Collaboration between technology providers with different specialist knowledge plays an important role in speeding up digital transformation in industry. This co-creation is alive and well at Bosch Rexroth and VMware by Broadcom. They are pooling their expertise to drive the convergence of IT and OT and to help industrial users to speed up automation in factories.
The partner network ctrlX World expands the automation system ctrlX AUTOMATION, adding hardware and apps from partner companies. Users have access to a full interoperable technology portfolio which makes the digital transformation easier. VMware by Broadcom has been part of the ctrlX World since 2022.
Working together, the two companies are driving virtualization and digitalization at the edge of production. VMware by Broadcom's expertise in virtualization technologies and the expansion of IT automation and service capabilities into the OT environment allow faster and more efficient convergence of IT and OT. This helps to speed up digitalization and standardization in a typically isolated and complex production environment.
ctrlX AUTOMATION is designed to reduce the time to market for machine manufacturers and to enable users to maximize efficiency in production. The industrial operating system ctrlX OS is particularly important here. It uses real-time virtualization from VMware by Broadcom and benefits from the advantages of VMware virtualization technology that have been known in IT for many years. On the established VMware vSphere platform, machine manufacturers can create, provide and run their applications. This includes real-time capabilities and app management functions for factory and machine control. This also helps to speed up engineering for example. This is achieved by virtualizing automation as well as running and scaling previous IPC solutions on a reduced, central server infrastructure without affecting real-time behavior.
Traditionally, ctrlX OS runs directly on industrial controllers such as ctrlX CORE. This results in a certain dependency. However, ctrlX OS which runs on the VMware hypervisor introduces a level of abstraction that decouples the application from the hardware. At the same time, more powerful hardware can be used. Several ctrlX OS instances and ctrlX OS apps can run in parallel on one server or gateway. This significantly increases efficiency and reduces life-cycle costs. Scalability is another advantage. It makes it easy to access functions for current and future requirements such as AI applications – and allows for example the visual detection of errors in production.
The combination of VMware by Broadcom and Bosch Rexroth solutions results in scalable solutions that enable industrial customers to start automation projects on a single automation device and easily scale and optimize them for server hardware as needed. One example: An application for image processing or quality control is already producing satisfactory results and is to be expanded. Based on the Edge Compute Stack from VMware and the capabilities of ctrlX OS as well as the CPU, GPU and DPU integration opportunities already offered by VMware by Broadcom, scaling is possible and performance can be enhanced.
By combining VMware by Broadcom's Edge Compute Stack and ctrlX OS, both companies can capitalize on the distributed software trend in automation. This is beneficial for example to allow high-performance control loops on the automation devices within the machine, where state machines run in a high-performance server infrastructure with a low-latency connection. The latency benefits help to ensure quick reaction times. This is particularly important in applications where real-time processing and quick decisions are needed.
The collaboration between Bosch Rexroth and VMware by Broadcom promises faster convergence of IT and OT – and thus helps with the implementation of modern connected production processes. Together, the two companies are shaping the future of industrial automation and helping to achieve greater efficiency, scalability and performance in factories.
If you have any questions or require further information regarding ctrlX AUTOMATION, please contact us:
Bernd Kammholz
Client Strategy Director
Global Accounts
VMware by Broadcom
„Openness is everything“ – this is the motto of the ctrlX AUTOMATION magazine 2023/2024. This year, it´s all about openness and co-creation, which enables a completely new world of automation. Furthermore, there will be innovations of the product portfolio, exciting case studies and expert opinions on digitalization and connectivity.
Request now!