Autosar

An introduction to AUTOSAR
AUTOSAR Consortium
AUTOSAR
What is AUTOSAR?
AUTOSAR AUTomotive Open Systems ARchitecture
Middleware and system-level standard, jointly developed by
automobile manufacturers, electronics and software suppliers
and tool vendors.
More than 100 members
Motto: cooperate on standards, compete on implementations
Reality: current struggle between OEM and Tier1 suppliers
Target: facilitate portability, composability, integration of SW
components over the lifetime of the vehicle
Standardization of Components and Interfaces

The software implementing the automotive functionality is encapsulated
in software components. Standardization of the interfaces is central to
support scalability and transferability of functions. Any standardconformant implementation of a software component can be integrated
with substantially reduced effort in a system.
The standardization could be developed incrementally towards:
Level of abstraction
Functional aspects
Behavior and implementation aspects
Level of decomposition
Low degree of decomposition of the functional domain
High degree of decomposition of the functional domain
Level of architecture definition
Terminology
Standardized data-types
Partial description of interfaces (without semantics)
Complete description of interfaces (without semantics)
Complete description of interfaces (with semantics)
Partial definition of the functional domain
Complete definition of the functional domain
Functional domains
The specification of functional interfaces is divided into 6
domains:
Body/Comfort
Powertrain
Chassis
Safety
Multimedia/Telematics
Man-machine-interface
The domains could be differently handled due to intellectual

property rights issues and decomposition levels.
In the first phase of AUTOSAR only in the domains
body/comfort, chassis, and powertrain results can be expected.
All others have lower priority in the first phase.
AUTOSAR Architecture
SW-C
Description
SW-C
Description
SW-C
Description
SW-C
Description
AUTOSAR
SW-C n
AUTOSAR
SW-C 3
AUTOSAR
SW-C 2
AUTOSAR
SW-C 1
Virtual Functional Bus
ECU
Descriptions
System
Constraint
Description
Deployment tools
ECU1
ECU1
ECU1
AUTOSAR
SW-C n
AUTOSAR
SW-C 3
AUTOSAR
SW-C 2
AUTOSAR
SW-C 1
RTE
RTE
RTE
Basic Software
Basic Software
Basic Software
Gateway
AUTOSAR SWSW-C
The AUTOSAR Software Components encapsulate an
application which runs on the AUTOSAR infrastructure. The
AUTOSAR SW-C have well-defined interfaces, which are
described and standardized.
SWSW-C Description
For the interfaces as well as other aspects needed for the integration of
the AUTOSAR Software Components, AUTOSAR provides a standard
description format (SW-C Description).
SW-C Description
AUTOSAR
SW-C 1
Virtual Functional Bus (VFB)
The VFB is the sum of all communication mechanisms (and
interfaces to the basic software) provided by AUTOSAR on an
abstract (technology independent) level. When the connections
for a concrete system are defined, the VFB allows a virtual
integration in an early development phase.
SW-C
Description
SW-C
Description
SW-C
Description
AUTOSAR
SW-C n
AUTOSAR
SW-C 3
AUTOSAR
SW-C 2
AUTOSAR
SW-C 1
Virtual Functional Bus
SW-C
Description
System Constraint and ECU Descriptions
In order to integrate AUTOSAR SW-Components into a
network of ECUs, AUTOSAR provides description formats for
the system as well as for the resources and the configuration of
the ECUs.
ECU
Descriptions
Deployment tools
System
Constraint
Description
AUTOSAR Architecture: Mapping on ECUs

AUTOSAR defines the methodology and tool support to build a
concrete system of ECUs. This includes the configuration and
generation of the Runtime Environment (RTE) and the Basic
Software (RTOS) on each ECU.
Runtime Environment (RTE)
From the viewpoint of the AUTOSAR Software Component, the
RTE implements the VFB functionality on a specific ECU.
Deployment tools
ECU1
AUTOSAR
SW-C 3
AUTOSAR
SW-C 2
RTE
Basic Software
Basic Software
The Basic Software provides the infrastructure for execution
on an ECU.
ECU1
AUTOSAR
SW-C 3
AUTOSAR
SW-C 2
RTE
Basic Software
A fundamental concept of AUTOSAR is the separation between:
application and
infrastructure.
An application in AUTOSAR consists of Software Components
interconnected by connectors
AUTOSAR Component
The generic AUTOSAR Component
Component concept
AUTOSAR Software Component
Sensor/Actuator Software Component (special case).
Composition
a logical interconnection of components packaged as a

component. In contrast to the Atomic Software Components,
the components inside a composition can be distributed over
several ECUs.
ECU Abstraction
Complex Device Driver
AUTOSAR Services.
AUTOSAR Component
Each AUTOSAR Software Component encapsulates part of
the functionality of the application.
AUTOSAR does not prescribe the granularity of Software
Components. Depending on the requirements of the application
domain an AUTOSAR Software Component might be a small,
reusable piece of functionality (such as a filter) or a larger block
encapsulating an entire sybsystem.
The AUTOSAR Software Component is an "Atomic

Software Component"
Atomic means that the each instance of an AUTOSAR
Software Component is statically assigned to one ECU.
AUTOSAR Components
Implementing an AUTOSAR Software Component
AUTOSAR does not prescribe HOW an AUTOSAR
Software Component should be implemented
a component may be handwritten or generated from a model
AUTOSAR Components
Shipping an AUTOSAR Software Component
A shipment of an AUTOSAR Software Component consists
of
a
complete
and
formal
Software
Component
Description which specifies
how the infrastructure must be
configured for the component,
and
an implementation of the
component, which could be
provided as "object code" or
"source code".
Software
Component
Description
Component
Implementation
AUTOSAR Components: Description

The AUTOSAR Software Component Description
contains:
the operations and data elements that
the software component provides and
requires
described using the PortInterface concept
the requirements on the infrastructure,

the resources needed by the software
component (memory, CPU-time, etc.),
information regarding the specific
implementation of the software
component.
The structure and format of this
description is called software component
template.
Software
Component
Description
AUTOSAR Components
A source code component implementation is independent
from
the type of microcontroller of the ECU and the
type of ECU on which the component is
mapped
The AUTOSAR infrastructure takes
providing the software component
standardized view on the ECU hardware
care
with
of
a
the location of the other components with

which it interacts. The component description
defines the data or services that it provides or
requires. The component doesnt know if they
are provided from components on the same
ECU or from components on a different ECU.
the number of times a software component is
instantiated in a system or within one ECU
Component
Implementation
AUTOSAR Components: description levels

The highest (most abstract)
description level is the Virtual
Functional Bus.
Here components are described
with the means of datatypes and
interfaces, ports and connections
between them, as well as
hierarchical components. At this
level, the fundamental
communication properties of
components and their
communication relationships among
each other are expressed.
Software components
Compositions
Interfaces
AUTOSAR Components
Description of components on
RTE level: The middle level allows
for behavior description of a given
component. This behavior is
expressed through RTE concepts,
e.g. RTE events and in terms of
schedulable units. For instance,
for an operation defined in an
interface on the VFB, the behavior
specifies which of those units is
activated as a consequence of the
invocation of that operation.
Runnables
Events
Interaction with the Run
Time Environment
AUTOSAR Components
Descriptions of components on
implementation level: The lowest
(most concrete) level of
description specifies the
implementation of a given
behavior. More precisely, the
schedulable units of such a
behavior are mapped to code.
The two layers above constrain
the RTE API that a component is
offered, the implementation now
utilizes this API.
Component
implementation
Resource consumption of
SW-Components
Component-oriented design
What is a SW component?
A reusable self-contained artefact implementing a function with
given properties
Resource and
non-functional
requirements
SW Component
Structure
Behavior
Component structure
Key concepts: information hiding and encapsulation
SW
Component
Resource
and nonfunctional
requirements
Data
Dataports
ports
SW Component
Method
signature(s)
As in OO (C++)
Method
signature(s)
Asynchronous,
no
transfer
What
Asynchronous,
notype/style?
transferof
ofcontrol
control
Synchronous
call,
of
port_out
double
GetRotSpeed
Synchronous
call,transfer
transfer
ofcontrol
control
Classes
port_out
double
GetRotSpeed
double
GetRotSpeed(int
wheel_index)
double
GetRotSpeed(int
wheel_index)
port_in
port_in int
int wheel_index)
wheel_index)
Provided interface
Structure
Behavior
SW Component
Does not suffice for

encapsulation!
Required interface
SW Component
Component structure
SW
Component
Structure
Resource
and nonfunctional
requirements
SW Component
Method
Methodsignature(s)
signature(s)
Synchronous
Synchronouscall,
call,transfer
transferof
ofcontrol
control
double
GetRotSpeed(int
double GetRotSpeed(int wheel_index)
wheel_index)
Behavior
+
Data
Dataports
ports
Asynchronous,
Asynchronous,no
notransfer
transferof
ofcontrol
control
port_out
double
GetRotSpeed
port_out double GetRotSpeed
port_in
port_in int
int wheel_index)
wheel_index)
g(.)
Internal behavior
SW Component
f(.)
synchronous
synchronous
model
model (FSM)
(combinatorial)
SW Component
Component structure
SW
Component
Structure
Resource
and nonfunctional
requirements
SW Component
Method
Methodsignature(s)
signature(s)
Synchronous
Synchronouscall,
call,transfer
transferof
ofcontrol
control
double
GetRotSpeed(int
double GetRotSpeed(int wheel_index)
wheel_index)
Behavior
PRECONDITIONS
Internal behavior
POSTCONDITIONS
SW
Component
INVARIANTS
design by
program code
contract
SW Component
Component structure
SW Component
SW
Component
Structure
Resource
and nonfunctional
requirements
Communication
behavior
Behavior
SW Component
SW Component
Component structure
SW Component
SW
Component
Structure
Resource
and nonfunctional
requirements
Behavior
SW Component
SW Component
Task and resource

description
AUTOSAR Components
Components dependencies are described in form of interfaces
and ports, no internal, hidden dependencies may exist.
Therefore, components are in theory exchangeable as long as
they implement the same logic and provide the same public
communication interface to the remaining system.
Once a component is defined with the help of the software
component template, a new component type has been defined.
Such a component can be used an arbitrary number of times
within the system as well as in different systems.
Components are developed against the virtual functional bus, an
abstract communication channel without direct dependency on
ECUs and communication busses and they must not directly call
the operating system or the communication hardware.
As a result, they are transferable and can be deployed to ECUs very
late in the development process.
Components, Ports and Interfaces

A component has well-defined ports, through which the
component can interact with other components.
A port always belongs to exactly one component and
represents a point of interaction between a component and
other components.
To define the services or data that are provided on or
required by a port of a component, the AUTOSAR Interface
concept is introduced.
The AUTOSAR Interface can be
Client-Server Interface defining a set of operations that
can be invoked
Sender-Receiver Interface, for data-oriented
communication
Components, Ports and Interfaces

A port can be
PPort (provided interface)
RPort (required interface)
When a PPort provides an interface, the component to

which the port belongs
provides an implementation of the operations defined in the
Client-Server Interface
generates the data described in a data-oriented SenderReceiver Interface.
When an RPort of a component requires an AUTOSAR

Interface, the component can
invoke the operations when the interface is a Client-Server
read the data elements described in the Sender-Receiver
Interface.
Communication Patterns: summary

elementary communication patterns
Client-Server
Sender-Receiver
Interfaces specify
what information sender receiver communication
transports
which services with which arguments can be called
by client-server communication
The formal description of the interface is in the software
component template, including also data types that can be
used and interface compatibility.
The detailed behavior of a basic communication pattern is
specified by attributes. With those attributes e.g. the length
of data queues and the behavior of receivers (blocking,
non-blocking, etc.) and senders (send cyclic, etc.) can be
defined.
Client-server communication
The server is a provider and the client is a user of a service.
The client initiates the communication, requesting that the server
performs a service, transferring a parameter set if necessary.
The server waits for incoming communication requests from a
client, performs the requested service and dispatches a
response to the clients request.
The direction of initiation is used to categorize whether an
AUTOSAR Software Component is a client or a server. A single
component can be both a client and a server depending on the
software realization.
After the service request is initiated and until the response of the
server is received The client can be
blocked (synchronous communication)
non-blocked (asynchronous communication).
Client-server communication: notation

An example of client-server communication in the
composition of three software components and two
connections in the VFB model view.
Sender-receiver communication
Model for the asynchronous distribution of information
where a sender distributes information to one or several
receivers.
The sender is not blocked (asynchronous communication)
and neither expects nor gets a response from the receivers
(data or control flow), the sender just provides the
information and the receivers decides autonomously when
and how to use it
It is the responsibility of the communication infrastructure to
distribute the information.
The sender does not know the identity or the number of
receivers
Sender-receiver communication
an example of how sender-receiver communication is
modeled in AUTOSAR
AUTOSAR Components, Interfaces and ports

The visual representation of components, ports and
interfaces in a component model
AUTOSAR Components: connections

Two components are eventually connected by hooking up a
p-port of one component to a compatible r-port of the other
component.
The model shows that it is allowed to define a component without
any ports, which seems counterintuitive, this is only reasonable
for components that are totally self-contained.
Whether ports are actually compatible is described by a

PortInterface. As will be shown later, these port interfaces
declare services or data elements that are required and
provided by the respective ports.
AUTOSAR Components: connections

A port interface has a single attribute called isService. This flag
indicates, whether service or data described in the interface is
actually provided by AUTOSAR services instead of another
AUTOSAR component.
AUTOSAR Components: communication behavior

AUTOSAR software components communicate via the
Virtual Functional Bus. They need ways to express
requirements and capabilities with respect to exchanging
data, which is currently possible through two kinds of
attributes:
Communication attributes, allow specifying parameters of
the communication that affect the generation of the RTE or
the actual communication taking place at runtime. An
example for such an attribute is the aforementioned transfer
time over a connector.
Application level attributes, allow describing properties of
exchanged data that do not affect the RTE generation, but
are indicate to the developer how data needs to be
processed. An example for this kind of attribute is a flag,
whether data is filtered or raw..
AUTOSAR Components: Sensor/Actuator Components

Sensor/Actuator Components are special AUTOSAR Software
Components which encapsulate the dependencies of the
application on specific sensors or actuators.
The AUTOSAR infrastructure takes care of hiding the specifics
of the microcontroller (this is done in the MCAL, the
microcontroller abstraction layer, which is part of the AUTOSAR
infrastructure running on the ECU) and the ECU electronics (this
is handled by the ECU-Abstraction which is also part of the
AUTOSAR Basic Software).

Typical conversion process from physical signals to
software signals (e.g. car velocity) and back (e.g. car light).

The AUTOSAR infrastructure does NOT hide the specifics of
sensors and actuators.
The dependencies on a specific sensor and/or actuator are dealt
with in "Sensor/Actuator Software Component", which is a
special kind of Software Component. Such a component is
independent of the ECU on which it is mapped but is dependent
on a specific sensor and/or actuator for which it is designed.
For example, a "Sensor Component" typically inputs a software
representation of the electrical signal at an input-pin of the ECU
(e.g. a current produced by the sensor) and outputs the
physical quantity measured by the sensor (e.g. the car speed).
Typically, because of performance issues, such components will

need to run on the ECU to which the sensor/actuator is
physically connected.
The Virtual Function Bus (VFB)

The virtual functional bus is the abstraction of the AUTOSAR
Software Components interconnections of the entire vehicle. The
communication between different software components and
between software components and its environment (e.g.
hardware driver, OS, services, etc.) can be specified
independently of any underlying hardware (e.g. communication
system). The functionality of the VFB is provided by
communication patterns.
The Virtual Function Bus (VFB)

From the VFB view ports of AUTOSAR Software Components,
Complex Device Drivers, the ECU Abstraction and AUTOSAR
Services can be connected. Complex Device Drivers, the ECU
Abstraction and AUTOSAR Services are part of the Basic
Software.
ECU SW Architecture
ECU Architecture - Layered Software Architecture

A layered architecture has been developed within AUTOSAR to
enable a clear and structured interface definition and a well defined
abstraction of the hardware.
The architecture is structured in 5 layers plus the Complex Drivers.
AUTOSAR Architecture Layers

AUTOSAR Software
This layer consists of AUTOSAR Software Components that are
mapped on the ECUs.
All interaction between AUTOSAR Software Components is
routed through the AUTOSAR Runtime Environment. The
AUTOSAR Interface specification assures the connectivity.
AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

The AUTOSAR Runtime Environment (RTE) acts as a systemlevel communication center for inter- and intra-ECU information
exchange.
Application layer
Services layer
ECU Abstraction layer
Microcontroller Abstraction Layer

Microcontroller
Complex Drivers

The RTE is the runtime representation of the Virtual
Function Bus for a specific ECU.

The RTE provides a communication abstraction to AUTOSAR
Software Components providing the same interface and services
for inter-ECU (using CAN, LIN, Flexray, MOST, etc.) or intraECU communication.
As the communication requirements of the software components
are application dependent, the RTE needs to be tailored. It is
therefore very likely, that the main parts of RTE will be generated
and tailored to provide desired communication services while still
being resource-efficient. Thus, the RTE will likely differ between
one ECU and another.
The RTE is typically tool-generated and statically configured

The AUTOSAR Runtime Environment has the responsibility to
provide a uniform environment to AUTOSAR Software
Components to make the implementation of the software
components independent from communication mechanisms and
channels.
The RTE achieves this by mapping the communication
relationships between components, that are specified in the
different templates, to a specific intra-ECU communication
mechanism, such as a function call, or an inter-ECU
communication mechanism, such as a COM message which
leads to CAN communication.

Access to ports from a software component implementation
The implementation of an AUTOSAR Software Component is not
allowed to use the communication layer, for example OSEK
COM, directly.
To communicate with other software components it uses ports
and client-server communication or sender-receiver
communication.
The RTE generator is responsible for creating the appropriate
language-dependant APIs based on the definition of the
interface of the component in the Software Component
Template.
The API has to be the same independent from the mapping of
the components, i.e. the component's code must not be changed
when the mapping is changed.
The API names are derived from the XML files and conform to a
naming convention.

Implementation of connectors
The RTE generator is also responsible for generating code,
which implements the connectors between the ports.
This generated code is dependant on the mapping of the
software components to ECUs.
If the connector connects two components on the same ECU a
local communication stub can be generated.
Otherwise, a stub that uses network communication must be
generated.

The mapping from a connector to a communication stub must
conserve the semantics of this connector independent from the
used communication medium.
The communication stub is also responsible for parameter
marshalling. This includes serializing complex data to a byte
stream. But endian conversion (if any is necessary) is delegated
to the communication module of the Basic Software.
Lifecycle management
The RTE is responsible for the lifecycle management of
AUTOSAR Software Components. It has to invoke startup and
shutdown functions of the software component.

Access to Basic Software
An AUTOSAR Software Component is not allowed to access
Basic Software directly.
Firstly, the access to services, to the ECU abstraction, or to
Complex Device Drivers is abstracted via ports and AUTOSAR
interfaces.
With respect to the component implementation, the RTE
provides appropriately generated APIs for Basic Software
access.
Multiple Instantiations of software components
The RTE shall support multiple instantiations of software
components. The basic intention of multiple instantiation is to
avoid code duplication if possible. Furthermore different private
states of multiple instances shall be supported.
but in AUTOSAR R2.0 this feature is cancelled !
AUTOSAR Architecture Layers

AUTOSAR Basic Software
Basic Software is the standardized software layer, which
provides services to the SW Components. It does not fulfill
any functional job and is situated below the AUTOSAR
Runtime Environment. It contains
Standardized components
Services including diagnostic protocols; NVRAM, flash and
memory management.
Communication the communication framework (e.g. CAN,
LIN, FlexRay...), the I/O management, and the network
management.
ECU specific components.

Operating system
Microcontroller abstraction
Complex Device Drivers
AUTOSAR Basic software: Operating system

AUTOSAR includes requirements for an AUTOSAR Operating
System. The OS
is configured and scaled statically,
is amenable to reasoning of real-time performance, provides a
priority-based scheduling, provides protective functions at runtime, and
is hostable on low-end controllers with and without external
resources.
It is assumed that some domains (e.g. telematic/infotainment)

will continue to use proprietary OSs. In these cases the
interfaces to AUTOSAR components must still be AUTOSAR
compliant (the proprietary OS must be abstracted to an
AUTOSAR OS).
The standard OSEK OS (ISO 17356-3) is used as the basis for
the AUTOSAR OS.
Basic Software structure

The layered architecture has been further refined in the
area of Basic Software. Around 80 Basic Software modules
have been defined (11 main blocks plus Complex Drivers).
AUTOSAR Basic software: microcontroller abstr.

Access to the microcontroller registers is routed through the
Microcontroller Abstraction layer (MCAL).
MCAL is a hardware specific layer that ensures a standard
interface to the Basic Software. It manages the microcontroller
peripherals and provides the components of the Basic Software
with microcontroller independent values. MCAL implements
notification mechanisms to support the distribution of commands,
responses and information to processes. It can include
Digital I/O (DIO),

Analog/Digital Converter (ADC),
Pulse Width (De)Modulator (PWM, PWD),
EEPROM (EEP),
Flash (FLS),
Capture Compare Unit (CCU),
Watchdog Timer (WDT),
Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), and
I2C Bus (IIC).
Microcontroller abstraction layer

The Microcontroller Abstraction Layer is the lowest layer of the
Basic Software. It contains drivers, with direct access to the C
internal peripherals and memory mapped C external devices.

Microcontroller
Microcontroller abstraction layer

The Microcontroller abstraction layer is subdivided into 4 parts:
I/O Drivers
Drivers for analog and digital I/O (e.g. ADC, PWM, DIO).
Communication Drivers
Drivers for ECU onboard (e.g. SPI, I2C) and vehicle
communication (e.g. CAN). OSI-Layer: Part of Data Link
Layer.
Memory Drivers
Drivers for on-chip memory devices (e.g. internal Flash, internal
EEPROM) and memory mapped external memory devices
(e.g. external Flash).
Microcontroller Drivers
Drivers for internal peripherals (e.g. Watchdog, Clock Unit) and
functions with direct C access (e.g. RAM test, Core test).
Services layer

Microcontroller
Complex Drivers
The ECU Abstraction Layer provides a software interface to the

electrical values of any specific ECU in order to decouple higherlevel software from all underlying hardware dependencies.

I/O Hardware Abstraction:
A group of modules which abstracts from the location of
peripheral I/O devices (on-chip or on-board) and the ECU
hardware layout (e.g. C pin connections and signal level
inversions).
The I/O hardware abstraction does not abstract from the
sensors/actuators! I/O devices are accessed via an I/O signal
interface.
The task of this group of modules is
to represent I/O signals as they are connected to the
ECU hardware (e.g. current, voltage, frequency), and
to hide ECU hardware and layout properties from higher
software layers.

An example:

Communication HW abstraction
communication controllers and the ECU hardware layout. For all
communication systems a specific communication hardware
abstraction is required (e.g. for LIN, CAN, MOST, FlexRay).
Example: An ECU has a microcontroller with 2 internal CAN
channels and an additional on-board ASIC with 4 CAN
controllers. The CAN-ASIC is connected to the microcontroller via
SPI.
The communication drivers are accessed via bus specific

interfaces (e.g. CAN Interface). That means the access to the CAN
controller should be regardless of whether it is located inside the
microcontroller, externally to it, or whether it is connected via SPI.
The task of this group of modules is to provide equal mechanisms
to access a bus channel regardless of its location (on-chip / onboard).

An example:

Memory HW Abstraction
peripheral memory devices (on-chip or on-board) and the
ECU hardware layout.
Example: on-chip EEPROM and external EEPROM devices
should be accessible via an equal mechanism.
The memory drivers are accessed via memory specific

interfaces (e.g. EEPROM Interface). The task of this group
of modules is to provide equal mechanisms to access
internal (on-chip) and external (onboard) memory devices.

An example:

Onboard Device Abstraction
Contains drivers for ECU onboard devices which cannot be seen
as sensors or actuators like system basic chip, external
watchdog etc. Those drivers access the ECU onboard devices
via the C abstraction layer.
The task of this group of modules is to abstract from ECU
specific onboard devices.

An example:
Service layer
The service layer consists out of 3 different parts:
Communication Services
Memory Services
System Services
Service layer
Communication Services
The communication services are a group of modules for
vehicle network communication (CAN, LIN, FlexRay and
MOST). They are interfacing with the communication
drivers via the communication hardware abstraction. The
task of this group of modules is
to provide a uniform interface to the vehicle network for
communication between different applications,
to provide uniform services for network management,
to provide a uniform interface to the vehicle network for
diagnostic communication, and
to hide protocol and message properties from the
application.
Service layer
Generic structure
Service layer
An example
(CAN bus):
Service layer
Memory Services
A group of modules responsible for the management of non
volatile data (read/write from different memory drivers). The
NVRAM manager provides a RAM mirror as data interface to the
application for fast read access.
The task of this group of modules is
to provide non volatile data to the application in a uniform way,
to abstract from memory locations and properties, and
to provide mechanisms for non volatile data management like
saving, loading, checksum protection and verification, reliable
storage etc.
Service layer
System Services
The system services are a group of modules and functions which
can be used by modules of all layers.
Examples are real-time operating system, error manager and
library functions (like CRC, interpolation etc.).
Some of these services are C dependent (like OS), ECU
hardware and/or application dependent (like ECU state
manager, DCM) or hardware and C independent.
The task of this group of modules is to provide basic services for
application and Basic Software modules.
Service layer
Structure
Complex Drivers

Microcontroller
Complex Drivers
A Complex Driver implements complex sensor evaluation and actuator

control with direct access to the C using specific interrupts and/or
complex C peripherals (like PCP, TPU
Task: Fulfill the special functional and timing requirements for handling
complex sensors and actuators
Complex Drivers
The Complex Device Driver is a loosely coupled container,
where specific software implementations can be placed. The
only requirement to the software parts is that the interface to the
AUTOSAR world has to be implemented according to the
AUTOSAR port and interface specifications.
Complex Sensor and Actuator Control

The main task of the complex drivers is to implement complex
sensor evaluation and actuator control with direct access to the
C using specific interrupts and/or complex C peripherals (like
PCP, TPU), e.g.
injection control
electric valve control
incremental position detection
Complex Drivers
Non-Standardized Drivers
Further on the Complex Device Drivers will be used to
implement drivers for hardware which is not supported by
AUTOSAR.
If for example a new communication system will be introduced in
general no AUTOSAR driver will be available controlling the
communication controller. To enable the communication via this
media, the driver will be implemented proprietarily inside the
Complex Device Drivers. In case of a communication request via
that media the communication services will call the Complex
Device Driver instead of the communication hardware
abstraction to communicate.
Another example where non-standard drivers are needed is to
support ASICs that implement a non-standardized functionality.
Complex Drivers
Migration Mechanism
Last but not least the Complex Device Drivers are to some
extend intended as a migration mechanism. Due to the fact that
direct hardware access is possible within the Complex Device
Drivers already existing applications can be defined as Complex
Device Drivers. If interfaces for extensions are defined according
to the AUTOSAR standards new extensions can be implemented
according to the AUTOSAR standards, which will not force the
OEM nor the supplier to reengineer all existing applications.
AUTOSAR Methodology
AUTOSAR requires a common technical approach for some
steps of system development. This approach is called the
AUTOSAR Methodology, which describes all major steps of the
development of a system, from the system-level configuration to
the generation of an ECU executable.
The AUTOSAR Methodology is neither a complete
process description nor a business model and roles and
responsibilities are not defined.
Furthermore, it does not prescribe a precise order in
which activities should be carried out. The methodology
is a mere work-product flow: it defines the dependencies
of activities on work-products.
AUTOSAR Methodology
Design steps go from the system-level configuration to the
generation of an ECU executable.
AUTOSAR Methodology
Firstly,
Firstly,the
theSystem
System Configuration
Configuration Input
Inputmust
mustto
tobe
be
defined.
defined.The
Thesoftware
softwarecomponents
componentsand
andthe
thehardware
hardwareare
are
selected,
selected,and
andthe
theoverall
overallsystem
systemconstraints
constraintsidentified.
identified.
AUTOSAR
AUTOSARprovides
providesaaformat
formatfor
forthe
theformal
formaldescription
descriptionvia
via
the
theinformation
informationexchange
exchangeformat
formatand
andthe
theuse
useofofthe
thefollowing
following
templates.
templates.
Software
SoftwareComponents:
Components:each
eachsoftware
softwarecomponent
component
requires
a
description
of
the
software
API
requires a description of the software APIe.g.
e.g.data
datatypes,
types,
ports,
interfaces.
ports, interfaces.
ECU
ECUResources:
Resources:each
eachECU
ECUrequires
requiresspecifications
specifications
regarding
regardinge.g.
e.g.the
theprocessor
processorunit,
unit,memory,
memory,peripherals,
peripherals,
sensors
sensorsand
andactuators.
actuators.
System
SystemConstraints:
Constraints:regarding
regardingthe
thebus
bussignals,
signals,topology
topology
and
mapping
of
belonging
together
software
components.
and mapping of belonging together software components.
AUTOSAR Methodology
Firstly
Firstlythe
theSystem
Configuration Input
Inputmust
mustto
tobe
be
defined.
defined.The
Thesoftware
softwarecomponents
componentsand
andthe
thehardware
hardwareare
are
selected,
selected,and
andthe
theoverall
overallsystem
systemconstraints
constraintsidentified.
identified.
AUTOSAR
AUTOSARprovides
providesaaformat
formatfor
forthe
theformal
formaldescription
descriptionvia
via
the
theinformation
informationexchange
exchangeformat
formatand
andthe
theuse
useofofthe
thefollowing
following
templates.
templates.
Software
SoftwareComponents:
Components:each
eachsoftware
softwarecomponent
component
requires
a
description
of
the
software
API
requires a description of the software APIe.g.
e.g.data
datatypes,
types,
ports,
interfaces.
ports, interfaces.
ECU
ECUResources:
Resources:each
eachECU
ECUrequires
requiresspecifications
specifications
regarding
regardinge.g.
e.g.the
theprocessor
processorunit,
unit,memory,
memory,peripherals,
peripherals,
sensors
sensorsand
andactuators.
actuators.
System
SystemConstraints:
Constraints:regarding
regardingthe
thebus
bussignals,
signals,topology
topology
and
mapping
of
belonging
together
software
components.
and mapping of belonging together software components.
The System Configuration Input includes or references various
constraints. These constraints can force or forbid certain
components to be mapped to certain ECUs or requires certain
implementations to be used for components.
In addition, these constraints can contain resource estimations
describing the net availability of resources on ECUs and thereby
limiting the possible mappings.
The activity Configure System contains complex algorithms
and/or engineering work. There is a strong need for experience
in system architecture to map all the software components to the
ECUs. The tool AUTOSAR System Configuration Tool supports
the configuration.
An important output of the activity is the design of the System
Communication-Matrix. This System Communication-Matrix
completely describes the frames running on the networks
described in the topology and the contents and timing of those
frames.
AUTOSAR Software Process

The
TheConfigure
ConfigureSystem
Systemactivity
activitymaps
mapsthe
thesoftware
software
components
componentsto
tothe
theECUs
ECUswith
withresources
resourcesand
and
timing
timingrequirements.
requirements.The
Theoutput
outputof
ofthis
thisactivity
activityisis
the
theSystem
Configuration Description
Description
including
includingsystem
systeminformation
information(e.g.
(e.g.bus
busmapping,
mapping,
topology)
topology)and
andthe
themapping
mappingof
ofsoftware
software
components
componentsto
toECUs.
ECUs.

Further steps have to be performed for each ECU in the system.
Extract
ExtractECU-Specific
ECU-SpecificInformation
Informationextracts
extractsthe
the
information
informationfrom
fromthe
theSystem
SystemConfiguration
Configuration
Description
Descriptionfor
foraaspecific
specificECU.
ECU.ItItbecomes
becomesthe
the
ECU
ECU Extract
Extract of
of System
System Configuration.
Configuration.
This is a one to one copy of all elements of the System

Configuration Description that are appointed to this specific ECU.
This step can be completely automated.

Configure
ConfigureECU
ECUmainly
mainlydeals
dealswith
withthe
the
configuration
configurationof
ofthe
theRTE
RTEand
andthe
the
Basic
BasicSoftware
Softwaremodules.
modules.ItItadds
addsall
all
implementation-related
implementation-relatedinformation,
information,
including
includingtask
taskscheduling,
scheduling,required
required
Basic
BasicSoftware
Softwaremodules,
modules,
configuration
configurationof
ofthe
theBasic
BasicSoftware,
Software,
assignment
assignmentof
ofrunnable
runnableentities
entitiesto
to
tasks,
tasks,etc.
etc.The
Theresult
resultof
ofthe
theactivity
activityisis
included
includedininthe
theECU
ECUConfiguration
Configuration
Description,
Description,which
whichcollects
collectsECUECUspecific
specificinformation.
information.The
Therunnable
runnable
software
softwareto
tothis
thisspecific
specificECU
ECUcan
canbe
be
built
builtfrom
fromthis
thisinformation.
information.

The
Theconfiguration
configurationisisbased
basedon
onthe
the
information
informationextracted
extractedfrom
fromthe
theECU
ECU
Extract
Extractof
ofSystem
SystemConfiguration,
Configuration,
Collection
Collectionof
ofAvailable
AvailableSWC
SWC
Implementations,
Implementations,and
andBSW
BSWModule
Module
Description.
Description.
The
Thelatter
lattercontains
containsthe
theVendor
Vendor
Specific
SpecificECU
ECUConfiguration
Configuration
Parameter
ParameterDefinition
Definitionwhich
whichdefines
defines
all
allpossible
possibleconfiguration
configurationparameters
parameters
and
andtheir
theirstructure.
structure.
The
TheBSW
BSWModule
ModuleDescription
Descriptionisis
assumed
assumedto
toconsist
consistof
ofsingle
single
descriptions
descriptionsdelivered
deliveredtogether
togetherwith
with
the
theappropriate
appropriateused
usedBSW
BSWmodule.
module.

The
Thedetailed
detailedscheduling
schedulinginformation
information
or
orthe
theconfiguration
configurationdata
datafor
fore.g.
e.g.the
the
communication
communicationmodule,
module,the
theoperating
operating
system,
system,or
orAUTOSAR
AUTOSARservices
serviceshave
have
to
tobe
bedefined
definedininthis
thisactivity.
activity.Moreover
Moreover
at
atthe
thelatest
latesthere
herean
animplementation
implementation
isisselected
selectedfor
foreach
eachAtomic
AtomicSoftware
Software
Component.
Component.
In contrast to the extraction of ECU-specific information, the

configuration activity is a non-trivial design step, which requires complex
design algorithms and engineering knowledge.


In
InBuild
BuildExecutable
Executable(last
(laststep)
step)an
an
executable
executableisisgenerated
generatedbased
basedon
onthe
the
configuration
configurationof
ofthe
theECU
ECUdescribed
describedinin
the
theECU
ECUConfiguration
ConfigurationDescription.
Description.
This
Thisstep
steptypically
typicallyinvolves
involves
generating
generatingcode
code(e.g.
(e.g.for
forthe
theRTE
RTEand
and
the
theBasic
BasicSoftware),
Software),compiling
compilingcode
code
(compiling
(compilinggenerated
generatedcode
codeor
or
compiling
compilingsoftware
softwarecomponents
components
available
availableas
assource-code)
source-code)and
andlinking
linking
everything
everythingtogether
togetherinto
intoan
an
executable.
executable.

Parallel to these steps are several steps performed for every
application software component (to be integrated later into the
system), e.g. generating the components API, and implementing
the components functionality.

The
Theinitial
initialwork
workininthis
thiscontext
contextstarts
startswith
withproviding
providing
the
thenecessary
necessaryparts
partsof
ofthe
thesoftware
softwarecomponent
component
description.
description.
That
Thatmeans
meansat
atleast
leastthe
theComponent
ComponentInternal
Internal
Behavior
BehaviorDescription
Descriptionas
aspart
partof
ofthe
thesoftware
software
component
componentrelated
relatedtemplates
templateshas
hasto
tobe
befilled
filledout.
out.
The
Theinternal
internalbehavior
behaviordescribes
describesthe
thescheduling
scheduling
relevant
relevantaspects
aspectsof
ofaacomponent,
component,i.e.
i.e.the
therunnable
runnable
entities
entitiesand
andthe
theevents
eventsthey
theyrespond
respondto.
to.
Furthermore,
Furthermore,the
thebehavior
behaviorspecifies
specifieshow
howaa
component
component(or
(ormore
moreprecisely
preciselywhich
whichrunnable)
runnable)
responds
respondsto
toevents
eventslike
likereceived
receiveddata
dataelements.
elements.
However,
However,ititdoes
doesnot
notdescribe
describethe
thedetailed
detailed
functional
functionalbehavior
behaviorof
ofthe
thecomponent.
component.

Afterwards
AfterwardsGenerate
GenerateComponent
ComponentAPI
APIhas
hasto
tobe
be
performed.
performed.This
Thisisisaatool-based
tool-basedactivity.
activity.The
The
AUTOSAR
AUTOSARComponent
ComponentAPI
APIGenerator
Generatorreads
readsthe
the
Component
ComponentInternal
InternalBehavior
BehaviorDescription
Descriptionof
ofthe
the
appropriate
appropriatesoftware
softwarecomponent
componentand
andgenerates
generates
the
theComponent
ComponentAPI
APIaccordingly.
accordingly.The
TheComponent
Component
API
APIcontains
containsall
allheader
headerdeclarations
declarationsfor
forthe
theRTE
RTE
communication.
communication...

Implement
ImplementComponent
Componentmeans
meansthe
the
functional
functionaldevelopment
developmentofofthe
the
component.
component.With
Withthe
theComponent
ComponentInternal
Internal
Behavior
BehaviorDescription
Descriptionand
andthe
theComponent
Component
API
APIaasoftware
softwaredeveloper
developercan
canimplement
implement
(i.e.
(i.e.developing,
developing,programming,
programming,testing)
testing)
the
thecomponent
componentvastly
vastlyindependent
independentfrom
from
the
theother
othersystem
systemdesign.
design.
This
Thisimplementation
implementationbasically
basicallyisisoutside
outside
the
thescope
scopeofofAUTOSAR.
AUTOSAR.

The
Theresults
resultsofofthe
theimplementation
implementationwill
willbe
be
the
theComponent
ComponentImplementation
Implementation(typically
(typically
the
theC-sources),
C-sources),aarefined
refinedComponent
Component
Internal
InternalBehavior
BehaviorDescription,
Description,containing
containing
additional
additionalimplementation
implementationspecific
specific
information,
information,and
andaaComponent
Component
Implementation
Description,
Implementation Description,which
which
contains
containsinformation
informationabout
aboutthe
thefurther
further
build
buildprocess
process(e.g.
(e.g.compiler
compilersettings,
settings,
optimizations,
optimizations,etc.).
etc.).

The
Thefollowing
followingactivities
activitiesaddress
addressthe
theintegration
integration
ofofthe
thepreviously
previouslyprovided
providedcomponent.
component.
Compile
CompileComponent
Componentuses
usesthe
theComponent
Component
Implementation
ImplementationDescription
Descriptionfor
forcompiling
compilingthe
the
Component
Implementationtogether
togetherwith
withthe
the
Component
ComponentAPI
APIand
andthe
theAdditional
AdditionalHeaders.
Headers.
This
Thisyields
yieldsthe
theCompiled
CompiledComponent
Componentand
and
again
againaarefined
refinedComponent
Implementation
Description.
Description.This
Thiscontains
containsadditional
additionalnew
newbuild
build
process
processinformation
information(mainly
(mainlylinker
linkersettings)
settings)and
and
the
theentry
entrypoints.
points.
AUTOSAR
More on RTE, component integration and
runnables
AUTOSAR Components: interface with the RTE

We now deal with component aspects that:
1. support the proper configuration of the RTE and the
BSW: the software component description needs to
provide detailed information on how the underlying
software should behave with respect to the component
(for example: what runnables of the software-component
should be started when by the AUTOSAR OS),
2. describe the communication properties of a softwarecomponent,
3. serve as a basis for the description of the detailed
resource requirements of software-components, and
4. provide a more detailed description of the timing
behavior of atomic softwarecomponents.
AUTOSAR Components: Runnable entities

Runnable Entities (also Runnable) are defined in the VFB specs.
Runnable entities are the smallest code-fragments that are
provided by the component and are (at least indirectly) a subject
for scheduling by the operating system. An implementation of an
atomic software-component has to provide an entry-point to code
for each Runnable in its "InternalBehavior.
It is not possible for "CompositionType" to be referenced by
"InternalBehavior". Only atomic software-components may have
Runnables.
SW-Component 1
Runnable 1a
Runnable 1b
Runnable 1c
Runnable 1d

In most cases Runnables will not be scheduled individually but as
parts of OS tasks.
SW-Component 2
SW-Component 1
Runnable 1a
Runnable 2a
SW-Component 3
Runnable 2b
Runnable 3a
Runnable 1b
Runnable 2c
Runnable 3b
Runnable 1c
Runnable 1d
Runnable 1a
Runnable 1a
Runnable 1b
Runnable 2a
Runnable 2c
Task 1
Runnable 2b
Runnable 1c
Task 3
Runnable 3a
Runnable 3b
Runnable 2a
Task 4
Task 5
Task 6
Runnable 1d
Task 2

In case canBeInvokedConcurrently is FALSE.
During run-time, each Runnable of each instance of an atomic
software-component is (by being a member of an OS task) in one
of three states:
Suspended: the initial state, the Runnable is passive, can be started
Enabled: the Runnable should run (because for example a message
has been received on a port or a timing event occurs)
Running: the Runnable is running within a running task.
The InternalBehavior describes for each Runnable, when a

transition from Suspended to Enabled occurs using the concept of
RTEEvent.
When a Runnable is "Enabled", the OS can decide to start running
it. The delay between entering "Enabled" and moving into
"Running" depends on the OS scheduling.
The transition from "Running" into "Suspended" depends on the
Runnable: it occurs when the Runnable returns or terminates

In case the internal behavior defines a runnable as one that
cannot be invoked concurrently, it is the responsibility of the RTE
and the BSW to make sure that the runnable is never started
concurrently. This implies that the implementation of the SWComponent does not need to worry about concurrency issues.
For example:
The internal behavior of a component-type MyComponentType
describes a Runnable R1, enabled when an operation on a
clientserver p-port is invoked. The component specifies that the
Runnable R1 cannot be invoked concurrently.
The component MyComponentType is instantiated on an ECU.
When a call of the operation is received, the corresponding
instance of the Runnable R1 is enabled and the OS will start
executing the Runnable in a task.
If another call of the operation is received while the Runnable is
"running", the OS must not run the Runnable again in a second
task. Rather, the OS has to wait (and maybe queue the second
incoming request) until the Runnable returns into "Suspended".

If canBeInvokedConcurrently is TRUE, the same runnable can
run several times concurrently in different tasks. This implies that
there is no single state associated to the runnable.
Note that the SW-Component description itself does not put any
bounds on the number of concurrent invocations of the runnable
that are allowed.
Allowing concurrent invocation of a runnable implies that the
implementation of the SW-component needs to take care of this
additional form of concurrency.
For example:
The internal behavior of MyComponentType describes a Runnable R1,
which should be enabled when an operation on a clientserver p-port of
the component is invoked. The Runnable R1 can be invoked
concurrently.
The component MyComponentType is instantiated on an ECU.
When a call of the operation is received, the corresponding instance of
the Runnable R1 is enabled and the OS will start executing the
Runnable in a task. If another call of the operation is received, it is
allowed that the same runnable is started again in a different task.

A typical use-case of concurrent runnables are the AUTOSAR
services. The AUTOSAR services will typically take care of
concurrency internally: several software components can directly
use the services in parallel. The ECU-integrator could then decide
that the runnable implementing the AUTOSAR service runs
directly in the context (in the task) of the software-component
invoking the service. This is a very efficient, direct coupling
between the client and the server: the connector between the
client and the server is reduced to a local function-call.

Preemption
The basic execution model of the Runnables shown above does
not fundamentally preclude the OS from preempting the execution
of a Runnable to execute another runnable.
The "InternalBehavior" might however put additional constraints
on the behavior of the OS, so that certain Runnables might never
be preempted (for example to assure certain timing requirements
when the Runnable needs to finish quickly after being enabled or
for example to ensure that logical sequencing constraints are
respected).
Reentrancy and library functions
Note that all code that is called by different Runnables (like e.g.
library routines, etc.) must obviously be reentrant. A filter
algorithm implemented in C, for example, is not allowed to store
values from previous runs by means of static variables or
variables with external binding.
AUTOSAR Components: RTE events

During execution, several run-time events will occur, such as the
reception of a remote operation-invocation on a P-Port or a
timeout on an R-Port that is not receiving the data-elements it
expects. Describing an RTEEvent in the software-component
template includes two aspects:
1. Defining an event
2. Defining how the RTE should deal with the event when it
occurs
As described in the virtual functional bus specification, the

implementation of a software-component can interact with the
occurrence of such events in two ways:
The RTE can be instructed to enable a specific runnable when
the event occurs
The RTE can provide "wait-points", that allow a runnable to
block until an event in a set of events occurs

The description of the internal behavior includes a description of
all events that the internal behavior of the atomic softwarecomponent relies on. This "RTEEvent shows up as an "abstract"
base-class in the meta-model: the exact attributes of the
"RTEEvent" depend on the exact event that is described
AUTOSAR Components: Response to events

In case the OS needs to start a Runnable when the corresponding
event occurs, the "RTEEvent" can directly reference the Runnable
that needs to be started. When the software-component
description uses this feature, it is the responsibility of the OS to
start the Runnable when the event occurs.
In case the Runnable wants to block and wait for events (which
makes the runnable into a cat. 2 runnable), the description of the
runnable may include the definition of a "wait-point". Such a
"WaitPoint" contains a reference to all events that are waited for.
The wait-point will block until one of the referenced events occurs.
A single "RunnableEntity" can actually wait only at a single
"WaitPoint" for being scheduled. On the other hand, it is in general
possible that a single event can be used to trigger "WaitPoints" in
different "RunnableEntities"
AUTOSAR Components: Communication attributes

The highest level of description of information exchanged
between components in an AUTOSAR system is the
PortInterfaces, as shown in earlier sections.
Such an interface however, only describes structure and does not
include information about whether communication needs to be
done reliably, or whether an init value exists in case the real data
is not yet available.
This kind of information is known only within the particular
scenario the interface is used and also frequently differs
depending on whether an interface is required or provided.
Therefore, most communication relevant attributes are related to
the ports of a component.
The communication attributes are organized in communication
specification (short: ComSpec) classes. The model distinguishes
three basic classes depending on the role (R-, P-Port or
connector) as detailed below.

Model of the communication attributes for an R-Port.

The ComSpec attributes are collected depending on the kind of
data transmitted, which means they may differ depending on
whether data elements are exchanged (sender-receiver),
operations are called (client-server), or even depend on whether
the data-elements represent data or events.
This is expressed in the inheritance tree of ComSpec classes.
Each of these classes may then carry the specific attributes.
An R-Port may aggregate many ComSpec classes, possibly one
for each interface element (data element or operation) the
associated interface contains. The meaning of the attributes
shown above is explained in the following class tables.
AUTOSAR Components: RPort attributes

Communication attributes specific to receiving data.
Communication attributes specific to receiving events.
AUTOSAR Components: RPort attributes

Client-specific communication attributes.
Acknowledgement request attribute

Success/failure is reported via a SendPoint of a Runnable.
AUTOSAR Components: Pport attributes
AUTOSAR Components: PPort attributes

Attributes specific to distribution of data
Communication attributes for a server port
AUTOSAR Components: Connector attributes
AUTOSAR Components: Connector attributes

Communication attributes for connectors between sender and receiver
ports
Communication attributes for connectors between client and server ports
Runnables and communication

This section describes the sender-receiver communication
relevant attributes of a component, which influence the
behavior and API of the AUTOSAR RTE. Furthermore, the
possible interaction patterns for application of the senderreceiver paradigm are explained, namely:
1. Data-access in a cat. 1 Runnable,
2. explicit sending,
3. the DataSendCompletedEvent: dealing with the
success/failure of an explicit send, and
4. the DataReceivedEvent: responding to the reception
of data

The "InternalBehavior" can specify that a Runnable needs readaccess or write-access to the data-elements of an RPort or
PPorts.
The presences of a DataReadAccess means that the runnable
needs access to the DataElement in the rPort. The runnable will
not modify the contents but only read the data and expects that
the contents do NOT change.
The presences of a DataWriteAccess means that the runnable
potentially modifies the dataElement in the pPort. The runnable
must ensure that the data-element is in a consistent state when it
returns. When using DataWriteAccess the new values of the
data-element is only made available when the runnable returns
(exits the "Running state).

Explicit send and receive

The Runnable entity can also have "DataSendPoints" which
reference an instance of a data element in the components pports. The presence of a "DataSendPoint means that this
Runnable can explicitly "send" (an arbitrary number of times) new
values of the specified data-elements of the p-port (as opposed to
the DataWriteAccess)
In analogy to explicitly sending data it is also possible to
define explicit polling for new available data through a
DataReceivePoint.
It would in general be possible to combine a "DataReceivePoint
with a "WaitPoint" in the scope of a particular "RunnableEntity".
This would allow for a call to a blocking receive routine
implemented by the RTE. The "timeout" attribute of meta-class
"WaitPoint" can be used to specify the time until the blocking call
expires.
Runnables and client-server communication

Invoking an operation
A "RunnableEntity" invokes an operation via an "RPortPrototype"
of the enclosing "ComponentPrototype" typed by a particular
"AtomicSoftwareComponentType". Note that the operation itself
can be invoked either "synchronously" or "asynchronously".
In the majority of cases the operation will be invoked at a different
"ComponentPrototype but in general it would be possible to invoke
an operation on the same ComponentPrototype" as well.
The decision whether a specific operation is called synchronously
or asynchronously needs to be specified in the formal description
of the corresponding "AtomicSoftwareComponentType", namely in
the context of an "InternalBehavior".
Runnables and client-server communication

Invoking an operation
In case of a synchronous operation invocation the particular
"RunnableEntity" merely needs a "SynchronousServerCallPoint".
The other case is a bit more complex because it is necessary to
specify how to respond to a notification about the completion of the
corresponding operation.
This is done using the generic RTEEvent mechanism: the
notification about an asynchronously executed operation being
complete is implemented as an
"AsynchronousServerCallReturnsEvent".
Therefore, if an AsynchronousServerCallReturnsEvent is raised
the RTE can either trigger the execution of a specific
"RunnableEntity" or the "AtomicSoftwareComponentType can
implement a "WaitPoint" that blocks the execution of the calling
runnable until the "AsynchronousServerCallReturnsEvent" is
recognized.

For example, let's consider the case of an asynchronous call to a remote
operation where the RTE is supposed to trigger a specific "RunnableEntity" when
the operation completes. The description of the corresponding
AtomicSoftwareComponentType would typically contain the following elements:
1. The AtomicSoftwareComponentType contains an "RPortPrototype" 'myPort
typed by a "PortInterface" that in turn contains the definition of an "OperationPrototype" 'remoteOperation'.
2. The "AtomicSoftwareComponentType's" "InternalBehavior" contains at least two
"RunnableEntities": the "RunnableEntity" 'main' is supposed to invoke the
operation; the "RunnableEntity" 'callback' is the one that should be called when
the operation completes.
3. The description of the "RunnableEntity" 'main' contains an
AsynchronousServerCallPoint 'invokeMyOperation' referencing the respective
"OperationPrototype" in the "PortInterface" used to type the "PortPrototype"
'myPort'. This implies that the "RunnableEntity" is allowed to invoke this operation
asynchronously.
4. The description of the "AtomicSoftwareComponentType" includes an
AsynchronousServerCallReturnsEvent 'myOperationReturns' which references
the previously defined "AsynchronousServerCallPoint" 'invokeMyOperation' out of
"RunnableEntity" 'main'.
5. The description of the AsynchronousServerCallReturnsEvent 'myOperationReturns' references the "RunnableEntity" 'callback', indicating that the RTE should
trigger the execution of this Runnable when 'myOperationReturns' is raised.

Providing an implementation of an operation
A software-component can define an OperationInvokedEvent for
each operation inside one of the server P-Ports. This way a
Runnable may respond to such an invocation through the generic
event handling mechanisms described above.
Activation of Runnables: time-driven activation

In many cases, Runnables do not need to be started by the
AUTOSAR OS in response to events related to communication
(e.g. the reception of a response to an asynchronous operation
invocation) but to timing events. Many Runnables will need to run
cyclically with a fixed rate.
The approach taken in the software-component description is to
define so-called "TimingEvents" as special kinds of RTEEvents. So
far, only one kind of timing event has been defined: a simple
"TimingEvent", which has a period as attribute. When the internal
behavior of an atomic software-component requires that the
AUTOSAR OS executes certain Runnables periodically, the
description will define a "TimingEvent" with the desired period.
This "TimingEvent" then contains a reference to the Runnable that
needs to be executed with this period.
Runnable execution constraints

Execution order of Runnables of different software-components is
affected by dataflow dependencies between the ports of the
connected components.
The execution order of Runnables according to data-flow
dependencies can (in OSEK/CAN based systems) only be
guaranteed if all affected Runnables are scheduled in one task.
In time-triggered systems (OSEKTime / FlexRay) the execution
order can be guaranteed.
In addition to control-engineering driven data-flow dependencies
there are additional criteria to define the execution-order of
Runnables: for example some initialization Runnables must have
finished executing before other runnables are allowed to start.
These dependencies can be described by
RunnableExecutionConstraints which are aggregated to the
InternalBehavior.

Example
The internal behavior of an atomic software-component describes
three Runnables (init, calculate1 and calculate2) and the
following execution order constraints are given:
1.Runnable init has to terminate before the Runnable calculate1
is allowed to start.
1. Additionally it is not allowed that the calculate2 starts
before calculate1 has terminated.
This can be specified by the following
RunnableExecutionConstraints:
1. Observables: calculate1.start, init.start, init.end
AllowedBehavior: init.start -> init.end -> calculate1.start
2. Observables:
calculate2.start, calculate1.start, calculate1.end
NotAllowedBehavior: calculate1.start -> calculate2.start
Runnables interaction within a component

RunnableEntities within a specific AtomicSoftwareComponentType
typically need to communicate among each other. This implies that
the RTE and/or the AUTOSAR OS need to provide synchronization
mechanisms to the "RunnableEntities" such that safe (in the multithreading sense) exchange of data is possible.
Several concepts for implementing communication among
RunnableEntities can be identified.
There are various techniques to provide efficient interaction
between "RunnableEntities within one
"AtomicSoftwareComponentType".
Two possible approaches for formal specification of this kind of
communication are:
Specifying that several "RunnableEntities" belong in a
specific "ExclusiveArea"
Specifying the data exchanged between the
"RunnableEntities"
Runnables interaction within a component

Communication among "RunnableEntities" can be implemented by
means of "shared memory".
RunnableEntities" within an
"AtomicSoftwareComponentType are allocated to the
same CPU.
Communication among RunnableEntities can then establish a data
flow scheme (a very popular pattern in the application of control
theory to automotive embedded systems). If global variables are
used for establishing inter-RunnableEntity communication they
acquire the semantics of so-called state-messages.
Nevertheless, directly sharing memory between RunnableEntities
requires a serious problem to be solved: the guarantee of data
consistency among communicating "RunnableEntities".

Note that this approach closely resembles the communication
principle underlying "DataReadAccess" and "DataWriteAccess".
The counterpart to "DataReadAccess" and "DataWriteAccess"
within the AUTOSAR meta-model is "DataReceivePoint" and
"DataSendPoint". These allow for an immediate access to the
underlying communication item. It should be possible to specify the
same semantics even for communication among
"RunnableEntities of the same "AtomicSoftwareComponentType".
The following paragraphs describe some common strategies that
can be used to ensure the required data-consistency. We do not
attempt to describe the pros or cons of these approaches.

Scheduling strategy
A first strategy for guaranteeing data consistency of concurrently
accessed variables is based on a defined scheduling strategy:
Execute a "RunnableEntity such that it can never be
preempted by another "RunnableEntity that might modify the
memory being read by the first one.
As nearly all embedded AUTOSAR OS only allow for a single
instance of each task running at the same time, this can be
achieved by putting all "RunnableEntities" that interact by sharing
memory into a single task.
The task must be instrumented (i.e. the execution of each
"RunnableEntity" must be guarded by a flag or something similar)
such that it is possible to suppress the execution of particular
"RunnableEntities".

As a possible execution model, an (OSEK) event shall be associated with
each "RunnableEntity" of a (OSEK ECC) task. Then it is easy to guard the
execution of the "RunnableEntity" depending on the corresponding event.
In other words: the task is in wait state until one of the possible events
occur in which case the task is ready for transition into state running. As a
consequence of this transition, the "RunnableEntity" corresponding to the
event is executed. This principle works even in case several events occur
simultaneously.
"RunnableEntities" of a single task can obviously not be executed
concurrently. A "RunnableEntity" can only be executed if other
"RunnableEntities" of the same task have finished their execution. This
could lead to a certain non-deterministic delay between the recognition of
an event and the execution of the corresponding "RunnableEntity". It must
be decided whether this delay can actually be tolerated by a particular
application.
As suggested before, this concept requires the usage of a more advanced
scheduling policy. In particular, the capabilities of OSEK ECC tasks (or
similar, if a non-OSEK OS is used) are a prerequisite for the
implementation of this concept.

Mutual exclusion with semaphores
Multi-threaded operating systems provide mutexes (mutual
exclusion semaphores) that protect access to an exclusive
resource that is used from within several tasks.
The RTE could use these OS-provided mutexes to make sure that
the "RunnableEntites sharing a memory-space would never run
concurrently. The RTE would make sure the task running the
"RunnableEntity" has taken an appropriate mutex before accessing
the memory shared between the "RunnableEntities".

Interrupt disabling
Another alternative would be the disabling of interrupts during the
run-time of "RunnableEntities or at least for a period in time
identical to the interval from the first to the last usage of a
concurrently accessed variable in a "RunnableEntity". This
approach could lead to seriously non-deterministic execution
timing.

Priority ceiling
Priority ceiling allows for a non-blocking protection of shared
resources. Provided that the priority scheme is static, the
AUTOSAR OS is capable of temporarily raising the priority of a
task that attempts to access a shared resource to the highest
priority of all tasks that would ever attempt to access the resource.
By this means is technically impossible that a task in temporary
possession of a resource is ever preempted by a task that attempts
to access the resource as well.

Implicit communication by means of variable copies
Another alternative is the usage of copies of concurrently accessed
variables with state message semantics.
This means in particular that for a concurrently used variable a
copy is created on which a "RunnableEntity" entity can work
without any danger of data inconsistency.
This concept requires additional code to write the value of the
concurrently accessed variable to the copy before the
"RunnableEntity" that accesses the variable is executed.
The value of the copy must be written back to the concurrently
accessed variable after the "RunnableEntity" has been terminated.
Since it would be too expensive and errorprone to manually care
about the copy routines it would be a good idea to leave the
creation of the additional code to a suitable code generator.

It is possible to further optimize the process by reducing the
additional code at the beginning and end of each task, for example,
copy routines will only be inserted where appropriate, e.g. a copy
routine for writing the value of a copy back to the concurrently
accessed variable will only be inserted if the "RunnableEntity" has
write access to the variable.
The copy routines have to make sure that the copy process is not
interrupted in order to be capable of consistently copying the values
from and to the shared variable. These periods, however, are
supposed to be very short compared with the overall run-time of the
"RunnableEntity".

Further optimization criteria can be applied, for example: it would be perfectly safe
to avoid the creation of copies for runnables that are scheduled in the task with
the highest priority of all tasks that (via contained runnables) access a certain
concurrently accessed variable.
In order to keep the application code free of any dependencies from the code
generation, access to concurrently accessed variables will be guarded by macros
that are later resolved by the code generator.
The presence of the guard macros directly supports the reuse on the level of
source code. The reuse on the level of object code is only possible if the
scheduling scenario (in terms of the assignment of "RunnableEntities" to priority
levels) does not change. This concept can only be implemented properly with the
aid of a code generator if the variables in question can be identified. In other
words: the description of a software component has to expose all concurrently
accessed variables to the outside world.

Description possibility 1: "ExclusiveArea (critical section)
This section describes how the concept of "ExclusiveAreas" can be
used in the description of the "InternalBehavior" of an
"AtomicSoftwareComponentType". These "ExclusiveAreas" do not
imply a specific implementation (e.g. with mutual-exclusion
semaphores).
They just specify a constraint on the scheduling policy and
configuration of the RTE: If two or more RunnableEntities refer to
the same ExclusiveArea only one of these "RunnableEntities" is
allowed to be executed while being inside that ExclusiveArea. In
other words: these "RunnableEntities" must not run concurrently
(pre-empt each other) while executing inside the ExclusiveArea.
An attribute "executionOptimization" can provide hints for ECU
configuration. The possible values are "executionTime" and
"codeSize". The first hints to care for an efficient implementation in
terms of execution time while the latter suggests focusing on code
size.

There are in general two ways to use the "ExclusiveAreas".
In the first approach, the formal description specifies that certain
"RunnableEntities always run inside an exclusive area.
For example, if the formal description specifies that both
"RunnableEntity" 'r1' and "RunnableEntity" 'r2' run within
"ExclusiveArea 's1', the RTE in collaboration with the scheduler
must make sure that "RunnableEntities" 'r1' and 'r2' never run
concurrently; the scheduler should never preempt 'r1' to run 'r2'.
This requirement could be implemented by several of the
implementation strategies described above.
In the second approach, the runnable would explicitly make APIcalls to the RTE within the implementation of the "RunnableEntity"
to enter and leave a specific "ExclusiveArea".
This could, for example, be implemented by means of priority
ceiling
Resource consumption
AUTOSAR SW-Components need to be mapped on ECUs at some
point during the development. The mapping freedom is limited by
the System Constraints and the available resources on each ECU.
The SW-Component description provides information about the
needed resources concerning memory and execution time for each
AtomicSoftwareComponentType. The hardware resources are
going to be used by all software on that ECU, including OS, Basic
SW, RTE, ECU abstraction, CCD, Services.
The resource consumption of the other software on an ECU (OS,
RTE, Basic SW,...) is not covered by the AUTOSAR SWComponent template explicitly although the template might be
used to capture the memory and execution time consumption of a
specific configuration of the Basic SW.
Some of these resources are highly dependent on the configuration
actually mapped on the ECU. So an iterative resource description and
estimation is needed to cover the RTE and Basic SW resource needs.
Resources can be divided into static and dynamic resources. Static
resources can only be allocated by one entity and stay with this
entity. If the required amount of resources is bigger than the
available resources the mapping does not fit physically. ROM is an
example of a spare resource where obviously only the amount of
data can be stored that is provided by the storage capacity.
Dynamic resources are shared and therefore can be allocated
dynamically to different control threads over time. Processing time
is an example, where different "RunnableEntities" are given the
processor for some time.
If some runnable entity uses more processing time than originally
planned, it can lead to functional failure. Also some sections of
RAM can be seen as dynamic resources (e.g. stack, heap which
grow and shrink dynamically).
The resource consumption is attached to an Implementation of an
AtomicSoftwareComponentType. For each Implementation, there
can be one ResourceConsumption description.
All resources are described within the ResourceConsumption
meta-class.
ExecutionTime and StackUsage are used to provide information on
the implementation-specific resource usage of the runnables
defined in the InternalBehavior.
PerInstanceMemorySize provides information regarding the
actual size (in bytes) of the PerInstanceMemory defined in the
InternalBehavior.
ObjectFileSection documents the resources needed to load the
object-file containing the implementation on the ECU.
HeapUsage describes the dynamic memory usage of the
component.
Relation to the hardware description
In this section the relationships between the description methods of
the ECU Resource template and the SW-Component resource
needs are discussed. Only the memory description and the
processing time description are covered.
Memory
The ECU resource template describes the total available memory
due to the hardware characteristics, not the actual implementation
technology. Therefore memory implementation names like
EEPROM, FLASH or DRAM are not used in the description of an
ECU.
The main criteria distinguishing memory is the volatile - non volatile
category. First the attributes for volatile memory are discussed,
then the additional attributes for non volatile memory will be
introduced.
Execution time
The description mechanism is defined how actual execution times
for specific hardware can be provided.
The ECU Resource template description document introduces a
different description mechanism which is based on some
benchmarking technology.
The execution time is an ASSERTION: a statement about the
duration of the execution of a piece of code in a given situation.
The execution time is NOT A REQUIREMENT on the softwarecomponent, on the hardware or on the scheduling policy.
A description of the execution time of a runnable entity of an
implementation of an atomic software-component should include:
the nominal execution time (0.000137 s) or a range of times
a description of the entire context in which the execution-time
measurement or analysis has been made
some indication of the quality of this measurement or estimation
The goal thereby is that the template finds a good compromise

between flexibility and precision.
The description must be flexible enough so that the entire range
between analytic results (worst-case execution time) and rough
estimates can be described.
The description should be precise enough so that it is entirely clear
what the relevance or meaning of the stated execution time is. This
implies that a large amount of context information needs to be
provided.
The execution time can be described for a specific sequence of
assembly instructions. It does not make sense to describe the
execution time of a runnable provided as source-code.
In addition, the execution-time of such a sequence of assembly
instructions depends on:
the hardware-platform
the hardware state
the logical (software) context
execution-time of external pieces of code called from the
runnable
These dependencies are discussed in detail in the following.
Dependency of the execution time on hardware
The execution-time depends both on the CPU-hardware and on
certain parts of the peripheral hardware:
The execution time depends on a complete description of
the processor, including:
kind of processor (e.g. PPC603)
the internal Processor frequency (100 MHz)
amount of processor cache
configuration of CPU (e.g. power-mode)
Aspects of the periphery that need to be described include:
external bus-speed
MMU (memory management unit)
configuration of the MMU (data-cache, code-cache, writeback,...)
external cache
memory (kind of RAM, RAM speed)
In addition, when other devices (I/O) are directly accessed as
memory, the speed of those devices has a potentially large
influence.
On top of this, the ECU might provide several ways to store the
code and data that needs to be executed. This might also have a
large influence on the execution time.
For example:
execution of assembly instructions stored in RAM vs.
execution out of ROM may have different execution times
when caching is present, the relative physical location of
data accessed in memory influences the execution time
Dependency on hardware state
In addition to the static configuration of the hardware and location
of the code and data on this hardware, the dynamically changing
state of the hardware might have a large influence on the
execution time of a piece of code : some examples of this
hardware state are:
which parts of the code are available in the executioncache and what parts will need to be read from external
RAM
what part of the data is stored in data-cache versus must
be fetched from RAM
potentially, the state of the processor pipeline
Despite the potential importance of this initial hardware-state when
caching is present, it is almost impossible and definitely impractical
to describe this hardware state.
Therefore it is important and clear that AUTOSAR does not
provide explicit attributes for this purpose.
Dependency on logical context
This logical context includes:
the input parameters with which the runnable is called
the logical state of the component to which the runnable
belongs (or more precisely: the contents of all the memory
that is used by the runnable)
While a description of the input-parameters is relatively straightforward to specify, it might be very hard to describe the entire
logical state that the runnable depends on.
In addition, in certain cases, one wants to provide a specific (e.g.
measured or simulated) execution time for a very specific logical
context; whereas in other cases, one wants to describe a worstcase execution time over all valid logical contexts or over a subset
of logical contexts.
Dependency on external code
Things get very complex when the piece of code whose execution
time is described makes calls into (jumps into) external libraries.
To deal with this problem, we could take one of the following
approaches:
Do not support this case at all
Support a description of the execution time for a very specific version
(again at object-code level) of the libraries. The exact versions would be
described together with the execution time.
Conceptually, it might be possible to explicitly describe the dependency
on the execution-times of the library. This description would include:
the execution time of the code provided by the component itself
a specification of which external library-calls are made
Option 3 is deemed impractical and is not supported.

Option 2 however is important as many software-components
might depend on very simple but very common external libraries (a
math-library that provides floating point capability in software).
Description-model for the execution time
The description of the implementation of a component references
the description of the internal behavior of the atomic softwarecomponent that is implemented The description of the internal
behavior describes all the "runnable entities" of the component.
Each description of such a runnable entity (of a specific
implementation) can include an arbitrary number of execution-time
descriptions. Thereby this execution time description may also
depend on code or data variant of the implementation.
It is expected that many runnable entities will not have executiontime descriptions. For runnable-entities that do have executiontime descriptions, the componentimplementor could provide
several execution-time descriptions: for example one per specific
ECU on which the implementation can run and on which the time
was measured or estimated.
How the execution time is part of the overall description of the
implementation of a component.

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An introduction to AUTOSAR

Standardization of Components and Interfaces

Level of architecture definition

The domains could be differently handled due to intellectual

Virtual Functional Bus

Virtual Functional Bus

AUTOSAR Architecture: Mapping on ECUs

a logical interconnection of components packaged as a

The AUTOSAR Software Component is an "Atomic

AUTOSAR Components: Description

the requirements on the infrastructure,

the location of the other components with

AUTOSAR Components: description levels

Does not suffice for

Task and resource

Components, Ports and Interfaces

Components, Ports and Interfaces

When a PPort provides an interface, the component to

When an RPort of a component requires an AUTOSAR

Communication Patterns: summary

Client-server communication: notation

AUTOSAR Components, Interfaces and ports

AUTOSAR Components: connections

Whether ports are actually compatible is described by a

AUTOSAR Components: connections

AUTOSAR Components: communication behavior

AUTOSAR Components: Sensor/Actuator Components

AUTOSAR Components: Sensor/Actuator Components

AUTOSAR Components: Sensor/Actuator Components

Typically, because of performance issues, such components will

The Virtual Function Bus (VFB)

The Virtual Function Bus (VFB)

ECU Architecture - Layered Software Architecture

AUTOSAR Architecture Layers

AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

ECU Abstraction layer

Microcontroller Abstraction Layer

AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

Function Bus for a specific ECU.

AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

AUTOSAR Runtime Environment

AUTOSAR Architecture Layers

ECU specific components.

AUTOSAR Basic software: Operating system

It is assumed that some domains (e.g. telematic/infotainment)

Basic Software structure

AUTOSAR Basic software: microcontroller abstr.

Digital I/O (DIO),

Microcontroller abstraction layer

Microcontroller Abstraction Layer

Microcontroller abstraction layer

ECU Abstraction layer

ECU Abstraction layer

Microcontroller Abstraction Layer