VxWorks

VxWorks
VxWorks 7 boot-up screen
DeveloperWind River (a wholly owned subsidiary of Aptiv)
OS familyReal-time operating systems
Working stateCurrent
Initial release1987; 37 years ago (1987)
Latest releaseVxWorks 7 24.03 / February 27, 2024; 8 months ago (2024-02-27)
Marketing targetEmbedded systems
Platformsx86, x86-64, MIPS, PowerPC, SH-4, ARM, RISC-V
Kernel typeMonolithic
LicenseProprietary
Official websiteWindriver.com/products/vxworks

VxWorks is a real-time operating system (or RTOS) developed as proprietary software by Wind River Systems, a subsidiary of Aptiv. 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, defense, medical devices, industrial equipment, robotics, energy, transportation, network infrastructure, automotive, and consumer electronics.[1]

VxWorks supports AMD/Intel architecture, POWER architecture, ARM architectures, and RISC-V.[2] The RTOS can be used in multicore asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP), symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), and mixed modes[3] and multi-OS (via Type 1 hypervisor)[4] designs on 32- and 64-bit processors.[5]

VxWorks comes with the kernel, middleware, board support packages, Wind River Workbench development suite, complementary third-party software and hardware. 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.[6] Scalability, security, safety, connectivity, and graphics have been improved to address Internet of Things (IOT) needs.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ "VxWorks Goes 64-bit", Electronic Design, March 25, 2011
  2. ^ "Wind River Announces RISC-V Support for VxWorks RTOS". www.businesswire.com. December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  3. ^ RTOS Handles AMP and SMP, electronic design, March 2009
  4. ^ John Rath (February 2014). "Intel Adds Virtualization Platform for Industrial Systems".
  5. ^ Embedded Star Archived April 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Article, February 2011
  6. ^ Wind River Archived December 4, 2022, at the Wayback Machine reinvents real-time system for the Internet of Things, iTERS news, March 2014
  7. ^ "VxWorks 7 Announced". harmonicss.co.uk. 2014. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  8. ^ Wind River Reinvents the RTOS for the IoT, Business Wire, February 2014
  9. ^ Jackson, Joab (2014). "Wind River outfits VxWorks for 'Internet of things' | ITworld". itworld.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.