A modern instrumentation and control system is a cyberphysical system that combines
hardware and software components in a network aware environment. The virtualization technologies
become common in the development and operation of control systemsȷ they can be used as a tool
for system life-cycle extension or for the creation of a comprehensive digital model of the system, a
digital twin. The paper deals with the problem of the design of digital twins of cyberphysical systems
of an Industry ».0 era. It analyses and compares the properties of the model in implementation to
the modeling of the digital and physical components of a cyberphysical system. A heterogeneous
digital model combining virtual machines and emulators and some real software and hardware is
recommended for the purposes of testing and verification of complex cyberphysical systems. The role
and tradeoff of virtualization environment for control system simulation are discussed. A real use-case
of digital modeling is described and discussed. The practical aspects of assessing the performance
characteristics in virtual environment and technologies for keeping the synchronous operation of the
components the digital twin and the problems of timekeeping within the heterogeneous digital model
are discussed.