VxWorks

VxWorks is a Unix-like real-time operating system made and sold by Wind River Systems of Alameda, California, USA.

Like most Real-time operating systems, VxWorks includes a multitasking kernel with pre-emptive scheduling and fast interrupt response, extensive inter-process communications and synchronization facilities, and a file system.

Major distinguishing features of VxWorks include efficient POSIX-compliant memory management, multiprocessor facilities, a shell for user interface, symbolic and source level debugging capabilities, and performance monitoring.

VxWorks is generally used in embedded systems. Unlike "native" systems such as Unix and Forth, VxWorks development is done on a "host" machine running Unix or Windows, cross-compiling target software to run on various "target" CPU architectures as well as on the "host" by means of VxSim.

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 x86 family, MIPS, PowerPC, SH-4 and the closely related family of ARM, StrongARM and xScale CPUs.

History

The name VxWorks is believed to be a pun on the VRTX real-time operating system, at the time created by Ready Systems, now a Mentor Graphics product. In the early 1980s VRTX was a new product and did not work so well. It was 4KB in size and could not be fully used as an operating system. Wind River acquired the rights to resell VRTX with an extension named VxWorks which was workable (including for example a file system and an integrated development environment), so VxWorks most probably means VRTX now Works or VRTX that Works.

When Wind River anticipated that Ready Systems would cancel the contract, they developed their own kernel and put it in VRTX's place. The core functionality of VxWorks is similar to that of VRTX.

Tornado (v5 and older) or Workbench (v6 and newer)

Tornado is an integrated development environment (IDE) for software cross-development. Tornado consists of the following elements:

• VxWorks target operating system
• Application-building tools (cross-compiler and associated programs)
• An integrated development environment (IDE) that facilitates managing and building projects, establishing host-target communication, and running, debugging, and monitoring VxWorks applications
• VxSim simulator

Workbench replaced Tornado IDE in version 6 and newer. The Wind River Workbench is now built on Eclipse technology.^[1]

Notable products using VxWorks

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter uses VxWorks

• The Spirit and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rovers
• The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
• The Deep Impact space probe
• Stardust (spacecraft)
• The Boeing 787 airliner (in development)
• The BMW iDrive system
• Linksys WRT54G wireless routers (versions 5.0 and later)
• Xerox Phaser and other Adobe PostScript-based computer printers
• The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS)
• DIGIC II and some early DIGIC III image-processors by Canon
• Thuraya SO-2510 Satellite phone and ThurayaModule
• The Apache Longbow attack helicopter
• The ALR-67(V)3 Radar Warning Receiver used in the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
• The James Webb Space Telescope (in development)
• Many products from National Instruments (CompactRIO)

Competitive operating systems

Similar real-time operating systems are available from other vendors:

• C Executive
• eCos
• ElinOS
• embOS
• Embedded Linux
• INTEGRITY
• LynxOS
• MontaVista Linux
• Nucleus RTOS
• OS-9
• OSE
• QNX
• ReplayTV
• RTEMS - open source RTOS
• ThreadX
• TRON
• VRTX
• Windows CE
• Xenomai

References

External links

• Wind River Homepage
• Tornado 2.0 Online Manuals
• Tornado 2.2 Online Manuals

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