Wind River releases 64-bit VxWorks RTOS

embedded world 2011, NUREMBERG, GERMANY: Wind River, a world leader in embedded and mobile software, has introduced an updated version of VxWorks, the embedded industry’s leading real-time operating system (RTOS). The latest VxWorks is one of the first commercial RTOSes delivering 64-bit computing support and includes improved multi-core processing support.

“The embedded market is facing skyrocketing demands for processing performance as systems become ever more complex and increasingly connected. The sheer amount of compute power, memory and data required for embedded applications continues to climb exponentially,” said Warren Kurisu, vice president of VxWorks product management at Wind River. “By providing 64-bit computing capability, Wind River addresses the high-performance needs of our embedded market. VxWorks continues to be an innovation leader that delivers vital solutions to our customers.”

VxWorks now delivers 64-bit support both in data and code execution that was once the sole domain of supercomputer and server markets. For telecommunications network infrastructure equipment manufacturers, 64-bit computing is critical in keeping up with the stresses of increasingly exploding data.

Other vertical industries are also demanding 64-bit support, for example, for industrial and medical applications such as high-definition imagery, and aerospace and defense applications such as highly complex radar, sonar and sensors. Companies already running VxWorks can rapidly transition to 64-bit computing with ease.

The latest VxWorks delivers greater multi-core processing performance in both symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and asymmetrical multiprocessing (AMP) configurations. VxWorks platforms now bundle the Intel optimizing C++ compiler and the Intel Performance Primitives (IPP) library for Intel architectures only.

This version of VxWorks now includes support for the ARM Cortex A9 processor, with a multi-core SMP and ARM Thumb-2 instruction set. This VxWorks release also provides enhanced networking capabilities, including new security features and increased Internet Engineering Task Force Request for Comments (IETF RFC) support. Additionally, software development on VxWorks continues to be enabled by the Wind River Workbench development tools suite.