Consolidate Hardware with Embedded Virtualization

Many embedded systems consist of multiple independent processors, for example, a real-time controller and operator display or a control processor and data path processor. These systems often use multiple discrete processors, adding to bill-of-materials costs, power consumption, footprint, and maintenance cost of the total solution.

With embedded virtualization, multiprocessor systems can be combined onto a single piece of silicon to save costs, reduce packaging, and lower power consumption while retaining the necessary functional separation of the components.

Migration to multi-core CPUs enables the performance of the total solution to be greatly increased. The challenge is how to configure your multi-core CPU to support your business. There are many options. Wind River embedded virtualization provides the broadest range of solutions for multi-core development.

What's Our Embedded Virtualization Solution?

Embedded virtualization can be leveraged to consolidate multiple disparate CPU compute boards into a single multi-core offering on a single compute board or CPU. This consolidation needs to satisfy the demands that the application requires in areas such as determinism, low latency, and fine-grained control over device configuration.

Use embedded virtualization to reduce component costs by consolidating multiple single-processor boards onto a single multi-core CPU

Embedded virtualization allows existing product designs to migrate with minimal effort from legacy single-core CPUs onto multi-core CPUs.

Wind River's embedded virtualization customers are realizing the following benefits of consolidation:

• Reduced cost of goods sold (COGS)
• Reduced device size, weight, and power (SWaP)
• Reduced power consumption
• Increased CPU performance
• Ease of migration to multi-core CPUs

Multi-core and embedded virtualization facilitate consolidation of separate systems onto a single set of hardware while maintaining the necessary systems separation. This consolidation leads to simpler and more reliable system designs with reduced component costs and power requirements.

The following are examples of consolidation using embedded virtualization:

• Next-generation multi-OS industrial control systems: Traditional embedded control systems tend to be a network of small to medium scale microcontrollers linked to a main supervisory (SCADA) system. In addition, industrial PCs running a general-purpose desktop OS are used for graphical user interface/human machine interface and connectivity to enterprise systems. This collection of disparate systems means many different hardware suppliers, software development toolchains, and operating systems. Significant cost savings are achieved by consolidating these systems onto one platform that runs multiple operating systems leveraging multi-core and embedded virtualization.
• Multi-functional printers: Similar to other complex control systems, high-end printers are very complex devices that use multiple microcontrollers and a central controller with separate hardware for GUI/HMI. Significant cost savings are achieved by consolidating these systems onto one platform running multiple operating systems that leverage multi-core and embedded virtualization.
• Control path and data path consolidation: Telecom and networking equipment typically contains separate CPUs and associated supporting hardware for the disparate computing functions of data path processing and control/management. Multi-core and embedded virtualization allow for the consolidation of these separate systems onto a single set of hardware while maintaining the necessary systems separation. This consolidation leads to simpler and more reliable system designs with reduced component costs and power requirements.

When evaluating and selecting an embedded virtualization solution, it is important to select a vendor that provides a complete product portfolio of real-time operating systems tightly integrated with a real-time hypervisor and complete development toolchain on a multitude of hardware architectures. Be sure to explore Wind River Embedded Development Kits to evaluate our complete suite of real-time and embedded products preinstalled on dedicated hardware. Reduce the ramp-up time from weeks to minutes. "Skip step one" and be consolidating your application right away.

Let Wind River show you how to realize these benefits of real-time embedded virtualization and achieve similar savings.

Why We Uniquely Qualify to Be Your Embedded Virtualization Supplier

Wind River offers the industry's most comprehensive embedded virtualization development portfolio. Our solutions support multiple architectures, including Intel, Power, ARM, and MIPS and are supported by outstanding professional services and customer support, hardware integration expertise, and a thriving partner ecosystem.

We're uniquely qualified to help you master the challenges of building smart, connected devices.

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•   Migration
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