Mission-critical systems, such as autonomous vehicles and robotic-assisted surgery, cannot afford to fail. They must operate flawlessly under any conditions, with the ability to adapt in real time and scale effortlessly. Developers of mission-critical systems need new and more efficient tools for building and troubleshooting complex distributed architectures. 

Based on the Data Distribution Service (DDS^™) standard, Connext 7.5 delivers key advancements to address these challenges. The Connext 7.5 Early Access Release is here to give users a preview of powerful new capabilities that can help ensure greater reliability, enhanced security, and new levels of performance. Let’s dive in!

Remote Debugging for Complex Distributed Systems

The Challenge: In industries such as industrial automation, debugging failures in real-time systems is difficult. Issues occur sporadically and are hard to reproduce. What engineers really need is visibility into the system while it is running, even though distributed architectures often span multiple isolated networks. Traditional debugging methods require downtime and manual log collection, delaying resolution and increasing costs.

The Solution: With remote debugging in Connext 7.5 Administration Console, engineers can now observe system behavior in real time across separate networks. Instead of spending days collecting logs and running simulations, they can pinpoint the issue directly on a live system. This reduces downtime, accelerates troubleshooting, and improves overall system efficiency.

Figure 1: Access Admin Console over Web Socket

Efficient Data Synchronization for High-Reliability Systems

The Challenge: In large-scale distributed networks such as defense or telecommunications, every data sample would typically be sent redundantly to all peers as well. Naturally, this created unnecessary network congestion, in turn reducing the efficiency of high availability (HA) and high reliability (HR) architectures. In addition, new nodes joining the system would also struggle to retrieve the latest data quickly.

The Solution: Connext 7.5 provides an improved state replication mechanism using a gossip protocol, so that data is now efficiently propagated through a replication tree. This reduces redundant transmissions, optimizes bandwidth consumption, and ensures faster data retrieval for late-joining nodes. The result is a more scalable and efficient architecture for HA/HR systems.

Figure 2: New protocol avoids data propagation to all Persistence Service replicas

Secure and Dynamic Access Control for Evolving Systems

The Challenge: For critical infrastructure, security policies must be updated frequently to prevent unauthorized access. However, traditional access control changes often require system restarts, leading to service disruptions. Maintaining security while ensuring continuous operation is a key concern.

The Solution: Connext 7.5 enhances system security with support for standardized participant revocation and efficient certificate validation. Now aligned with the DDS-Security^™ 1.2 specification, Connext supports key material redistribution using the standardized protocol when communicating with non-RTI participants. This ensures uninterrupted service while isolating and adapting to evolving threats. This release also introduces OCSP support, enabling applications to validate their certificate status in real time. With OCSP stapling, participants can prove certificate validity faster and with lower overhead.

Figure 3: OCSP Stapling

Building for the Future

Connext 7.5 is not just an update – it represents an important step forward in enabling the next generation of mission-critical systems. With improvements in observability, security, and efficiency, developers can now build more resilient, scalable, and future-proof applications. Whether in industrial automation, healthcare, defense, or automotive, Connext 7.5 provides the tools needed to push the boundaries of reliability and innovation for critical systems like yours.

Ready to explore these capabilities? Download Connext 7.5 EAR today.

About the author:

Juhi Ranjan, Senior Group Product Manager, RTI

Juhi Ranjan is the Senior Group Product Manager at RTI, responsible for aligning market needs with RTI's flagship products. She is responsible for all aspects of the product strategy for Connext Professional, from conception to launch. Additionally, she oversees a team of product managers at RTI who are responsible for driving product initiatives.