Windows XP Embedded

Windows XP Embedded

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Developer	Microsoft
OS family	Windows NT
Working state	Current
Source model	Closed source
Latest release	SP2 Feature Pack 2007 / October 30, 2006
Kernel type	Hybrid kernel
Default user interface	Graphical User Interface
License	Microsoft EULA
Official website	Windows XP Embedded

Windows XP Embedded, or XPe, is the componentized version of Microsoft Windows XP Professional and the successor to Windows NT 4.0 Embedded. XPe is based on the same binaries as XP Professional, but XPe is marketed towards developers for OEMs, ISVs and IHVs that want the full Win32 API support of Windows but without the overhead of Professional. It runs existing Windows applications and device drivers off-the-shelf on devices with at least 32MB Compact Flash, 32MB RAM and a P-200 microprocessor. XPe was released on November 28, 2001. As of February 2007, the newest release is Windows XP Embedded SP2 Feature Pack 2007.

XPe is not related to Windows CE. They target different devices and they each have their pros and cons which make them attractive to different OEMs for different types of devices. For instance, XPe will never get down to the small footprint that CE works in. However, CE does not have the Win32 APIs XPe has (although CE has an API that is similar to the Win32 API), nor can it run the tens of thousands of drivers and applications that already exist.

Features

Componentized OS

XPe is a componentized version of XP Professional. XPe ships the same binaries as XP Professional, but with XPe an OEM is free to choose only the components needed thereby reducing operating system footprint and also reducing attack area as compared with XP Professional.

Write Filters

XPe includes feature components known as write filters, which can be used to filter out disk writes. The volumes can be marked as read-only using these filters and all writes to it can be redirected. Applications in user mode are unaware of this write filtering. XPe ships with two write filters:

Enhanced Write Filter (EWF)

EWF protects a system at volume level. It redirects all disk writes to a protected drive to memory or a separate disk.

File Based Write Filter (FBWF)

FBWF allows the configuration of individual files as read/write on a protected volume.

USB Boot

XPe adds a USB boot option to Windows. An XPe embedded device can be configured to boot from a USB drive.

CD Boot

An XPe device can be configured to boot from a CD-ROM. This allows the device to boot without the requirement of having a physical hard disk drive as well as provides a "fresh boot" every time the image is booted (a property inherited by the fact that the operating system is being booted from read-only media). One drawback to this technology is updating or servicing the image requires the complete process of setting up the runtime image to be completed once again from start to end.

Network Boot

An XPe device can be configured to boot from a properly configured network. Synonymous to CD Boot, Network Boot removes the requirement of having the physical hard drive as well as providing the "fresh boot" behavior. One bonus to Network Boot though is the ability to service the already setup image. Once the image is updated the image is simply posted to the RIS Server and once clients are rebooted they will receive the updated image.

Target Devices

The devices targeted for XPe have included ATMs, arcade games, slot machines, cash registers, industrial robotics, thin clients, set-top boxes, network attached storage (NAS), time clocks, navigation devices, etc. Custom versions of the OS can be deployed onto anything but a full-fledged PC; even though XPe supports the same hardware that XP Professional supports (x86 architecture), licensing restrictions prevent it from being deployed on to standard PCs.

See also

• Windows NT 4.0 Embedded
• List of Microsoft operating systems

External links

• Embedded Windows team blog
• Windows XP Embedded Home Page
• Windows XP Embedded discussion forum