"MQX" vs "MQX for KSDK" vs "KSDK"

[kalden_srcinc]

I'm wondering if there is a comparison or recommendations from Freescale regarding driver/RTOS support for new K65 based projects.  From what I can see, Freescale supports the following:

MQX: MQX Real-Time Operating System (RTOS)|Freescale

MQX for KSDK: Freescale MQX™ RTOS for Kinetis SDK|Freescale

KSDK (which also comes with MQX?): Software Development Kit for Kinetis MCUs|Freescale

Are all of these products going to be supported going forward?  What are the differences between these?  The two KSDK packages appear to be the same to me, but have different product pages.

Thanks

[tomtalkington]

Hi Kevin,

I am finding myself in the same predicament as you were back in February.  What was your decision and how has it worked out?  I am a newbie to Kinetis, KSDK and MQX.  I have some Micrium experience.   I started with KSDK and was overwhelmed trying to port it to my board and get example programs up and running.  The documentation just isn't there.  I went to MQX, used the porting wizard and followed the porting guides and got my key example projects to work. I am afraid that if I go with KSDK I am going to have to pay for help to get it ported, but if that the best decision long term then maybe that's what I should do.

[macl · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Freescale's software strategy going forward is based on the Kinetis SDK.  Kinetis SDK offers startup code, drivers, hardware abstraction layer, and some middleware for newer Kinetis MCUs.  Also, with Kinetis SDK, you have the choice of using no operating sytem (baremetal), or any of the supported operating systems: MQX RTOS, FreeRTOS, uC/OS-II, or uC/OS-III.  Your choice can be made on which RTOS (or no RTOS) to use based on your past history and existing/future needs.  MQX RTOS comes with advanced features and more fully featured TCP/IP stack (RTCS), and File system (MFS).  It also has an MQX Lite configuration that optimizes for small memory usage, but provides an easy upgrade path to the more fully featured MQX RTOS.  The other RTOS's supported have advantages too, so it is up to your needs.   

For more information about MQX RTOS for Kinetis SDK, check out this announcement.

MQX RTOS for Kinetis SDK v1.1

Hope that helps.

Thanks,
Mac L

[fcw]

We've got product prototypes based on Tower Kit hardware and MQX 4.1.1 software. We are about ready to turn that HW and SW into deliverable products. On one hand I don't want to re-work all that code for KSDK but on the other hand I don't want these new products with 10+ year support requirements to be built on a SW platform that's about to be orphaned. But on the MQX Roadmap page (MQX Roadmap) a bullet states that 4.2 will provide "support for the latest Kinetis K-Series MCUs." So to help make the determination:

• Will 4.2 be the last or near-last release of classic MQX?
• If so, will tech support or bug fixes still be available for classic MQX?
• It appears that the Doxygen bletchery that some people in all seriousness claim produces "documentation" is used for the KSDK API. If that's the case, is Doxygen-generated output also part of the strategy going forward?
• We use the MQX BSP Cloning Wizard to assist in creating product-specific BSPs and moving them into place for version control. Will something similar be provided for KSDK and if so, when?

thanks,

fcw

[RadekS]

Hi Fred,

1. Yes, current plan is that MQX4.2 will be last release of “Classic” MQX.
2. After that, this product will go into maintenance mode and we will not develop new features and we will not adding new platforms to this product. However bug fixes will be still released via some patches or errata… Currently we didn’t specify any format for MQX 4.2 updates. It will depend on bug fix characters.
3. Well, yes. We work on implementation of Doxygen for whole MQX code. However it goes slow (there are higher priorities) and only some parts of MQX are covered by Doxygen (for example kernel and Lite config in MQX for KSDK is already prepared this way). So, currently is Doxygen tool part of our strategy for feature. It is one of ways how to minimize potential inconsistency between code and documentation.
4. Unfortunately no, we do not plan BSP cloning wizard for MQX for KSDK.

I hope it helps you.

Have a great day,
RadekS

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[macl]

By the way, as of Kinetis SDK v1.1, MQX RTOS (along with RTCS and MFS) comes in the installer for Kinetis SDK, so it is not a separate download anymore. 

[kalden_srcinc]

So just to confirm:

-The latest KSDK has MQX lite and full MQX support

-MQX lite would require us to use a TCP/IP stack such as lwip as well as a fatfs implementation outside of MFS

-Full MQX would get us RTCS, MFS, and I am assuming other things

Are there multiple USB implementations as well, or is that driver common?

[macl]

Hi,

You are correct. 

There is a single USB stack that is part of the Kinetis SDK.  It can be used with applications built with any supported RTOS including MQX RTOS (with standard or MQX Lite configuration) or the others.

Thanks,
Mac