About This Guide

The Boot Optimization Guide describes the sequence of events from the initial power on to a fully functional QNX system, including the optimization actions you can take at different points in this sequence.

A QNX system startup involves several stages of of interdependent tasks. Every tasks takes time. Some of these tasks can be modified, moved to another point in the startup sequence, or even eliminated in order to achieve the optimal startup configuration for your system.

Each system has its own set of boot time requirements to meet. Depending on your goals, there are a number of ways you can optimize the startup of the system. By implementing some simple techniques at various points in the boot sequence, you can make the OS and applications load, initialize, and launch more quickly. Here we discuss some generic techniques you can use to improve your boot-up time.

To ensure that software and hardware components are initialized and ready when needed, the system architect or designer must think deliberately through each of these stages. QNX offers a number of mechanisms to help meet your particular bootup requirements. This document will walk through the entire bootup sequence, offering techniques you can use at each stage to optimize the bootup sequence for the particular requirements of your system.

The boot process consists of several stages:
  1. The operating system must load from nonvolatile storage.
  2. The operating system must initialize itself, as well as any device drivers and peripherals.
  3. The HMI must load, initialize, and start running.
  4. The application software must load, initialize, and start running.
To find out about: See:
An overview of the system's boot sequence About the system startup sequence
How to optimize the loading and launching of the OS itself Optimize the Loading and Launching of the OS
How to optimze the platform application stack Optimize the Platform Application Stack
How to measure boot times Measuring Boot Times
How to optimze the system with graphics applications Optimizing Screen Startup Times
These optimizations are focused to achieve system goals such as: