Get Started

Edge Microvisor Toolkit is a lightweight, container-first Linux distribution, optimized for Intel® architecture. It provides a secure and high-performing environment for deploying edge workloads across multiple deployment models.

This section provides an overview of both the operating system and build pipelines. Once you have decided on the usage scenarios presented below, you can move on to:

• Build a new Edge Microvisor Toolkit Image.

• Install Edge Microvisor Toolkit from existing image.

Usage Scenarios

This section outlines the key usage models intended for the initial release of Edge Microvisor Toolkit.

It can be used for standalone edge node deployments, or with Edge Manageability Framework - a complete integrated system providing full lifecycle management for your edge devices, including remote deployment and management of Kubernetes applications.

Edge Microvisor Toolkit Developer Node

To create a custom developer build of Edge Microvisor Toolkit, follow these steps:

• Download the mutable host ISO image from Intel® Edge Software Catalog.

• Install the mutable host via ISO image that includes only essential pre-installed packages, providing a ready-to-use base environment.

• Install additional RPM packages, using DNF to tailor the OS to your specific needs.

• Update installed RPMs regularly to stay up-to-date in the OS in terms of package updates, kernel updates, security vulnerability fixes and bug fixes.

• Use the OS toolkit and available packages to build a custom OS image, which enables you to:

  • Configure the system for specialized workloads or environments.

  • Experiment with simplified or enhanced configurations tailored for your specific workloads.

  • Explore - use built-in monitoring tools to track system performance, resource usage, and log data for deeper insights into operational behavior.

Item	Details
Packages	approximately ~400
Core system tools	bash, coreutils, util-linux, tar, gzip
Networking	curl, wget, iproute2, iptables, openssh
Package Management	tdnf, rpm
Development	gcc, make, python3, perl, cmake, git
Security	openssl, gnupg, selinux, cryptsetup, tpm2-tools
Filesystem	e2fsprogs, mount
Included in kernel	iGPU, dGPU (Intel® Arc™), SR-IOV, WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, GPIO, UART, I2C, CAN, USB, PCIe, PWM, SATA, NVMe, MMC/SD, TPM, Manageability Engine, Power Management, Watchdog, RAS

The supported package repository offers additional rpm for tailoring the image to specific needs of container runtime, virtualization, orchestration software, monitoring tools, standard cloud-edge (CNCF) software, and more.

Edge Microvisor Toolkit Standalone Node

Go to the Edge Microvisor Toolkit Standalone Node repository.

Edge Microvisor Toolkit with Edge Manageability Framework

Edge Microvisor Toolkit supports deployment of its two versions with Edge Manageability Framework:

• Microvisor Immutable Image

• Microvisor Immutable Image with Real Time

For details on deploying Microvisor with Edge Manageability Framework, refer to the Edge Manageability Framework deployment guide.

Image Support

The toolkit comes pre-configured to produce different images, the table below outlines the key differences between those.

Feature	Edge Microvisor Toolkit Developer Node	Edge Microvisor Toolkit Standalone Node & Orchestrated
Capabilities	Easy to install, bootable ISO image with precompiled packages for developer evaluation. Includes installable rpms with TDNF for extending baseline functionality. Complete with toolkit to build image with an opt-in data integrity and security features.	Designed for Open Edge Platforms and can be used to onboard and provision edge nodes at scale. Can be used independently on bare-metal and as guest OS. Fast atomic updates & rollback support with small image footprint and short boot time.
Image Type	Mutable ISO	Immutable RAW + VHD
Update Mechanism	RPM package updates with TDNF	Image based A/B updates + Rollback
Linux Kernel	Intel® Kernel 6.12	Intel® Kernel 6.12
Real time	No	Two images provided one RT kernel and one without
OS Bootloader	GRUB	systemd-boot
Secure Boot	Available for opt-in	Enabled
Full Disc Encryption	Available for opt-in	Enabled
dm-verity	Available for opt-in	Enabled
SELinux	Permissive	Permissive

Next Steps

• System Requirements

• Production Deployment with Edge Manageability Framework

• Build an Edge Microvisor Toolkit Image
  • Building the Default Microvisor Image
  • Customizing an Image
    • Example 1: Adding an existing RPM (Nano)
    • Example 2: Adding a new RPM package
    • Update an agent
  • Next
• Install Edge Microvisor Toolkit
  • Virtual Machine with Hyper-V
  • Virtual Machine with Oracle Virtual Box
    • Converting Image File to VDI
  • Virtual Machine with KVM
  • Virtual Machine with QEMU and UEFI
  • Bare metal with ISO
    • Requirements
    • Create Bootable USB (Linux)
    • Create Bootable USB (Windows)
    • Boot and Install Edge Microvisor Toolkit
    • Post Installation Check
  • Next
• Enable Secure Boot for Edge Microvisor Toolkit
  • RAW and VHD Image
    • Step 1: Verify your Certificate File
    • Step 2: Convert DER to PEM (if necessary)
    • Step 3: Enroll the Certificate in the UEFI/BIOS
    • Step 4: Enable Secure Boot
  • ISO Image
    • Prerequisites
    • Step 1: Generate Local Signing Certificates
    • Step 2: Rebuild the shim-unsigned Package
    • Step 3: Build the shim Package
    • Step 4: Install the new shim-x64 Package
    • Step 5: Sign the Boot Loader and Kernel
    • Step 6: Enroll KeyInDB into UEFI DB
    • Step 7: Enable Secure Boot and Test