DevOps and Embedded Linux
Hardware is hard. PCB layout, contract manufacturing, and board revisions cost time and money. The risks are bigger than with software. Lead times are longer, and mistakes can be catastrophic. Embedded Linux forms the bridge between hardware and software.
Embedded Linux engineers work closely with electrical engineers during board bring-up, troubleshooting issues as they arise. It’s not uncommon to ask an electrical engineer to rewire a component or add a pull-up resistor. PCB layout is extremely complex. Nobody is perfect, so a new board rarely ever boots the first time around.
With such high stakes, it might seem like DevOps principles are a bad fit for hardware products. Industry trends like test-driven development (TDD) are often dismissed as impractical by experienced embedded developers. Automated testing is harder when dealing with real hardware but not impossible. Investing time and energy in establishing a CI/CD pipeline pays dividends...
