensees • Backward compatibility across all v9 releases – the bedrock for Symbian Ecosystem growth • Today = v9.1-v9.3 • Tomorrow = v9.5 & “Future” First handset shipments
…
NB In this presentation I will only be highlighting a very small number of features delivered by each Symbian OS release…
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Today - Symbian OS v9.1 • A new real-time kernel – EKA2 • Shipping in phones today – … … …
Nokia N-Series phones, Sony Ericsson M600i, P1i, P990 Many Japanese FOMA phones
First handset shipments
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Symbian OS v9.1 – new real-time kernel • • • •
“EKA2” – a new kernel for Symbian OS Symbian has always been a micro kernel model OS EKA2 now offers real-time guarantees A ‘nano kernel’ with minimal functionality provides basic scheduling, signalling and interrupt services to anything running in personality layers above it… • Each ‘personality layer’ may support: … … …
Signalling stack, (e.g. existing ‘C’ implementation) Bluetooth stack (e.g. existing ‘C’ implementation) Symbian OS (micro kernel) runs as one personality on top of ‘nano kernel’
• Symbian OS can therefore run on single-core phone solutions …
Lowering the phone BOM cost
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Today - Symbian OS v9.3 • • • •
We have added support for “Demand Paging” to the OS Allows more efficient management of precious RAM Improves performance of the device for many use cases Helps keep the BOM cost down for the phone …
Less RAM required NB many other new features also delivered by v9.3…
… First handset shipments
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FAT
Virtual Memory and Paging • • • •
C:/ DLL 9 DLL 8
•
ROMFS contains whole image Core image is a wired subset Pages from DLLs are copied into RAM Idle code pages are automatically unloaded RAM only used by executing code
DLL 7 DLL 6
Free RAM
ROMFS
DLL 5 DLL 4 DLL 3 DLL 2 DLL 1 Core Image
NAND Flash Copyright Symbian 2007
D7.1 D2.0
D2.1
D5.2
D5.0
WIRED CODE
RAM Page: 8
Benefits of Demand Paging decrease in device RAM usage
application start-up improvement
improved device stability
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• Requires less code to be loaded into RAM at any one time • Less RAM may be needed on hardware, lowering Bill Of Materials • Not all of an application needs to be loaded into RAM before execution can start • Greater benefits can be seen on large applications e.g. Browser, Messaging, etc. where 50%-75% time savings are possible • Boot-time performance benefits -- less of the ROM image needs to be loaded into RAM before execution begins • “Out of memory” situations become less frequent • Closing applications due to low memory becomes less common Page: 9
Symbian OS v9.5 • Let’s now jump ahead and take a look at some key new features in v9.5 … …
New modular comms architecture built for faster network speeds; lower latency / jitter New graphics architecture – offers the same functionality on low cost hardware as on more powerful ‘accelerated’ hardware
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Practical mobile IP data rates 1000 4G 100
LTE/S3G(3) 802.11n
Mbits / sec
LTE/S3G(4)
802.11g 10
LTE/S3G(2) LTE/S3G(1)
WIMAX HSDPA (14.4) 802.11b
HSDPA (7.2)
HSDPA (3.6) 1
HSDPA (1.8)
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
3G 0.1
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Types of network services • • • • •
Browser based Thick client Download Streaming Real-time
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Ready for convergence • • • • •
Network performance is continually increasing More bearers and services are coming to the phone The user cares about the service – not the bearer The users expectations are set by phone calls So the OS has to be … … …
1: optimised for performance 2: intelligent 3: capable of supporting multiple simultaneous varied services
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Example: TCP via PPP RSocket
RSubConnection
RConnection
RConnectionServ
CSocket
CSubConnection
CConnection
CConnectionServ
Transport / Network TCP/IP
Prt CFP
LINK PPP Nif CFP Data Plane
TransportTCP/IP / Network
SCPR SCPR
NifMan PPP SCPR Control Plane
Agent
Transport / Network TCP/IP
CPR CPR
TCP TCP/IP MCPR MCPR
PPP CPR NetCon
TCP PPP MCPR MCPR
Agt
Management Plane
Serial Server
ETEL
CSY
TSY Baseband / Hardware CFP = Comms Framework Protocol CPR = Connection provider
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SCPR = sub connection provider MCPR = meta connection provider Page: 15
Example: RTP/IP via WiFi RSocket
RSubConnection
RConnection
RConnectionServ
CSocket
CSubConnection
CConnection
CConnectionServ
RTP CFP
RTP SCPR
UDP/IP CFP
IP SCPR
IP CPR
TCP IP MCPR MCPR
802.11 CFP
802.11 SCPR
802.11 CPR
TCP 802.11 MCPR MCPR
Data Plane
Control Plane
Management Plane
WiFi Driver
Baseband / Hardware
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Symbian OS v9.5 – FreeWay •
Our new Comms architecture has 3 planes: …
Data plane
…
Control plane
…
Management plane
•
It is totally modular – simple to extend it with new comms protocols, as & when they appear.
•
Designed to minimise jitter in data passing through the data plane.
•
Management plane offers flexibility to customers who wish to customise the comms stack.
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V9.5 - ScreenPlay Transparent title bar
Agenda view
3D or SVG icon can be animated
vector based font, with anti-aliasing
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2d or SVG object animated arbitrary background wallpaper, animated with 3D transform or particle effects
Calendar made from 3D, SVG or Flash
Transparent pop-up dialog with gradated fill
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Seamlessly and Simply Presented…. …Video
telephony with multiple windows and agenda view …Home
Screens with dynamic content update
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V9.5 - ScreenPlay •
A new graphics architecture
•
Introduces the concept of a “graphics surface” … …
‘An abstract rendering target, which isolates applications from any specifics of the actual rendering target’
…
•
Offers new services; but retains our legacy APIs for compatibility.
Ensures that sophisticated middleware/app level graphics APIs are now hardware-agnostic …
•
Removes the need for direct screen access (DSA)
Will use software implementation for mid-range phones, or can delegate operations to (faster) graphics acceleration hardware, if available.
Supports multiple screens, and TV out
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UI Provider
Symbian Partner/ Semi-co
Licensee
SymbianOS Future Graphics and Video Applications
2d, 3d & Vector Apps and GUI Drawing
Video & Imaging
& GUI Frameworks
Client APIs
OpenGLES OpenGLES APIs APIs
OpenVG OpenVG API API
WServ WServ API API
MMF/ICL MMF/ICL APIs APIs
Window Window Server Server
MMF MMF and and
inc inc CRP CRP Framework Framework
ICL ICL Framework Framework
BitGDI BitGDI API API EGL EGL API API
Vector Vector Graphics Graphics accelerator accelerator
OpenVG OpenVG s/w s/w imp. imp.
Composition Composition HAI HAI Composition Composition Driver Driver
2D/Blender 2D/Blender accelerator accelerator
LCD LCD Controller Controller
Still Image Image Still
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OpenVG OpenVG Driver Driver
Codecs Codecs
3D 3D Graphics Graphics accelerator accelerator
GCE GCE ’Back-End’ ’Back-End’
Camcorder Camcorder Controller Controller
Hardware
Video Controllers Controllers Video
OpenGL OpenGL ES ES1.1 1.1/ / 2.0 2.0Driver Driver
FlashLite Engine Engine FlashLite
Hardware Adaptation Interface (HAI)
Surfaces Surfaces
Animations Animations
Reference Reference Surface Surface Manager Manager
Graphic Graphic Graphic Surfaces Graphic Surfaces Surfaces Surfaces Graphic Graphic
Transition Transition Effects Eng. Eng. Effects
Reference Reference EGL EGL Implementation Implementation
SVG Engine Engine SVG
CORE OS and rd 3 Party Plugins
MDF MDF Codecs Codecs OpenMax OpenMaxILIL Graphic Codec Graphic Codec Surfaces Surfaces APIs APIs
Framebuffer Framebuffer Page: 22
Multimedia Multimedia H/w: H/w: Video, Video, Camera, Camera, JPG JPG
UI Provider
Symbian Partner/ Semi-co
Licensee
Support for Khronos Open Standard APIs Applications
Khronos API / Driver
2d, 3d & Vector Apps and GUI Drawing
Video & Imaging
& GUI Frameworks
Client APIs
OpenGLES OpenGLES APIs APIs
OpenVG OpenVG API API
WServ WServ API API
MMF/ICL MMF/ICL APIs APIs
Window Window Server Server
MMF MMF and and
inc inc CRP CRP Framework Framework
ICL ICL Framework Framework
BitGDI BitGDI API API EGL EGL API API
Vector Vector Graphics Graphics accelerator accelerator
OpenVG OpenVG s/w s/w imp. imp.
Composition Composition HAI HAI Composition Composition Driver Driver
2D/Blender 2D/Blender accelerator accelerator
LCD LCD Controller Controller
Still Image Image Still
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OpenVG OpenVG Driver Driver
Codecs Codecs
3D 3D Graphics Graphics accelerator accelerator
GCE GCE ’Back-End’ ’Back-End’
Camcorder Camcorder Controller Controller
Hardware
Video Controllers Controllers Video
OpenGL OpenGL ES ES1.1 1.1/ / 2.0 2.0Driver Driver
FlashLite Engine Engine FlashLite
Hardware Adaptation Interface (HAI)
Surfaces Surfaces
Animations Animations
Reference Reference Surface Surface Manager Manager
Graphic Graphic EGL Surfaces EGL Surfaces Surfaces Surfaces EGL EGL
Transition Transition Effects Eng. Eng. Effects
Reference Reference EGL EGL Implementation Implementation
SVG Engine Engine SVG
CORE OS and rd 3 Party Plugins
MDF MDF Codecs Codecs OpenMax OpenMaxILIL EGL Codec EGL Codec Surfaces Surfaces APIs APIs
Framebuffer Framebuffer Page: 23
Multimedia Multimedia H/w: H/w: Video, Video, Camera, Camera, JPG JPG
The future…
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The Future…SMP • Symmetric Multi processing (SMP): …
Symbian and ARM are working together closely on supporting Cortex-A9 MPCore multi-core processor-based CPUs in Symbian OS Support performance critical tasks Whilst limiting CPU power usage during less critical tasks We are implementing… • multi-processor support in the Symbian OS kernel and device driver model • targeted enhancements throughout Symbian OS • extended Symbian OS developer tools to allow developers to access the benefits of SMP
…
• Cortex-A9 MPCore Symbian phones expected in 2010 Copyright Symbian 2007
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The future… •SMP •Continuous enhancements to FreeWay & ScreenPlay… •And of course many other new features too !
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Today and tomorrow: v9.1 – v9.5 – Future • v9.1 – new real-time micro kernel added …
Run Symbian OS on single-core processor … lower cost phones
• v9.3 – Demand paging of ROM … …
Faster start-up and faster launch of applications Phone manufacturers can limit RAM BOM cost, without forcing hard limit on phone’s applications or functionality
• V9.5 – FreeWay new comms architecture …
Separates data plane from control plane for maximum performance; management plane determines which bearer may/should be used at any one time.
• V9.5 – ScreenPlay new graphics architecture … …
Powerful graphics functionality abstracted from specific h/w Convergence onto Khronos standards
• Future – SMP • Future - continuous improvements to ScreenPlay & FreeWay Copyright Symbian 2007
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Conclusions • Symbian OS architecture is designed to provide power, sophistication, and customisability … …
Aims to hide complexity from the phone user Offer the power of SMP, or run on lower spec hardware
• Symbian OS allows phone manufacturers to:…
Customise the GUI look and feel We hide complexity within the OS, and accommodate a wide variety of hardware platforms & capabilities Support single-chip processor for lower BOM cost phones Limit RAM BOM cost by offering “demand paging” Offer sophisticated graphics services, without tying their software platform to any particular hardware architecture
… … … …
Port existing signalling stacks onto single-chip architecture
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New Symbian technologies
performance of home broadband in your pocket
big screen effects in your pocket
performance on demand Copyright Symbian 2007
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