What Is Windows XP Embedded and Why Should You Care?

Microsoft Windows XP OS has been a very popular operating system in homes to offices and IT to industrial segments. Windows XP works well for Laptops and PCs that tend to have more than enough memory and processing power. But, when it comes to OS capable running on embedded targets such as ATMs, kiosks, set-top boxes and human machine interfaces (HMI), an OS which is customizable and reliable while having a small footprint is required. Windows XP Embedded offers the power of Windows but is flexible to be considered for the above mentioned applications. In this document, we will cover some of the features of Windows XP Embedded and how you can use it with LabVIEW for HMI applications.

What is Windows XP Embedded?

Windows XP Embedded, often denoted by XPe, is a componentized version of the Professional edition of Windows XP. You are free to choose from the 12,000 different components that are available based on your application needs. A basic XPe image can be as small as 8 MB in size with a bootable kernel and can expand to include many other features of the full version of Windows XP.

By using the only the components you need, you can reduce development time, optimize operating system size, and lower hardware costs. A smaller OS also reduces the attack area making it more reliable than Windows XP.

Advantages of XPe

There are several advantages of using XPe over full XP such as lower hardware cost, higher reliability, and rapid deployment.

Lower Cost: Windows XP Embedded licenses have a lower-cost compared to a full version of Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista. But more importantly, by using only the components you need for your application, you can significantly reduce the hardware costs that you would otherwise incur by running a full version of XP.

Faster Development Time: Since XPe is really just XP, there is no need to look for special applications as any application running on Windows XP should readily run on XPe provided you have all the right components included in the image you built. This means you are not spending valuable time in compiling your existing applications enabling you to get to market faster.

Increased Reliability: Since the XPe can be as small as a few megabytes, it also means the attack area is significantly reduced making the OS more reliable than the full version of XP. Windows XP Embedded can also provide more security by limiting device connectivity and available ports in the deployed image.

Why not Windows CE

While Windows CE is an attractive option for embedded applications, it does not have the flexibility and the power of XPe. The biggest and foremost differentiating factor is that Windows CE is a completely different architecture. This requires any applications that are developed to be compiled into a specific format before running on a Windows CE target. While Windows CE can be as small as 300 KB, it also means that it does not have the flexibility with only 700 components to choose from when building your image.

What is the difference between Windows Embedded Standard and Windows XP Embedded?

Windows Embedded Standard is the newest version of Microsoft’s componentized version of Windows XP. It will utilize the same base code as the current Windows XP Embedded software package. Windows Embedded Standard will include XP Service Pack 3. Windows Embedded Standard will also include additional features over the current version of Windows XP Embedded.

XPe for HMI Applications

Windows XPe is the ideal OS for HMI applications as it has the power of XP while offer reliability and lower cost. Here are some of the advantages of using XPe for HMI applications:

• Communicate with PLCs and other industrial devices using OPC and Modbus directly from your touch panel hardware
• Get the same rich user interface that you are used when developing on a XP computer
• Lower deployment cost of your HMIs by reducing both the cost of licensing the OS and the hardware costs
• Utilize the same ADEs to develop HMI applications for both XP and XPe based touch panel hardware

What National Instruments Products are supported on XP Embedded?

Starting with LabVIEW 2009, LabVIEW Datalogging and Supervisory Control Module (DSC) is supported on XPe allowing you develop and deploy HMI/ SCADA applications to touch panels based on Windows XP Embedded. You can also develop basic HMI applications with LabVIEW Touch Panel Module which is also supported on XP Embedded. The industry-leading NI-DAQmx drivers are compatible with the Windows XP development system allowing you to build applications with Nis high speed data acquisition hardware.

Summary

Windows XP Embedded is an ideal OS for applications that require higher reliability and small footprint while maintaining the power of full Windows XP version.

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