VxWorks Integration: Build VSB, VIP, and TargetRTS Applications

VxWorks Integration: Build VSB, VIP, and TargetRTS Applications

VxWorks, developed by Wind River, is a commercial real-time operating system (RTOS) designed for embedded systems in industries such as aerospace and defense, industrial automation, network infrastructure, and consumer electronics. It provides a development environment built around Wind River Workbench, an Eclipse-based IDE, along with tools for building, configuring, and testing real-time applications.

VxWorks also provides simulation capabilities that allow developers to test applications in a virtualized environment before deploying them to target hardware. Its development toolchain supports modern C++ standards, including C++17, subject to the selected compiler and platform configuration.

The TargetRTS C++ library enables developers to build embedded and real-time applications on VxWorks. VxWorks supports user-space C++ applications on supported 32-bit and 64-bit ARM and Intel architectures, allowing developers to implement complex application logic using modern C++ features and the TargetRTS runtime.

This guide explains how to integrate TargetRTS with VxWorks 7 from a Windows host, including environment configuration, VxWorks Source Build (VSB) and VxWorks Image Project (VIP) creation, TargetRTS library compilation, application building, and simulator execution.

Note: VxWorks support is available starting with TargetRTS version 7.1.11. Verify that your installed TargetRTS, VxWorks, and compiler versions are compatible before starting.

🛠️ Configure the VxWorks Development Environment

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Assume that the complete VxWorks development package is installed in C:\WindRiver on a Windows host. The installation typically includes the VxWorks source components, compiler toolchain, and Wind River Workbench.

Before building TargetRTS, configure the following VxWorks-specific environment variables.

Here, install-dir is the VxWorks installation directory, typically C:\WindRiver, and version represents the installed VxWorks version.

For example, if VxWorks is installed in C:\WindRiver, replace the placeholders with the corresponding paths from your installation. Adjust the workspace and VSB paths if your projects are stored elsewhere.

These variables help the development tools locate the VxWorks installation, compiler sysroot, and related build resources.

🧱 Create and Build the VxWorks Source Build (VSB)

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A VxWorks Source Build (VSB) project contains the configuration and source components needed to build the operating system for a selected target platform. It incorporates the relevant board support package (BSP), which provides the software interfaces required for the RTOS to work with the target hardware or simulation platform.

Wind River provides the wrenv.exe command-line environment utility to configure the shell for accessing VxWorks development tools.

Create the VSB project

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Open the wrenv.exe shell from your Wind River installation, navigate to the workspace directory, and create the VSB project using the appropriate BSP.

For the Windows VxWorks simulator configuration used in this example, run:

cd workspace

vxprj vsb create -bsp vxsim_windows_2_0_1_2 -S VSB

vxprj build VSB

The first command changes the working directory to the workspace. The second creates a VSB project named VSB using the specified simulator BSP, and the final command builds the project.

The BSP identifier is platform- and installation-specific. Use a BSP that is available in your VxWorks installation and matches your intended target.

You can also create and configure the VSB project through Wind River Workbench.

🏗️ Create and Build the VxWorks Image Project (VIP)

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The VxWorks Image Project (VIP) uses the configuration and components provided by the VSB to build a bootable or otherwise deployable VxWorks image for the selected target.

For the simulator-based workflow, create a VIP that references the VSB built in the previous section.

Create the VIP project

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In the wrenv.exe shell, run the following commands:

vxprj create -vsb VSB llvm VIP

cd VIP

vxprj build

These commands create a VIP named VIP using the VSB project and the LLVM toolchain, switch to the VIP directory, and build the project.

Verify that the VSB configuration, compiler selection, and target platform are consistent with your intended deployment environment.

You can also create and build the VIP project using Wind River Workbench.

⚙️ Build the TargetRTS Static Library

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After building the VSB and VIP projects, compile the TargetRTS static library for the VxWorks simulator configuration.

Run the following command from the TargetRTS/src directory using the configured wrenv.exe shell:

rtperl Build.pl VxWorks7T.simnt-Clang-15.x make all

The target configuration VxWorks7T.simnt-Clang-15.x identifies the VxWorks 7 simulator build configuration that uses the Clang 15.x toolchain.

Confirm that this configuration matches your installed TargetRTS version, toolchain, and VxWorks environment. If your installation uses a different supported configuration, substitute the corresponding target identifier.

Configure the rtperl utility

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The rtperl utility is included in the com.ibm.xtools.umldt.rt.core.tools plugin directory within the Model RealTime installation.

Locate the version under the plugin’s tools directory that matches your host operating system, then add its directory to the Windows PATH environment variable. This allows the shell to find rtperl when you execute the build command.

💻 Build a Model RealTime Hello World Application

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Once the TargetRTS library is ready, create a simple application in Model RealTime to verify that the VxWorks integration works as expected.

Start Model RealTime by launching eclipse.exe from the configured Wind River development environment. Create a Hello World application and apply the following build configuration.

Build the application using the selected configuration. A successful build should produce an executable file named executable.vxe, which can be launched as a real-time process under VxWorks.

If the build fails, verify the environment variables, compiler version, TargetRTS configuration, and availability of the required VSB and VIP build outputs.

🚀 Run the Application in the VxWorks Simulator

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The VxWorks simulator provides a way to test the Hello World application without immediately deploying it to physical hardware.

Start the simulator

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Open the wrenv.exe shell from the Wind River installation and navigate to the VIP project’s default output directory.

For the example workspace under C:\WindRiver, run:

cd C:\WindRiver\workspace\VIP\default

vxsim

Wait for the simulator to initialize. The exact output directory may differ depending on your project configuration and build settings.

Navigate to the application directory

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After the simulator starts, use its command interface to navigate to the host directory containing the generated executable.vxe file.

For example:

cd "/host.host/C:/ModelRealTime/vs/HelloWorld_target/default"

Replace the example path with the actual directory containing your application executable. Keep the double quotes when the path contains spaces or when required by the simulator’s command parser.

Launch the real-time process

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Execute the application in the simulator with the following command:

rtpSp "executable.vxe -URTS_DEBUG=quit"

The rtpSp command spawns a Real-Time Process (RTP) using the specified VxWorks executable. In this example, executable.vxe is the application binary, and -URTS_DEBUG=quit passes an argument to the application runtime.

Confirm that the application starts and produces the expected output in the simulator. If it fails to launch, check that the simulator is running, the executable path is correct, and the binary was built for a compatible VxWorks target.

✅ Summary

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Integrating TargetRTS with VxWorks 7 on a Windows host involves configuring the development environment, building the VSB and VIP projects, compiling the TargetRTS static library, and building a Model RealTime application.

The VxWorks simulator provides a practical way to validate the integration before deploying software to target hardware. For reliable builds, ensure that the VxWorks installation, BSP, compiler toolchain, TargetRTS configuration, and application target are compatible.