Windows NT Embedded
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Windows Embedded 8 showing "Hotel Systems" panel, metro-style app
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| Developer | Microsoft |
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| OS family | Microsoft Windows |
| Source model | Shared source (full source code of kernel included) |
| Kernel type | Hybrid kernel |
| License | Commercial proprietary software |
| Official website | developer |
| Support status | |
| Under Embedded name: Variable (some versions out of support), up to 2019 (mainstream) and 2023 (extended) Under new IoT name: Mainstream support to at least 2020 and extended 2025 |
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Windows IoT, formerly Windows Embedded, is a family of operating systems from Microsoft designed for use in embedded systems. Microsoft currently has three different subfamilies of operating systems for embedded devices targeting a wide market, ranging from small-footprint, real-time devices to point of sale (POS) devices like kiosks. Windows Embedded operating systems are available to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), who make it available to end users preloaded with their hardware, in addition to volume license customers in some cases.
In mid-1998, Microsoft worked with VenturCom, for their Windows NT Embedded product. Windows NT Embedded 4.0 got its start in 1998 with a small team of developers at Microsoft. This project, known within Microsoft as Impala, was released in 1999 as Windows NT Embedded 4.0—a set of tools and a database of approximately 250 components that allowed developers to put together small Windows NT 4.0 run-time images for embedded devices. The tools allowed OEMs and embedded developers to create components encapsulating their binaries, and to add them seamlessly into Windows NT Embedded runtimes containing limited functionality and devices. Minimum run-time images were as small as 9 MB for a system featuring the full Win32 API. Shortly after release, in early 2000, Microsoft decided that it was best to take that architecture and make a new product leveraging the new Windows code. A new Windows Embedded team was formed, under the leadership of Bruce Beachman. He served as the Product Unit Manager (PUM) of the first Windows Embedded – and started recruiting engineers within Microsoft. The team set their sights on this next version. A decision was made to stop development of Windows 2000 Embedded, and start work on a Windows XP Embedded product (then called Whistler). Plans were drawn up, the team was expanded, and work started on Whistler Embedded, codenamed Mantis. The component count has risen from 250 to over 10,000—most of them device-driver components. The feature set of the embedded tools was enriched to include things like basic version control, component scripting, and expandability. Tools were also added to make it easier to start with a blank slab of hardware and to deploy an embedded OS on it quickly and easily. On August 26, 2001, Beta 2 of Windows XP Embedded was released, with a full release planned for later that year. The initial team consisted of:
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