in PDF Format - Embedded-Control-Europe.com

COVER STORY 

Multi-core processors and FPGAs control 

communication and speed data 

Special Features 

n ATCA, MTCA & AMC 

n CompactPCI 

n Embedded Computing

Dear Readers, 

In this combined issue of Boards & 

Solution und ECE magazines we 

have collected for you the latest innovations 

and trends in embedded 

computing. There you ll realise an 

ongoing trend to common form factors 

or computing platforms for various 

applications to reduce cost and 

increase flexibility. ATCA and µTCA 

originally developed for telecommunication 

applications are used more 

and more as such a common platform. 

One example is our cover 

story t which hi h ddescribes ib th the combination b of highly sophisticated multi- 

core processors and fully user-accessible FPGAs implemented on a 

single AMC board, which strengthens the ATCA and MTCA standards 

in established markets and addresses others such as aerospace, high 

energy markets and industrial automation. In the telecommunications 

market the advantages of using one common infrastructure are the 

driving factor for unification of services like digital voice, video 

streaming and data transfers. To meet the various requirements DSPs, 

FPGAs and packet processors are used. In other markets such as automation, 

SoCs (System on Chips) and FPGAs are used to reduce the 

BOM (bill of material) costs, increase the MTBF (main time between 

failures) and reduce board space. To address the different requirements 

of all of these applications - high bandwidth and processing requirements 

of the telecommunications market and low power consumption 

and set of I/O requirements for example in industrial automation - 

it s important to use a common processor family. Combining such a 

processor family with an FPGA on an AMC board brings applications 

even higher flexibility, longevity and scalability benefits to card-based 

systems. Advantages everyone in the embedded industry would like 

to have. 

But powerful embedded processors are just the base for embedded 

systems – they have to have low latency communications with peripherals. 

For this purpose PCI Express is becoming the best suited 

solution. Another article shows that the PCIe interconnect offers a 

number of advantages compared to other high performance computing 

interconnect options like Ethernet, InfiniBand, and Fibre Channel. 

PCIe has already an important role as an interconnect option in 

ATCA and µTCA environments. PCIe is a valid backplane interconnect 

option, but Ethernet still dominates for backplane connectivity. The 

reason is that standard PCIe-based ATCA blades and hubs need significant 

engineering effort is required. But by customizing ATCA 

backplanes, removing unnecessary ATCA features and designing 

specific ATCA-like blades, implementers can create high-performance 

cost-effective systems. This leads us back to the common embedded 

computing platforms. 

You ll find much more useful information in this issue – enjoy! 

Yours sincerely 

Wolfgang Patelay 

Editor 

CONTENTS 

3 June 2011

CONTENTS 

Viewpoint 3 

ATCA, MTCA & AMC 

Multi-core processors and FPGAs 

control communication and speed data 6 

PCI Express interconnects 

in high-performance xTCA systems 10 

CompactPCI 

Data transmission with CompactPCI 

Serial enables new applications 14 

A straightforward x86 embedded 

solution with Intel SoC 18 

PCI Express 

Using PCI Express as high-speed 

cabling interface 20 

Embedded Computing 

Case study: automated control of 

a CNG filling station 23 

A new processor generation for 

deeply embedded systems 26 

Product News 28 

June 2011 4 

Cover Story: 


control communication and speed data PAGE 6 

This article describes the combination of highly sophisticated multicore 

processors and fully user-accessible FPGAs implemented on a 

single AMC board, which strengthens the ATCA and MTCA standards 

in established markets and addresses others such as aerospace, 

high energy markets and industrial automation. 


Serial enables new applications PAGE 14 

CompactPCI Serial (PICMG 

CompactPCI-S.0) is the successor to 

CompactPCI. This standalone specification 

is based on pure serial architecture 

and offers data transmission 

speeds up to 32 GB/s. The application 

bandwidth is therefore even 

greater than with CompactPCI. 


cabling interface PAGE 20 

Having backplane performance 

f levels available 

over o a cable expands the 

PCIe usage model to 

eencompass 

many highend 

e multi-chassis applications, 

t including I/O 

expansion, e disk array subsystems, 

s 

high-speed 

video v 

and audio editing, 

medical imaging and 

many more.



control communication and speed data 

By Vollrath Dirksen, N. A. T. 

This article describes the combination 

of highly sophisticated multi-core 

processors and fully user-accessible 

FPGAs implemented on a single 

AMC board, which strengthens 

the ATCA and MTCA standards 

in established markets and 

addresses others such as aerospace, 

high energy markets 

and industrial automation. 

n In the telecommunications market the advantages 

of using one common infrastructure 

are the driving factor for unification of services 

like digital voice, video streaming and data 

transfers. To meet the various requirements 

DSPs, FPGAs and packet processors are used. 

In other markets such as automation, SoCs 

(System on Chips) and FPGAs are used to reduce 

the BOM (bill of material) costs, increase 

the MTBF (main time between failures) and 

reduce board space. Various members of the 

Freescale QorIQ product family address the 

high bandwidth and processing requirements 

of the telecommunications market. Others address 

the low power consumption and set of 

I/O requirements in markets such as automation 

market. Combining a QorIQ with an 

FPGA on an AMC board brings applications 

even higher flexibility, longevity and scalability 

benefits to card-based systems. 

Ethernet/TCP/IP is currently the standard for 

using a common infrastructure in the telecommunications 

market. It is simple, low cost, 

allows variable packet length and is widely 

available. For different functions the quality of 

service for digital voice, video, web etc. has to 

be guaranteed. Therefore classification, prioritization, 

flow control, traffic shaping and (re-) 

synchronization to a common timing base 

have to be fulfilled. RTP, MPLS, IPSEC, http, 

billing and other protocols are also needed. 

For this purpose deep packet inspection in real 

time (on the fly) differentiates between packet 

types at Layer 4+. For example general purpose 

multi-core CPUs, even the Core-i7, do not 

have the hardware accelerators on board to do 

thousands of data channels at wire speed. 

Hence specific packet processors are currently 

used for these kinds of functions, with multiple 

GbE and 10 GbE interfaces with high-speed 

switch matrices. The restrictions of these processors 

force the user to add general purpose 

CPUs and DSPs to these kinds of systems. 

For test and measurement systems like LTE 

or Wimax base stations, the latency of GbE 

or 10 GbE is too big. Serial RapidIO is used 

because of its short latency and multiprocessor 

support. Other applications need to interface 

to more general purpose I/O, where PCIexpress 

is the dominant interface. Thus, it is 

time for a new kind of communication processor 

and a new generation of boards. To 

address all the different kinds of communication 

applications, Freescale offers a huge new 

range of communications processors, the 

QorIQ product family. These are divided into 

two sets of pin-compatible devices. 

Group 1: QorIQ-P4080 (8 cores), P4040 (4 

cores), P3041 (4 cores, SATA) and P5020 (two 

true 64-bit processing engines) with DPAA 

(data path acceleration architecture), highspeed 

switch fabric and different combinations 

of a number of GbE, XAUI, SRIO, PCIexpress 

and SATA interfaces. 

Group 2: QorIQ-P1011, P1020, P2010, P2020 

for lower power consumption applications i.e. 

industrial automation. 

June 2011 6 

Within these groups all devices are pin-compatible 

and can be selected according to the 

application requirements. 

The detailed description of all QorIQ processors 

would go beyond the scope of this 

article. Thus, one processor, the QorIQ- 

P4080, is chosen as an example for showing 

the flexibility and high performance. Figure 

1 shows in a simplified manner the main 

function blocks of this QorIQ. The 8 Power- 

PC cores can be used running in SMP mode 

(one operating system for all cores) or AMD 

(each core runs a different OS) or as a combination 

of both. Even one or more cores 

can run in the metal mode, which means 

without the operating system. Further, a number 

of cores can be switched off to reduce 

power consumption. 

A rich set of the commonly needed high-speed 

interfaces (GbE, XAUI, SRIO, PCIe, SATA) is 

integrated on the QorIQ chip. It is essential 

that the data packets of the high-speed interfaces 

are streamed to the right channels. This 

is done with two sets of frame, queue and 

buffer managers. Acceleration hardware for 

pattern matching, decompression, and crypto 

security is on board. The switch fabric in the 

CoreNet Fabric is responsible for non-blocking 

transfers inside the chip. All high-speed interfaces 

such as GbE, 10 GbE, Serial RapidIO 

and PCIexpress are served by this processor. 

The QorIQ product family offers much more 

than general purpose or application-specific

Fi Figure 11: Si Simplified plif if ifi fi d bl block k di diagram QQorIQ-P4080 IQ P4080 

Figure Fi 2: 2 FPGA FP F GA G as cross-connect. t EExample: pl SScope p Alli Alliance configuration. fi f ti 

processors. But what can be used if a QorIQ 

does not satisfy all requirements? The next 

paragraphs provide the answer. 

The key advantage of using FPGAs is the flexibility 

of selecting high-speed interfaces and 

freely combining logic cells, DSP resources 

and memory. Board vendors benefit from 

FPGAs, as they can reduce the BOM (bill of 

material), raise the MTBF (mean time between 

failures) and minimize the risk of EOL components. 

FPGAs allow adapting products to 

specific customer needs using different configuration 

images. The next question is, which 

form factor should be used for this combination 

of powerful QorIQs and high-end FGPAs like 


Virtex-6? In 2001, the telecom customers and 

the telecom equipment manufacturers (TEMS) 

standardized the Advanced Telecommunication 

Computing Architecture (ATCA), followed by 

the Micro Telecommunication Computing Architecture 

(MTCA) in 2006. Both standards 

use the same kind of interchangeable advanced 

mezzanine modules (AMC). Up to 12 AMCs 

can be plugged in a MicroTCA 2U system. An 

ATCA 14 U system offers space for up to 112 

AMC modules (assuming 14 ATCA-carrier 

boards housing 8 AMCs). AMCs offer on their 

170-pin backplane connector 2x GbE, 2x SATA, 

2x fat pipes (one or a combination of SRIO, 

PCIexpress, 10 GbE) plus the same space for 

customized interfaces. Therefore this form fac- 

7 June 2011


Figure Fig ig igu gure 3: FPGA FP F GA G for fo f r reselections: RTP 

TP T ap aapplication pp pplication with 

th t ITD ITDM TD T M data 

ta t 

plane processing. 

tor is ideal to make all interfaces of the QorIQ 

accessible, via the backplane, to other boards. 

The benefits of the small size, possible redundancy, 

high flexibility of interfaces and the 

standardized management functions are very 

well recognized and appreciated in markets 

such as aerospace, high-energy physics, industrial 

automation, and of course the communication 

market. The solution is to combine the 

best of two worlds: state-of–the-art multi-core 

processors connected to fully user-accessible 

FPGA resources in AMC form factor. 

N.A.T. chose the QorIQ processor family for 

its new AMC board selection to ensure being 

at the leading edge of communications processors 

boards. For the FPGA Virtex-6 was selected 

because of its high-speed interfaces and internal 

high performance architecture. The Virtex-6 

is integrated directly into the data path between 

the AMC backplane connector and the QorIQ 

allowing: data manipulation on the incoming 

and outgoing data, security check of data packets, 

customized encryption and decryption, 

which is different to that implemented on 

QorIQ, custom-specific protocol processing 

and acceleration, and flexible DSP processing 

on the data packets. Also, it can be used as coprocessor 

to the QorIQ. The AMC standard is 

ideally suited as a platform due to its differential 

high speed connections, which are protocolagnostic. 

This allows using the same pins for 

GbE, or PCIexpress or Serial Rapid IO etc. 

As the QorIQ-P4080 (8 cores, 8 GbE, 2 XAUI, 

3 PCIe, 2 SRIO, 2 USB, SD support) is pincompatible 

to QorIQ-P4040 (4 cores, 8 GbE, 

2 XAUI, 3 PCIe, 2 SRIO, 2 USB, SD support) 

and also to the P5020 (2 true 64-bit cores, 5 

GbE, 1 XAUI, 4 PCIe, 2 SRIO, 2 SATA, 2 USB, 

SD support) etc., the same AMC hardware 

can be used for all of these as well as future 

QorIQ chips (for instance P3041, P5010). 

The AMC processor boards from N.A.T., the 

NAMC-QorIQ-P40 and NAMC-QorIQ-P50, 

offer an on-board Virtex-6 FPGA. The FPGA 

can be used for example as a cross-connector to 

combine the appropriate high-speed interface 

with the respective AMC backplane pins. Custom 

Figure Fi 4: 4 RTP TP T application pp p li ti with ith th t llegacy TD TTDM M 

interfaces and protocols can also be implemented 

in the FPGA to connect the extended AMC region 

to the interfaces of the QorIQ. One example 

could be the H.110 bus, which is the standard 

telecom bus in the TDM world. The FPGA can 

also be used as pre-selector to split the data 

stream to route certain data blocks to the QorIQ 

and others to alternative protocol engines contained 

in the FPGA. Less than 5% of the onboard 

Virtex-6 FPGA of the NAMC-QorIQ- 

P40 is reserved for specific board-support functions. 

Thus, 95% of the FPGA can be used for 

customized applications. The Virtex-6 FPGA offers 

130k logic cells, 480 x DSP48 E1 slices and 9 

Mbit up to 368 000 logic cells, 768 x DSP48E1 

slices, 15 Mbit, 720 user I/O, 4 x 10/100 GbE 

and 20 x GTX transceivers. An additional external 

QDR memory is on board. N.A.T. has already 

experienced the benefits of the NAMC-8569- 

CPU, a combination of a Freescale PowerQUICC 

MPC8569 with an on-board FPGA from Lattice 

in the industrial market. The successors are 

based on the QorIQ P1011, 1020, P2010 and 

P2010 plus low-cost FPGAs, addressing markets 

like industrial automation. n

n ELMA: 12-slot xTCA system with 

rear-pluggable I/Os 

ELMA is introducing a 12-slot system in 19“ 

technology for rack and electronics cabinet 

installation. The new xTCA system is fully compatible 

with the MicroTCA.4-specification and 

is available now. The unique selling point of 

the new system is that basically all the plugs are 

inserted at the back into the rear I/O card rack 

– and even including the power supply. That 

makes installing, operating, extending or replacing 

particularly simple. Two standard MTCA 

power supplies each with 600 W, which can be 

plugged in frontwise, provide the redundant 

power supply in the normal configuration. 

News ID 13641 

n CommAgility: AMC incorporates 

TI’s eight-core DSP 

CommAgility announced the AMC-2C6678, its 

latest AdvancedMC module, which includes two 

high-performance TMS320C6678 DSPs from 

Texas Instruments. The module also includes a 

Xilinx LX240T Virtex-6TM FPGA for additional 

I/O and co-processing flexibility. The 

TMS320C6678 is based on TI’s KeyStone multicore 

architecture. It integrates eight TMS320C66x 

advanced processing cores with fixed and floating 

point capability running at 1.0 to 1.25GHz. The 

TMS320C66x delivers up to 320 GMACS and 

160 GFLOPs on a single device. 

News ID 13667 

n DTI: Westmere-based AdvancedTCA 

processor blade 

Diversified Technology introduces the newest 

member of its AdvancedTCA family, which 

includes multiple processor blades, switches, 

systems and full integration capabilities. The 

ATC7000 is a dual socket node blade supporting 

12 cores (24 simultaneous threads with Hyper- 

Threading enabled) of processing performance 

by way of dual Intel Xeon 5600 series “Westmere” 

processors. The ATC7000 provides support 

for up to 64GB memory and an optional 

RTM with additional network interface options. 

The board is a PICMG 3.0 compliant processor 

board that provides high performance for 

News ID 13748 

n Moxa: redundant TTY driver for CN2600 

terminal servers 

Moxa has released version 1.17 of the CN2600 

Real TTY driver for Linux. This will provide 

the CN2600 series terminal servers with a redundant 

COM function in the Linux host. 

Redundant COM mode enables system integrators 

to create robust dual-LAN architectures 

for mission-critical industrial applications. Redundant 

COM works just like the NT Real 

COM mode in Windows Real COM/Linux 

Product News 

Real TTY/fixed TTY drivers. Redundant COM 

enables one multi-homed host to create two 

simultaneous connections to the CN2600. 

News ID 13678 

n Schroff: pre-release information on 

MicroTCA.4 

The MicroTCA.4 specification was defined by 

the PICMG „xTCA for Physics“ working group. 

It has not yet been released, but is already in the 

final stages prior to publication. MTCA.4 was 

defined to enable the use of MicroTCA systems 


to run and evaluate experiments by physics research 

centres. Schroff, an active member of 

this PIGMG working group, has created a 

special website to give a comprehensive overview 

of the specification. The site explains why a 

special specification is needed by the physics 

community and the main reasons for the 

changeover from VMEbus to MicroTCA. Information 

is also given on the mechanics, the 

requirements and dimensions and the necessary 

management extensions. 

News ID 13796 

9 June 2011


PCI Express interconnects 

in high-performance xTCA systems 

By Gene Juknevicius and Joerg Hollerith, GE Intelligent Platforms 

This article shows that the 

PCIe interconnect offers a 

number of advantages 

compared to other highperformance 

computing 

interconnect options. 

n PCI Express (PCIe) is the native interface in 

many processor architectures including most 

popular x86 processors, and often is perceived 

as a chip-to-chip interface. Other interface options, 

such as Ethernet, InfiniBand, and Fibre 

Channel, require additional controller devices 

that are connected to CPU via PCIe, hence 

add extra cost and power and have higher latency 

and lower throughput. Consequently, it 

makes a lot of sense to use native PCIe wherever 

possible. In the past, PCIe interface use was 

limited to connecting the processor to I/O devices. 

Today, however, PCIe technology allows 

a broader spectrum of usage models far beyond 

simple I/O connectivity. PCIe is ideally suited 

to interconnect multiple processors not only 

on the same board, but also on different boards 

or even enclosures. 

The PCIe interconnect offers a number of 

technical advantages, including low latency, 

high data throughput, low CPU utilization, 

low cost of implementation, and low power 

consumption. Other connectivity options, 

such as Ethernet and InfiniBand are implemented 

using PCIe, meaning that in terms of 

the basic communication properties, they will 

always be at a disadvantage compared to 

native PCIe between boards. Obviously, using 

native PCIe does not suit every application. 

Requirements such as connectivity over long 

distances (more than ~25m), scalability to a 

large number of interconnected devices and 

application interfaces, will limit the use cases 

for PCIe. Today, however, PCIe can do much 

more than simply connect the processor to 

I/O devices. Non-transparent port operation, 

the primary feature that expands usability of 

PCIe, can be used to interconnect multiple 

processors, each acting as a root complex. 

Such connectivity allows a processor memory 

window to be mapped into the memory space 

of another processor. This interface enables a 

basic, but very high-performance communication 

model. Unfortunately, at this time there 

are no well-accepted APIs for the applications 

to use for this communication model, but 

that is about to change. A network direct 

driver for Windows, currently in development, 

will enable the native PCIe connectivity option 

to be used for high-performance computing 

clusters and other applications. 

PCIe has already an important role as an interconnect 

option in ATCA and MTCA environments. 

In the ATCA world, PCIe is a valid 

backplane interconnect option, however, Ethernet 

dominates for backplane connectivity. 

Certainly, standard PCIe-based ATCA blades 

and hubs can be developed but significant engineering 

effort is required. On the other hand, 

and by customizing ATCA backplanes, removing 

unnecessary ATCA features and designing 

specific ATCA-like blades, implementers can 

June 2011 10 

create high-performance cost-effective systems. 

Furthermore, most current standard ATCA 

single board-computers (SBCs) route one or 

more PCIe interfaces to a rear transition module 

(RTM) via the Zone 3 connector. ATCA 

supports an optional Zone 3 backplane that 

can be used to provide an additional interconnect 

option between the standard Ethernetbased 

ATCA blades. 

In the MTCA world, the PCIe interconnect is 

very popular. A number of AdvancedMCs 

(AMCs) as well as MicroTCA carrier hubs 

(MCHs) on the market support PCIe connectivity. 

Furthermore, MTCA supports both 

point-to-point interconnect between different 

boards as well as interconnection via a PCIe 

switch on the MCH. The following implementation 

example of a control system for the 

semiconductor manufacturing equipment highlights 

PCIe features and usage models. 

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment is 

typically size-restricted, and sometimes has 

higher environmental requirements for temperature, 

shock and vibration. Additional environmental 

restrictions also may be imposed 

if part of the control system is mounted onto 

movable components. For most semiconductor 

control systems, communication throughput 

and latency in particular are very important. 

Such a controller might consist of a few proces-

Figure 1. CPU-to-CPU connectivity using native PCIe versus using Ethernet or InfiniBand 

Figure 2. Example of a semiconductor manufacturing equipment control system in MTCA form 

factor 

sor blades, each perhaps with its own I/O 

module. In some cases, especially where video 

cameras and image processing is used, high 

performance computing and the ability to create 

processor clusters is a key requirement. 

Systems such as these ideally can be implemented 

using the MTCA form factor and the 

native PCIe interconnect. A gen3 PCIe x4 interface 

can deliver speeds of up to 32 Gbits/s 

(excluding overhead: ~31 Gbit/s). The PCIe 

interconnect can be implemented via a switch 

on the MCH or, if the number of interconnected 

devices is fairly small, via point-topoint 

links. The MTCA backplane is meant 

to be customizable and the interconnect implementation 

can be tailored to match specific 

application requirements. Figure 2 shows 

such a control system that consists of a main 

control CPU with PCIe connections to a VGA 

card, an I/O card and two other compute elements, 

a CPU with FPGA. The FPGA can be 


used to connect to cameras or to other highperformance 

sensors. The CPU cluster consists 

of three CPUs for image processing. Compute 

elements are interconnected via a highthroughput, 

very low latency and low CPU 

overhead PCIe interface. All this is made possible 

by utilizing PCIe switches that are built 

into x86 processor AMC modules and the 

use of non-transparent switch ports. In addition 

to PCIe, there is also a 1 Gbit Ethernet 

interconnect that can be used for control and 

management tasks. MTCA inherently provides 

remote management capabilities via an intelligent 

platform management interface (IPMI). 

Capabilities include health status, temperature 

readings, voltage readings and remote reset 

options. 

Large industrial test systems, such as ultrasound 

scanners for pipes and building materials, tend 

to be very I/O intensive. Such systems require 

a high number of front panel accessible I/O 

connectors. They also tend to require very 

high speed and low latency interconnect options 

between blades. Considering that this 

type of equipment would be installed in factories, 

low-level shock and vibration immunity 

may also be required. 

ATCA blades have large, approximately 350mm 

x 30.48mm, front panels and are well suited 

for such control systems. Today the predominant 

backplane architecture in the ATCA 

world is Ethernet, however, a couple of options 

do exist to support PCIe. The PICMG 3.4 

specification defines PCIe as interconnect for 

the ATCA backplane, the Zone 3 mid-plane 

can be used to provide additional PCIe interconnection 

between ATCA blades, and a customized 

Zone 1, Zone 2 backplane, supporting 

PCIe can be created.


Figure 3. Example of a large industrial control system in customized ATCA form factor 

Figure 3 shows an industrial control system 

that consists of custom ATCA I/O blades. The 

I/O blades are grouped into clusters with each 

cluster serving one particular set of I/O devices 

such as sensors, scanners, or cameras. The 

blades have an AMC bay supporting one or 

more AMC CPUs per cluster. Note that the 

CPU AMC used could be any one of many 

standard off-the-shelf processor AMCs, such 

as the GE Intelligent Platform ASLP11. This 

CPU enumerates the PCIe tree of a particular 

I/O cluster. Considering a 14-slot ATCA chassis, 

up to four such I/O clusters can be interconnected 

using one I/O blade as a main PCIe 

switch. All PCIe connections are via a customized 

Zone 1 and Zone 2 backplane. If 

more compute power is needed, a standard 

off-the- shelf ATCA SBC, such as the GE 

A10200 dual Westmere blade, can be added to 

the system. Most SBCs on the market route 

PCIe to the Zone 3 connector for connectivity 

to a RTM; this connection can be reused by 

creating a custom Zone 3 backplane. 

Note that in figure 3, only one custom ATCA 

blade design is needed. To further cost-optimize 

a blade, implementers can take advantage of 

the fact that there are pin-compatible PCIe 

switches supporting different numbers of ports. 

Once again, this implementation takes advantage 

of PCIe features, such as non-transparent 

ports and high performance. A gen 3 x8 PCIe 

port can support up to 64 Gbits/s throughput, 

which excluding overheads still delivers approximately 

54 Gbits/s effective data throughput 

with only a couple of hundred nanoseconds 

latency and very low CPU utilization. 

Portable systems, be it a medical scanner (ultrasound, 

etc.) or industrial tester, require a 

compact and flexible form factor. Such systems, 

being portable in nature, also depend on shock 

and vibration immunity. Typically, a portable 

scanner consists of two distinct elements: an 

acquisition subsystem consisting of sensors or 

cameras, their interface card, and a processing 

element, and a display subsystem consisting 

of a CPU and high-performance graphic cards 

and displays. Both subsystems need to be in-

terconnected via a high-performance bus. An 

example of this type of implementation is 

shown in figure 4. This implementation is 

based on the MicroTCA form factor and uses 

standard off-the-shelf components. Here the 

MCH functions as the main switching resource, 

hosting both PCIe and Gigabit Ethernet switches. 

Some MCHs available today implement 

the PCIe switch via two interconnected but 

distinct silicon devices. This architecture opens 

up a unique opportunity to partition the 

MTCA system into two subsystems, both interconnected 

by a high-performance PCIe interface 

via a non-transparent port. 

Following this concept, the image acquisition 

subsystem consists of an FPGA that provides the 

interface to sensors or cameras. A dedicated CPU 

controls the FPGA board. This CPU can be easily 

scaled to be multiple CPUs forming a high-performance 

computing cluster. If a Windows operating 

system is used, the Network Direct Driver 

will enable easy creation of such clusters. 

Yet another CPU forms a user interface and 

display subsystem that controls one, or optionally 

two, high-performance VGA cards, for 

instance GE Telum 3001. Note that two VGA 


Figure 4. Example of a portable medical or industrial tester implementation using the MTCA 

form factor 

www.embedded-control-europe.com/bas-magazine 

www .embedded-control-europe.com/bas-magazine 

cards can be teamed up to share graphical processing 

resources using, for example, a Cross- 

FireX feature. The two subsystems are interconnected 

via the high-performance PCIe interface 

enabling fast and efficient image transfer 

from the acquisition subsystem to the display 

subsystem. An advantage of this type of system 

is that it is built completely using off-the-shelf 

components, with no customization. Although 

most AMCs today are still gen 1 PCIe, gen 2 

and gen 3 devices are entering the market. 

The PCIe interconnect has come a long way 

since it was first introduced to connect a CPU 

to an I/O device. Today, with gen 3 devices entering 

the market, it supports staggering data 

throughput with extremely low latency and 

CPU overhead. Being the native built-in interface 

in most processors, PCIe presents the 

most efficient and lowest cost connectivity option. 

Although PCIe has limitations and does 

not fit all applications, new functionality dramatically 

increases the range of possibilities. 

Features, such as a non-transparent port, and 

software drivers like the Windows Network 

Direct driver, enable new topologies and usage 

models, simplifying application software development. 

n 

FREE SUBSCRIPTION to boards & solutions 

the european embedded computing magazine 

13 June 2011

COMPACTPCI 


Serial enables new applications 

By Martin Traut, Schroff/Pentair 

CompactPCI Serial 

(PICMG CompactPCI-S.0) is 

the successor to CompactPCI. 

This standalone specification 

is based on pure serial 

architecture and offers data 

transmission speeds up to 

32 GB/s. The application 

bandwidth is therefore 

even greater than 

with CompactPCI. 

n To avoid presenting a sharp edge to CompactPCI, 

a sub-specification to the CompactPCI 

base specification, CompactPCI PlusIO 

(PICMG 2.30), was developed. This allows a 

soft migration from CompactPCI. CompactPCI 

PlusIO defines a unified pin-out on the P2 

connector of the 32-bit CompactPCI system 

slot on which the four new serial buses, PCIe, 

GbE, SATA and USB are defined. It is thus 

possible to create hybrid CompactPCI/CompactPCI 

Serial systems. The CPU addresses 

the parallel CompactPCI slots in the system 

on the P1 connector, while the P2 area is connected 

to the fast CompactPCI Serial slots. As 

a result the transfer rate is increased above 

that of the parallel bus by a factor of 300. Instead 

of the roughly 150 connections of CompactPCI, 

with CompactPCI Serial there are 

more than 360, of which 340 are high-speed 

connections. System components such as slow 

I/O boards can remain on CompactPCI. As a 

result, only special boards that require one of 

the new protocols or more bandwidth need to 

be converted to the new technology. 

Enbedded News 

Schroff has developed backplanes and complete 

systems for both specifications. The backplanes 

available include, for example, 8-slot hybrid 

backplanes with three CompactPCI peripheral 

slots, one CompactPCI PlusIO system slot and 

four CompactPCI Serial peripheral slots. These 

backplanes are available in two versions - with 

and without rear I/O on the CompactPCI 

Serial slots. 

They represent the maximum configuration 

for hybrid systems and can thus be used in all 

possible applications. Other backplanes with 

fewer slots are currently in preparation, such 

as a 5-slot version. Likewise for CompactPCI 

Serial, Schroff has also first developed backplanes 

for the maximum configuration with 

nine slots, one system slot and eight peripheral 

slots. This again allows the widest range of applications 

to be accommodated. There are 

even different backplane versions in which 

PCIe, USB and SATA are provided in single 

star in all cases. One version also features a 

single star for gigabit Ethernet, while the other 

Free E-mail Newsletter for Europe`s Embedded Engineers 

www.embedded-control-europe.com/newsletter 

www www.embedded-controol-europe.com/newwsletter 

June 2011 14 

Figure 1. Hybrid 

CompactPCI/CompactPCI 

Serial system 

version has full-mesh wiring in the GbE area 

and is thus best suited for building processor 

farms or clusters. Both of these versions are 

available with or without rear I/O. 

CompactPCI Serial backplanes have twice the 

number of signals and less space between 

connectors, and thus offer a high performance 

density. The signal lines are thus necessarily 

very close to one another, and excessive 

crosstalk can occur. Crosstalk, like reflections, 

contributes to noise and jitter. The skill of the 

designer is in reaching the optimum compromise 

between performance density and the 

number of layers, while generally reducing 

impedance discontinuities. 3D modelling of 

the circuit board elements and simulation of 

the complete transmission channel to determine 

the bit error rate is a very helpful method 

of designing boards and backplanes at the 

first draft with a sufficiently low bit-error 

rate. The mechanical construction of CompactPCI 

Serial systems matches that of 

Schroff’s 8-slot 3+1 CompactPCI system with

an integrated 1U fan drawer. Fitted with a 

backplane, up to nine 3U boards can be accommodated 

and the system slot is positioned 

on the left. It is also possible here to use double-width 

CPUs without any design modifications. 

There is sufficient space for e.g. hard 

disk drives to be fitted. Additionally, the rear 

section includes a space for rear I/O boards. 

Customers may opt for one of two types of 

power supply unit. The 19“ PSU (3U, 8 HP, 

160 HP) with an output of 250W and rearmounted 

IEC mains input has even narrower 

tolerances at the limit values for currents, voltages 

etc than is called for by the specification. 

This is of particular benefit where multi-core 

processors are present. For custom applications 

this PSU is also available in a 48V version. As 

a lower-cost alternative, an ATX unit from latest 

Schroff ATX PSU family can be fitted. 

COMPACTPCI 

Figure Fi 2. 2 Schematic S h ti diagram di of f a hybrid h b id backplane b k l for f soft ft f migration i ti from f parallel ll l to t serial i l 

architecture 

Figure Fi 3. 3 CompactPCI C p tP t CI C Serial S i l system t 

Despite the larger temperature range of these 

ATX PSUs, from -10 to +70°C, their efficiency 

is over 75 %. Overvoltage protection is also 

relatively high at 4kV. MTBF values are about 

100,000 hours at 50°C. This is achieved partly 

through the use of ball-bearing PSU fans. The 

fan uses a tacho signal to regulate speed and 

thus also the noise level in relation to the ambient 

temperature. Fault or failure of the fans 

is signalled directly to the boards through an 

interface. The capacitors used, rated to up to 

+105°C, also offer a long service life. Optimal 

cooling of the system is assured by a hot-swap 

fan drawer under the board cage that pulls 

out to the front. This can optionally be upgraded 

with a filter mat. Depending on the 

PSU selected, the drawer is fitted with either 

two or three fans that can be quickly replaced 

when necessary. CompactPCI Serial, combined 

15 June 2011

COMPACTPCI 

with the CompactPCI PlusIO defined as a migration 

path, is already showing a major market 

potential. Users changing to the new technology 

from CompactPCI have very diverse reasons 

for doing so. An application example in freight 

traffic shows a hybrid backplane with CompactPCI 

PlusIO system slot used in conjunction 

with a conventional CompactPCI backplane 

in one system. Here the hybrid backplane 

serves to accommodate future system upgrades 

so that faster CompactPCI Serial boards can 

later be used. 

Another application, in industrial automation, 

links a system via WLAN to the company network. 

In this arrangement the USB interface 

is used that is defined on the CompactPCI Se- 

n EKF: CompactPCI Serial ExpressCard 

adapter board 

EKF presents the SP1-BANJO, a peripheral 

board for CompactPCI Serial systems. Its front 

panel situated ExpressCard slot allows flexible 

system expansion by an ExpressCard I/O or 

storage module. The push-push mechanics accommodate 

either an ExpressCard/54 (54 x 

75mm) or an ExpressCard/34 (34 x 75mm). 

ExpressCard technology allows for installing 

and removing modules on the fly, without prior 

system shutdown. The SP1-BANJO is suitable 

for both types, PCI Express and USB based ExpressCards. 

In addition, the SP1-BANJO is 

equipped with a Micro SATA connector, for attachment 

of an on-board 1.8-inch SATA SSD. 

SSDs offer less power consumption, superior 

speed, and an improved operation temperature 

range, compared to hard disk drives. Furthermore, 

the SP1-BANJO is provided with a front 

panel Gigabit Ethernet jack. Usage of this connector 

requires a CompactPCI Serial system 

with Ethernet mesh support, via the backplane 

connector P6 (optional). 

News ID 13675 

n Emerson: conduction cooled 3U 

CompactPCI SBC 

Emerson Network Power extends its portfolio 

of rugged embedded single-board computers 

based on Intel Core i7 processors with the 

launch of a conduction cooled variant of its 

CPCI7203 3U CompactPCI blade. Conduction 

cooling enables the CPCI7203 rugged 

variant to operate in extended temperatures 

rial slots. A USB WLAN stick is mounted on a 

CompactPCI Serial board and can be linked 

directly via the backplane to the CompactPCI 

PlusIO processor board using the USB protocol. 

This represents a simple and straightforward 

solution for linking the system to a network 

via WLAN. 

In some railway applications and in industrial 

automation, hybrid backplanes are also beginning 

to be used for integrating hard disk 

boards simply into the system. CompactPCI 

does not allow plug-in hard disk modules to 

be directly integrated, since in CompactPCI 

only the PCI bus is implemented. However, 

current hard disk drives use the SATA or SAS 

protocols. CompactPCI PlusIO and Compact- 

Product News 

of -40 to +85 °C versus the zero to +55 °C capability 

of the commercial grade board. The 

storage temperature range is also extended to 

-50 to +125 °C. The CPCI7203 is further 

ruggedized to withstand higher levels of sine 

and random vibration, shock and humidity 

than commercial standards. Conformal coating 

is available as an option. 

News ID 13677 

n Meilhaus: CAN-Bus interface board for 

PCI and 3 U CompactPCI 

The CAN-bus plays an important role in many 

fields such as automotive, rail systems, traffic 

control, drive technology, medical, robotic, 

general engineering, real-time and simulation. 

For many of these application environments 

space is a key factor. Meilhaus Electronic, together 

with their partner Cosateq, has developed 

new PC interfaces to up to four CAN networks 

in PCI and cPCI formats. The ME-CAN-4 is 

an active CAN-interface card with two independent 

controllers on board. It was specially 

designed for computationally intensive or timecritical 

applications such as real-time simulation. 

It can control up to four individual CANnetworks 

at speeds of up to 1 MBit/s each. 

News ID 13750 

n MEN: Intel i7 quad-core CPU for 

CompactPCI PlusIO SBC 

Equipped for applications with high data rates 

and high bandwidth, MEN’s new CompactPCI 

PlusIO SBC also offers many new Intel features. 

Based on the Intel i7-2715QE quad-core proces- 

More information about each news is available on 

www.Embedded-Control-Europe.com/bas-magazine 

• You Y You 

have to type yp in the “News ID”. — 

June 2011 16 

PCI Serial define both protocols on both slots, 

so that a hard disk drive on a periphery board 

can be connected to the system simply. This 

allows powerful Raid systems to be simply 

constructed. 

Another example application of CompactPCI 

Serial is a special use in audio processing. This 

makes use of the full-mesh topology of the 

Ethernet defined in the J6 area of CompactPCI 

Serial. This allows audio data to be exchanged 

extremely fast between the individual digital 

signal processors. The free user-defined pins 

in the J2 to J5 range serve for future upgrades. 

Here the full-mesh topography of the J6 area 

is mirrored in order to increase the data 

volume further. n 

sor, the F21P supports 2nd-generation PCI 

Express and 3rd-generation SATA, faster TurboBoost, 

improved AMT as well as 4 “genuine” 

or 8 virtual cores via HyperThread, and a faster 

monolithic graphics core. The 2nd-generation 

Intel Core i7 64-bit processor sports a base frequency 

of 2.1 GHz and reaches up to 3 GHz 

due to Turbo Boost. Its excellent graphics and 

high computing performance make the F21P a 

good match for applications in the industrial 

area, in avionics and space technology, medical 

engineering and transportation or for demanding 

graphics applications in general. 

News ID 13787 

n Schroff: ATX power supply for 

CompactPCI systems 

Power supply arrangements for CompactPCI 

systems are available in two versions, depending 

on customer needs: a plug-in PSU with 19“ 

form factor and 250 W output capacity with 

rear-mounted IEC mains input socket, or as a 

lower-cost alternative, an ATX PSU. ATX PSUs 

are primarily used in office PC systems but 

are also suitable for many industrial applications. 

Schroff is now offering a new family of 

ATX PSUs, with which it is equipping all its 

CompactPCI, CompactPCI PlusIO and CompactPCI 

Serial systems. With the standardised 

form factor and roughly 95% identical front 

design of the ATX units, their difference relative 

to the previous PSUs is mostly to be seen in 

their improved technical performance. Their 

prices remain unchanged, however. 

News ID 13647

COMPACTPCI 

A straightforward x86 embedded 

solution with Intel SoC 

By Masami Shoji, Eurotech 

Many customers 

in the embedded market wish 

to use standard x86 architecture 

and its associated software, but 

complicated signal connections 

and multiple chips are needed 

making the board expensive to 

design and manufacture in-house. 

This article describes a solution 

based on the Intel EP80579 

integrated processor. 

n System-on-chip (SoC) is the key not only to 

the downsizing of computers but also to increasing 

system robustness. In the embedded 

market there are many customers who wish to 

use the well-proven standard x86 architecture 

and its associated software. However, the problem 

is that extremely complicated signal connections 

and multiple chips are needed on the 

embedded processor board. Customers understand 

this often makes the board complex and 

expensive to design and manufacture in-house, 

and they are also aware that complexity leads 

to the increased possibility of system failure if 

not fully understood at design time. 

SoC is one of the best ways to solve the 

problem. The Intel EP80579 integrated processor, 

formerly named Tolapai, is the first all-inone 

Intel x86 SoC processor. The device includes 

an Intel architecture complex based on 

the Intel Pentium M processor, integrated 

memory controller hub, integrated I/O controller 

hub, and integrated I/O peripheral functions 

such as Ethernet MAC, Controller Area 

Network (CAN) interfaces, and so on. The 

processor is software-compatible with the existing 

Intel x86 microprocessor family. The 

Intel EP80579 also has other special features 

that make it more appropriate for embedded 

applications. The first is that error correction 

code (ECC) RAM is supported. Moreover, it 

covers not only the DDR2 main memory but 

also the integrated Ethernet buffer memory 

and registers. This is where single bit error in 

the word is corrected automatically. The second 

is that an Enhanced DMA (EDMA) engine is 

integrated in the SoC. This is useful for achieving 

higher bandwidth and lower latency memory-to-PCI 

Express transfer. Finally, some 

members of the Intel EP80579 family are available 

to support industrial temperature ranges. 

These features make it ideal for communications 

and industrial automation solutions 

under unconstrained thermal environments. 

Eurotech offers two types of CompactPCI 

board and one COM Express module based 

on the Intel EP80579 processor, which form 

part of its standard product range. The 

A3pci8024 is a 4HP/3U single-size CompactPCI 

CPU board based on the Intel EP80579 and is 

designed especially for embedded systems requiring 

high reliability and reasonable balance 

between performance and power consumption. 

The Intel IA-32 core processor runs at up to 

1.2 GHz and features a 256KB 2-way L2 cache. 

It includes one DDR2 small-outline registered 

DIMM (SORDIMM) socket to provide up to 

2GB memory with ECC for rugged environments. 

The integrated memory controller operates 

at up to 533 MHz and supports PC2- 

4200 SORDIMM. This board is also equipped 

with one Gigabit Ethernet port, one USB2.0 

port and one analog VGA port on the front 

June 2011 18 

Figure 1. A3pci8024 – 4HP/3U 

CompactPCI CPU board based 

on Intel EP80579 

panel. In addition to this, the A3pci8024 supports 

a 32-bit 33 MHz CompactPCI hot swap 

interface. The CompactPCI bridge chip used 

on the board supports both transparent and 

non-transparent mode and is automatically 

configured according to the type of slot, 

whether system-slot or peripheral-slot. This 

enables customers to use more than one board 

in the same CompactPCI enclosure. The rear 

I/O includes two Serial-ATA ports and four 

USB2.0 ports. The A3pci8024-RTM is a rear 

transition module designed especially for the 

A3pci8024. The A3pci8024-RTM also supports 

one embedded USB flash disk using one of 

four USB ports. 

The A6pci8026 is a 4HP/6U CompactPCI CPU 

single-board computer based on the Intel 

EP80579 and designed for a wide range of industrial 

environment applications. SoC processor 

and memory specifications are the same as 

the A3pci8024. The board supports PC2-4200 

SORDIMM with ECC and a maximum of 2GB 

of memory. It offers comprehensive I/O capabilities 

with one Gigabit Ethernet port, two 

USB2.0 ports, one asynchronous serial port, 

and one analog VGA port on the front panel, 

with one CompactFlash socket on the board. 

One PMC site is also available for I/O or 

system expansion. The board supports a 32-bit 

33MHz CompactPCI hot swap interface and 

PICMG 2.16 packet switching backplane inter-

Figure Fi 2. 2 A6pci8026 A6p 6p 6 i802 02 0 6 – 4HP 4HP/6U HP H P/ /6 / 6U 

CCompactPCI p tP t CI C SBC bbased d on IIntel t l EP EEP80579 80579 79 7 

face. The CompactPCI bridge chip is the same 

as used in the A3pci8024 and it is possible to 

use the board on both system and peripheral 

slots. Two extra Gigabit Ethernet ports are connected 

to a J3 connector enabling the dual link 

topology of PICMG2.16 using two switches in 

the system. The A6pci8026-RTM is a rear transition 

module designed especially for A6pci8026 

and supports two Serial-ATA ports and one 

embedded USB flash disk. 

The Adbc8025 is a basic-size COM Express 

module based on the Intel EP80579 and designed 

especially for embedded systems which 

require high reliability and rich I/O connectivity. 

A computer-on-module (COM) is a module 

with all the components necessary for a host 

computer, packaged as a super component 

and providing a solution for a host of embedded 

applications. The size of the Adbc8025 is 

125 mm x 95mm (basic module) and all the 

core components of an x86 computer are integrated 

in that space. SoC processor and memory 

specifications are the same as the 

www.embedded-control-europe.com/bas-magazine 

www .embedded-control-europe.com/bas-magazine 

COMPACTPCI 

A3pci8024. The board supports PC2-4200 

SORDIMM with ECC and a maximum of 

2GB of memory. Module pin-out of the 

Adbc8025 is type3 compatible. The board 

offers comprehensive I/O capability with three 

Gigabit Ethernet ports, five USB2.0 ports, two 

asynchronous serial ports, two Serial ATA 

ports, one X4 PCI Express port, one 32-bit 33 

MHz PCI bus, two CAN ports, and one analog 

VGA port on COM Express connectors. 

Also available from Eurotech is a carrier board 

for the Adbc8025 COM Express module. The 

MicroATX carrier board Adbc8025-CAR is designed 

especially for the Adbc8025 and provides 

a quick and easy way to use it for proof of 

concept or development purposes. The company 

has many years experience designing computer 

boards using various types of Intel CPUs and 

peripherals. As mentioned at the beginning, SoC 

is the key to increasing system robustness and 

Eurotech can provide both standardized products 

such as those detailed above, and also customized 

ones based on the Intel EP80579 SoC. n 

FREE SUBSCRIPTION to boards & solutions 

the european embedded computing magazine 

19 June 2011

PCI EXPRESS 


cabling interface 

By Steve Cooper, One Stop Systems 

Having backplane 

performance levels available 

over a cable expands the PCIe 

usage model to encompass 

many high-end multi-chassis 

applications, including I/O 

expansion, disk array 

subsystems, high-speed video 

and audio editing, medical 

imaging and many more. 

n In 2007 the PCI-SIG approved the PCI 

E xpress external cabling specification that 

defines how PCI Express can be implemented 

over a standard cable. This new capability 

allows the full bandwidth of the PCIe bus to 

be utilized within multiple chassis systems 

and small local networks. Over the past three 

years, hundreds of applications have been 

implemented using PCIe over cable for highspeed 

I/O, bus expansion and local networking. 

In these applications, using PCIe provides the 

benefits of high performance, low power and 

reduced costs. 

Some examples are: medical – CAT scanners, 

PET scanners, dental scanners and other imaging; 

office documentation centers – highend 

copy centers; entertainment – HD cameras, 

film editing and theater projectors; instrumentation 

– oscilloscopes and test equipment; data 

storage – disk and flash arrays; HPC – GPU 

acceleration and inter-CPU communications; 

military – signal acquisition and analysis; 

others – PC expansion slots. 

Although PCIe is well known as the PC backplane 

interface standard, it is less known as a 

high-speed cabling interface. Previous parallel 

bus structures such as PCI-X could not easily 

be routed over a cable due to signal integrity 

problems. The serial technology and embedded 

clocking used within PCIe allows it to be used 

at full speeds across a motherboard or over a 

cable. The cable specification defines 4 cable 

connectors – for x1, x4, x8 and x16 links – 

providing a wide range of price and performance. 

At the low end, the x1 cable provides a 

2.5Gb/s interface over a low-cost cable. At the 

high end, a x16 cable provides 128Gb/s over a 

more expensive cable. Adapter modules supporting 

the various cable sizes are available in 

a number of form factors for desktops, laptops, 

CompactPCI, CompactPCIe, VMEbus, AMC 

and XMC. 

Both the PCIe cables and adapter cards are 

now available from multiple sources. One of 

the techniques used to create high performance 

with PCIe is the use of embedded clocking 

within each differential signal pair. By embedding 

the clock within the signal stream, there 

is no distortion or time delay between the 

June 2011 20 

Figure 1. PCIe can be used as 

a high-performance networking 

architecture, connecting multiple 

PCs with software transparency 

to Ethernet. 

clock signal and the data. The clock rate used 

within each PCIe signal is 2.5GHz for Gen 1, 

5GHz for Gen 2 and 8GHz for Gen 3. PCIe interface 

components automatically detect the 

speed capability of the other side of the link, 

and only utilize Gen 2 or Gen 3 timing if both 

sides are capable of that performance level. 

The performance of various PCIe lane widths 

is shown in table 1. These performance levels 

are identical whether the bus is routed over a 

backplane or over the PCIe cable. 

Most PCs today have a mixture of Gen 1 and 

Gen 2 PCIe slots. Similarly, I/O boards are 

available in a mix of Gen 1 and Gen 2. Lowcost 

boards, such as USB or Ethernet controllers 

are typically Gen 1, whereas higher performance 

boards such as RAID controllers and 

graphics cards are generally Gen 2. Gen 3 systems 

and add-in boards are expected to become 

Gen 1 Gen 2 Gen 3 

x1 2.5Gb/s 5Gb/s 8Gb/s 

x4 10Gb/s 20Gb/s 32Gb/s 

x8 20Gb/s 40Gb/s 64Gb/s 

x16 40Gb/s 80Gb/s 128Gb/s 

Table 1. PCIe performance by generation and lane width

Figure Fig ig igu gure 2. 2 PCIe PCI CI CIe Ie cables come in fo ffour ur sizes sup supporting up upp pporting x1 x1, x4 x4, x8 and x16 link width widths. th t s 

available in 2011. The first systems supporting 

Gen 3 will be based on the Intel Sandy Bridge 

CPU, which brings PCIe Gen 3 directly out of 

the CPU chip. The first Gen 3 add-in cards are 

expected to be graphics boards from nvidia 

and AMD/ATI. 

With its industry standardization, high performance 

and low costs, PCIe over cable is 

well suited for connection to high speed I/O, 

bus expansion and local networking. Many 

designers are choosing PCIe as a connection 

from a PC to their high-performance I/O device. 

This usage model is sometimes called 

USB on steroids, since the data rate of PCIe 

over cable is 20 to 80 times faster than USB. 

Designers are now developing a wide variety 

of I/O devices that directly connect to PCIe 

over cable. These applications include disk arrays, 

flash disk arrays, video editing subsystems, 

HD video cameras, hand-held scanning devices 

and many other data acquisition subsystems. 

PCIe over cable is also being used as a simple, 

yet high-performance means of bus expansion. 

PCI EXPRESS 

Figure Fig ig igu gure 3. PCIe PCI CI CIe Ie over cable adapter adap ap a te t r modules is available fo ffor r deskto desktop, to top o pp, 

p, lap laptop ap a to top op and industrial bus 

structures. 

In this model the PCIe backplane bus is conceptually 

stretched to operate over a cable to a 

second backplane physically located within a 

second chassis. These expansion chassis offer 

up to 20 additional add-in board slots for 

either laptops or servers. By using bridges and 

switches within the expansion chassis backplane, 

a variety of PCI, PCI-X and PCIe slots 

can be supported. Some of the most economical 

expansion chassis are based on passive backplanes 

that have direct connections for PCIe 

cables. These backplanes are designed in the 

ATX form factor, so they can be used within 

standard PC-compatible cases. 

A variation of the bus expansion usage model 

is the use of a standard PC connected to an industrial 

bus subsystem. This combination provides 

applications with the best of both worlds 

– a cost-effective, robust PC for the human interface 

and general computing and an industrial 

or instrumentation bus-based subsystem (such 

as PXIe, CompactPCIe, or VMEbus) for the 

specialized I/O. Since the connection rate of 

21 June 2011

PCI EXPRESS 

Figure Fig ig igu gure 4. 4 This Th T is ATX TX T form fo f rm factor fa f cto to t r expansion ex exp xpansion back-backplane 

contains direct PCIe cable connections. 

the PCIe cable is equal to the PCIe backplane 

rate, the performance of this repartitioned system 

is equal to the architecture where the 

CPU board is in the native form factor of the 

industrial bus. 

PCIe can also be used for direct communications 

between PCs. In this model, PCIe over 

cable can be used for high-speed memory-tomemory 

transfers and/or used as a very fast 

TCP/IP connection, with application compatibility 

to standard Ethernet. Direct data transfers 

are used in designs that send data from 

one PC memory into a memory of another 

PC as rapidly as possible. This is particularly 

useful for multi-computing applications where 

one PC inputs data and then passes it to a second 

PC for data manipulation. This PC then 

passes the data to another PC for graphical 

display, and another PC for storage. In this example, 

the PCs could be physically separate 

communicating with PCIe over cable. The 

TCP/IP mode allows users to utilize TCP/IP 

applications to conveniently communicate between 

PCs, map and share disk drives, printers, 

etc. Applications that are adopting PCIe over 

cable for local networking include medical 

imaging, document center internal data transfer, 

instrumentation data sharing and high-performance 

computing inter-networking. 

Whether used for high speed I/O, bus expansion 

or as a high-speed network, there are several 

advantages associated with PCIe over cable 

– low cost, low power, high bandwidth and 

software transparency. These advantages derive 

from the fact that CPU components and chip 

sets nowadays directly drive PCIe as their expansion 

bus. Thus, the PCIe cable adapter 

cards are quite simple. The adapters simply 

route the signals from the motherboard out to 

the PCIe cable connector, and provide some 

signal conditioning to guarantee the signal integrity 

is met at the other end of the cable. Because 

these adapters are simple, they are inexpensive. 

Because they do not convert the PCIe 

protocol into anything else, they are the high 

performance and do not require any software 

drivers (for the I/O expansion models). 

As an I/O expansion protocol, PCIe can be 

used in place of other protocols including: Starfabric, 

external SAS, Fiberchannel and USB. 

Compared to each of these, PCIe is the highest 

performance since there are no protocol conversions 

or timing delays. No cable connection 

can transfer data faster than the PCIe slot is capable 

of, and PCIe over cable is by definition at 

100% performance. Any adapter that has to 

convert PCIe into a different protocol, send the 

data over the cable, and then convert it back to 

PCIe at the other end of the cable so that it can 

communicate with I/O devices, will necessarily 

be slower – both in throughput and latency – 

than a pure PCIe over cable solution. 

For networking, the comparison is PCIe versus 

1Gb and 10Gb Ethernet. 1Gbit Ethernet is 

clearly the most well accepted and lowest-cost 

solution. 10Gbit Ethernet continues to demand 

high prices, particularly for switches, and is 

used sparingly. PCIe over cable is much higher 

performance, but also more expensive than 

1Gbit Ethernet. PCIe over cable compares favorably, 

however, to 10Gbit Ethernet. In this 

comparison, PCIe spans a much broader performance 

range – 2.5Gb/s for a x1 Gen 1 up to 

128Gb/s for a x16 Gen 3 – than 10Gbit Ethernet. 

June 2011 22 

In general, a PCIe network will perform 2 to 4 

times as fast as 10Gbit Ethernet, while requiring 

half the power and costing half as much. The 

PCI-SIG cable specification does not specify 

fiber optic solutions for PCIe. Several vendors 

have however introduced active fiber optic 

cable products for PCIe. These cables plug 

into the standard PCIe over cable connector 

and then convert the signals into optical signals 

and send them over fiber optic cables. The primary 

advantages of these products is that the 

fiber cable can span considerably longer distances 

– typically up to 500 meters, and that 

the optical signals are completely immune to 

EMI interference. Two types of applications 

are utilizing PCIe over cable with active fiber 

optic cables. First are outdoor data acquisition 

and security systems where the distance feature 

is key. The second is within heavy industry 

factory floor applications where the fiber optic 

natural immunity to EMI (from welding and 

other machines) is key. 

PCIe was originally defined to support CPUto-I/O 

communications, with a single PC serving 

as the bus interface host. Multi-computing 

can be accomplished using PCIe through a 

combination of non-transparent bridging and 

CPU-to-CPU communications software. This 

technology expands the applicability of PCIe 

to a wide variety of high-end applications, including 

radar and sonar analysis, medical imaging, 

test and measurement and high-performance 

computing (HPC) inter-communications 

(figure 4). The use of PCIe as a networking 

architecture is beginning to gain significant 

traction. This applies both to inter-blade communications 

(within a blade server) as well as 

external PCIe over cable connections between 

servers. Large HPC clusters with hundreds of 

interconnected nodes are currently being designed 

based on PCIe networking. 

The ability to run PCIe over cable at full performance 

with software transparency opens 

up a range of new application possibilities for 

CPU-to-I/O system re-partitioning. Low-cost 

host bus adapters extend the PCIe bus structure 

to expansion chassis or dedicated PCIe I/O 

hardware. PCIe over cable provides a simple 

and low-cost method for extending applications 

that need more I/O boards than will fit in a 

single chassis to a multi-chassis solution. PCIe 

over cable can also be used as a high performance 

peripheral connection – a super-fast USB 

of sorts. Designing compatible end-points is 

straightforward because the PCIe interface is 

available as a gate array library. When CPUto-CPU 

communications are added to PCIe, 

the cable interface can be used as a high performance 

cabled network. A x8 cabled network 

with Gen 2 timing will transfer data at 40Gb/s 

– or 40 times faster than 1Gb/s Ethernet interfaces 

today. n

Case study: automated control of 

a CNG filling station 

Alexey Ryabinin and Dmitry Lopatin, Fastwel 

The article describes 

the automated control system 

for an automobile CNG filling 

station (ACNGFS) developed 

by JSC Krona. The system 

features high-performance 

and highly reliable MicroPC 

controllers from Fastwel (OC 

Linux 2.6) and IEC 61131 

3 compatible software 

ISaGRAF 5. 

n An automobile CNG filling station (AC- 

NGFS) serves the purpose of refuelling cars or 

other vehicles that use compressed natural gas. 

The gas reaches the ACNGFS through the regional 

gas pipeline system. At the station it is 

pressurized to a certain level in readiness for 

pumping into the fuel tanks of vehicles. Structurally 

the ACNGFS in Tosno, near St Petersburg, 

figure 1, consists of three independent 

compressor units (CU No. 1, 2, 3) and general 

equipment including four gas station dispensers 

and a gas tank, or accumulator. The gas is 

compressed and pumped into the accumulator 

at up to 235 atmospheres. Refuelling is performed 

from the gas accumulator. An ACNGFS 

flowchart is illustrated in figure 2. 

The customer requested JSC Krona to replace 

the outdated control system of the ACNGFS 

with a modern one, putting particular emphasis 

was on the need for reliability, usability and 

easy maintenance. It was specifically required 

that the operator’s control panel software 

should be of high quality, confirmed by the 

ISO 9001:2000 quality standard certificate. The 

structure flowchart, figure 3, shows that the 

automated control system (ACS) which was 

developed consists of two main parts, the control 

cabinet and the operator’s control panel. 

The control cabinet is fitted with a Fastwel 

CPC108 controller running Linux 2.6 with 

Target ISaGRAF 5. Analog signals are trans- 

mitted from data sensors to intrinsic safety 

barriers in the control cabinet and then to 

Analog Devices 7B signal conditioners with 

galvanic separation. Then they are sent through 

the analog signals multiplexer (not shown in 

figure 3) to Octagon Systems 5710 analog 

input/output card. Input and output discrete 

signals from the pressure indicators and actuators 

are sent, in one or the other direction, 

through intrinsic safety barriers, signal conditioners 

with galvanic separation and Octagon 

Systems 5600 discrete input/output card. The 

operator control panel consists of two computers 

with the Winlog SCADA system and a 

back-up control panel. Computers are connected 

to CPC108 by means of Ethernet 

TCP/IP through an Advantech EKI 2528 AE 8port 

uncontrolled switch. On the back-up control 

panel there are IEE indicators connected 

to the CPC108 through RS 485, and control 

keys connected to the 5600-cards through 

KP10 conditioners. 

Hardware from Fastwel and Octagon Systems 

(figure 4) was chosen as the platform for the 

new control system. The choice was conditioned 

by several factors: high quality; optimal 

price/performance ratio; many years of positive 

first-hand experience of using this hardware 

for control systems development. Thus, the 

ACS was basically designed using the following 

hardware. Master device (MD): Fastwel 

EMBEDDED COMPUTING 

Figure 1. Automobile CNG 

filling station in Tosno 

(near St Petersburg) 

CPC108 03 processor module with ISaGRAF 

5 target system running Linux 2.6; Octagon 

Systems 5710 analog input/output module; 

Octagon Systems 5600 and Fastwel UNIO96 1 

discrete input/output modules. Process interface 

devices: Analog Devices series 7B analog 

signal conditioning modules; discrete input 

(KP10 series) and output (KP20 series relay 

modules); signal conditioning modules (JSC 

Krona); Iskra intrinsic safety barriers; KP10A 

analog signal multiplexer. All MD modules 

are in MicroPC format. The processor module 

actually serves as a controller. Module 5710 

works as an analog-to-digital converter. The 

universal 96-channel input/output module 

UNIO96 1 is programmed to perform discrete 

input/output for the required purposes. 

Programming was based on the ISaGRAF 5 

system which complied with all technical specifications 

and met the management demand 

to switch to standardized software. Before 2008 

hardware programming was based on the software 

developed by the company itself. The MicroPC-ISaGRAF 

5 tandem was selected as the 

basis for the hardware/software complex, having 

the following advantages. MicroPC devices 

have high performance and are able to operate 

a significant number of input/output points 

with heavy computation loads. Standardized 

programming languages and convenient development 

and adjustment environment sig- 

23 June 2011


Figure Fig ig igu gure 2. 2 Hardware Ha H rd r ware installation insta ta t llation for fo f r the th t e ACS 

nificantly simplify the process of ACS developing 

and commissioning. LD (ladder diagram) and 

FBD (function block diagram) programming 

languages make design of the control algorithm 

possible even for non-professional software engineers. 

However, along with the advantages, 

using MicroPC and ISaGRAF had a big disadvantage: 

at that time ISaGRAF software did not 

support MicroPC input/output modules. To 

solve this issue Krona management decided to 

become a connecting link between the software 

and hardware developers. For this purpose they 

had to design a set of input/output drivers. 

Hardware and software integration began with 

support for the Fastwel CPC108 processor board. 

Later, collaboration with Fastwel and Prosoft 

(Fastwel and Octagon Systems distributor) specialists 

led to developing support for all necessary 

modules for the new ACS, as under. Fastwel 

CPC108, a processor module that runs Linux 

2.6 or QNX 4, supports TCP/IP, has Compact- 

Flash, built-in flash memory, USB, COM-ports, 

two watchdog timers (first at the OS level, second 

at the special ISaGRAF driver level). It 

makes it possible to upload a running program 

using Ethernet without interruption. It has a 

built-in debugger which enables easy commissioning. 

OS start-up time is about 30 sec. Further 

modules are: Fastwel UNIO96 1, a universal 

input/output module (supported in the discrete 

input/output mode), Fastwel UNIO96 5, a programmable 

input/output module (supported 

in discrete input/output mode), Fastwel AO16, 

a 16-channel analog output module; Octagon 

Systems 5600, a discrete input/output module, 

Octagon Systems 5710, an analog input/output 

module, Octagon Systems 555x, a multi-channel 

serial communication module (serial input/output 

ports), and Fastwel AI16 5A, an analog 

input/output module (supported both in normal 

and multiplex mode along with Fastwel 

AIMUX 32 modules). Support was also developed 

for Modbus TCP/RTU master/slave exchange 

protocols. 

The control algorithm was designed on the 

basis of the ISaGRAF 5 software system using 

custom input/output drivers. For the purposes 

of simplification and boosting algorithm adjustment 

at the stage of commissioning, an 

object software simulator was created that can 

be connected on-the-fly from the SCADA system 

provided that there is necessary access 

level. In order to carry out such an approach, 

Figure Fig ig igu gure 3. 3 Mnemonic Mn M emonic diagram diag ag a ra r m of o the th t e auto automation to t mation obj object bj b ect and analog 

og o para parameters ra r mete te t rs r window 

June 2011 24 

direct parameters mounting had to be rejected. 

Binding discrete parameters to the physical 

links is realized using special code, the same 

happening with analog parameters. Analog 

signal input is implemented as follows. From 

the primary transducer (temperature, pressure, 

and current sensors) the signal is transmitted 

to the intrinsic safety barrier and Analog Devices 

7B series secondary transducer. Then it 

is sent to the analog signal multiplexer and finally 

to the Octagon Systems 5710 module. 

The control system receives measured values 

in the form of digital code. These then go to 

the software functional unit where they are 

converted into physical quantities. The codes 

of the channels to which resistance temperature 

detectors Platinum RTD 100P are connected 

are recomputed, using polynomial because the 

secondary Analog Devices transducer has the 

characteristics of Pt 100. A Kranpar software 

functional unit designed by JSC Krona is used 

for that purpose. 

Simultaneously with the measurements the 

analog circuit operability is constantly monitored. 

Sensors and secondary transducers are 

monitored to be within the set parameters 

range. The so-named freeze input of the Kranpar 

unit serves the purpose of enabling maintenance 

of any analog channel (replacement of 

sensor, transducer, etc) without stopping the 

process. Secondary transducers are mounted 

on the backplane in groups of 15. The 16th 

channel is used for monitoring the analog multiplexer 

zero. This means that every 16th channel 

is linked to the point of zero potential. 

Analog zero code is measured and its deviation 

from the nominal value is checked in every 

cycle. If the difference is big, the operator receives 

an alarm indicating a faulty module. 

Deviation value of the analog zero code in 

every cycle is used to correct measured values 

of all analog parameters connected to this 

multiplexer. This helps to significantly reduce 

measurement inaccuracy. Monitoring of the 

operability of the analog-to-digital converter 

itself (Octagon Systems 5710 module) is conducted 

in the same way. Choosing the SCADA 

system was challenging. There was no such 

product on the Russian market that could 

meet all our requirements at the same time: 

reliability, functionality, design simplicity, userfriendly 

interface of the operator program, international 

certificate of quality management 

ISO 9001:2000, and relatively low licence cost. 

Thus our experts decided to go further and 

appealed to international software developers. 

A product widely known in Europe, Winlog 

PRO produced by the Italian company Sielco 

Sistemi (figure 3), became our first choice. A 

SCADA system had never been used on the 

Russian market before. Therefore, our computer 

engineers had to completely Russify it, which


they did successfully. ACS implementation at the JSC “Gazprom 

Transgaz St. Petersburg” took place in December 2008. System replacement 

was carried out with minimal interference to the refuelling of vehicles 

- station shut-down only lasted two days. The hardware and 

software system described made a significant positive economic impact 

in the following ways. Decreasing ACS development period, decreasing 

commissioning period, saving costs on warranty and post-warranty 

ACS maintenance service, saving cost on software by more than 40% 

by using the Winlog PRO SCADA system. In 2009 a similar system 

was implemented at another JSC “Gazprom Transgaz St. Petersburg” 

facility – the ACNGFS in Peterhof. 

The total number of ACS input/output points is 450. Total number 

of connecting points with the SCADA system exceeds 1000. Plantand 

company-run tests and trials have had successful results without 

any points of criticism. During a year of continuous system operation 

there have been no errors or faults detected. Summing up, it should 

be said that the strategy of combining MicroPC and ISaGRAF has 

met all our expectations. n 

Product News 

n NI: PXI Express synchronization module and remote controller 

National Instruments announced two PXI Express products that extend 

the platform’s performance and capabilities, especially for multichassis 

systems with the PXIe-6674T timing module and the PXIe-PCIe8388 8 

GB/s/direction remote controller. The NI PXIe-6674T timing module 

unlocks the most advanced timing and synchronization capabilities for 

PXI Express systems. It generates and routes clocks and triggers between 

devices in a PXI Express chassis. It also can externally route signals to 

other PXI and PXI Express chassis or third-party instrumentation. The 

timing module can generate two types of clock signals. 

News ID 13773 

n Lanner partners with X2O Media on all-in-one digital 

signage systems 

Lanner Electronics has partnered with X2O Media to create three 

distinct all-in-one digital signage platforms. Lanner’s LEC-7020, 

LEC-7100, and LEC-7900 fanless, embedded computer systems now 

integrate X2O Media’s Xpresenter Xe software to provide users with 

complete, turnkey digital signage solutions for a wide variety of applications. 

X2O Media is a full-service provider of software, network 

management, and content services for professional digital signage 

applications. Designed for customers that don’t require the full 

feature set of X2O’s award-winning Xpresenter digital signage platform, 

Xpresenter Xe combines broadcast-quality output and intuitive pointand-click 

content management tools with varying levels of output 

complexity to meet the needs of any application. 

News ID 13722 

n Advantech: Embedded touch control board with 

software package 

Advantech has released a new touch control board for embedded developers. 

ETM-RES02C is a touch control board with fast response 

times for 4/5-Wire resistive touchscreens. More importantly, it comes 

with unique software which can help integrators quickly configure 

their applications. With wide-temperature operation, ETM-RES02C 

provides an all-in-one solution for POS, Medical and Machine 

Control applications. ETM-RES02C is highly reliable with a MTBF 

of 4,000,000 hours, and provides 4096 x 4096 touch resolution and 

fast response times of around 10ms for smooth instant feedback. 

News ID 13809 

25 June 2011


A new processor generation for 

deeply embedded systems 

By Aurelius Wosylus, AMD Embedded Business Unit 

AMD Embedded G-Series 

processors use the same 

new 64-bit CPU core as the 

AMD Embedded G-Series 

accelerated processing units. 

This technology delivers x86 

processing performance for 

deeply embedded, headless 

systems and devices which 

do not require any 

graphics output. 

n Historically, one of the main reasons for implementing 

x86 technologies into embedded 

systems was their high multi-purpose computing 

performance and network connectivity. 

As embedded computing technology has become 

more and more prevalent, sophisticated 

graphics capabilities for human machine interfaces 

(HMIs) in many different vertical markets 

have also dramatically gained significance. 

The combination of these two factors, the 

high multi-purpose computing power and the 

graphics capabilities, are paving the way for 

the extensive and growing success of x86 technologies 

in embedded applications. With the 

ongoing improvements in CPU performance, 

x86 processor technology has also proven successful 

and moved into areas where no graphics 

interface is required, such as high performance 

rack systems and backplane systems as used in 

AT/ISA 96 systems, VME or CompactPCI systems 

and ATCA, MicroTCA and VPX systems. 

Since graphics performance is not required, 

vendors have often implemented server-class 

chipsets into these systems. 

In recent years, the low-power embedded segment 

and dedicated-use systems have also 

been designed around x86 technology. This 

has been made possible by the ever-increasing 

performance-per-watt ratio and dramatically 

reduced footprint of new embedded x86 platforms, 

which now easily fit into very small 

d esigns and can meet the typical physical 

constraints of deeply embedded devices. Thus, 

x86 processor technology is now in a position 

to move more and more deeply into applications 

and segments where other processor 

technologies have dominated in the past. x86 

technology is now set up to benefit headless 

system designs which have no need for a 

g raphics interface for displays. 

One example is the industrial automation 

sector where in the past, conventional hardware-decoded 

programmable logic controllers 

(PLCs) in the process level dominated. These 

devices usually provide no direct graphics 

functionality for the user interface. They are 

often connected to sensors and actuators such 

as motion control or distributed conveyor 

sensors and many other industrial applications. 

In this area, x86-based soft PLCs can now 

deliver, together with the connectivity via the 

always-on grid of connected devices, a value 

that can best be described by the terms openness 

and user comfort. The ability to access 

these deeply embedded devices via web 

browsers, for example, makes it possible to remotely 

configure and monitor decentralized 

processes over an entire factory from anywhere 

in the world. When OEMs use an x86 technology 

platform for these devices, they benefit 

from the extensive x86 ecosystem of software, 

tools, and compilers. There are further 

June 2011 26 

Figure 1. One platform for a broad 

range of embedded applications: the 

AMD Embedded G-Series CPUs 

and APUs 

efficiencies based on the familiarity that so 

many designers and developers have with x86. 

System integrators can leverage unified and 

seamless communication and networking infrastructure 

across the entire shop floor up to 

the IT network, including the embedded systems 

in the field. Being able to deploy unified 

technology across the entire infrastructure can 

bring unique advantages in terms of cost and 

reliability. These enhancements open the 

p ossibilities to move even more deeply down 

the stack to sensors and actuators. 

Until now, this has been somewhat of a dilemma 

for x86 processor platforms: the smaller 

they became, the more functionality they integrated. 

This is especially true as the graphics 

unit, usually the second most energy-demanding 

component after the CPU, moved from 

the chipset into a single unit with the processor, 

enabling space-saving and highly powerefficient 

two-chip solutions instead of the 

former triumvirate of CPU, northbridge, and 

southbridge. Yet, despite the high integration 

of functionalities into the processor and the 

small form factor trend spurred by this integration, 

x86 technologies have still often been 

viewed as oversized for deeply embedded 

headless a pplications. This perception has 

persisted, even considering the fact that the 

x86 platform can now be an ideal fit with its 

low-power consumption, small form factor

and proven technologies used in millions of 

standard consumer devices and the extremely 

wide ecosystem of software and development 

tools. Consequently, to better pave the way for 

designers to take advantage of the benefits of 

x86 for deeply embedded applications, the 

ideal step would be to eliminate the overhead 

functionalities which are not required, by excluding 

them from the processor die. This is 

exactly what AMD has now done with its 

AMD Embedded G-Series processor. Following 

the recently launched AMD Embedded APUs 

in January 2011, at the Embedded World trade 

show AMD presented three new CPUs for the 

AMD Embedded G-Series, all based on the eagerly-awaited 

Bobcat core. These new CPUs 

are specifically offered for headless implementations, 

where there is no need for graphics or 

direct user input and these new variants of 

the AMD Embedded G-Series platform deliver 

amazing x86 CPU functionality. 

As with the standard APUs, the headless system 

variants of the AMD Embedded G-Series feature 

exceptional power efficiency and a feature 

set that is optimized to the needs of a large 

range of embedded systems. With three performance 

classes from the 800 MHz singlecore 

processor T24L up to the 1.4 GHz dual 

core T48L, the 64-bit multi-purpose x86 processing 

performance can be adjusted to suit 

the application. The CPUs feature a maximum 

thermal design power (TDP) of just 5 to 18 


Figure Fig ig igu gure 2. 2 The Th T e 64-bit 64 6 bit low-power low power “Bobcat” “B “ obcat” core of oof th tthe e AMD 

MD M GG-Series Series in deta detail: ta t il: severa several ra r l perf perform- rf rfo form ance features such as out-of-order instruction execution combined with a low-power design result 

in an excellent performance per watt ratio. 

watts. Furthermore, these new CPUs also include 

a variety of critical system elements including 

memory controllers, I/O controllers 

and bus interfaces. All this processing power 

comes in a very small BGA package that 

enables fanless designs and 4-layer printed circuit 

boards. With the new AMD Embedded G- 

Series CPUs, engineers can develop their embedded 

devices with new levels of power efficiency 

and can recognize more cost-effectiveness 

with optimized x86 platforms. Now, there 

is no need to change the basic technology platform 

that so many designers and engineers 

are familiar with in order to move more deeply 

into embedded appliances. 

These benefits make the AMD Embedded G- 

Series platform – whether the CPU or the 

APU - an ideal choice for a wide range of applications 

in the converging embedded markets. 

On the one hand, this new technology serves 

embedded applications in the consumer electronics 

(CE) area, smart residential gateways, 

storage appliances and NAS servers, and other 

network-connected devices. On the other hand, 

the highly scalable platform also serves deeply 

embedded applications which require exceptional 

overall performance on a small form 

factor and fanless design in combination with 

long-term availability. These designs can be 

found in many industrial markets such as automation, 

transportation, distributed smart 

grid data boxes, rugged firewalls, M2M and 

27 June 2011


hundreds of other small boxes required for 

control applications or to collect and distribute 

data. Plus, a further fact is convincing: because 

both the CPU and APU technology is based 

on the same AMD Embedded G-Series platform, 

hardware platform vendors can find it 

very easy to switch their designs between the 

APUs and the CPU. They are thus able to offer 

both advantages with only a slight redesign of 

their full custom designs or board-level products 

such as computer-on-modules, single 

board computers, and motherboards. 

Thus the broad ecosystem developed for standard 

low-power x86 devices can also be extended 

for usage in even more specialized embedded 

devices. Owing to continuous improvements 

in processor design, the AMD Embedded 

G-Series platform has become more compact 

and power-optimized. The integration of the 

APU device reduces the footprint of a traditional 

three-chip platform to two chips. The 

APU and its companion controller hub simplify 

the design, as fewer board layers and a smaller 

power supply are required. With a 48% area 

efficiency improvement compared to the previous 

platform generations, the small footprint 

and low power consumption help reduce overall 

system costs and enable fanless ultra-mobile 

devices to run longer between battery charges. 

With an array of performance options, ranging 

from a 1.2 GHz single-core APU up to the 1.6 

GHz dual-core variants, the AMD Embedded 

G-Series platform enables OEMs to utilize single 

board designs for the whole span of embedded 

systems - from entry-level up to highend 

solutions. Thus a single platform can be 

n Kontron: VPX/OpenVPX solution for 

high memory applications 

Kontron announces an additional SKU of its 

6U VPX dual processor node VX6060 with 16 

GByte soldered ECC RAM; several significant 

programs are already utilizing a cluster of 

these powerful processor nodes. All versions 

support the Kontron VXFabric API for IP 

based data transport over PCI Express to accelerate 

application development. OEMs benefit 

from a performance boost and simplified 

data flow management in high performance 

embedded computing applications based on 

6U VPX/OpenVPX architectures and can 

begin with the development and deployment 

of high memory architectures based on Intel 

Core i7 technology. Each of the independently 

implemented dual-core Intel Core i7 processing 

nodes of the VX6060 have full access to 8 

GByte ECC RAM. Through this enhanced 

memory capacity, extensive application data 

can be hosted in the low latency RAM without 

Figure Fig ig igu gure 3. 3 The Th T e AMD MD M G-Series processor covers 

rs r 

an area of only 361 mm² 

the basis for a host of product variants, for example 

a product family of box PCs with SKUs 

ranging from low-power up to high-performance 

versions. And if a new system based on 

this platform has already been developed, the 

reusability factor for new designs is tremendous 

because the processor’s high scalability covers 

the great majority of today’s x86 performance 

requirements in most embedded markets. Due 

to the common denominators of scalable platform 

design, the supply chain is simplified 

and operational complexity is minimized along 

with those associated costs, helping to drive 

better platform economics for the OEM. Furthermore 

the AMD Embedded lifecycles help 

to ensure the long-term availability of the platform 

which is essential, especially for the non- 

CE embedded computing markets. Both the 

AMD Embedded G-Series APUs and the CPUs 

Product News 

the need for reloading data from high latency 

mass storage devices. 

News ID 13676 

n Curtiss-Wright: quad channel 250 MSPS 

16-bit analog input FMC card 

Curtiss-Wright has introduced a new rugged 

FPGA Mezzanine Card module, the FMC- 

516 is a quad channel 250 MSPS 16-bit analog 

input card that enables I/O devices to be directly 

coupled to a host FPGA. By providing 

direct ADC connection to the host FPGA, 

this compact card ensures maximum throughput 

and enables multiple channels and boards 

to be synchronized. The FMC-516 speeds and 

simplifies the integration of FPGAs into embedded 

system designs. The low latency, highbandwidth 

module eliminates data bottlenecks. 

The card is designed for use in demanding 

military applications such as Signal Intelligence, 

Electronic Counter Measures and 

RADAR that require high-speed ADC com- 

June 2011 28 

for headless designs provide embedded customers 

with a complete and scalable platform 

with long-term support. This helps to speed 

up design work and development cycles and 

therefore helps shorten the time-to-market 

for applications that can offer an outstanding 

performance-per-watt ratio. The ideal applications 

for this platform cover a broad range - 

they rely on impressive visual experience while 

maintaining very low power consumption, or 

require an exceptionally high parallel processing 

power, or they are focused on an optimized 

feature set and highly efficient CPU performance 

for deeply embedded systems. 

With all the benefits available on a extremely 

compact footprint, it is not surprising that 

parallel to the launch of the new AMD Embedded 

G-Series platform, several embedded 

hardware manufacturers, including Compulab, 

Congatec, Fujitsu and Kontron, have already 

announced products with the first APU for 

embedded systems, on a broad range of form 

factors that can be also easily switched to 

headless variants. This can be done far more 

easily compared to previous platforms, since 

all designs have the same controller hub. With 

the introduction of one of the most competitive 

technologies to date, new AMD APU technology 

is a compelling solution which is not only 

suitable for the majority of applications in the 

entire embedded market, but also has the exciting 

potential to revolutionize the embedded 

computing market itself. Thus, OEMs should 

consider evaluating this new technology in their 

endeavor to fulfil customers’ demands for a 

vivid user experience and massive data throughputs 

in all offered performance classes. n 

ponents as part of a digital receiver. The FMC 

format is supported on a wide range of 

CWCEC FPGA-based host boards, which are 

designed to process the FMC-516’s I/O data 

with high bandwidth, low latency paths. 

News ID 13651 

n Eurotech: low power PC/104+ module 

with true ISA and DOS support 

Eurotech launches the CPU-1440, a new low 

power PC/104+ module based on the Vortex86DX 

processor. At less than 4W of power 

consumption and fanless operation, the CPU- 

1440 provides x86 compatibility for legacy applications 

using DOS, as well as for more current 

PC/104+ embedded applications using 

Linux and Windows CE. The flexibility and 

performance capabilities of Eurotech’s CPU- 

1440 make it ideal for installations requiring 

rugged construction and high reliability, such 

as those in transportation applications. 

News ID 13718

n GE: OpenVPX module provides up to 

24 ports of 10GigE layer 2/3 switching 

GE Intelligent Platforms announced the fully 

managed NETernity GBX460 rugged 6U Open- 

VPX data plane switch module. The GBX460 

with OpenWare supports high throughput interprocessor 

communication between 10GigEenabled 

processing nodes for deployed network-centric 

defense and aerospace applications. 

Its non-blocking 10GigE ports provide high 

performance throughput across the VPX backplane; 

the non-blocking feature means that the 

GBX460 can pass traffic across all 10GigE ports 

at wire speed without bottlenecks. 

News ID 13663 

n embedded-logic: PC/104+ with Atom N455 

and Intel ICH8M Southbridge 

embedded-logic released the new PB-ATOM- 

L+N455/D425/D525, an advanced PC/104+ 

product based on the Intel Atom processor, as 

well as the Intel ICH8M Southbridge. The design 

is sophisticated and compact, ideal for industrial 

applications with highest requirements. 

The typical power consumption of the PB- 

ATOM-L+ N455 is under 10 watt. For price 

sensitive applications that require the optimal 

balance between performance and energy consumption. 

The PB-ATOM-L+N455/D425/D525 

is offered in three different CPU-variants. One 

version has the Intel Atom processor N455 

with 1,66 GHz clock frequency 512MB 2L 

Cache and 667 MHz Front-Side and memory 

bus, the Intel Atom processor D425 with 1,8 

GHz clock frequency 512MB 2L 

News ID 13729 

n BVM: industrial grade Core i7/i5/i3 Mobile 

Micro ATX motherboard 

BVM Group has augmented its family of compact 

Micro ATX format motherboards with 

the introduction of the MS-C71, which combines 

scalable computing power for heavy processing 

tasks, a huge array of I/O and expansion 

slots and integrated high definition graphics 

capability in a 244 x 244mm footprint. The 

mobile CPU and chipset minimise power consumption 

and reduce the cooling requirements 

of the finished system. Typical applications 

will be in kiosks, large-scale displays, industrial 

control and automation, security and surveillance, 

gaming, print imaging, digital signage 

and other applications where fast processing 

is a fundamental requirement. The SBC is 

based on the Intel Mobile QM57 Express 

chipset, supporting the 32nm Intel Core i7/i5/i3 

Mobile processors in the rPGA988A socket 

with up to 8GB of 1066MHz dual-channel 

memory. HD audio is provided by the Realtek 

ALC888 HD Audio codec; HD VGA, 24-bit 

dual channel LVDS and optional DVI video 

are supported. Twelve USB2.0, five RS232 and 

one RS232/422/485 serial ports, two Gigabit 

Ethernet RJ45 network ports and an S/PDIF 

PRODUCT NEWS 

audio port are onboard. For mass storage, six 

ATA II 300MB/s interfaces supporting RAID 

0/1/5/10 are provided. 

News ID 13745 

n Diamond: managed 8-port Gigabit 

Ethernet Switch in PC/104 format 

Diamond Systems unveils Epsilon, a managed 

Layer 2 managed Ethernet switch module offering 

eight 10/100/1000Mbps copper twisted 

pair ports on a PC/104 form-factor board. Epsilon 

can be used standalone, without any connection 

to a single board computer, or in conjunction 

with a host CPU. The module’s builtin 

microcontroller handles configuration and 

management. On-board memory holds dual 

application images, boot code, MAC addresses, 

and other parameters, and can also be used for 

program execution.An RS-232 serial port enables 

communication between the module’s on-board 

management microcontroller and a host processor. 

Epsilon’s built-in microcontroller is also 

accessible via a web management interface over 

one of the Ethernet ports. Epsilon provides a 

full PC/104 stackthrough bus interface, allowing 

it to be integrated into any PC/104 stack. 

News ID 13715 

n Kontron: 3U OpenVPX PCI Express 

and Ethernet hybrid switch 

Kontron has announced the 3U OpenVPX 

PCI Express and Ethernet hybrid switch VX3905 

which delivers extremely high transfer rates in 

centralized VPX and OpenVPX platforms. With 

up to 4 x 6 Gen1/Gen2 PCIe backplane ports 

for the data plane, it provides ten times the I/O 

bandwidth found in systems deploying today 

and paves the way for a new generation of high 

performance embedded computing applications.The 

VX3905 is compliant with the Open- 

VPX VITA65 switch slot profile SLT3-SWH- 

6F6U-14.4 for highest compatibility in multiboard 

designs. It provides up to 24 PCI Express 

Gen 1/Gen 2 ports for up to 32 lanes which 

can be configured ( x8, x4, x2 and x1) depending 

on the required bandwidth. 

News ID 13823 

n AAEON: fanless multi-touch infotainment 

PC 

AAEON announced the newest addition to 

the ACP series: ACP-5182, a 18.5” industrialgrade, 

energy saving/low power consumption 

multi-touch infotainment Panel Computer. 

This product adheres to the market demand 

for a slim, compact and fanless Panel Computer 

with additional features such as spill-resistant 

IPx1 configuration and a scratch resistant touch 

panel. The ACP-5182 is powered by the Intel 

Dual Core Atom D510 Processor with the Intel 

ICH8M Chipset. This model is quiet and can 

serve in applications that require no ventilation 

or sound, such as hospitals and wafer factories. 

News ID 13817 

29 June 2011

PRODUCT NEWS 

n VIA: Mini-ITX board supports Windows 

Embedded POSReady 7 

VIA Technologies announces its latest Mini- 

ITX board paired with the VX900 chipset, the 

new VIA EPIA-M860 Mini-ITX board. The 

VIA EPIA-M860 combines a 1.2GHz VIA 

Nano E-Series Processor with the VIA VX900 

media system chipset creating a complete platform 

for demanding digital signage, media 

terminals, infotainment devices and online 

streaming video. Designed as a full featured 

entry level VX900 board, the EPIA-M860 is 

the first EPIA board which supports Windows 

Embedded POSReady 7, a flexible operating 

system designed to seamlessly connect Point 

of Service solutions with peripherals, servers, 

services and the cloud. The VIA EPIA-M860 

offers PCI, PCIe and Mini PCIe support, combined 

with mainstream DDR3 memory and 

both ATX and DC-in power support. 

News ID 13778 

n AAEON: ETX COM extends longevity 

of existing ETX based designs 

AAEON announces the arrival of the ETX- 

LN, a new Computer On Module with onboard 

Intel Atom D525/D425/N455 Processors. The 

ETX-LN provides increased performance in a 

smaller power envelope and extends the longevity 

of existing ETX based designs. The ETX-LN 

has an onboard Intel Atom Processor and the 

ICH8M I/O Controller Hub. Up to 2GB DDR3 

system memory is supported by one 204-pin 

SODIMM socket. It also offers one 10/100Base- 

TX Ethernet for network connectivity. I/O demands 

are well met by 4 USB 2.0 ports, two 

RS-232 ports and parallel port. For storage requirement, 

there are two SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports 

and optional onboard SSD up to 16 GB. The 

onboard SSD helps simplify system configuration 

and reduces overall cost. Additionally, the 

ETX-LN offers both LVDS and analog video 

output in simultaneous and dual display modes. 

News ID 13758 

n Curtiss-Wright: rugged rack mount chassis 

cool greater than150W per slot 

Curtiss-Wright has introduced two new 20slot 

0.8” pitch or 16-slot 1.0” pitch 6U payload 

forced air-cooled enclosures for rugged deployed 

military embedded systems. The RM810 

chassis are the newest member of Electronic 

Systems’ Hybricon family of advanced military 

COTS electronic packaging solutions. These 

rugged rack mount-style enclosures supports 

power supplies up to 1800W and provides 

cooling for greater than 150W per slot to 

ensure optimal performance for the most demanding 

high power mobile applications. The 

RM810 19” rack mount enclosures are 8U- 

10U high forced air-cooled deployable chassis. 

It can be configured with a wide range of 

open standard backplane architectures, including 

VITA 1.7/VME64x, VME, VXS, PICMG 

2.16, VPX, and OpenVPX. The RM810-8T 

measures 13.97“ (8U) high, 19” wide, and 22” 

deep. The RM810-10F measures 17.47” (10U) 

high, 19” wide, and 22” deep. The card cage is 

constructed of precision grade aluminum. 

News ID 13810 

n Data Modul: 3.5-inch board based on AMD 

Embedded G-Series platform 

Data Modul presents one of the first 3.5“ embedded 

boards powered by the AMD G-Series. 

The APU incorporates the new low-power, x86 

CPU based on the “Bobcat” core with a worldclass 

DirectX 11-capable GPU and parallel processing 

engine on a single piece of silicon. The 

ECM-A50M comes with AMD T40N 1.0GHz 

processor by default but is also available with 

AMD T56N 1.6GHz processor. It provides the 

standard I/O features 7 x USB 2.0, 2 x COM 

(one of them is switchable to RS232/422/485), 

16 GPIOs, 2 x SATA, HD Audio, Dual Gigabit 

Ethernet, one CFast Socket and it is expandable 

via mini PCI-Express. A wide variety of display 

I/O configurations are supported, including 

HDMI, dual-channel 24-bit LVDS, VGA and 

dual display configurations. An onboard touchcontroller 

is optionally available. 

News ID 13769 

n Kontron: PC/104-Plus SBC with AMD 

Embedded G-series 

The Kontron PC/104-Plus SBC MICROSPACE 

MSM-eO offers powerful embedded graphics. 

The SBC is based on the accelerated processing 

units of the AMD Embedded G-Series, which, 

along with a 64-bit CPU, also integrates a programmable 

graphics unit and a DDR3 memory 

controller. Using the MICROSPACE MSMeO 

and Kontron’s extensive PC/104 portfolio 

of expansion boards, OEMs can quickly implement 

small form factor applications with a 

level of performance that, until now, has only 

been possible with significantly larger systems 

with dedicated graphics cards. With up to 4 

GB DDR3 RAM, the Kontron MICROSPACE 

MSM-eO offers enough resources to speed up 

memory-intensive applications. Along with 

LVDS and VGA, the module also has a digital 

display interface for DisplayPort, HDMI or 

DVI signals, allowing the flexible connection 

of a wide variety of monitor types. 

News ID 13708 

n Diamond Systems: I/O expansion modules 

address SBC form factor fragmentation 

Diamond Systems has unveiled a new family 

of I/O expansion modules for systems based 

on single-board computers that expand using 

either PCI/104-Express, PC/104-Plus, or 

SUMIT-ISM. The modules implement identical 

analog and digital I/O feature-sets on all three 

formats, letting companies choose their favorite 

expansion format now, while reserving the 

option of migrating to an alternate format in 

June 2011 30 

the future without major rework to the 

application’s I/O software or interfaces. The 

E104-DAQ1616, P104-DAQ1616, and SMT- 

DAQ1616 modules are implemented on the 

PCI/104-Express, PC/104-Plus, and SUMIT- 

ISM Type1 expansion formats, respectively. 

Each includes sixteen 16-bit A/D inputs and 

sixteen 16-bit D/A output channels, with 

programmable range and polarity. 

News ID 13710 

n Kontron: 2.5-inch Pico-ITX embedded 

SBC with AMD Embedded G-series 

The new Kontron 2.5-inch Pico-ITX embedded 

single board computer KTA55/pITX is Kontron’s 

smallest SBC platform based on the 

AMD Embedded G-Series with Fusion technology. 

The KTA55/pITX features the 1.2 

GHz Single-Core processor AMD T44R or the 

1.0 GHz Dual-Core processor AMD T44N 

and integrates up to 4 GB RAM on a DDR3 

SODIMM module. With the DVI-I output 

for DVI and VGA, the 24-bit dual channel 

LVDS interface and the backlight output 

(switchable from 5 V to 12 V), OEMs can implement 

dual-monitor applications with resolutions 

up to 2 x full HD (1080p). In addition, 

the integrated unified video decoder minimizes 

the CPU load in the decoding of H.264, VC-1, 

MPEG, WMV and DivX HD videos. 

News ID 13696 

n MSC joins Intel’s Embedded Building 

Blocks initiative 

MSC has joined the new Embedded Building 

Blocks initiative launched by Intel. The objective 

of this initiative is to offer system integrators 

and resellers the opportunity to easily enter the 

embedded computing market using existing 

standardized modules with baseboard kits and 

suitable housings. Compact and robust industrial 

computer systems for various requirements, such 

as in industrial automation, can be constructed 

with the prefabricated Embedded Building Blocks. 

In this way, integrators can construct individual 

systems that are quick to deliver and cost-effective, 

can be used flexible and can be extended at any 

time. The Embedded Building Blocks provides 

scalable platforms: MSC offers its COM Express 

modules and standard baseboards as well as Mini- 

ITX enclosures from DSM Computer GmbH. A 

total of seven COM Express module variations, 

based on various Intel processor types, are currently 

offered by MSC. These range from powerful 

second generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, 

each with dual-core, to power-saving Intel 

Atom Z5x0 processors. MSC provides the Embedded 

Building Blocks and can also deliver 

memory modules, SSDs from Intel and accessories. 

Development and manufacturing of the embedded 

components as well as the logistics and support in 

Germany ensure a fast and flexible project 

implementation. 

News ID 13822

n Artila: M-502 SOM chosen as Editor’s 

Choice product 

The M-502 Industrial Linux-based ARM9 

System on Module, designed by Artila Electronics, 

was selected for an Editor’s Choice 

award in PC/104 and Small Form Factors 

Magazine’s Spring 2011 issue. The most intriguing 

feature of the M-502 System on 

Module is its compact size. With a 400MHz 

AT91SAM9G20 processor complete with 

Memory Management Unit at the helm, the 

M-502 consumes an ultra-low 2.5 W. The M- 

502 is powered by 400MHZ ARM926EJ-S 

ARM Thumb Processor with memory management 

unit, and equipped with 64MB 

SDRAM, 128MB NAND Flash, and 2MB 

DATAFlash. M-502 is also pre-installed with 

Linux 2.6.29 OS, busybox utility collection, 

lighttpd Web server, and various hardware 

device drivers. 

News ID 13746 

n Eurotech launches ruggedized Zypad 

BR2000 Series 

Eurotech announces the launch of the Zypad 

BR2000 series of vehicle-mounted and manworn 

computers ideal for rugged environments 

such as those often seen in the oil and pipe, 

industrial, and transportation markets. Compact, 

light-weight, and power-stingy, the Zypad 

BR2000 also brings out an impressive list of 

high-speed I/O, multimedia, and communications 

capabilities making it a fully functional 

wearable or vehicle mounted computer. Being 

low power, battery based and compact, the 

unit can be used as a man-wearable computer 

that’s worn on utility belts, in a pocket or 

backpack or on a vest. The Zypad BR2000 can 

also be mounted onto a vehicle such as a truck 

or service car. 

News ID 13711 

n Curtiss-Wright: 3U OpenVPX forced air 

conduction-cooled development chassis 

Curtiss-Wright has introduced a new 12-slot 

3U OpenVPX forced air conduction-cooled 

chassis for the development of military embedded 

systems. The RME9CC Chassis is the 

newest member of Electronic Systems’ Hybricon 

family of advanced military COTS electronic 

packaging solutions. This rackmountstyle 

chassis provides cooling for up to 75 W 

per slot. It’s designed for 3U 1“ pitch payload 

cards and rear transition modules and supports 

3U OpenVPX backplanes with high-speed 

switch fabric support for up to 6.25 Gbaud. 

The RME9CC measures 18.96“ (Rack Flanges) 

wide, 15.69“ (9U) high, and 19.53” deep. The 

card cage is constructed of conduction-cooled 

extruded and machined aluminum. The 

RME9CC offers 12-slot 3U 1” pitch backplane 

with rear transition module support, 12-slot 

3U OpenVPX backplanes are available. The 

chassis meets the stringent ANSI/VITA 65 

PRODUCT NEWS 

power and cooling requirements for conduction-cooled 

3U OpenVPX modules. 

News ID 13791 

n ADLINK: high-speed 200 MS/s 14-bit 

PCI Express digitizer 

ADLINK releases the PCIe-9842 PCI Express 

digitizer providing a 200 MS/s sampling rate 

of 14 bits of data across one channel. The 

PCIe-9842 is specifically designed for applications 

such as light detection and ranging tests, 

optical fiber tests, and radar signal acquisition. 

Its 100 MHz bandwidth analog input is designed 

to receive ±1V high-speed signals with 

50 Ω impedance. With this simplified frontend 

design and highly stable onboard reference, 

the PCIe-9842 provides not only high-accuracy 

measurement results but also delivers highdynamic 

performance. For applications that 

require data to be acquired and transferred in 

real-time, the PCIe-9842 is designed on the 

PCI Express x4 bus interface to provide 

a dequate bandwidth for real-time transfers. 

News ID 13780 

n VIA: modular chassis kit for slim Em-ITX 

Embedded systems 

VIA Technologies announces the VIA AMOS- 

5001, a specially designed chassis kit for Em- 

ITX form factor boards enabling the rapid and 

easy assembly of a wide variety of robust fanless 

embedded system designs. Measuring just 35.2 

x 231mm, the AMOS-5001 is slim enough to 

fit in even the most space-constrained environment. 

Systems built using the VIA AMOS- 

5001 are also shock resistant and can withstand 

even the most extreme temperatures. The 

chassis kit features a unique modular design 

comprised of only four mechanical parts that 

ensures the easy integration of VIA EITX-3001 

series mainboards. An optional 2.5” HDD 

storage subsystem chassis is also available. 

News ID 13660 

n AAEON: 15- inch rugged touch panel 

computer 

AAEON introduces the AGP-3155, a 15’’ 

Rugged Touch Panel Computer with Intel 

Core i7/i5 Processor with a QM57 chipset. 

The AGP-3155 is designed with the intention 

to withstand a large amount of internal as 

well as external forces. The AGP-3155 features 

an integrated LCD/CRT controller in the 

Intel QM57 chipset. For plenty of memory, 

there are two DDR3 800/1066MHz SODIMM 

(up to 8 GB). For more expansion, there is a 

Mini Card and two PCI or two PCIe slots. 

These PCI/PCIe slots make the Panel PC 

Easy-to-Expand. This unit also offers a Gigabit 

Ethernet and I/O Ports, such as two RS-232, 

one RS-232/422/485, six USB 2.0, one Line- 

Out/MIC-in/Line-in, and one DVI for flexible 

expansions. 

News ID 13790 

31 June 2011

PRODUCT NEWS 

n NEXCOM: rugged transportation computer 

with M12 Ethernet connector 

NEXCOM’s NROK 500 Series is specially designed 

for trains. The 1st Rail PC NROK 500 

is a tiny transportation computer system, 

which has 24V isolated DC input protection 

and is fully compliant with most standards for 

transportation usage. For transportation automation, 

NROK 500 incorporates M12 Ethernet 

connector, which is specifically designed 

to be used in industrial applications in a 

variety of environments, therefore incorporate 

features to ensure stable operation such as exceptional 

resistance to shock and vibration. 

This rock computer, as rail PC, will be compliant 

to EN50155 regulations. NROK 500 

transportation computer supports power saving 

concept, both power-on and shutdown delay 

will be active via ignition function during 

break time. For any urgent message, NROK500 

will be active after trigger wake-on-LAN function. 

This function ensures the minimum 

power consumption and will not miss any 

message from control room. 

News ID 13804 

n Acromag: fanless Industrial PC receives 

UL approval 

The Acromag I/O Server Industrial PC now 

has Underwriters Laboratory (UL) certification 

for Class I Division 2 Group A, B, C, D hazardous 

locations with volatile substances. This 

UL approval permits use of the I/O Server fanless 

embedded computer and its plug-in I/O 

modules in environments with flammable liquids, 

gases, or vapors. UL’s Class I Div 2 certification 

is often required for electronics deployed 

in chemical, oil, gas, mining, and other manufacturing 

facilities. With the higher safety rating, 

the I/O Server can be installed closer to sensors 

and actuators to reduce installation costs for 

monitoring and control of automated machinery. 

Additionally, the I/O Server has no internal 

cables and conduction cooling removes heat 

without open vents or fans for more reliable 

operation from -40 to 75°C. 

News ID 13742 

n Axiomtek: 16-port 10/100Base-TX 

managed hardened Ethernet switch 

Axiomtek introduces the iCON-83000 16-port 

10/100Base-TX managed hardened Ethernet 

switch with 2 combo Gigabit ports, which 

fully complies with IEC 61850-3 and IEEE 

1613 standards for substation automation applications, 

NEMA TS1 & TS2 for traffic control 

systems and EN50121-4 for railway applications. 

The iCON-83000 is designed to integrate 

10/100 Mbps networks into fiber optic Gigabit 

backbones. To provide non-stop Ethernet connection, 

the iCON-83000 supports intelligent 

-Ring technology which provides fast network 

recovery within 15ms. This hardened industrial 

Ethernet switch features an IP30 protected 

housing with slim form factor (84 x 125 x 145 

mm), a wide operating temperature range, 

DIN-rail or panel mounting capability, and 

redundant power inputs to give users greater 

flexibility for a variety of industrial automation 

applications. 

News ID 13798 

n MSC: new Embedded Computer Modules 

and Boards brochure 

MSC describes its complete product range of 

innovative board level products in the updated 

„Embedded Computer Technology” edition 

2011 color catalog. The new 52 pages brochure 

contains the key technical parameters of all 

offered COM Express, Qseven, ETX, EXM32 

platforms, industrial mainboards and starter 

kits. The first pages of the brochure addresses 

“Design and Production Expertise“, “FPGA 

Development Tools“, “Operating Systems“ and 

“BIOS“. The new brochure includes a tabular 

overview “COM Module Selector“ that provides 

an easy comparison of all MSC embedded 

computing modules including processor type, 

maximum memory capacity, extension-bus 

support, operating system support as well as 

dimensions and typical power dissipation. 

Each module is presented individually with a 

short description, a picture, and a list of the 

important features. 

News ID 13731 

n Supermicro: embedded solution supports 

latest Intel QM67 Express chipset 

Super Micro Computer announced a new addition 

to their Embedded Server Building 

Block Solutions. This new generation of product 

is optimized with the Intel 2nd generation 

Core product family and Intel QM67 Express 

Chipsets. Supermicro’s X9 embedded solution 

delivers 25% higher performance (4 Cores 

and 8 Threads per node) while lowering power 

consumption over the previous generation. 

This compact platform provides PCI-E 2.0 

x16 support and power savings capabilities as 

well as remote management, security and a 

DC power option. It offers high CPU and 

Graphics performance in a Mini-ITX form 

factor, making it ideal for embedded applications 

such as multi-display Digital Signage, 

multi-channel Digital Surveillance, expandable 

I/O Industrial Control and long-life Medical 

Instrumentation. 

News ID 13685 

n Amplicon: low power, short depth 1U 

system 

Amplicon releases their new Impact-R 1000LP 

1U rackmount PC. The Impact-R 1000LP 

utilises the low powered Intel Atom and provides 

the processing power necessary for the 

majority of industrial applications, whilst using 

a third of the power of traditional systems. At 

only 220mm deep, it can fit into an extremely 

June 2011 32 

shallow depth cabinet or two systems can even 

be mounted back-to-back in a 600mm deep 

cabinet. As standard the system comes supplied 

with a 160GB extended duty hard drive, designed 

to run 24/7. Improved environmental 

performance can be achieved by use of an 

industrial CompactFlash. 

News ID 13648 

n Eurotech acquires VME/VPX and CPCI 

specialist Dynatem 

Eurotech announces that on May 31st it will 

finalise the acquisition of the company Dynatem, 

that will be included in the consolidation 

perimeter of the Group starting from 

June 1st. Dynatem operates since 1981 in the 

embedded computers market and specifically 

in the VME, VPX and CPCI boards segment. 

News ID 13803 

n Eurotech to supply computers for vehicle 

diagnostics applications 

Eurotech announces a 2.2 Million USD contract 

with a global test and tooling company 

to provide embedded computers over a threeyear 

period. The contract will allow this customer 

to extend the lifecycle of their product, 

a popular diagnostic scanning tool in the 

heavy-duty transportation industry. Operating 

in the transportation environment means 

these products need to withstand extreme 

temperatures, variable humidity and intense 

vibration, which is one reason the development 

team chose to use a rugged, high performance 

platform from Eurotech. 

News ID 13784 

n Avalue: ultra-slim energy-saving digital 

signage computer 

Avalue introduces the MPC-42W5 - a digital 

signage computer for large size installation, 

which designed with Intel Atom D525 dualcore 

processor. MPC-42W5 is embedded with 

a 5.25” single-board (EBM-PNV) which powered 

by an Intel Atom dual-core D525 processor 

with Intel ICH8-M chipset featuring high 

reliability, low power consumption, durability 

and longevity. The board can be replaced for 

the Mini-ITX, dual-code or quad-code 

processor, without having to change the system 

itself. With the variety of I/O interface 

including 1CF, 1LAN, 1 COM, 1 VGA, 2 

Mini-PCIe and 2 USB are selectable on the 

basis of customers’ requirements. HD 720P 

130M webcam, High Definition Video Decoder, 

PIR/ CIR/ Light Sensor/ WiFi are in 

option. Using Vesa 400*200 hook wall accessories, 

the unit can be wall mounted. With 

aluminum and rounded corners designed 

customer can customized frame color or 

logo. Because of the MPC-42W5’s hidden 

I/O design there are no any messy cables 

and I/O interfaces in the rear side. 

News ID 13661

n Rutronik integrates fully-owned subsidiary Discomp 

Rutronik have integrated Discomp, a fully-owned subsidiary, into the 

parent company. The Discomp operations will extend the „Displays & 

Embedded Boards“ division in Rutronik to form a new division, named 

„Storage, Displays & Boards“. „Storage, Displays & Boards“ is composed 

of two separate product groups: the „Storage“ group, which concerns 

itself with storage systems, including memory modules, flash memories, 

magnetic and optical disk drives, while „Displays & Boards“ will 

continue to be responsible for TFT displays, passive displays and 

boards. 

News ID 13737 

n Advantech: OPS-compliant digital signage player 

Advantech plans to release its Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) 

compliant digital signage player ARK-DS220. OPS is created by Intel 

to help standardizing the design and development of digital signage 

devices and pluggable media players. It will address digital signage 

market fragmentation and simplify device installation, usage, maintenance 

and upgrades. Advantech plans to showcase the ARK-DS220 

with Philips’ OPS digital signage screen at the upcoming Kiosk Europe 

Expo. The ARK-DS220 is powered by an Intel Atom D525 dual-core 

processor (fan-based) and Intel Atom N455 single-core processor 

(fanless) with integrated NVIDIA GT218 (ION2) graphic module for 

Full HD playback. 

News ID 13765 

n BittWare: Anemone floating point co-processor for FPGAs 

BittWare announces the Anemone floating point co-processor chip for 

use with Altera’s FPGAs. Anemone is a scalable, true C-programmable, 

floating point engine that enables novel solutions for complex and 

evolving signal processing applications. Availability will be via the 

soon to be announced Anemone product family of COTS boards 

which combine this new technology with Altera’s high-density Stratix 

family of FPGAs, and will include a variety of form factors such as 

FMC, AdvancedMC, VPX (VITA 46/48/65), and PCI Express slot card. 

Anemone was architected specifically for complex signal processing 

rather than for I/O, protocol processing, memory interfacing, or 

special functions, thus creating an extremely efficient chip compared 

to traditional floating point DSPs that may use only 5% of the silicon 

area for processing. This has translated into a completely scalable 1 

GHz multicore processor with 16 ‘eCore’ processors that provide a 

total sustained performance of 32 GFLOPS while consuming only 2 

Watts of total chip power. 

News ID 13700 

n Schroff: brochure about new 19“ aluminium cabinet 

Schroff is presenting its new 19“ aluminium cabinet in a new 32-page 

brochure under the heading „Novastar - the innovative 19“ electronics 

cabinet“. This cabinet has been specifically designed for market segments 

including instrumentation and control, laboratory and audio, video 

and broadcasting applications. It was developed to feature an attractive 

visual design, high functionality and flexibility and optimal accessibility 

to the components housed in it. The first part of the brochure examines 

the concept of the new cabinet in detail. Together with the expected 

fields of application, the technical details of the rack, cladding components 

and accessories are described and the comprehensive service 

options for configuration, assembly and modification highlighted. 

News ID 13732 

n Enclustra: universal FPGA module with Cyclone IV 

Enclustra’s cost optimized Mercury CA1 FPGA module is equipped 

with a Gigabit Ethernet and a High-Speed USB 2.0 interface. The 

versatile module is ideally suitable for signal processing, Ethernet 

streaming as well as test & measurement applications. A reference 

PRODUCT NEWS 

design of a SoPC system including a 32-bit NIOS II soft-core processor 

for use with the Altera Embedded Design Suite is available free of 

charge. At the heart of the Mercury CA1 is an Altera Cyclone IV E 

FPGA containing 75,408 logic elements, 305 block RAMs and 200 

multipliers. A smaller FPGA with 28,848 logic elements is also available. 

The module boasts 128 MB of DDR2 SDRAM memory, 16 MB of 

Flash, a real-time-clock and runs off a single 5-16 V power supply 

voltage. The 148 user I/Os pins are available on two 168 pin Hirose 

FX10 connectors. Up to 24 differential pairs are supported. 

News ID 13726 

n AAEON: environmentally-friendly embedded controller with Atom 

The Green Embedded Controller series welcomes its newest brother, 

the GES-2200F, which is saving energy by utilizing the Intel Atom 

processor with two 200-pin DDR2 667/800 DIMM RAM, allowing up 

to 4GB of system memory. The GES-2200F features the Intel Atom 

N450/D410/D510+ICH8M chipset and is equipped with a 2.5” Hard 

Disk Drive bay with SATA II interface, four USB 2.0 ports, and one 

CompactFlash to offer ample storage. The GES-2200F is compatible 

with common operating systems such as Windows XP, Windows 7, and 

Linux. Key highlights include its condensed appearance with desktop 

and wallmount options to fit into space-limited areas and its ideal application 

uses for mobile needs and vehicle use such as tractor/truck 

driving. This model is powered with a 12V DC in power supply that is 

required by transportation applications. In addition, it shows the flexibility 

and cost-effectiveness that can be easily recommended for existing 

systems or integrated to system planning. 

News ID 13743 

33 June 2011

PRODUCT NEWS 

n DDC: avionics 1553/429/717 test 

interface 

Data Device Corporation introduces a new 

Multi-I/O Advanced Avionics Tester that connects 

to any USB port to provide comprehensive 

avionics test, simulation, and analysis support. 

The BU-67211UX combines up to two 

dual redundant MIL-STD-1553 channels, with 

up to eight user programmable Receive/Transmit 

ARINC 429 channels, and up to two user 

programmable Receive/Transmit ARINC 717 

channels, while providing support for IRIG-B, 

CANbus, Serial I/O, and Discrete I/O interfaces. 

The 1553 channels provide unique features 

and functionality such as concurrent BC + 

Multi-RT + MT, real-time intermessage 

event/data modification, error injection, advanced 

error sampling, and many other elements 

that are an excellent fit for new product 

development, systems integration labs, production 

test labs, and simulators. 

News ID 13655 

n NEXCOM: computing solutions with 2nd 

generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3 processors 

NEXCOM has introduced a number of different 

product solutions utilizing 2nd generation 

Intel Core micro architecture on 32nm process 

technology which offers enhanced media and 

graphics capabilities and performance while 

reducing overall platform power requirements. 

For the Digital Signage Market, Nexcom has 

launched the NDiS 166 digital signage player, 

a powerful solution which pairs the 2nd generation 

Intel Core processor with the an Intel 

QM67 graphics controller. Designed to offer 

Industrial-grade reliability, the NDiS 166 Digital 

Signage Player can easily support dual full HD 

video display. 

News ID 13666 

n Telit: M-Bus module for wireless, electronic 

meter reading 

Telit will launch a new module featuring wireless 

M-Bus transfer technology. Based on the 

Si443x EZRadioPro RF transceivers from SiLabs, 

the ME50-868 module supports uni- and 

bi-directional RF connections at 868 MHz between 

meters for gas, water, heating or electricity 

and concentrators. This exchange of 

data forms the basis for the use of smart 

meters, which can increase the accuracy and 

transparency of bills, offer better customer 

service and help improve energy efficiency. 

Telit’s ME50-868 modules are the latest generation 

of wireless M-bus products compliant 

with EN 13757 part 4 and part 5. The modules 

provide the best link budget in the market 

(122 dB) as well as an exceptional range of up 

to 2,000 meters. The modules with LGA 

mounting technology operate with ultra-low 

power (< 1 µA in standby), resulting in long 

battery life and low maintenance requirements. 

News ID 13642 

n BittWare: rapid development environment 

for 3U VPX systems 

BittWare releases their VPX Rapid Development 

Platform (VRDP) which combines the 

benefits of OpenVPX with the processing 

power of up to five Altera Stratix Family 

FPGAs in an integrated system solution. The 

development platform is a completely standalone 

setup for designing and testing VPX 

systems. The standard platform includes a 

VITA 46/65 compliant 5-slot 3U VPX backplane, 

featuring a twisted ring routing topology, 

with each slot having two fat pipes for 

slot-to-slot connectivity. This leaves plenty of 

signals available for rear panel I/O, allowing 

the system to be adapted to various requirements. 

Additional backplane profiles are also 

available. 

News ID 13813 

n DDC: high accuracy ½ size PCIe 

synchro/resolver output card 

Data Device Corporation introduces a Digital-to-Synchro/Resolver 

simulation PCIe card 

SB-3623X, designed for test applications involving 

instrument grade angle position simulation 

of up to 6 channels at 30 arc seconds 

accuracy. This ½ size RoHS compliant card 

easily integrates with the smaller size desktops 

to perform lab testing on position sense for 

motor control, industrial automation, robotics, 

gimbal positioning, and valve control. 

News ID 13684 

n AAEON: credit card size COM Express 

module with Atom N455 

AAEON continues to expand their COM Express 

line up with the recent launch of the 

NanoCOM-LN. Based on the Intel Atom N455 

processor and Intel ICH8M chipset, the 

NanoCOM-LN combines low power operation 

and solid performance on an amazingly small 

package of just 84 x 55mm. NanoCOM-LN 

offers both LVDS and analog video output in 

simultaneous and dual display modes, taking 

advantage of the shared memory technology 

to make available up to 384 MB of system 

memory for the graphics engine. 

News ID 13800 

More information about each news is available on 

www.Embedded-Control-Europe.com/bas-magazine 

• You 

have to type yp in the e “News ID”. — 

June 2011 34 

Editors 

Jürgen Hübner 

phone +49(0)8092-2477413 

fax +49(0)8092-2477429 

jh@iccmedia.com 

Wolfgang Patelay 

wp@iccmedia.com 

Tony Devereux 

devrex@teyboyz.freeserve.co.uk 

For Reader Inquiries and Address Changes 

please contact: 

info@iccmedia.com 

Sales & Marketing Director 

Manfred Blumoser 

phone +49(0)8092-2477411 

fax +49(0)8092-2477429 

mb@iccmedia.com 

Claudia Mellein 

cm@iccmedia.com 

Christiane Lockner 

cl@iccmedia.com 

Sales Office - UK and USA, Benelux, 

Scandinavia 

Blue Sky Communications 

Malcolm Cameron 

21 Cliffe Avenue 

Westbrook, 

Margate, Kent CT9 5DU, UK 

phone +44 (0)77 88-10 84 11 

fax +44 (0)80 82-8010 57 

mc@blue-sky-communications.com 

Sales Office - Asia 

Jean Cheng, jean@i-media.com.tw 

Vivian Hung, vivian@i-media.com.tw 

Innovative Media Information & Services 

7F-3, No. 26, Sec. 2, Ming-Quan East Rd. 

Taipei 104 Taiwan 

phone +886 2 2563 1186 

Head Office 

ICC Media GmbH 

Rauwagnerstr. 5 

85560 Ebersberg / Germany 

Editorial Office UK 

36a Blackacre Road 

Theydon Bois 

Essex, CM16 7LU 

Copyright© All rights reserved. 

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in 

any form or by any means without the prior express written 

p ermission of ICC Media. 

Although we make every effort to present up-to- date, accurate 

information, boards&solutions will not be responsible for any 

errors or omissions or for any results obtained from the use of 

such information. The magazine will not be liable for any loss 

caused by the reliance on information obtained on this site. 

Furthermore, boards&solutions does not warrant the accuracy 

or completeness of the information, text, graphics in this magazine. 

The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the 

authors and not necessarily the opinions of the publisher.

in PDF Format - Embedded-Control-Europe.com

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?