Virtualization technology running on multicore Intel Core processors helps you reduce the cost and complexity of designing and building industrial machines. By safely partitioning workloads so that they can perform in a deterministic fashion you can bring together previously discrete industrial workloads such as motion control, HMIs, PLCs, data acquisition, and more. Learn more about using system consolidation and Intel multicore and virtualization technology to help meet your customers’ needs for greater efficiency and reduced complexity in the factory environment.

1. Solution Brief
Industrial System Consolidation
Reduce cost, complexity,
and footprint by consolidating
industrial systems
Intel demonstrates how to combine multiple industrial workloads on
one system—including deterministic real-time functions1
Challenges
• Find new ways to lower operating expenses, a large part of which are the purchase
and support of industrial systems, such as spares, maintenance and repairs.
• Prevent system proliferation from consuming precious space and straining IT resources.
• Minimize downtime and respond to unique support requirements for configuration,
backups, spares, and software patching that result from dealing with numerous
systems.
• Oversee a large number and variety of systems, which means more devices to install,
provision, manage, secure, and fail, and more integration tasks to manage, such as
networking, cabling, mounting, and shielding, and their attendant costs.
• Provide the housing and integration of numerous systems, and respond to the resulting
increase in overall power consumption and cost, without compromising performance.
Solution
• Efficiency can be improved when multiple factory functions are consolidated onto a
single hardware platform.
Virtualized Industrial Workloads in Harmony
A custom-built robot “musician” carefully
manipulates the strings of a zither, while the
single computing platform that powers the robot
manages motion control, HMI, and vibration
analysis in a real-time, deterministic manner.
• Consolidated equipment can decrease operating expense, factory footprint, energy
consumption, and integration and support effort as the combined system often takes
up less factory floor space than the multiple systems it replaces.
• Multicore architectures and hardware-based virtualization accelerators provide the
computing power needed to consolidate multiple operating systems (OSs) and their
applications on a single physical board, and deliver real-time, deterministic performance
in a virtualized environment
Factory changes drive opportunity
Today’s fiercely competitive manufacturing environment is driving companies to
constantly sharpen their operational efficiencies and lower costs, without compromising
quality, employee safety, or performance. Manufacturers are seeking new strategies
that address a range of critical areas, including simplifying the purchase and support of
industrial systems, reducing the numbers and varieties of systems in the factory, and
optimizing the use of floor space.

2. Benefits of industrial system
consolidation
In recent years, industrial automation
efforts have increasingly turned to
virtualization as a solution. Virtualization
allows traditionally separate subsystems—
such as motion control, programmable logic
control (PLC), human machine interface
(HMI), and machine vision—to be combined
into a single multicore platform. This
platform can host real-time and generalpurpose applications together as if each
was running on its own dedicated computer.
With fewer subsystems to house and
integrate, costly factory floor space
may be conserved, saving what can be a
sizable expense. Fewer devices can also
mean fewer devices to install, provision,
manage, and secure, each of which brings
its own cost, risk of failure, and so on.
Intel demonstrates deterministic,
real-time performance
In an effort to help industrial organizations
reap the benefits of industrial system
consolidation, Intel has developed a proofof-concept demonstration that illustrates
how multiple industrial workloads—
including motion control, HMIs, and
vibration analysis—can be combined on
a single system while achieving real-time
performance in a virtualized environment.1
Solution Provided By:
Using an Intel® Core™ i7 processorbased computing platform, the “Virtual
Industrial Workloads in Harmony”
demonstration integrates a virtualization
software stack using a hypervisor with
preconfigured virtual machines (VMs)
running a combination of real-time and
general-purpose OSs. It includes Wind
River VxWorks* RTOS to run applications
with real-time performance requirements,
while simultaneously running applications
on Wind River Linux* 5.0 and Windows*
7 Professional 64 bit. McAfee Embedded
Control* security software ensures only
trusted software runs on the Windows
partition. Watch the video to see the
demo in action.
Industrial system
consolidation: Requirements
Three things are required for
industrial system consolidation:
• Embedded virtualization with
a real-time hypervisor and realtime operating system (RTOS)
• Intel® multicore technology
• Intel’s hardware acceleration
for virtualization known as
Intel® Virtualization Technology
(Intel® VT)
Virtualization enables multiple
OSs and their applications to run
on the same physical board, while
high-performing Intel multicore
processors and Intel VT provide
the computing power needed to
support those multiple functions in
a real-time, deterministic manner.1
Learn more at www.intel.com/
virtualization.
Start consolidating today
Virtualization technology running on
multicore Intel Core processors helps
you reduce the cost and complexity of
designing and building industrial machines.
By safely partitioning workloads so
that they can perform in a deterministic
fashion2 you can bring together
previously discrete industrial workloads
such as motion control, HMIs, PLCs, data
acquisition, and more.
Learn more about using system
consolidation and Intel® multicore
and virtualization technology to
help meet your customers’ needs
for greater efficiency and reduced
complexity in the factory environment:
http://www.intel.com/industrial.
“Intel is helping developers realize
the trend of system consolidation
by demonstrating an integrated
approach to virtualized real-time
systems.”
– Tim Appleton,
Business Development Manager,
Energy and Industrial Segment,
Intel Corporation
1. Results have been estimated based on internal Intel analysis and are provided for informational purposes only. Any difference in system hardware or software design or configuration may affect actual performance.
2. Intel® Virtualization Technology requires a computer system with an enabled Intel® processor, BIOS, and virtual machine monitor (VMM). Functionality, performance or other benefits will vary depending on hardware and software
configurations. Software applications may not be compatible with all operating systems. Consult your PC manufacturer. For more information, visit http://www.intel.com/go/virtualization
INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH INTEL® PRODUCTS. NO LICENSE, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY ESTOPPEL OR OTHERWISE, TO ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IS GRANTED
BY THIS DOCUMENT. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN INTEL’S TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE FOR SUCH PRODUCTS, INTEL ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER, AND INTEL DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTY, RELATING TO SALE AND/OR USE OF INTEL PRODUCTS INCLUDING LIABILITY OR WARRANTIES RELATING TO FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANY PATENT,
COPYRIGHT OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT.
A “Mission Critical Application” is any application in which failure of the Intel Product could result, directly or indirectly, in personal injury or death. SHOULD YOU PURCHASE OR USE INTEL’S PRODUCTS FOR ANY SUCH MISSION CRITICAL
APPLICATION, YOU SHALL INDEMNIFY AND HOLD INTEL AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, SUBCONTRACTORS AND AFFILIATES, AND THE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AND EMPLOYEES OF EACH, HARMLESS AGAINST ALL CLAIMS,
COSTS, DAMAGES, AND EXPENSES AND REASONABLE ATTORNEYS’ FEES ARISING OUT OF, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, ANY CLAIM OF PRODUCT LIABILITY, PERSONAL INJURY, OR DEATH ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF
SUCH MISSION CRITICAL APPLICATION, WHETHER OR NOT INTEL OR ITS SUBCONTRACTOR WAS NEGLIGENT IN THE DESIGN, MANUFACTURE, OR WARNING OF THE INTEL PRODUCT OR ANY OF ITS PARTS.
I
ntel may make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice. Designers must not rely on the absence or characteristics of any features or instructions marked “reserved” or “undefined.” Intel reserves these for
future definition and shall have no responsibility whatsoever for conflicts or incompatibilities arising from future changes to them. The information here is subject to change without notice. Do not finalize a design with this information.
T
he products described in this document may contain design defects or errors known as errata which may cause the product to deviate from published specifications. Current characterized errata are available on request. Contact your local Intel
sales office or your distributor to obtain the latest specifications and before placing your product order. Copies of documents which have an order number and are referenced in this document, or other Intel literature, may be obtained by calling
1-800-548-4725, or by visiting Intel’s Web site at www.intel.com.
©
2013, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
*
Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Printed in USA
1013/RH/CMD/PDF
Please Recycle
329752-001US