<Written by> Mark Tootell, Business Development Manager, Abacus Embedded and Max Toti, Managing Director, Captec Ltd </W>

Reports of the impending End of Life of Windows XP Professional from the System Builder and OEM channels are creating fear, uncertainty and doubt in the industrial control environment. These emotions are quite redundant. Industrial control developers (and other embedded systems designers) can continue to get not only Windows XP Professional licenses, but also technical support and patches, through Microsoft’s embedded channel.

A typical SCADA system diagram incorporating PC and database technology.

PC technology has been adopted widely across the industrial automation marketplace for its lower cost and ease of use, and Microsoft’s Operating Systems have inevitably formed a part of that. Functions such as data analysis and system visualisation for GUIs have become easier using standard Microsoft tools and operating systems. However, 5-10 year ROI and support plans for industrial technology, where systems are built for a set purpose don’t sit well with the drive to increase performance and the support of new technologies prevalent in the desktop PC marketplace.

Why Microsoft?

PLC’s are still very much the building blocks of control systems, however the monitoring, visualisation and control of the overall system has become more readily available with use of Microsoft tools and software with PC based HMI technology. Often today the easiest way to create an operator interface to a machine is by embedding PC technology within the machine itself. This in turn can be part of a greater system monitored using more PC technology. SCADA has become a standard across all industries often being based upon a Microsoft/ PC platform. Standard PC technology when connected to an Enterprise system or to the Internet suddenly becomes more prone to the desktop security risks. The reality of viruses or DNS attacks effectively shutting down manufacturing is very real and this has resulted in Firewall and switching technologies now becoming an essential part of manufacturing infrastructure. Enterprise IT departments have addressed these issues, and the technology that they use such as Storage Servers, Domain Servers and Firewalls often incorporate Microsoft Operating Systems and software. Often, the same technologies have been adopted by industrial control designers, making Microsoft even more prevalent on the factory floor.

The continuity challenge

Industrial PC hardware is a mature market with manufacturers, systems integrators and resellers populating most parts of the globe. Major players such as Siemens, Rockwell, Advantech and Kontron will guarantee supply for five years or more. There are also many suppliers of Industrial Interface systems, small I/O boxes or ISA or PCI cards that can facilitate communication with legacy systems that have not fulfilled their ROI requirements.

Microsoft has recognised the opportunity that this market presents, and has moved to address its different needs. From the introduction of Microsoft Windows NT Embedded and its younger sibling Windows XP Embedded, Microsoft made it possible for companies small and large (sometimes called OEM’s) to effectively develop, deploy and support their own version of NT and XP Professional. These so called ‘componentised’ implementations allow developers to assemble an operating system image that meets their footprint requirements whilst ensuring that the operating system’s dependencies and functionality are maintained. By removing parts of the OS that they don’t need, they also eliminate the need to maintain these features, as well as the risk of their being used by the malevolent as an entry point for hacking. Specific features such as Booting from CD or DVD further protect the Operating System making secure recovery of a corrupted PC easier.

For developers with no need or desire to create their own image, Microsoft introduced Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems. This offers developers the full Windows XP Professional code, with licensing features that better meet the requirements of the embedded environment. In addition to support beyond the end of the software’s desktop life, these include the ability to add a custom boot logo, for branding purposes and to mask the Operating System from the user. Other features of Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems include the ability to create multi-lingual platforms, its’ hardware independence, the ability to pre-activate before shipping and continued availability. The embedded license also allows a third party company, such as a systems integrator or subcontract manufacturer to install the operating system on behalf of the license holder.

Both these products are available through the Microsoft Embedded Channel – and Microsoft has already guaranteed to continue to support this channel through to 2016. Other Microsoft ‘Classic’ operating systems for ‘embedded’ devices are still supported and available through the embedded channel, from DOS 6.22 through to NT and Windows 2000. Driver updates allowing support of new technologies are available to a point and driver development for unsupported technologies is possible using well documented driver development models. Often driver updates are superfluous as the OS as built by the OEM has all the technology support that will ever be needed built into it. In fact, as long as the license fee is paid to Microsoft via a license or COA purchase the OS can continue to be shipped indefinitely. Support is offered for a much longer period than for desktop customers, but is subject to termination after this period.

This addresses the requirement of a large proportion of the ‘machine builder’ marketplace. The HMI on a single machine typically has a single defined function and lends itself perfectly to NT or XP Embedded. The requirement for longevity of supply of Industrial Server, Firewall and higher level HMI/ monitoring systems are not entirely resolved by NT and XP Embedded.

Dedicated Server Technology

Microsoft Server Technologies are also available through the Embedded channel allowing long-term support of dedicated devices with pricing and engagement models adapted for specific markets. Microsoft has invested heavily in identifying and training a channel that has the experience and knowledge to support a marketplace that is not clamouring for ever increasing processor speeds and newer faster technologies.

Long Live XP Professional

Currently, dates varying from Q1 2008 to Q1 2009 have been given for the desktop end of life for Windows XP Professional, as Microsoft moves its resources and support to Windows Vista, its new flagship Operating System. However, Microsoft is very far from neglecting the needs of the industrial machine builder, with a 5-10 year ROI to fulfil. The Embedded Channel is established as a long term solution for not only licensing, but also support on older Microsoft Operating System technologies.

Availability

Long term availability and support of Microsoft operating systems is a key and strategic requirement for industrial computer manufacturers who supply PC based computers into applications with long development and life spans.

Managing COTS based PCs in applications such as transport infrastructure or defence poses unique challenges, particularly in terms of obsolescence management, where projects can have development phases that span many years, and in-service lifetimes are greater still. Systems are being built using components with lifecycles, in some cases, measured in months and performance specifications tailored to lowest cost and commercial requirements not transport or military grade requirements. This highlights the need to manage COTS through best practice, to leverage its cost benefits but mitigate its shortfalls. The same applies to the software side where Microsoft operating systems have become substantially more robust and with Windows XP Professional, offer reliability, diversity of connectivity and interoperability with legacy systems, higher level management or command and control systems.

Some projects have a development life which can exceed the total supported lifespan of the majority of the components. That does not even begin to then address in-service life which is expected to be substantially longer. Investments in such capital intensive projects necessitate as long a service life as possible, to justify an acceptable Return on Investment.

Whilst areas like Transport and Defence may be considered highly specialist application sectors and are therefore to be expected to be impacted by such issues of OS support/obsolescence, other, less obvious sectors are equally impacted. In one such example, the Medical Equipment market, where technologically complex instruments used in MRI scanning, CAT scanning, Radiation Treatment and others are equally reliant on Microsoft, having standardised on its Operating Systems. Such equipment does not function independently, but is interfaced to a multitude of medical IT systems where patient records, treatment planning and such like require interoperability and seamless interfacing. Similar issues of obsolescence management arise because software and hardware development cycles of medical equipment is over many years, as is the in-service life. In fact, a more critical issue emerges due to the highly regulated certification processes of the industry, to ensure the safety of patients. European or FDA medical approval processes are onerous and lengthy. Extending further the release timeline and adding to the complexity of managing the changes that Service packs introduce. In a sector where equipment can only remain certified for use as long as nothing changes, any change, hardware or software, can be a huge and costly re-certification nightmare.

Operating systems must provide maximum backwards compatibility from one generation to another coupled with the insertion of technology refresh opportunities that increase performance without disruption to the existing hardware or software environment. It’s a fine balance and Microsoft has managed to maintain a reasonable, albeit not perfect, balance. Interoperability of applications from the earliest versions of Windows to the latest has been maintained, whilst accommodating the features and performance enhancements demanded by more modern and current applications, as well as accommodating the new features of the evolving hardware technologies.

www.abacus-embedded.com