Empowering a new generation of near edge and enterprise server applications with a freely available, open source community–hardened Debian optimized for performance, and security.

As far edge device innovation rapidly expands with a diverse range of artificial intelligence–driven sensing and data-intensive applications, the demand for robust, near-edge server solutions tailored to specific sectors is on the rise. The greater processing requirements of the edge are fueling a need for a hardened, sector-specific near edge server solution — the right fit to address the unique needs and synergies of the edge.

Current options for near edge servers are either too limiting or overly complex. Linux for far edge devices often requires extensive customization to suit specific hardware and microcontroller architectures, while traditional data center Linux comes burdened with unnecessary features and code and innovation constraints. As a result, near edge implementations fail to meet the dynamic demands of this rapidly emerging and innovating segment.

The eLxr project builds on Debian’s stability, reliability, and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware support for hardening Debian for near edge server requirements. The result is a guaranteed, freely accessible open source community–innovated Debian ready for edge-to-cloud workloads.

Hardening Mainstream Debian for Edge-to-Cloud Use Cases

Wind River is spearheading the formation of the eLxr project, whose objective is to shape Debian to address the needs of edge-to-cloud requirements. The eLxr project curates existing packages and hardens and maintains them by harnessing its own collective membership resources to work within the Debian community.

The eLxr project’s foundation is Debian for multiple reasons, including:

• Guarantee of openness: Debian’s governance is sovereign, the community is open to anyone, and its mission is to create a free operating system to assure software freedom.
• Cloud-native approach: Hardened Debian packages are to be supported in container-based images and runtimes.
• COTS server-class hardware support: Support covers standard x86 hardware systems today with more systems in the future.
• Security: Debian provides default package configuration for every package and maintains continuous security throughout package lifetimes.
• Proven reliability: Debian is used in thousands of real-world scenarios and is deployed in virtually every industry sector.