Solution brief
Industrial IoT (IIoT)
Embedded Software and Systems

Real-Time Systems and Inteltake industrial embedded
systems to the next level
Innovative hypervisor and partitioning software increases flexibility andfunctionality for industry
Executive summary
The Industrial IoT (IIoT) has the potential to bring increased optimization,automation, and insight to industrial facilities. But frequently, proprietary,incompatible equipment and systems—combined with the need to meet complex,
time-based, deterministic requirements—make realizing this potential challenging.
Real-Time Systems (RTS) software running on robust, high-performance Intel®
architecture enables the creation of intelligent embedded applications for IIoT,
enabling benefits from holistic visibility into operations to centralized equipment
management and maintenance.

Challenges
Industrial operations are inherently time based—they require processes andprocedures to occur in a predefined linear sequence with little margin for error.
Furthermore, equipment and systems built for industry are often proprietary, using
incompatible protocols and networks not designed to work together or to allow for
centralized management or maintenance.
Typically, coordinating timed workflows and gathering data on performanceand usage requires at least two computers, one servicing an application’s realtime needs, the other running a general-purpose operating system (GPOS) suchas Linux* or Windows*. In such a configuration, the GPOS is responsible fordata processing, visualization, and integration of applications into the facility’snetworks. The result is often costly and makes it difficult to obtain a holistic,
accurate view of ongoing operations or to increase automation and preventive
maintenance.

Solution
Real-Time Systems (RTS) brings in-depth expertise in hypervisor and embedded
virtualization technology to simplify and speed development and deployment ofmarket-ready, standardized software products targeting advanced embedded
applications.
RTS software running on robust, high-performance Intel architecture enables
industrial embedded applications that support an array of critical capabilities,including deterministic, real-time performance, data processing, visualization,and seamless connectivity. The solution is helping industry to advance
automation while improving data acquisition (for instance, via motion control andprogrammable logic controllers [PLCs]).

Solution Brief | Industrial IoT Embedded Software and Systems

Deployment of multiple operating systems on multicore
processor platforms is a logical step in embedded systemdesign, reducing total hardware costs while increasing
reliability and system performance. The innovative RealTime Systems Hypervisor permits multiple real-time
operating systems (RTOS) and general-purpose operating
systems (GPOS), such as Windows or Linux, to run
concurrently on multicore Intel® processors.
Through the RTS Real-Time Hypervisor, modern multicore
processor platforms, such as the Intel Atom®, Intel® Core™,and Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, can execute multiple

operating systems independently of one another on a single
platform. The RTS Real-Time Hypervisor can also assign
individual processor cores, memory, and devices to each
operating system. Through a configuration file, the bootsequence can be specified and, when desired, one operating
system can be rebooted independently of any others.
In order to facilitate communication between operating
systems, the RTS embedded virtualization solution also
provides a configurable user-shared memory, an event
system, and a TCP/IP-based virtual network.

Use cases
RTS solutions powered by Intel architecture are deployed in a wide range of industrial implementations and use cases.
Industrialautomation

Telecommunications

MedicalInstrumentation

Test andmeasurement

Defense processcontrol

Aerospace

Multimedia

Electronics

Get the benefits of Industry 4.0
Industrial decision-makers andoperations managers
The RTS product works out of the box
without customization.

Industrial application developers

Industrial equipment manufacturers

RTS products give real-time systemdevelopers up-to-date solutions for
substantial portions of embedded
projects, accelerating development
and time to market.

The powerful, cost-effective RTS
software solution powered by Intelarchitecture offers increased flexibility
in system design and enhanced
functionality and performance, while
reducing overall system cost.

Advancing edge and cloud intelligenceIntel and its ecosystem help businesses use the IoT to solve long-standing industry-specific challenges. Quickly develop
IoT solutions that connect things, collect data, and derive insights with Intel’s portfolio of open and scalable solutions so
you can reduce costs, improve productivity, and increase revenue.
Intel technologies support the rigorous requirements for programmable logic controllers (PLCs), industrial PCs (IPCs),
human machine interfaces (HMIs), robotics, machine vision, and many other industrial applications.

2Solution Brief | Industrial IoT Embedded Software and Systems

Real-Time Systems Hypervisor key features and benefits
Simplified out-of-the-box
deployment• Ready to use out of the box• Users can install and configure the RTS Hypervisor independently, without detailed hardware
knowledge• Considerable savings on non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs• Easy evaluation of the RTS Hypervisor on any x86 platformFlexible•W hen functions are separated among virtual machines, the collaboration between these virtualmachines remains highly flexible•C reate new combinations on the basis of open standard interfaces at any time•N
 o hardware-specific modifications required•S upport for all Intel® CPUs•E
 asy communication via high-performance internal virtual network (TCP/IP)•M ix and match operating systems

Scalable• Scales from Intel Atom® processors to multiple node non-uniform memory access (NUMA) servers

Efficient use of resources•M ake better use of the overall hardware capacity than when each operating system is allocated adedicated system•L ower costs and energy consumption•R un a real-time operating system without adding extra latencies (0.00 μs)• Retain performance and determinism of real-time applications•D esigned for rugged real-time use•T ime synchronization between operating systems•H igh-performance event system

More secure• Measured and secure boot is possible• No backdoors—operating systems securely separatedReliable•W hen the number of hardware components is reduced, the probability of failure of the overallsystem decreases (e.g., by consolidating an industrial PC-based HMI and an ARM or microcontrollerbased real-time control into a single hardware platform, the mean time between failures [MTBF] canbe significantly increased)•L ower maintenance costs•H igher productivity with less downtime• I ncrease user satisfaction

Software-defined• Shared memory with easy-to-use API which can be configured for direct data exchange• APIs to monitor, start, and stop guest operating systems• Rights management for all APIs and shared memories

Tested•H ighly secure design with no backdoors or interfaces into the hypervisor•T ested and deployed with customers worldwide•P roven in thousands of applications globally

Simplified certification• Use the RTS Hypervisor to separate security-critical from noncritical areas to make the development
process and functional validation more efficient, and to simplify quality assurance and certification• Modularize applications and make changes in one module without having to recompile andcompletely retest the other software components• Reduce time to market and costs

Industry 4.0 ready•S tandalone partitions for a dedicated security gateway with network function virtualization (NFV) for
firewall, virus protection, and routing help to significantly increase security and eliminate the needfor additional gateways•R eal-time applications can be connected quickly and efficiently, while adapting the IoT and Industry
4.0 gateway to meet specific requirements3

Solution Brief | Industrial IoT Embedded Software and Systems

Human machine interface (HMI)
PC running on Windows*Intel® architecture-based
IoT gateway

Device controller, such as a realtime operating system (RTOS)
Figure 1. RTS and Intel enable hypervisor consolidation targeted to industrial
implementations utilizing standardized building blocks

How it works in brief
RTS Real-Time Hypervisor
The RTS Real-Time Hypervisor enables modern, multicore
Intel processors with Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel®
VT) to simultaneously run either multiple instances of a realtime operating system or a heterogeneous mixture of 32-bit
or 64-bit operating systems on a single execution platform.
All systems are safely separated, run in real-time, and caneven reboot without disturbing the execution of otheroperating systems.
Out of the box, the hypervisor supports Windows® 10 andolder, Windows Embedded Compact, VxWorks*, RTOS32*, QNX*, OS-9, Linux and real-time Linux, RedHawk*, andT-Kernel. Support for other operating systems or proprietaryreal-time code can be added at any time upon request.

Operating system no. 1

Operating system no. 2

Windows*
Ubuntu*QNX Neutrino RTOS*
Real-time Linux
VxWorks*
Yocto*
RTOS-32
Linux*
Shared memory
Virtual network
Event system
CPUs
CPUs
Real-time
Devices
DevicesHypervisor
MemoryMemoryI/O
I/O
Multicore, multiple operating systems
Figure 2. RTS Real-Time Hypervisor powered by Intel®
architecture4Solution Brief | Industrial IoT Embedded Software and Systems

Technical features

The foundation for IoT• Run multiple instances of an RTOS or a mix (e.g., Windows*and RTOS)

The RTS solution is just one example of how Intel
works closely with the IoT ecosystem to help enablesmart Internet of Things (IoT) solutions based onstandardized, scalable, reliable Intel® architecture andsoftware. These solutions range from sensors andgateways to server and cloud technologies to data
analytics algorithms and applications. Intel provides
essential end-to-end capabilities—performance,manageability, connectivity, analytics, and advancedsecurity—to help accelerate innovation and increase
revenue for enterprises, service providers, and industry.

• Completely independent execution of operating systems• 100 percent separation of operating systems in memory• No latencies (0 μs) added for RTOS
• Direct hardware access• E xclusive resource allocation (supports xHCI and AHCIsharing)• Use standard drivers• Includes virtual network driver for seamless TCP/IP
communication• Definable boot sequence; reboot any system, anytime• Simple installation and configuration• Multiple OS runtimes per guest OS• Microcode updates possible by hypervisor• xHCI controller sharing (port assignment)• AHCI controller sharing (disk or partition assignment)

Conclusion
With RTS and Intel, developing and deploying intelligent
applications for embedded and real-time systems is
simplified, allowing industry to accelerate the benefits of
IIoT while meeting the demands of time-based, deterministiccompute.

About Real-Time Systems GmbH• Support for measured boot and secure boot

RTS, a congatec company, is a global manufacturer ofhypervisor technology specializing in real-time virtualization.
RTS hypervisor solutions support all popular operating
systems for x86 architecture. The company was foundedin 2006 as a spin-off of KUKA, active in various industries
worldwide, and headquartered in Ravensburg, Germany.

• Access rights management for shared memory

real-time-systems.com• Cache Allocation Technology (CAT) for L3 caches (Intel®
Core™ processors and Intel® Xeon® processors)• C AT support for shared L2 caches found on Intel Atom®
processors• Access rights for all APIs to monitor, start, and stop guest
operating systems• Virtual MMU and IOMMU configurable for secure hardware
separation of operating systems

Learn more
For more information about the RTS Hypervisor, please
visit real-time-systems.com or contact us at
info@real-time-systems.com.
For more information about Intel® IoT Technology
and the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance,
please visit intel.com/iot .

Estimated results were obtained prior to implementation of recent software patches and firmware updates intended to address exploits referred to as “Spectre” and “Meltdown”. Implementationof these updates may make these results inapplicable to your device or system.
Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark and MobileMark, are measured
using specific computer systems, components, software, operations and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You should consult other information andperformance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combined with other products.
For more information go to www.intel.com/benchmarks.
Intel technologies’ features and benefits depend on system configuration and may require enabled hardware, software or service activation. Performance varies depending on system
configuration. No computer system can be absolutely secure. Check with your system manufacturer or retailer or learn more at intel.com/iot.
Cost reduction scenarios described are intended as examples of how a given Intel-based product, in the specified circumstances and configurations, may affect future costs and provide costsavings. Circumstances will vary. Intel does not guarantee any costs or cost reduction.
Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Atom, Intel Core, and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
© Intel Corporation
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