TenAsys Announces INtime 3.0 for Windows

INtime 3.0 represents a major new release of TenAsys’ successful real-time operating system and extension for Microsoft Windows. Significant new features include support for symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) and Intel Hyper-Threading Technology (HT) systems as well as full integration with the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET development environment.

Nürnberg, Germany – February 22, 2005 – TenAsys Corporation is pleased to announce the release of the INtime 3.0 real-time operating system (RTOS) and extension for Microsoft Windows. INtime 3.0 is the direct result of over 100 man-years of effort and experience by TenAsys engineers relating to RTOS technology and products. This new real-time Windows platform provides a wealth of new features for those developers that wish to build hard real-time applications that run concurrently with the Windows operating system on a single hardware platform.

Support for uniprocessor and multiprocessor systems

The INtime 3.0 RTOS and extension for Windows can be deployed on any platform that utilizes a standard Microsoft HAL: uniprocessor or multiprocessor. Optimum platform choice is assured because real-time applications can now be deployed on virtually every Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server system produced today.

Symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) and Intel Hyper-Threading Technology (HT) systems can be configured in either shared or exclusive mode. A shared multiprocessor system splits one CPU between the INtime RTOS extension and Windows, with all other CPUs dedicated to Windows. Multiprocessor systems configured for exclusive real-time operation dedicate one CPU to the INtime RTOS and its real-time processes, the remaining CPUs are dedicated to Windows and its processes.

Integrated real-time debugger and fault manager

The INtime 3.0 real-time development environment is now fully integrated with the popular Microsoft Visual Studio .NET tools. Developers can edit, compile, link, debug, and trap process faults in their real-time Windows applications without ever leaving the Visual Studio .NET development environment. If a real-time programming error generates a CPU exception the faulted real-time thread is suspended, allowing the developer the option of starting the VS.NET debugger at the precise point of exception; non-related processes and threads in the system continue to run without interruption. Real-time process faults can result from divide by zero errors, bad pointer accesses, page faults, stack faults, and other CPU exceptions.

The INtime 3.0 debugger plug-in for Visual Studio .NET gives developers this unique ability to monitor real-time variables, debug real-time processes, and capture real-time faults directly from within the VS.NET debugger. INtime 3.0 software includes full access to breakpoints, source-level single-stepping, and watch variables for real-time processes and threads, all from within the familiar Visual Studio .NET development environment, eliminating the need to master a second set of development tools.

Continued expansion of I/O device support

INtime 3.0 includes direct support for building real-time applications that require access to TCP/IP networking, USB I/O devices, and a variety of industrial I/O devices. Hilscher CIF industrial control I/O cards, National Instruments IEEE-488.2 (GPIB), Delta Tau PMAC motion controllers, and the EtherCAT fieldbus are all supported by this release of INtime software. These INtime software subsystems are provided as real-time drivers and/or libraries with APIs designed specifically to support their unique hardware.

Real-time access to TCP/IP networks

INtime real-time applications have direct access to a TCP/IP stack without requiring Windows as an intermediary. Applications use a standard sockets API to communicate with dedicated, real-time Ethernet hardware. Device drivers for a variety of standard Ethernet hardware are included.

USB client development support

A real-time USB stack is included for all three standard USB host controller interfaces: OHCI, UHCI and EHCI. Through this stack, INtime applications can directly utilize USB 1.1/2.0 interfaces for real-time data transfers.

Hilscher industrial I/O interfaces

DeviceNet, PROFIBUS, CANopen, ControlNet, and other industrial communication protocols can be easily incorporated into INtime applications using either direct I/O or real-time device drivers for the Hilscher CIF line of industrial control I/O.

GPIB (IEEE-488) bus access

Real-time applications can easily incorporate support for IEEE-488 (GPIB) peripherals when using the National Instruments PCI-GPIB and PCI-GPIB+ I/O cards. Support is provided in the form of a real-time shared library (.RSL) and header files (.H) that implement the NI-488.2 board-level API.

Delta Tau Turbo PMAC2 Multi-axis Controller

The INtime Turbo PMAC2 Driver is a real-time device driver with support for up to four Delta Tau Turbo PMAC2 Programmable Multi Axis Controller PCI cards in a single INtime 3.0 real-time Windows system. Each PMAC2 card is capable of controlling between four and 32 axes of motion.

EtherCAT Fieldbus

Profimatics GmbH, an embedded system developer and TenAsys partner, has developed a real-time EtherCAT master for INtime real-time systems running under Windows. Their software allows one to utilize a standard Windows PC platform as the EtherCAT master in a deterministic EtherCAT fieldbus network.

The EtherCAT fieldbus utilizes the speed and cost effectiveness of Ethernet hardware to implement a fieldbus network that provides greater performance than traditional fieldbus solutions. For example, 1000 distributed digital I/O points can be queried within 30µs, 200 analog values in 50µs, or 100 axes of motion can be controlled in 100µs. EtherCAT is particularly well suited for PC-based control technology. A PC-based system master requires no special plug-in card and can be implemented on any existing Ethernet controller.

About TenAsys and INtime

The INtime® real time operating system (RTOS) and extension for Microsoft® Windows® is a proven, reliable, real-time kernel designed for critical applications. It is the only fully-protected solution available for building hard real-time applications that run concurrently with the Windows XP, 2000, and 2003 Server operating systems on a single hardware platform. Based on 25 years of reliable field-proven iRMX® technology, INtime combines robust industrial-grade control with enterprise-rich Windows functionality so your applications can take full advantage of thousands of off-the-shelf applications and every Windows feature — standard APIs, networking, user interface, and development environment — without having to sacrifice real-time responsiveness.

Using the INtime RTOS and extension for Windows, designers can reduce the cost of implementing complex computer-based control systems with x86-based PC hardware and Microsoft Windows software. Applications written for the INtime RTOS execute with guaranteed determinism as fully-protected user-mode processes, in concurrence with the Microsoft Windows operating system. Because real-time application code executes in user-mode the INtime environment is immune to application faults that crash kernel-mode Windows driver solutions.

TenAsys, INtime and iRMX are registered trademarks of TenAsys Corporation. The names of other companies, products, and brands mentioned herein may be trademarks of other owners.

press contact:  Bob Patterson, MKTX, Inc., +1 503 646-6589,