In the domain of generic data networks, virtualization is already a well established and common practice. For instance the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud relies heavily in resource virtualization. At the LAN level, VLANs are common practice but do not cater for the need of temporal isolation. In this aspect, recent network equipment such as Cisco Catalyst 3650 series include traffic shapers, which implement a basic method of virtualization based in bandwidth limitation.

Due to its tight coupling to the physical world, CPS frequently have strict real-time requirements, requiring the support of specific real-time communication protocols capable of providing real-time communications. Real-time protocols based on Ethernet technology (RTE), such as PROFINET and EtherCAT , are becoming nowadays the de facto standard in many CPS application domains. However, such protocols do not support efficiently server-based message scheduling, therefore imposing limitations and bringing inefficiency to CPS.