ROCKWELL Automation says it is now supporting the use of its automation software with virtualisation solutions from VMware.

Rockwell Automation company says most of its configuration, human interface and information products, such as RSLogix, FactoryTalk View, FactoryTalk Historian and FactoryTalk VantagePoint, are supported when running on the VMware platform.

According to VMware, virtualisation allows multiple operating systems to run concurrently in isolated virtual machines on a single physical computer, sharing the hardware resources with each other.

Rockwell Automation says the technology helps manufacturers build an infrastructure which better leverages hardware resources and increases availability.

Rockwell Automation claims virtualisation will simplify the distribution of bundled offers such as its PlantPAx Process Automation System. It also means end-users can run the same automation software for more than 10 years, since older versions can co-exist with newer releases.