The need for real-time response times has been around for years and previous solutions required custom built hardware, proprietary real-time operating systems, and specialized skills in C, C++, or ADA. These requirements made solutions expensive to create and maintain. With the industry now moving increasingly to open standards, we recognized the opportunity to combine x86 hardware, Linux, and Java to provide real-time response times. IBM Real Time combines select IBM System x hardware optimized for real-time workloads, Linux with real-time capabilities, and WebSphere Real Time, a Java Virtual Machine based on IBM Java Virtual Machine technology with additional real-time capabilities.