How Ubuntu Core 22 Brings Real‑Time Capabilities to IoT Devices

Canonical's new Ubuntu Core 22 adds real‑time processing for IoT devices.

Most people know Ubuntu as a desktop OS, a powerful server Linux, and a popular cloud platform.

In fact, Canonical, Ubuntu's parent company, is a major player in the Internet of Things (IoT) space. With the latest IoT‑focused release Ubuntu Core 22, Canonical brings real‑time processing to edge devices.

Real‑time processing means the program or OS can respond to data within strict deadlines, often measured in microseconds to milliseconds.

Typical real‑time applications deliver results from microseconds (µs) to milliseconds (ms). Microsecond‑level latency powers high‑frequency trading; millisecond‑level latency is common in banking, telecom, digital advertising, and autonomous driving.

Human reaction time averages about 250 ms.

On June 15, 2022, Canonical announced the full launch of the new Ubuntu Core.

Canonical says the OS now supports real‑time computing for robots and industrial applications.

Ubuntu Core is designed for low‑power devices; it is lightweight, secure, scalable, and backed by a growing ecosystem of software and hardware partners.

Starting with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Canonical provides a real‑time kernel based on upstream Linux v5.15, integrating the out‑of‑tree PREEMPT_RT patch set for x86_64 and AArch64 architectures. The real‑time scheduler can pre‑empt threads, critical sections, interrupt handlers, and disabled‑interrupt code to guarantee bounded response times.

PREEMPT_RT makes the kernel more pre‑emptible than the mainline Linux kernel by minimizing non‑pre‑emptible sections.

Although still in testing, the Ubuntu Core 22 real‑time kernel enables ultra‑low latency and predictable workloads for time‑sensitive industrial IoT, telecom, automotive and robotics use cases.

Key to Ubuntu Core is its fully containerized design: the kernel, OS, and applications are split into "snap" packages, each running in an isolated sandbox with its dependencies, ensuring portability and resilience.

Snapcraft, Canonical's framework, supports online snap development for rapid iteration, automated testing, and reliable deployment.

The new kernel is "fully pre‑emptible," ensuring applications and devices provide time‑bounded responses. Canonical has worked with numerous chip and hardware vendors to deliver out‑of‑the‑box real‑time support on all Ubuntu‑certified hardware.

Each Ubuntu Core device includes a dedicated IoT app store, giving users full control over installed applications and providing a sophisticated software management solution for diverse on‑device functions.

Most importantly, transactional, mission‑critical OTA updates are guaranteed to succeed or automatically roll back, preventing devices from becoming bricked. Snapshots also support incremental updates to reduce network traffic and use digital signatures to verify integrity and provenance.

Core snaps use incremental updates, further minimizing bandwidth usage, and all Ubuntu Core applications are digitally signed.

Beyond digital signatures, Ubuntu Core includes secure boot, full‑disk encryption, secure recovery, and strict sandboxing.

The latest Ubuntu Core 22 is powered by the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS real‑time kernel, with ten‑year security maintenance for the kernel, OS, and application code.

Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth says the goal is to provide a secure, reliable open‑source OS that runs anywhere—from development environments to cloud, edge, and single devices. "With this release and Ubuntu's real‑time kernel, we are ready to extend Ubuntu Core's advantages to the entire embedded world," he said.

KMC Controls COO Brad Kehler adds, "Our IoT devices are built for mission‑critical industrial environments. Security is vital for our customers. We chose Ubuntu Core for its built‑in advanced security features and robust OTA update framework. The ten‑year security update commitment lets us keep devices safe on‑site for the long term."

Long‑term support plus OTA capability is crucial for IoT developers tired of vendors abandoning devices.

How to install the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS real‑time kernel test version?

The test kernel is available via Ubuntu Advantage for Infrastructure (UA‑I), the most comprehensive Linux enterprise subscription.

To attach your PC to a UA subscription, run: ua attach Ensure you have at least version 27.8 of ubuntu-advantage-tools. Check your version with ua version. To upgrade on Jammy Jellyfish, run:

sudo apt install ubuntu-advantage-tools=27.8~22.04.1

To enable the real‑time beta kernel, run: ua enable realtime-kernel --beta For more information, use: ua help realtime-kernel Ubuntu Core 22 has the potential to be a game‑changer for embedded and IoT devices, offering a welcome boost for IoT developers.