PR Newswire
Nov 7, 2005 06:00 ET

Wind River Releases Commercial Grade Updates to Its Industry-Leading, Real-Time Device Software Platforms

Wind River VxWorks Enhancements Include Comprehensive New Features for Unprecedented Device Software Security, System Availability and Device-Specific Configuration

ALAMEDA, Calif., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wind River Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:WIND) , the global leader in Device Software Optimization (DSO), today announced comprehensive updates to all its commercial grade, real-time Wind River(R) VxWorks platforms, the industry's preeminent device software that scales to power a full range of devices, from the smallest handhelds to the most robust network equipment. Based on Wind River's proven real-time architecture which enables customers to transition smoothly into new device designs, Wind River VxWorks 6.2 platform now features innovative enhancements including end-to-end device security, system availability, improved scalability, broader hardware coverage and unprecedented unit, integration and field testing via Wind River's development suite (see today's related press release). VxWorks 6.2 also delivers device-specific configuration technology that enables developers to save time and cost by building their device software solutions with pre-built, pre-integrated components and configurations best suited for the requirements of their target device.

"Next-generation devices are not only more complex than ever before, with the extensive combinations of applications and services they offer, but they are also 'connected,' which adds new parameters and requirements for device manufacturers," said John Fanelli, vice president of product management, Wind River. "With every device type having unique requirements for performance, power consumption, footprint or security, one-size device software products do not fit all. VxWorks 6.2 is engineered with Wind River's trusted architecture and offers developers an evolutionary, comprehensive real-time platform for building just the right device software solution easily, with only the necessary components configured in the way a target device requires."

Because modern devices are increasingly networked and complex as they must support highly sophisticated value-added applications and services to meet market demands, device manufacturers face new requirements and business critical challenges. Engineered with an evolutionary backward compatible architecture specifically designed to support advanced devices, Wind River VxWorks real-time platforms address the emerging needs of device manufacturers: end-to-end security capabilities, system availability and device specific-configuration.

"There is no debating the emergence of advanced devices has driven an imperative need for device software built on evolutionary architectures that have been designed to address the critical issues resulting from today's connected environment," said Chris Lanfear, director of the embedded systems software practice at VDC. "Wind River's VxWorks 6.2 real-time platform meets the needs of this rapidly shifting design paradigm with its combination of proven architecture and new comprehensive commercial grade features that allow device manufacturers to support critical connectivity issues, such as security and system availability. Longer-term, this combination provides customers with a solution that enables future extensibility and support for evolving technology."

VxWorks 6.2 Commercial Grade Real-Time Platform

The industry's market-leading and most trusted real-time device software, VxWorks 6.2 platform delivers the commercial-grade quality expected from a Wind River solution, including industry-leading development and run time technology, world-class professional services and global product support delivered via local technology experts, all from one trusted industry expert with over 20 years of experience. Specific enhancements to the VxWorks 6.2- based platform include:

* End-to-End Security

-- Industry-standard, end-to-end security for every class of device:
VxWorks platforms provides comprehensive security capabilities that
begin at the core OS level for stringent application and device
security, extend outward on the network to provide secure wired or
wireless connectivity, and enforce secure, authenticated, encrypted
and validated data access. In addition, military grade security is
provided through DO-178B "safe" and Common Criteria/MILS secure
VxWorks platforms.

-- Secure, open-standard platforms: VxWorks platforms provide a rock-
solid foundation for the most demanding applications. Through the
support of industry standards, Wind River is able to ensure safe,
secure interoperability within a device, as well as across a network
of devices. New in this release is enhanced POSIX support for the
Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Software Communications
Architecture (SCA) Application Environment Profile (AEP), enabling
developers to develop compliant Software Defined Radio (SDR)
implementations. This release also includes new security capabilities
and updates in network technology for IPv4 and IPv6 networks (such as
firewall, openSSL, IPSEC) and web services (such as WS-Security).

* System Availability

-- Unit Test and Diagnostics: New in Wind River's development suite,
innovative Unit Test and Diagnostics capabilities enable developers
to debug dynamically, as well as insert sensors during development
that provide unprecedented visibility into deployed devices, allowing
manufacturers to collect information and support devices in the
field.

-- System Resource Availability: System availability is a critical
aspect of device design and must be engineered into a product at the
beginning of the life cycle. Guaranteeing system uptime requires more
capabilities than can be provided by a single feature. VxWorks
platforms offer a range of capabilities that enable device
availability, including state-of-the-art development tools, real-time
behavior, network security, system resource management and fault
containment. In addition, for safety-critical and secure
applications, guaranteed space and time partitioning is provided
through VxWorks ARINC platform.

* Device-Specific Configuration

-- Modular scalability out-of-the-box: Not all projects that require an
RTOS have the same needs. Consumer devices need very fast boot times,
while medical and industrial applications must provide extreme
reliability. VxWorks platforms now offers customers four modular
configuration choices, ranging from a minimal but fully bootable
microkernel (about 35KB, including BSP); to a platform-capable, fully
featured operating system that supports industry-specific middleware
(800+KB). Companies can start with a run time module configuration
and further customize the profile to enable any additional desired
functionality. This capability allows developers to create run time
environment best suited for the device they are building without
sacrificing API support.

-- Frameworks: VxWorks platforms now include innovative frameworks
infrastructures that allow companies to "plug and build" custom
capabilities into their RTOS. Using frameworks in the VxWorks
platform gives development teams the freedom to determine the
behavior of their system, the system's memory footprint and the size
of their ROM. Frameworks presently available include:

-- Power management: enhances ability to control CPU power use
-- File systems: supports multiple file systems (dosFs, Highly
Reliable File System (HRFS, etc.) and enables advanced multimedia
functionality
-- Schedulers: includes the default VxWorks platform scheduler, a
POSIX scheduler, and support for customized schedulers, making
kernel behavior more customizable than ever
-- Interconnect: eases the pain of leveraging new backplane
interconnect technologies

-- Integrated middleware: Wind River VxWorks platforms ship with tested,
validated and pre-integrated run time technologies matched to
vertical market needs, allowing development teams to invest their
time and energy in innovative engineering at the application level,
rather than spending them on basic low-level tasks. Modular
middleware includes networking, Web services, security, wireless,
management and graphics technologies, as well as support for
industry-specific run time capabilities.

* Additional New VxWorks 6.2 Features

-- Compatibility and easier migration: VxWorks 6.2-based platforms offer
seamless backward compatibility with the widely adopted VxWorks 5.x
product line. This capability enables manufacturers to move to a more
modern, evolutionary operating system, where successful migration of
code generally only requires developers to recompile it. Also,
projects can migrate as easily as code allowing manufacturers to
preserve the value of their intellectual property even as they
upgrade their technology platform. Additionally, POSIX compliance
enables portability of open-source code to VxWorks and ensures that
applications built with VxWorks will remain portable as technologies
continue to evolve.
-- Broad hardware coverage across markets: Through strategic
partnerships with leading semiconductor vendors - including, but not
limited to, ARM, Broadcom, Freescale and Intel - Wind River offers
broad coverage of architectures and processors with VxWorks
platforms. Customers have the freedom of choice and can standardize
on the VxWorks platform across a broad base of hardware platforms. In
addition, Wind River's solution is highly optimized and leverages
hardware-level optimizations in software. Customers and developers
benefit from a wide selection of BSPs for the desired application
device. VxWorks platforms also includes a Validation Test Suite that
enables companies to validate custom modifications to the BSP or
underlying operating system.

As part of Wind River's semi annual product release model, the entire line of Wind River VxWorks 6.2-based platform products are being updated: Wind River(R) General Purpose Platform; Wind River(R) Platform for Automotive Devices; Wind River(R) Platform for Consumer Devices; Wind River(R) Platform for Industrial Devices; Wind River(R) Platform for Network Equipment; and Wind River(R) Platform for Safety Critical. For more information, please visit www.windriver.com.

Availability

Wind River VxWorks 6.2 platforms are available today in Early Access for select customers and will be generally available in late November 2005.

About Wind River

Wind River is the global leader in device software optimization (DSO). Wind River enables companies to develop and run device software faster, better, at lower cost and more reliably. Wind River Platforms are pre- integrated, fully standardized, enterprise-wide development solutions. They reduce effort, cost and risk and optimize quality and reliability at all phases of the device software development process, from concept to deployed product.

Founded in 1981, Wind River is headquartered in Alameda, California, with operations worldwide. To learn more, visit Wind River at http://www.windriver.com/ or call 1-800-872-4977.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, the anticipated release and benefits of new products, services and reference designs by Wind River and resulting from collaboration with partners, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, delays in the development or integration of technologies, rapid technological or business changes that adversely affect customer demand or partner strategies, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Wind River reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2005. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Wind River disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

NOTE: The Wind River logo is a trademark of Wind River Systems, Inc., and Wind River and VxWorks are registered trademarks of Wind River Systems, Inc. Other marks used herein are the property of the respective owners.

Web site: http://www.windriver.com/