eVM Virtualization Platform for Windows

Building embedded solutions on a base of proven software is often the fastest and most reliable road to success. But how do you add features to proven real-time software, code built on years of effort, without disturbing your performance and reliability?

eVM Software is the Solution

The TenAsys eVM virtualization platform provides a virtual machine that hosts real-time and embedded operating systems running alongside Microsoft® Windows®. It also provides communication channels to link your embedded and Windows applications. With the eVM system, your embedded OS runs in parallel with Windows, on a single industry-standard PC-compatible platform.

Hosting your embedded OS on the eVM platform enables faster migration from outdated hardware to modern embedded platforms. Legacy I/O can be emulated to minimize rewriting proven code. For example, an obsolete ISA system can be migrated to a smaller and less expensive single-board computer by redirecting access to ISA peripherals to equivalent on-board PCI devices.

The TenAsys eVM platform accommodates your hardware (access to I/O) and timing (interrupt latency) needs by giving your guest OS direct access to time-critical hardware. I/O is assigned exclusively to each guest OS—allowing existing native device drivers direct access to real hardware.

To learn more about how the eVM platform can host your embedded OS on a Windows system, and how the eVM system compares to conventional virtual machine managers (VMM), download the eVM backgrounder or watch a video presentation and demonstration of the eVM platform.

Built on Intel® virtualization technology and the TenAsys HaRTH platform

eVM software represents TenAsys' first generation of HaRTH, our "real-time hypervisor" technology that utilizes Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) to provide a virtual machine platform designed specifically to address the unique needs of embedded operating systems.

By utilizing multi-core Intel VT processors, eVM software partitions resources, such as CPU cores, RAM, interrupts, and I/O, between operating systems. Only shared and emulated resources need to be virtualized. Each OS is guaranteed direct physical access to its dedicated I/O, interrupts, RAM, and CPU cycles.

Partitioning allows the eVM platform to provide your embedded guest OS with the lowest possible interrupt latency, direct and high-speed access to I/O, non-paged RAM, and guaranteed ownership of a CPU core— delivering maximum performance. Partitioning resources also enhances security, by insuring that only your guest OS has access to its time-critical I/O.

Consolidation reduces cost and increases performance

The net gain for hosting your embedded application on the eVM platform, alongside Windows, is the elimination of redundant hardware, simpler and faster communication between your embedded applications and Windows, improved reliability and robustness, re-use of proven legacy code, and simplified development and debugging. Systems that previously required multiple discrete platforms can be combined onto a single multi-core platform—saving design, manufacturing, and maintenance costs.