Kernel Architecture (EKA2)

EKA2 is the principal Hardware and Kernel Services module. It manages the CPU and memory resources of a phone, and provides an architecture for device drivers to manage other hardware resources.

The Kernel has a layered architecture so that it can be ported to different hardware. All base ports must implement a layer called the ASSP/Variant that provides essential hardware-specific services for the Kernel.

The Kernel also allows additional layers called personality layers to be created that provide emulations of traditional real time operating systems. This allows applications that were written for those operating systems to be run on Symbian platform.

The device driver architecture and the services that the Kernel provides to device drivers are described in the Device Driver Guide.