RT-Cloud: Virtualization Technologies and Cloud Computing for Railway Use-Case

This paper explores virtualization technologies and cloud computing for migrating an existing real-time safety-critical railway use-case from dedicated hardware solutions. Cloud computing is rapidly gaining popularity in many domains as they provide benefits such as higher availability, scalability, and efficient hardware resource utilization. We examine existing virtualization technologies for deploying a (private) Real-Time(RT)-Cloud on COTS server hardware to run an existing railway use-case while meeting stringent safety and security requirements. We base our migration review on comparison and relevant benchmarking of KVM and Xen virtualization technologies for the specific railway requirements. Based on the insights gained, we provide suggestions for using existing virtualization technologies with new RT-cloud components to safely and securely run the railway use-case applications.