company says.

According to Kuka, adding Windows XP Embedded (or Windows XP) to a VxWorks-based real-time system standardizes connectivity with the enterprise, offers a selection of high-end graphical interfaces, and the availability of the wide range of Windows XP applications. New features in version 3.0.1 of VxWin include:

• Support for Service Pack 2. Among other things, this enables use of the "Hibernate once, resume many" feature for quick boot up.
  
• Support for bus-mastering DMA within VxWorks. This is said to increase compatibility with hardware such as networking and data acquisition cards
  
• Support for Wind River's memory-protection mechanism, VxVMI
  
• Direct-shared memory communication is supported by a synchronized shared memory event mechanism. This is in addition to the standard TCP/IP communications via shared memory
  
• Integration with Target Designer so that VxWin can be automatically integrated into an XPe image
  
• Synchronization of both the VxWorks and Windows system clock

Communication and synchronization between the two systems uses TCP/IP running on a "virtual network" in shared memory.

Kuka says it has also improved the mechanism for allocating seperate memory areas to XP Embedded and VxWorks. The system no longer uses XP's MAXMEM parameter, making it available to other applications, such as frame grabber cards.

The company lists the following features and benefits derived from adding VxWorks to Windows XP Embedded:

• Guaranteed response time within microseconds
  
• High resolution real-time timer, granularity 0.8 microseconds.
  
• Hardware access to ISA and PCI plug in boards.
  
• Access to variety of third-party software and drivers for VxWorks such as an OPC server and drivers for field bus and measurement hardware.
  
• Powerful, graphical real-time analysis tools (WindView, StethoScope)

Kuka offers another extension package, CeWin, that uses the same strategy to allow Windows CE to coexist with Windows XP Embedded on a single processor.

An evaluation copy of VxWin is available for download, here.

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