Tech Licensing programs

Embedded IoT device development made easy

Azure RTOS is an embedded development suite including a small but powerful operating system that provides reliable, ultra-fast performance for resource-constrained devices. It’s easy-to-use and market-proven, having been deployed on more than 10 billion devices worldwide. Azure RTOS supports the most popular 32-bit microcontrollers and embedded development tools, so you can make the most of your team’s existing skills.

Benefits of Azure RTOS

Fast performance

Predictably fast performance and a remarkably small footprint.

Accelerate development

Complete RTOS solution to accelerate development.

Easy to connect, develop, and design

Easily connect to cloud and local networks, develop durable flash file systems, and design elegant user interfaces.

Safe and secure

Code that has been certified to meet stringent industry safety and security standards.

When is a license needed for Azure RTOS?

Microsoft publishes the Azure RTOS source code to GitHub. No license is required to install and use the software for internal development, testing, and evaluation purposes. A license is required to distribute or sell components and devices unless using Azure RTOS licensed hardware.

Documentation and source code

Microsoft publishes free Azure RTOS documentation including how-to guides, source code, tutorials, and API reference documentation.

Read about Azure RTOS

Licensed hardware

Our industry hardware partners have designed solutions with Azure RTOS fully licensed. No additional licensing when using Azure RTOS licensed hardware.

View the hardware license

Annual licensing program

For hardware not licensed as Azure RTOS licensed hardware, Microsoft offers a simple annual licensing program for all other devices and components.

Contact us about the program

FAQ

|

The full source code for all Azure RTOS components is available on GitHub. You may freely explore, develop, test, and adapt Azure RTOS to suit your pre-production needs. A license is required to distribute or sell components and devices unless using Azure RTOS licensed hardware.

Visit GitHub to learn more

It depends. If you deploy to any of the pre-licensed devices that are listed at GitHub the production license is automatically included, and you do not need to pay for any additional licensing. If you prefer to deploy to any other device, you must purchase a license from Microsoft.

All 8 components are included in the license:

  • Azure RTOS ThreadX
  • Azure RTOS NetX
  • Azure RTOS NetX Duo
  • Azure RTOS FileX
  • Azure RTOS GUIX
  • Azure RTOS GUIX Studio
  • Azure RTOS USBX
  • Azure RTOS TraceX

Access to all Azure RTOS certification artifacts is available for $30K USD per year subscription. Contact us by completing our IP Licensing Programs form for additional questions or to purchase a subscription.

Azure Sphere customers are eligible to use Azure RTOS in Azure Sphere production deployment for free. This only applies to customers using the MT3620 MCU-based Azure Sphere offering. Any use of Azure RTOS outside of Azure Sphere still requires licensed hardware or a license from Microsoft.

Two businesspersons walking together and talking.

Intellectual property

Innovation is at the heart of Microsoft as a company.

Contact us

Contact us to learn more about the Azure RTOS licensing program or the Azure RTOS safety artifacts program.

Submit an Azure RTOS inquiry