Our Linux-based product boots slowly, can't be updated in the field, or nobody dares touch the build
For products running embedded Linux: an assessment of the build, boot and update story, then fixed-price sprints to fix it — Buildroot and Yocto, kernel and root filesystem, boot-time reduction, remote firmware update. Assessment AUD 6,000, sprints AUD 15,000.
Where you are
- The product takes 40 seconds to boot and the customer notices every one of them.
- There’s no safe way to update units in the field, so firmware fixes wait for a site visit.
- The build only works on one engineer’s laptop, that engineer left, and the Yocto or Buildroot tree hasn’t been touched since.
- You’re moving to a new processor module and the board-support package is the part nobody wants to own.
I’ve built and maintained embedded Linux platforms on Buildroot and Yocto for products in the field: kernel and root filesystem configuration, boot-time work, remote update, and the board-support customisation for NXP i.MX-class processors.
Step 1 — the assessment (diagnostic week, AUD 6,000)
A written plan: what the build actually contains, what’s blocking reproducibility, where the boot time goes, what a safe update mechanism looks like for your hardware (A/B partitions, rollback, signing), and a sprint-by-sprint plan with acceptance tests and a fixed price per sprint. Credited against the sprints if they come to more than AUD 20,000 and start within 90 days.
Step 2 — the sprints (AUD 15,000 per two weeks)
Typical shapes:
| Sprint | Deliverable |
|---|---|
| Reproducible build | The image builds from a clean checkout in CI, pinned and documented; anyone on your team can produce a release |
| Boot time | Measured, then cut: bootloader, kernel config, service ordering, with the numbers before and after |
| Remote update | A/B or recovery-partition update with rollback, tested against power loss mid-update |
| Platform move | BSP for the new module, device tree, peripherals proven end to end |
What you get at the end
A build your team owns, a boot time you can quote, an update path you can trust, and a handover document your next engineer can pick up.
What’s not included
- Application software and UI. I’ll define the interfaces and work with whoever builds them.
- Cloud back-ends for update delivery — I’ll integrate with yours, or recommend one.
- Hardware changes; if the assessment finds a board problem, that’s a separate quote.