7 Key Features of VxWorks 7
VxWorks 7, the world’s leading real-time operating system, represents a major step forward in developer productivity, performance, and modern language support. While preserving its four core pillars—security, functional safety, reliability, and certifiability—Wind River has expanded VxWorks to better align with contemporary embedded development practices.
The result is an RTOS that remains trusted in safety-critical systems, while becoming more accessible and efficient for both experienced and new embedded developers.
🚀 Modern Language and Library Support #
VxWorks 7 significantly modernizes the developer experience by embracing today’s most widely used programming languages and ecosystems.
C++17 Support #
VxWorks is the first RTOS to support C++17, the most commonly adopted C++ standard in embedded systems.
- Developers benefit from cleaner syntax, safer language constructs, and modern abstractions.
- Teams see reduced maintenance overhead and lower long-term development cost.
- Applications gain improved runtime performance and stronger security features.
Boost 1.71.0 Integration #
VxWorks now supports Boost 1.71.0, another RTOS-first milestone.
- Boost provides peer-reviewed, production-grade C++ libraries.
- VxWorks supports 147 of 159 applicable Boost libraries, including major updates across core components.
- This dramatically reduces the need for custom utility code and accelerates development timelines.
⚡ High-Performance Networking #
Network performance is a critical factor in modern embedded and edge systems.
- Using the industry-standard iperf3 benchmark, VxWorks outperformed Linux in 75% of test cases across single-core and quad-core configurations.
- The remaining 25% matched Linux performance, with no regressions.
- This wire-speed performance directly translates into lower bandwidth cost and more deterministic real-time behavior.
No other RTOS currently matches VxWorks in sustained network throughput across such a wide range of configurations.
🐍 Productivity with Python and Rust #
VxWorks 7 recognizes that productivity and safety can coexist.
Python Support #
- Developers can now use Python to build applications on VxWorks.
- This lowers the barrier to entry and accelerates scripting, automation, and rapid prototyping.
Rust Support #
- Rust support brings memory safety, performance, and reliability to real-time systems.
- Embedded teams benefit from Rust’s strong guarantees while maintaining real-time determinism.
- Wind River’s commitment ensures developers spend less time debugging and more time innovating.
🔧 Open-Source BSP Expansion #
VxWorks continues to lead the RTOS market in hardware enablement.
- Hundreds of Board Support Packages (BSPs) are already available—more than any competing RTOS.
- Wind River is now introducing open-source BSPs for popular platforms such as Raspberry Pi.
- This initiative encourages community contributions, shortens project bring-up time, and reduces integration effort.
🧪 Wind River Labs: Early Access Innovation #
Wind River Labs provides early access to experimental and pre-release technologies.
- Developers can explore upcoming runtime projects such as ROS 2, OpenCV, and cloud SDK integrations.
- Customers are invited to provide direct feedback, influencing future product direction.
- This creates a collaborative pipeline between users and Wind River’s engineering teams.
🌍 A Modern RTOS Without Compromise #
VxWorks 7 successfully bridges two worlds:
- The certified, deterministic foundation required for safety-critical systems.
- The modern tooling and languages demanded by today’s embedded developers.
With its expanded language support, superior networking performance, open-source initiatives, and early-access innovation programs, VxWorks 7 reinforces its position as the most comprehensive RTOS for the intelligent, connected, and software-defined future.