How to enable hard real-time

To enable hard real-time program execution your linux operating system must be capable of hard-real time.

Hard real-time functionality does not typically come as standard in distributions of Linux like Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS. It requires certain flags in the kernel to be enabled. However, these flags must be set during the build step for the kernel itself and therefore cannot be altered once built.

Therefore, a new kernel build is required to be installed to replace the existing non-hard realtime version. Once installed the "Enable Hard Realtime" tickbox will become enabled in the IDE and programs deployed with this feature will run in hard realtime.

DANGER

Changing the Linux kernel can create stability issues and data loss. Ensure backups are taken before performing any kernel changes.

Supported Operating Systems

Currently the only supported Linux distribution is Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Pro

Canonical Ubuntu provide a officially supported version under the Professional plan. Ubuntu Pro is free for personal and small scale commercial use in up to 5 machines.

To learn more and signup for Ubuntu Pro please visit ubuntu.com

Run Real-time Ubuntu

For general use. After signing up and attaching your machine to your Ubuntu Pro account run the below commands.

$ pro attach
$ pro enable realtime-kernel

Run Real-time Ubuntu on Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi specific version. Based on the upstream v6.8 kernel, the 24.04 release of Real-time Ubuntu includes optimised support for Raspberry Pi hardware.

$ pro attach
$ pro enable realtime-kernel --variant=raspi