VxWorks

VxWorks

VxWorks 7 Boot up Screen
Developer Wind River (a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation)
OS family Real-time operating systems
Working state Current
Initial release 1987 (1987)
Latest release 7 / March 2014 (2014-03)
Marketing target Embedded systems
Platforms x86 (including Intel Quark), x86-64, MIPS, PowerPC, SH-4, ARM
Kernel type Monolithic
License Proprietary
Official website www.windriver.com/products/vxworks/

VxWorks is a real-time operating system (RTOS) developed as proprietary software by Wind River of Alameda, California, US. First released in 1987, VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems requiring real-time, deterministic performance and, in many cases, safety and security certification, for industries, such as aerospace and defense, medical devices, industrial equipment, robotics, energy, transportation, network infrastructure, automotive, and consumer electronics.[1]

VxWorks supports Intel (x86, including the new Intel Quark SoC,[2] and x86-64), MIPS, PowerPC, SH-4, and ARM architectures.[3] The RTOS can be used in multicore asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP), symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), and mixed modes[4] and multi-OS (via Type 1 hypervisor)[5] designs on 32- and 64-bit processors.[6]

VxWorks comes with the kernel, middleware, board support packages, Wind River Workbench development suite and complementary third-party software and hardware technologies. In its latest release, VxWorks 7, the RTOS has been re-engineered for modularity and upgradeability so the OS kernel is separate from middleware, applications and other packages.[7] Scalability, security, safety, connectivity, and graphics have been improved to address Internet of Things (IoT) needs.[8][9][10]

History

VxWorks started in the late 1980s as a set of enhancements to a simple RTOS called VRTX[11] sold by Ready Systems (becoming a Mentor Graphics product in 1995).[12] Wind River acquired rights to distribute VRTX and significantly enhanced it by adding, among other things, a file system and an integrated development environment. In 1987, anticipating the termination of its reseller contract by Ready Systems, Wind River developed its own kernel to replace VRTX within VxWorks.[13]

VxWorks key milestones are:[14]

Platform overview

VxWorks supports Intel (x86, including the new Intel Quark SoC,[2] and x86-64), MIPS, PowerPC, SH-4, and ARM architectures.[3] The RTOS can be used in multicore asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP), symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), and mixed modes[6] and multi-OS (via Type 1 hypervisor)[5] designs on 32- and 64-bit processors.

The VxWorks Core Platform consists of a set of runtime components and development tools. The run time components are an operating system (UP and SMP; 32- and 64-bit), software for applications support (file system, core network stack, USB stack and inter-process communications) and hardware support (architecture adaptor, processor support library, device driver library and board support packages).[6] VxWorks core development tools are compilers such as Diab, GNU, and Intel C++ Compiler (ICC)) and its build and config tools. The system also includes productivity tools such as its Workbench development suite and Intel tools and development support tools for asset tracking and host support.[6]

The platform is a modular, vendor-neutral, open system that supports a range of third-party software and hardware. The OS kernel is separate from middleware, applications and other packages,[9] which enables easier bug fixes and testing of new features.[15] An implementation of a layered source build system allows multiple versions of any stack to be installed at the same time so developers can select which version of any feature set should go into the VxWorks kernel libraries.

Optional Profiles for VxWorks add incremental functionality required for specific industries (such as medical, industrial, networking and consumer) or technology-related capabilities, such as a small footprint RTOS (Microkernel Profile) and a Type 1 real-time embedded hypervisor (Virtualization Profile).[15][16]

Features

VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems.

A list of some of the features of the OS are:[4][17][18][19]

In March 2014, Wind River introduced VxWorks 7, which emphasizes scalability, security, safety, connectivity, graphics, and virtualization.[10][15]<ref name="mod"/)[20] The following lists some of the release 7 updates.[1][6][7][10] More information can be found on the Wind Rivers VxWorks website.

Hardware support

VxWorks has been ported to a number of platforms and now runs on practically any modern CPU that is used in the embedded market. This includes the Intel x86 family (including the Intel Quark SoC),[2] MIPS, PowerPC (and BAE RAD), Freescale ColdFire, Intel i960, SPARC, Fujitsu FR-V, SH-4 and the closely related family of ARM, StrongARM and xScale CPUs.[3] VxWorks provides a standard board support package (BSP) interface between all its supported hardware and the OS. Wind River’s BSP developer kit provides a common application programming interface (API) and a stable environment for real-time operating system development.

Development environment

As is common in embedded system development, cross-compiling is used with VxWorks. Development is done on a "host" system where an integrated development environment (IDE), including the editor, compiler toolchain, debugger, and emulator can be used. Software is then compiled to run on the "target" system. This allows the developer to work with powerful development tools while targeting more limited hardware. VxWorks uses the following host environments and target hardware architectures:[3][21]

Supported host environments
Supported target architectures and processor families

The newly released VxWorks 7 supports the following target architectures:

The Eclipse-based Workbench IDE that comes with VxWorks is used to configure, analyze, optimize, and de-bug a VxWorks-based system under development.[22] The Tornado IDE was used for VxWorks 5.x[23] and was replaced by the Eclipse-based Workbench IDE for VxWorks 6.x. and later.[21] Workbench is also the IDE for the Wind River Linux,[24] On-Chip Debugging,[25] and Wind River Diab Compliler product lines. VxWorks 7 uses Wind River Workbench 4[26] which updates to the Eclipse 4 base provide full third party plug-in support and usability improvements.

VxWorks 7 includes three compilers:[21][27] Diab Compiler, GNU, and the Intel C++ Compiler. Diab Compiler is the default C/C++ compiler for building VxWorks kernel, libraries, BSPs, and applications. It has been used for mission-critical systems for over 20 years. The GNU Compiler 4.8 is based on the Free Software Foundation (FSF) distribution of GCC and g++.[28] Wind River has modified it for use with VxWorks. The Intel C++ Compiler processes C and C++ source code to generate machine code for IA 32 or IA 64 applications.[29]

Wind River Simics[30][31] is a standalone simulation tool compatible with VxWorks. It simulates the full target system (hardware and software) to create a shared platform for software development. Multiple developers can share a complete virtual system and its entire state, including execution history. Simics enables early and continuous system integration and faster prototyping by utilizing virtual prototypes instead of physical prototypes.[32]

Notable uses

The ASIMO Robot uses VxWorks
The Clementine spacecraft used VxWorks

VxWorks is used by products over a wide range of market areas: aerospace and defense, automotive, industrial such as robots, consumer electronics, medical area and networking.[7] Several notable products also use VxWorks as the onboard operating system.[33]

Aerospace and defense

Spacecraft

Aircraft

Space telescopes
Others

Automotive

Consumer electronics

Industrial

Industrial robots
Transportation
Controllers
Storage systems
Imaging
Others

Medical

Networking and communication infrastructure

References

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  2. 1 2 3 Intel Tackles SoC With Quark"' EE Times, October 7, 2013
  3. 1 2 3 4 Wind River Expands Hardware Support for VxWorks, Bloomberg News at bloomberg.com, March 24, 2010
  4. 1 2 RTOS Handles AMP and SMP, electronic design, March 2009
  5. 1 2 John Rath (February 2014). "Intel Adds Virtualization Platform for Industrial Systems".
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Embedded Star Article, February 2011
  7. 1 2 3 Wind River reinvents real-time system for the Internet of Things, iTERS news, March 2014
  8. "VxWorks 7 Announced". harmonicss.co.uk. 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Wind River Reinvents the RTOS for the IoT, Business Wire, February 2014
  10. 1 2 3 Jackson, Joab (2014). "Wind River outfits VxWorks for 'Internet of things' | ITworld". itworld.com. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
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  12. "SEC filing". Secinfo.com. January 19, 1996. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
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  52. TacNet Tracker Software, ESTSC
  53. Flexible camera applications of an advanced uncooled microbolometer thermal imaging core, SPIE Digital Library
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  57. Wind River delivers Android expertise to Clarion AX1 automotive IVI device, Motor Control Design
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  75. Invensys acquisition: “Now, it is up to how well we execute.”, The Instrument Readout SignPost
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  79. Bosch Rexroth Youtube video
  80. iBox user guide Page 8-41
  81. Shuhasoft's Blog
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  86. Olympus ESG-400 high-frequency surgical generator
  87. BD FACSCount article
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  89. CEREC Chairside Solutions
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  92. Kontron AG e-newswire
  93. QQTechnologies goes Global with VxWorks, Datsheets 360
  94. Broadlight Client page
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  107. Samsung OfficeServ brochure
  108. Tim's IT-Blob: A deeper look on SonicWALL kernel
  109. Thuraya SO-2510 Satellite
  110. SANYO Multimedia Tottori Chooses RADVISION SIP Developer Toolkit to Build New IP Phone, Business Wire
  111. 3Com NBX Phone Systems, AdCom Technologies Inc.

External links

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