Glossary

Board Support Package

In embedded systems, a board support package (BSP) is the layer of software containing hardware-specific boot firmware and device drivers and other routines that allow a given embedded operating system to function in a given hardware environment (a board), integrated with the embedded operating system.

DHCP 

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

DTB 

Device Tree Blob

Device tree is a data structure describing the hardware components of a particular computer so that the operating system’s kernel can use and manage those components, including the CPU or CPUs, the memory, the buses and the integrated peripherals.

DTBO 

Device Tree Blob Overlay

EDB 

Embedded Development Board

eSDK 

extensible Software Development Kit

The Yocto Project Extensible SDK (eSDK) has tools that allow you to easily add new applications and libraries to an image, modify the source of an existing component and test changes on the target hardware. The main benefit over the standard SDK is improved team workflow due to tighter integration with the OpenEmbedded build system.

HS 

High-Speed

HSL 

Hardware Support Layer

LLDP 

Link Layer Discovery Protocol

The Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) is a vendor-neutral link layer protocol used by network devices for advertising their identity, capabilities, and neighbors on a local area network based on IEEE 802 technology, principally wired Ethernet. The protocol is formally referred to by the IEEE as Station and Media Access Control Connectivity Discovery specified in IEEE 802.1AB with additional support in IEEE 802.3 section 6 clause 79.

MSTP 

Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol

The Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP), originally defined in IEEE 802.1s-2002 and later merged into IEEE 802.1Q-2005, defines an extension to RSTP to further develop the usefulness of VLANs.

RSTP 

Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol

In 2001, the IEEE introduced Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) as IEEE 802.1w. RSTP was then incorporated into IEEE 802.1D-2004 making the original STP standard obsolete. RSTP was designed to be backward-compatible with standard STP.

RSTP provides significantly faster spanning tree convergence after a topology change, introducing new convergence behaviors and bridge port roles to accomplish this. While STP can take 30 to 50 seconds to respond to a topology change, RSTP is typically able to respond to changes within 3 × hello times (default: 3 × 2 seconds) or within a few milliseconds of a physical link failure. The hello time is an important and configurable time interval that is used by RSTP for several purposes; its default value is 2 seconds.

SBC 

Single-Board Computer

SDK 

Software Development Kit

A Software Development Kt (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to a hardware platform and operating system combination.

STP 

Spanning Tree Protocol

The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol that builds a loop-free logical topology for Ethernet networks. The basic function of STP is to prevent bridge loops and the broadcast radiation that results from them. Spanning tree also allows a network design to include backup links providing fault tolerance if an active link fails.