/7132011507 by Advantech

View Point

Contents Viewpoint Pursuing Global Leadership in Embedded Design-In

Special Report 2011 Advantech Embedded Design-In Forum

Cover Story Embedded Cloud Services

iManager 2.0 Makes Embedded Devices Intelligent

SUSIAccess - Smart Access to Embedded Devices

Emb´Store On-Demand Software Service for Embedded Computing

Cover Story Embedded Cloud Services Published by

Technology Forum The Innovative MI/O Extension Single Board Computer Unveiled

Advantech Co., Ltd.

Publisher

Miller Chang

Advantech Enables Rich Graphics Apps with AMD’s Fusion APUs

Windows Embedded Compact 7

Address

No.1, Alley 20, Lane 26, Rueiguang Road, Neihu District, Taipei, Taiwan 114 Tel +886-2-2792-7818 Website www.advantech.com/Embcore

Editorial Supervisor Embedded Core Group

Editorial Committee

Product In-Depth New Products

2011 Star Product Selection Guide

Macro Chen Aaron Su Sandy Chen Vincent Chen Victor Huang CL Chiang Chiwen.Lin Clound Chen Ethan Chen Tones Yen Precyan Lee Samantha Chiang Mandy Chen Irene Chang Sandy Chang Martin Marshall Miles Odonnol Richard Ponce

Emb’Core is published for ADVANTECH Co., Ltd. by Interculture Custom Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Please verify specifications before quoting. This guide is intended for reference purposes only. All product specifications are subject to change without notice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. All brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. © Advantech Co., Ltd. 2010

View Point

Pursuing Global Leadership in Embedded Design-In T

he recent 2011 Advantech Embedded Design-In Forum was successfully concluded on March 29th in Taipei, Taiwan. At the forum, Advantech announced the launch of Embedded Core Services which includes computing platforms, design services and software solutions. This year, the forum further explored three major themes of Embedded Design-In Services, SUSIAccess remote management, and Emb’Store cloud-based selfservice platform. The coming age of IoT and cloud computing will bring great changes to the embedded industry, and Advantech’s innovative embedded design services were designed to meet these challenges. In the past year, Advantech sold 1.2 million embedded system units and four hundred thousand units of Microsoft embedded operating systems. This year, Advantech’s product strategy will continue to implement the latest technologies from chip makers at an early stage in order to provide the most up to date, real-time embedded platforms. Advantech also provides a variety of flexible I/O modules as well as developing its own software to provide complete solutions, and we will continue to announce new innovative specifications and technologies, such as new upcoming interfaces, motherboards and systems for the industrial server market. Furthermore, Embedded Design-In Services will greatly simplify embedded device management for system developers and users alike. Anticipating technology trends is an important aspect in the process of innovation — take cloud computing for example. According to research, the market size of the cloud computing industry was nearly $68 billion in 2010, and will grow to $148 billion by 2014. About 60% of embedded software will be delivered via the cloud by 2012. We believe that embedded cloud services will become more intelligent, that is, embedded devices will have remote management and greater autonomy and communicate with other devices in ever more complex ways. In addition, software will update itself via integrated on-demand services. The first stage of Advantech’s embedded cloud service solutions includes smart platforms with iManager chip technology integrated to ensure accurate system bootups and automatic detection and reporting of all system problems. In addition, many solutions provided by Advantech are designed to make

platforms even smarter, such as the remote management system tool SUSIAccess, and the new Emb’Store cloud management platform. A core mission of Advantech is to solve customer problems, simplify their development effort, and accelerate product time-to-market. Based on Advantech’s brand advantage and global sales and service teams, our service model enables customers to focus on their niche design for their vertical industry while all of the hardware and software functions in their embedded board will be provided by Advantech. Through continuous innovation, our products have reached a world leading position. We’re also well on our way of achieving our goal of “Pursuing Global Leadership in Embedded Design-In” over the next 5 years. Advantech will hold Embedded Design-In Forums in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Israel and other regions this year. Through these events, Advantech will present our innovation model in embedded design services and leading core technologies. We will also discuss the latest technology developments and business trends with our global partners including: embedded system integration services, embedded devices and applications, and embedded software services. With our partners, we will create the world’s leading brand in the embedded industry and provide the best products and solutions available.

Miller Chang

Advantech Embedded Core Group Associate Vice President

View Point

Special Report

2011 Advantech Embedded Design-In Forum By Advantech Embedded Core Group

his year’s Advantech World Partner Conference addressed the subject of innovative embedded design technology, calling for increasing cooperation with business partners to establish global leadership and innovation by providing the best services and solutions for embedded products. Held during March 28-30 in Taipei, it’s the first time Advantech has convened its annual world partner conference in conjunction with the Advantech Embedded Design-In Forum.

Intelligent Planet- Embedded Business Opportunities & Market Trends Since the birth of digital computers in the 1950s, the industry has seen a revolutionary development—what we call a “paradigm shift”, almost every 15 years, from huge mainframe machines, to desktop personal computers, to the internet age. Now, against the backdrop of the “ intelligent planet”, we are ushering in a new age starting in 2011, with the emergence of two most important trends: the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cloud Computing, which will determine what the embedded industry will be like in the next 15 years.

Embedded computing will be tied to the cloud, with functions such as processing, storage, analysis, and data sharing applied to industrial computers–all served from the cloud. The Internet of Things cannot help but be closely involved in cloud computing: data is collected through sensors and devices and transmitted to embedded computers for processing and analysis, then sent to the cloud to produce intelligent information for use by all users. This model can be applied to all industrial segments, such as plant automation, equipment automation, transportation and environmental protection. IoT plus Cloud Computing is enabling the “Age of the Intelligent Planet” which brings with it better living and cleaner environments. As the world’s top IPC manufacturer, Advantech sees great opportunities in this trend and will design and develop embedded products and services that empower the “Intelligent Planet”. Starting last year, Advantech focussed its company vision on “Enabling an Intelligent Planet” in order to meet these challenges, and contribute to a better quality of life for everyone.

Innovation & Transformation of Embedded Computing Chaney Ho, President, Advantech

View Point

Over the past year, Advantech has sold 1.2 million units of embedded systems, including 400,000 units of Microsoft

Special Report

Transforming the Embedded Industry with Design-in Services Embedded systems are ubiquitous in all segments. For example, the growing global energy demand creates a need for smart grids; the increasing amount of mobile data in telecommunications propels the development of embedded telecom system technologies; in the retail sector, the demand for lower management costs and smaller carbon footprints will result in the growth of self-help services, which can be realized only through embedded systems and technologies. Furthermore, digital signage, remote management, mobile integration, energy efficiency and other emerging industries such as telematics and machine-to-machine (M2M), are also areas where embedded systems can play a role. Miller Chang, VP, Advantech

OS built into systems. Our embedded platform strategy this year is to adopt technologies developed by mainstream chipset manufacturers and develop rapid and instant embedded platform products. Meanwhile, provide various module products compliant with international standards, and complete solutions with integrated software. We will also continue to explore new computer specifications and technologies, including various boards and CPU cards for industrial servers which will reach the market soon. When we develop embedded products, we try to make integration easier. From our customers point of view, our main concerns are: booting up embedded platforms in harsh environments with wide temperature ranges; making our embedded boards and cards able to detect CPU power input voltages, fan rotation speeds, and system temperatures so that we can ease the system developers’ workload when they develop their applications. To achieve this goal, Advantech developed iManager chip technology, which integrates hardware and firmware on a single ship. Matched with Advantech’s embedded boards or CPU cards, it can detect and report system status information. Starting last year, all Advantech’s newly developed platforms have iManager builtin as part of Advantech’s effort in creating more intelligent platforms. This year, iManager chip technology has entered its second generation.

Stanley Huang, APEC Manager Director, Intel

Targeting the market potential of embedded systems, Intel introduced the Sandy Bridge platform for embedded computation. Sandy Bridge is the codename for a second generation processor micro architecture developed by Intel, and produced using a 32 nm process, delivering a performance boost with several new applied technologies such as enhanced Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) that improves performance with better multithreading, and Advanced Vector Extentions (Intel® AVX) that enhance graphic processing. Sandy Bridge with AVX handles all floating point processing for graphics, video, 3D and scientific simulations.

Statistics shows that the total output of the global cloud computing industry in 2010 is US$ 68 billion, and is expected to reach US$ 148 billion in 2014. In 2012, 60% of embedded software will be provided by the cloud. As a global leader in embedded IPC, Advantech defines embedded cloud services as an intelligent platform (embedded installation) that supports remote intelligent management and on-demand software renewal.

The micro architecture also supports Intel Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Instructions that speeds up data encryption and decryption, and is built-in with Intel’s newest graphic cores that enables fast data processes needed for video and multi-media applications. Intel is planning to release a newer and more powerful version of Sandy Bridge on 22 nm technology in the first quarter of 2012.

Advantech’s first phase solutions for embedded cloud services include intelligent platforms carrying iManager chip technology, SUSIAccess remote management system and Emb’Store cloud management platforms.

Advantech has long been Intel’s important partner in developing embedded platforms, and we expect Advantech to provide more solutions based on Intel architectures to its customers. View Point

Special Report

Infinite Possibilities: From Sensors to the Cloud Interconnected embedded devices plus cloud services are generating commercial interest. Embedded Windows operating systems can deliver all the functionality of regular Windows to embedded devices such as language, touch-control, sensors, graphics and hand-writing, making these devices ideally suited for work in cloud applications.

Their newly released OMAP5 is a dual-core system-on-chip to be produced using 28 nm process technology, which can save 40% of power use compared with OMAP4. The OMAP5 will go into production in the second half of the year 2011, and related consumer products using OMAP5 are expected to reach the market soon in the second half of 2012.

Pascal Martin, GM, WW OEM Embedded Sales, Microsoft

Peter Duh, FAE Director, TI

Microsoft’s newest release for embedded devices is Windows Embedded Compact 7, which takes over from Windows Embedded CE. To cope with needs for networking, Windows Embedded Compact 7 supports DLNA standards and can connect with media databases and other DLNA-compliant devices, sharing digital content such as music, pictures and videos.

The OMAP5 processor is the first single system-on-chip that uses the Cortex A15 architecture components, with its highest clock speed at 2 GHz, three times the speed of the 1GHz Cortex A9s in the OMAP 4330. Even at the same clock speed, the OMAP5 offers 50% greater performance than OMAP4. OMAP5 has two Cortex-M4 cores for signal processing purposes, such as video acceleration or graphic process.

New Windows embedded also supports multi-core processors based on ARM or x86 architectures. Windows Embedded Compact 7 with its complete development tools supporting ARM v7 can be applied to develop high-end embedded devices and take over the role that Windows CE played in areas such as medicine, retail, manufacturing and consumer electronics, providing small-sized multi-functional interconnected devices. Being a member of Microsoft’s Windows Embedded Partner Program (WEPP), Advantech has signed a distribution contract to sell Microsoft’s embedded system software. Through this partnership Advantech can effectively integrate embedded hard- and software to provide its customers with total solutions and fast service and support. We are natural partners in this area as we both have the professional capability in dealing with all the problems in embedded systems and embedded OS.

Embedded Processors Drive Intelligent Applications TI’s embedded products include a range of ARM and DSP processors, such as Sitara ARM Cortex A-8 and ARM9 micro processor family, as well as Stellaris microcontrollers, which are widely used in areas like industrial automation, test and measurement, medical instruments, HVAC, remote monitoring control and point-of-sales. 6

View Point

The OMAP5 processor is able to power up to 4 cameras simultaneously, and supports 2D and 3D video recording and display in 1080p quality. It also supports 3D screens that can be viewed without glasses and DLP projectors, and provides functionalities such as gesture control, multi-OS boot, 3Dgraphic games, wireless video and audio data transmission, multi-screen displays, digital purses, etc. The embedded solutions provided by TI also feature M-shield security technology, which is a system–level security solution that intimately interleaves hardware and software technologies to ensure the security of embedded devices.

Special Report

Panel Discussion: Trends in Embedded Technologies & Integration Services Moderator: Jeff Chen, CTO, Advantech Panelist: Stanley Huang, APEC Manager Director, Intel Pascal Martin, GM, WW OEM Embedded Sales, Microsoft Peter Duh, FAE Director, TI

Pascal Martin, Microsoft Jeff Chen, Advantech

Peter Duh, TI Stanley Huang, Intel

ystem integrators play a crucial role in pushing for the embedded market. They have to integrate a range of complicated software and hardware components. And in the future, they may have to invest more in software than hardware, as there is an increasing demand for software in the system integration process. Plus, more user-friendly graphical user interfaces are being developed, and emerging new interfaces such as touch control and gesture control are the way forward, so system integrators must be prepared to keep on top in order to seize more business opportunities. Taiwan has a great number of system integrators. For them, the biggest challenges are meeting faster times-to-market and lower system costs ahead of their competitors. In terms of hardware and software environments, they need extra professional help to deal with it, so picking the right partner is more important that ever. There is another crucial role provided by platform providers for advanced technology providers and system integrators. The platform providers must be able to incorporate all the latest technologies, and more importantly, they have to understand the problems and difficulties facing system integrators and help them develop their products quickly. For system integrators, when they meet the right platform providers, they are already half way to success. Platforms providing more added value will help them to shorten time-to-market and reduce costs. The Embâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Store cloud-based service provided by Advantech is a good example. Advantech established Embâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Store as an on-line gateway providing services which will deliver a competitive edge to our partner system integrators. After all, a platform provider who can deliver more added value will certainly gain more attention from system integrators. An excellent platform provider must foresee all the needs of the system integrator and work out the most suitable solutions for them. A platform provider must consider many things, including system reliability, performance, expandability and even product life cycle. Moreover, a platform provider should offer evaluation versions and even System In Package (SIP) services according to the needs of the system integrator which will save time in developing products and speed up the time-to market of their products.

View Point

Special Report Advantech presented its innovation model in embedded design services and leading core technologies. They also discussed the latest technology developments and business trends with our global partners including: embedded system integration services, embedded devices and applications, and embedded software services. Next Generation Platforms & Design-In Services Aaron Su, Product Manager, Advantech

Responding to Intel’s newest Q67/QM67 chipsets for high-end embedded solutions, Advantech has developed a Q67 based AIMB-581 micro ATX CPU card, and AIMB-272 QM67 based mini-ITX card whic is a mobile solution. For the middle end segment, Advantech introduced SOM-6763 based on Intel’s newest Atom N455/ D525 processors which use DDR3 memory and are suitable for networking applications. In addition, AMD’s newest solution, the Embedded G-Series Platform is the world’s first integrated circuit to combine a low power CPU and a discrete-level GPU into a single embedded Accelerated Processing Unit (APU). Advantech introduced the AIMB-223 and MIO-5270 based on the AMD G-Series.

Embedded Technologies and Customization Services Ryan Chiu, Product Manager, Advantech

This year Advantech is pushing for design services for custom-tailored embedded solutions. For us, customization is not about reducing development time to zero, but picking the most suitable solution from Advantech’s ready-made products and adding value to them according to the customer’s specific needs. There are three main concerns in our customization service: the first is to fully interact with our customers in vertical markets to deeply understand their specific needs; the second is to provide products with more added value which will differentiate our services from those provided by our competitors; and the last is to provide innovative products which will help grow our customers loyalty to our products.

Embedded Cloud Services and Software Technologies CL Chiang, Product Manager, Advantech

Advantech developed cloud-based services for automatic upgrades and on demand and self-help services. Our initial realization of the concept was the trio: iManager 2.0, SUSIAccess and Emb’Store. iManager is a firmware controller chipset that provides smart watchdog functionality, which will automatically react to abnormal situations, reducing damage and maintaining the normal operation of the device. SUSIAccess is remote monitoring and control software for Advantech’s embedded customers, and Emb’Store is an online, ondemand service that will allow our customers to upgrade BIOS and other tools quickly. Up to now, Advantech is the only company in the area of industrial control to provide such cloud-based services.

Intelligent iAMT Technology in Embedded System Management Jeff Chang, Product Marketing Manager, Intel

Intel’s Active management Technology (AMT) enables remote monitoring and control over embedded devices via the net. It allows a remote user to reboot the system when the OS has failed, and to disconnect the system from the web when the system detects a virus attack from the internet so as to prevent escalation of the attack to other devices. AMT is part of Intel’s broader VPro technology. Vpro provides many other functions including Anti-Theft. Supposing your notebook storing confidential company files is stolen, with the AntiTheft technology provided by Intel, once the stolen notebook is connected to the web, a remote manager can detect the connection immediately and give orders to delete all important data in the notebook.

Strengths and Applications of Windows Embedded Standard 7 Jesse Lin, Partner Technology Manager, Microsoft

Windows Embedded Standard 7, originally called Windows Embedded Standard 2011, emphasizes its componentized form which can be customized according to the hardware of the OEMs. Featuring multi point touch control and a powerful media center, Windows Embedded Standard 7 is suitable for applications in digital signage, set-top box and digital TV, and many other applications. The newest Windows Embedded CE version - Windows Embedded Compact 7, has been enhanced with DLNA networking technology, and now supports ARM and x86 multi-core processors. It emphasizes storage and access of corporate data using Microsoft AirSync, Exchange support to connect to the intranet email, calendar and contact lists. Windows Embedded Compact 7 also provides complete tools for developing small-sized multifunctional applications in segments like medicine, manufacturing facilities or consumer electronics.

View Point

Special Report Advantages of UEFI Pre-Boot in Embedded Systems PaiLin Huang, Marketing Division Director of BIOS, AMI

Founded in 1985 and known for AMIBIOS, AMI (American Megatrends Inc.) is dedicated to providing hardware, software and freeware to high-tech companies. It sees computing devices based on new generation BIOS of Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) as an emerging mainstream technology in 2011. Among its products is AMI Aptio, a total solution based on the UEFI open architecture, completely compatible with UEFI2.x spec. and is particular suited for 64-bit computing environments, as it has larger BIOS drivable storage capacity and versatile input interfaces, including qwerty keyboard, soft keyboard, touch screen and any other new generation input devices.

Releasing the Full Power of Multi-Core by SMP Technology Frank Ko, Director of Sales, Asia Pacific, IntervalZero

InervalZero’s RTX 2011 is a real time software plug-in for Microsoft Windows, which supports up to 32 processors, more than quadrupling the number of processors supported in the previous RTX version. RTX 2011 is an essential component in innovative Soft-Control Architectures that leading OEMs are adopting to reduce their system-development cost for 25 to 50 %. It has six runtime editions, giving customers increased options for choosing the level of symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) functionality required for their embedded systems.

Industrial Peripheral Module Integrated Services Ethan Chen, Product Manager, Advantech

Advantech started to provide embedded module services in 2009, with products ranging from platforms, CPU cards to custom-tailored embedded OS, with exclusive firmware support of iManager. For embedded customers, continual product supply is very important. For example, when they develop a new medical system, they usually spend a year on system development, and another year on testing. When the system is prepared to enter the market, some of its modules may not be available anymore, that’s why Advantech is committed to long time of guaranteed supply to its customers, making itself a reliable partner for system integrators.

SSD and Embedded Solutions -The Future of NAND Flash Devices KS Pua, Chairman & CEO, Phison

The rapid evolution of Flash memory products has caused problems for industrial computer designers and manufacturers. Sometimes, when they’ve finally gone through the process from design to testing, the Flash memory they need is no longer produced. And as industrial computer orders are usually smaller, Flash solution providers are less willing to offer technical support. To solve these problems, two years ago, Phison Electronics started to design and produce Flash memory controllers on our own, in order to provide Flash memory solutions to Advantech. Since then, the delivery of our Flash control ICs has been growing, from 20 pieces at the very beginning to 20,000 pieces per month as of now.

Reliability and Efficiency of Touch Technology Eric Chang, Sales Manager, TE Connectivity Ltd.

TE Technology provides touch technologies including Acoustic Pulse Recognition (APR), which uses acoustic sensors to detect touches on a glass overlay mounted in front of the display which creates ultimate light pen performance with less power. This technology can also be applied to other hard materials, such as metal, plastic and wood, and is suited for touch panels on home appliances like washers and refrigerators, or control boards in vehicles. TE Technology also provides infrared touch technology that can be applied to Point of Sale (POS) and vehicle electronics, and Secure Touch technology that can be applied to equipment that needs anti explosive protection, such as automatic teller machines (ATMs).

High Performance and Low Power Consumption GPS Solutions Ming Chiang, Country Manager of Taiwan, u-blox

U-blox, a Swiss company founded in 1997, is a dedicated GPS solution provider. In the past, GPS appliances were used mainly for automotive navigation systems or industrial purposes. However, today, smart phones and other portable devices are increasingly adopting GPS technology and u-blox is also providing design-in solutions to the consumer electronics segment. Our newest release is u-blox 6 position engine, which has over 2 million effective correlators maintaining the fastest acquisition time on the market, with signal sensitivity improved by 3 dB compared with u-blox 5. Besides, u-blox 6 also supports the upcoming new European satellite system GALILEO, giving product users the benefits of two GPS positioning worlds with reduced risk.

View Point

Cover Story Embedded Cloud Services

Industrial Computing in the Cloud An estimate by IDC marketing intelligence says that sales volume from cloud computing will boom to US $12.6 billion dollars in the next five years. Large, private cloud service providers will enjoy a revenue boost from US $7.3 billion in 2009 to US $11.8 billion during the same period, averaging 10% in compound annual growth rates. Zeroing in on the enormous market potential, companies and vendors alike – including those in Taiwan - are launching cloud-specific products and services. With cloud services in full swing, the market in Taiwan has begun to expand quickly to the corporate networks, and looks towards the age of private cloud architectures. This new trend is a boon for industrial computing service providers who earn their livelihood from servicing corporate networks. Advantech first began exploring the possibility of a new cloud computing platform in 2010, and the company expects to launch Embedded Store and Cloud Services in the first half of 2011 to address issues confronting network professionals when building their cloud service architectures.

Step by Step, Advantech Assists Clients to Go on Cloud Nine Looking at the big picture, different vendors in different industries will need to invest a substantial amount of effort on integrating embedded systems into a wide array of terminal equipment and high-end computing systems to satisfy the communication demands between users and cloud services. The management and monitoring of embedded software and hardware, as well as security issues will become quite a challenge. With that in mind, Advantech, as an all-round embedded platform provider, introduced the SaaS (Software as a Service) model, officially making headway into the era of cloud computing. Advantech’s definition of SaaS for industrial computing includes three aspects: an intelligent terminal, remote management capability, and software on demand services. The company first launched SaaS for all Advantechdeveloped standard platforms (chipsets/systems): iManager technology for better control and security, SUSI Access for remote monitoring, and the EmbStore website – Advantech’s on-demand service for embedded computing. As part of an intelligent system, Advantech’s embedded platforms will be outfitted with built-in iManager that provides a standardized API. iManager can ensure safe and accurate system boot-up as well as recovery, automatic sensor detection, and automatic notification . As well as these solutions, Advantech developed SUSI Access to smartly manage all inter-connected intelligent platforms so that system managers can fully monitor and set up each terminal device, while making emergency system backup and recovery. All the information on intelligent devices can be aggregated to actively provide on-demand services to clients via an embedded cloud server.

Cover Story

By Advantech Embedded Core Group

Intelligent Devices

Embedded Store

Advantech’s exclusive iManager integrates hardware and firmware technologies into a standardized API, incorporating several unique functions needed by embedded system integrators to help ease their design effort and speed their products’ time-to-market. For instance, iManager ensures functions operate even if the OS fails; it also automatically monitors and detects events to report back all information on the system such as CPU temperature, voltage, and fan speed. iManager is an intelligent tool that can truly “smarten up” embedded devices. Starting 2010, Advantech began to include iManager with all the new platforms, and this year we are looking to introduce iManager 2.0.

Advantech’s new Emb’Store is a corporate cloud service tasked with transmitting all software information – including BIOS updates, device drivers, APIs and 3rd party applications - to the cloud architecture. Emb’Store is an online, on-demand website for software updates and the latest embedded hardware device drivers. As clients log their embedded platforms on to the Emb’Store Server via the network, the system would automatically identify the hardware code number and provide a list of renewable software to the clients. Emb’Store is to be launched during Q2 and delivers “software as a service” into the cloud architecture. Emb’Store server will also provide an on-demand “what you click is what you get” service.

SUSIAccess Intelligent devices automatically monitor and report back so mangers need to be able to administer all connected platforms effectively. Advantech developed SUSIAccess to do just that. Timely and smart, SUSIAccess - Advantech’s remote monitoring software – provides real-time monitoring of your systems’ health. It’s capable of remote recovery or on-site checkups. The motherboard on the terminal is embedded with SUSIAccess which automatically centralizes all the information onto a designated server so that system managers can easily access data via different networks (such as NB or PC) from their control stations. The manager can then conduct diagnostics on the terminal via the control application, or make other quick adjustments, such as data transformation, firmware upgrades or file updates.

Advantech is expected to begin a stage-two rollout in the latter half of 2011, to include other solutions: COM, ESBC, IMB, Embedded Box IPC, IPC, and iServer to expand the cloud service scope. Advantech’s three-stage project is an ambitious service expansion into various vertical industries, such as digital signage, fleet management telematics, gaming, POS/Kiosks, medical and IOT solutions. The company is also poised to release APIs from the Embedded Store, so that system integrators can customize designs for specific cloud services. Advantech’s ultimate goal is to connect all products under a cloud structure, facilitating effective cloud computing systems for all clients. Embedded cloud computing services are no longer a dream, but a realistic solution at hand. Now, you can experience Advantech’s dynamic cloud software technologies today and witness how the company leads the industry in a new generation of industrial cloud computing services. Cover Story

Cover Story Embedded Cloud Services

iManager 2.0 Makes Embedded Devices Intelligent By Clound Chen, Product Manager, Advantech

n all kinds of industrial applications, whether an embedded PLC or highly mobile HMI or IVI, device manufacturers are all looking for higher performance and lower energy consumption, and trying to find the best balance between. In addition to improving the hardware production process, integrators also want to make devices smarter, to give them more intelligence, not just be passive devices, enhancing them with self-management, sensors and AI control so they can perform routine jobs faster and better. Advantechâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new COM.0 R2.0 Module comes equipped with advanced iManager 2.0 technology, which is a microcontroller designed by Advantech engineering research group, providing enhanced embedded features from OS level to board level, increasing platform reliability and simplifying integration into industrial applications. iManager 2.0 runs without needing to rely on the OSâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;no matter which OS is installed. When the power is turned on, it works instantly, supporting boot counter and a running timer to calculate and store boot times for reference. iManager 2.0 automatically monitors the system status and health, and reacts with real time responses to minimize delays and potential disasters. iManager 2.0 provides an advanced multi-stage watchdog timer to stay error free. iManager also provides customers with a secure EEPROM for storing important security ID, intellectual property, or other highly sensitive information.

Cover Story

Cover Story as a unified set of APIs like watchdog timer, monitoring, and smart battery. iManager 2.0 offers a multi-control interface for easy integration with all kinds of peripherals; we also have Standard I2C, SMBus and multi GPIO. ■ Enhanced

All these features can easily be configured and integrated through the iManager 2.0 software API suite. Advantech acquired years of experience in the field and has done all the hard work for our embedded partners. iManager 2.0 not only provides the underlying drivers required but also a rich set of user-friendly, intelligent and integrated interfaces, which speeds development, enhances security and offers add-on value for Advantech platforms.

Advantages iManager 2.0 technologies will add value more to devices and improve competition in the market. Some of the many benefits, advantages and features of this embedded controller are: ■ Simplified

Integration Unique embedded functions are built into iManager 2.0 such

Reliability and Smart Energy Management Advanced watchdog, smart fan, hardware monitoring, and CPU throttling provide intelligent system protection and power saving advantages. iManager lowers TCO over ordinary platforms and improves energy management by becoming smarter and more powerful. With the Deep Sleep feature, you can drastically reduce stand-by power consumption. By pressing and holding the power button for 4 seconds, iManager will cut off whole power supply to all devices and I/O, and only retain power for the iManager controller.

■ Secure

the System iManager provides an encryption space for data storage such as secure keys for HDD locking, user ID and password, and security ID to protect your application.

■ Easy

System Upgrades iManager provides uniform and OS independent interface for cross hardware platforms and different embedded OS, and offers easy upgrades to other COM modules or different OS. iManager 2.0 follows the standard PICMG COM.0 R2.0 EAPI spec. If your application was designed with this standard, you can easily migrate your applications, just change the library to Advantech iManager 2.0 library, no need to recode your binary and modify the structure.

Cover Story

Cover Story ■ Platform

Support All iManager 2.0 features are integrated into Advantech platforms; we provide a range of sizes and specifications to meet your needs. And with more support coming up, we guarantee all our platforms will become even more reliable.

Key features iManager 2.0 provides a series of unified APIs which follow the standard COM.0 R2.0 EAPI specification. The functions included are listed below. ■ Platform

Information API Retrieve hardware and software information from the onboard EEPROM, drivers, API library in the OS, and record boot counts and running times. iManager generates and stores all this information on the onboard EEPROM, so customers can access those parameters for application configuration. For example, you may read the boot time data and platform operation times to analyze the health status of the hardware for reference, and if needed, schedule maintenance in advance.

■ LVDS

Output Control API Control the LVDS interface video frequency, brightness and backlight for integrated flat panel displays. You can even control the LVD brightness and backlight with iManager VGA control API. iManager supports 10 levels of ACPI brightness settings, and you can set up brightness values in PWM mode or just call the function and input the numbers.

■ EEPROM

User Storage API This API is for secured and lockable EEPROMs. For security concerns, iManager 2.0 storage API reserves a space to store important data, with additional encryption on the chip. It is the perfect complement for financial, medical and gaming industries, which have high security demands and need to protect sensitive data. The data security area access API provides 512 bytes of space on the EEPROM to let developers store user defined data and lock it with password protection, customers can then apply a key and combine the API into their applications. The software can be bundled with our platform to protect against piracy or hacking.

■ Watchdog

Control API Control a programmable & multi-level watchdog timer to enable flexible and intelligent hardware protection. With legacy watchdogs, hardware resets are the only mechanisms to recover systems from malfunctioning. iManager has an enhanced watchdog timer for detecting multi-level error events, preventing your application or system from crashing. The WDT can automatically fix the app, service or OS by sending an IRQ ,SCI/SMI reboot signal to the 14

Cover Story

platform. Since many customers like to program different responses to different events, Advantech has designed an advanced watchdog to support multi-level protection. iManager advanced watchdog provides precision control to improve system reliability. ■ I2C/GPIO/SMBus

Multi I/O Protocol Control API Enable data access and control to peripherals through I2C/ GPIO/SMBus protocols. In iManager 2.0 we provide new “mailbox” technology to improve data transfer rates, and boost data access performance. Each API also provides many data protocols so you can easily access your peripherals.

■ Smart

Fan Control API Programmable temperature controls for dynamic fan speed configuration. The iManager 2.0 Smart Fan Control API can configure the system to run only when the temperature reaches a preset value, and stops when the temperature drops below that value. With this feature a system’s stability can be dramatically increased to better conserve energy and minimize noise.

■ Hardware

Status Monitoring API An API to monitor the processor and system fan speed, CPU temperature and voltage status. iManager 2.0 is empowered with a robust Hardware Monitoring API – a system health supervision API that inspects certain condition indexes, such as fan speeds, temperatures and voltage. Information can be utilized as an event trigger or data log, and can be easily integrated into application programs.

Cover Story ■ Thermal

Protection API A hardware protection feature based on thermal adjustment with CPU throttling technology. The features that we designed into iManager are ready to meet the demands from the industrial sector as they are based on our experiences and support over many years. We believe that if a device is combined with iManager, it will become more than just a platform; it will become intelligent and leverage the power within to become a smart device. We hope with iManager 2.0, we can add even more value to industrial products, and make devices even more smarter. Advantech understands the crucial role it plays in the industrial computing supply chain to address numerous

demands and provide necessary solutions so that all can benefit from its latest customer-oriented offerings. And in doing so, fulfilling its role as the world’s leading industrial computer solutions provider. The introduction of iManager 2.0 is more than the integration of hardware and software technologies, it’s also about understanding the relationship with our clients; and by virtue of expanding our service scope, Advantech can forge even closer partnerships with our valued customers. Advantech’s iManager 2.0 technology brings your devices to life, making them smarter and more intelligent.

Advantech iManager 2.0 Platforms Model Name

Form Factor

Processor

Available Date

PCM-9364

3.5” SBC

Intel® Atom™ E6xx Processor

Q4, 2011

MIO-5270

MI/O Extension SBC

AMD® G-Series

Q3, 2011

SOM-5790

COM-Express Basic

2nd Intel® Core™ i7/i5/i3 Processor

Q3, 2011

SOM-5890

COM-Express Basic

2nd Intel® Core™ i7/i5/i3 Processor

Now

SOM-6763 B1

COM-Express Compact

Intel® Atom™ N455/D525

Now

SOM-6764

COM-Express Compact

Intel® Atom™ E6xx Processor

Q3, 2011

SOM-7564

COM-Ultra

Intel® Atom™ E6xx Processor

Q3, 2011

COM-Express Basic

Future Intel® Core™ Processor

Q4, 2011

COM-Express Compact

Future Intel® Atom™ Processor

Q4, 2011

Coming Soon

SOM-5892 Coming Soon

SOM-6765

iManager APIs & Utilities Support OS and Software Requirements Windows XP Professional Windows 7 professional and above edition Windows XP Embedded Windows Embedded Standard 2009 Windows Embedded Standard 7

WinCE and Linux will come supported in future. ■ SUSI 3.0 driver and API are required ■ .Net Framework 2.0 and above

Cover Story

Cover Story Embedded Cloud Services

SUSIAccess - Smart Access to Embedded Devices By CL Chiang, Manager, Advantech

dvantech has been developing the SUSI API series since 2004 to create convenient management solutions for embedded applications. After the original security features of eSOS (a small embedded OS used to boot up a system when the major OS boot-up fails) were introduced in 2009, Advantech launched SUSIAccess in Q2 2011, incorporating the latest cloud computing concepts. Nowadays, because most embedded devices are connected, the System Integrator can employ remote access solutions to manage or rescue their remote embedded devices. This new version enables users to remotely control, configure and manage, multiple terminal devices and data, as well as providing system maintenance, backup and recovery. The new smart remote access solution for embedded devices will give customers more control over their devices regardless of the hardware platform specifications.

Proactive data gathering reduces maintenance cost, improves efficiency and reduces down time The main purpose of SUSI (Secure & Unified Smart Interface) was to provide a set of tools to effortlessly monitor and integrate a system through an intelligent interface as well as helping to save power and energy. By adopting Advantech’s SUSIAccess, any unique combination of software and hardware can achieve maximum efficiency for end users’ applications. SUSIAccess was derived from Advantech’s ePlatforms to monitor and manage multiple terminal devices as well as configure, maintain and recover them. SUSIAccess centralizes monitoring of all embedded devices; it collects all device data, and provides logs in a customized 16

Cover Story

dashboard or table view. When errors occur, it auto-notifies the system administrator via warning popups and e-mail alerts. And if there’s a major system crash, it automatically reboots so it can run diagnostics and deploy system recovery procedures. If necessary, it can deploy firmware upgrades or file updates, and it can even capture screens to help troubleshoot problems. The main difference between SUSIAccess and other competitive products are the proactive data mining features. SUSIAccess not only actively detects embedded devices, but also saves related data on the server for subsequent

Cover Story evaluation. Backup or recovery can be performed with the help of the eSOS utility. An emergency OS image is stored in an FTP server or on a hidden partition to provide ultimate peace of mind. SUSIAccess can enable remote recovery by manually clicking the restore button to recover the whole system. These remote operations can significantly reduce the maintenance and manpower costs arising from on-site visits.

More cost-effective troubleshooting using remote access and control Take digital signage for example, there are hundreds or even thousands of units in typical airports or in chain stores. To be able to effectively control all those devices and quickly resolve any problems is a big challenge, and although there are similar products that provide early warning functions, it is not so simple to determine what causes a system to fail. Usually, maintenance staff will need to inspect a broken product to determine what the problem is. Obviously, on and off-site maintenance visits can be an unnecessary waste of time and manpower. Such scenarios can be resolved by using the remote management features of SUSIAccess. With SUSIAccess, when a device fails or behaves abnormally, the system will send a message so that a user can remotely diagnose and resolve problems. Most problems can be resolved by remote control which can drastically reduce maintenance effort. Furthermore, some digital signage devices may have been installed high up, or placed in difficult to get at locations— making regular backups or updates difficult to perform. But, through the remote configuration and system backup features of SUSIAccess, users can backup any system or update data from the convenience of the central administration office. Devices can also have volumes, displays, and other devices adjusted through SUSIAccess.

Future versions will combine Intel technology SUSIAccess features are also suitable for many different application fields such as traffic monitoring, logistics and transportation, factory automation or ATM management. The greatest value of Advantech’s SUSIAccess is that it provides a ready to use remote access solution for system integrators to monitor, control, recover and manage their embedded devices from anywhere. Hitches and glitches are taken out of complex projects, and developers can concentrate on adding value to their application and reaching the market ahead of the competition. SUSIAccess is included with selected Advantech embedded products. SUSIAccess will continue to evolve with new functions to fulfill customer requirements as the need arises, and in order to add more value and provide the best services, Advantech will launch SUSIAccess 2.0 specifically for Intel technology in the second half of 2011.

SUSIAccess Benefits Increases system reliability ■ All devices have real-time monitoring ■ Instantly control devices to resolve technical issues ■ Recover the OS image if Windows XP crashes ■ Transfer files to remote devices for firmware or application updates Decrease after-service costs ■ Reduced volume and customer call duration, more issues solved via SUSIAccess ■ Reduced service visits, more issues solved remotely ■ Reduced cost of visits—correct parts are sourced for FAE engineers Lowers complexity for embedded system deployment Saves time and resources during system builds

SUSIAccess Functions Device Monitoring

■ Device Status ■ Remote Site Layout ■ Alarm Notification ■ Hardware Log ■ Critical Settings ■ SQL Server Database

Remote Configuration

■ Hardware Control ■ Brightness Control ■ File Transfer ■ Capture Screens ■ Windows Event Log

System Recovery

■ One-Click Restore ■ Incremental Backup ■ Backup Image on FTP Server

Cover Story

Cover Story Embedded Cloud Services

Emb´Store On-Demand Software Service for Embedded Computing By CL Chiang, Manager, Advantech

dvantech embedded platforms have always offered all kinds of system and integrated software services, and with the arrival of the cloud computing era, we will continue to offer an even higher level of embedded software services. Emb’Store is an online, on-demand website for software updates and the latest embedded hardware device drivers. This will effectively relieve system developers and users of the complexity of device management and maintenance, and simplify the operation of embedded devices. Advantech software services from back to front, leads the industry in a new generation of industrial cloud computing services. Emb’Store is Advantech’s on-line, on-demand website providing cloud software services, which integrates embedded software developed by Advantech on a Microsoft .net framework platform, all with carefully designed user-friendly interfaces. When developing multi-functional applications, embedded developers have to choose software from different sources with different user interface that might cause confusion for end users. Advantech’s Emb’Store is an online portal for developers to source integrated and compatible software that helps reduce overall development effort and improves the user experience. Emb’Store promotes expedient access and improves software quality and compatibility. An Embedded Software Suit allows software developers to work with sample plug-ins, and unified interfaces within an Embedded Framework. As a result, users can access well-designed tools, utilities and API that will assure confidence in Advantech’s software development capability. 18

Cover Story

Another feature of Emb’Store is that it can automatically detect Advantech hardware platforms and connect to the cloud to seek tools and updates suitable for the hardware, such as BIOS, drivers, user documents, APIs and more. The Embedded Software Suit is a client that allows endusers to link to the Emb’Store directly, so that they can have complete access and knowledge of Advantech’s latest software developments and download whatever they want in their own Embedded Software Suit. They can also easily delete the software they do not need. The “Plug and Play” design reduces waiting, downloads and installation times. By providing a ready to use remote access solution: Emb’Store enables a System Integrator to focus more on their own application, and lets Emb’Store monitor a device’s health, and even recover a system if Windows XP boot-up fails.

Introduction to Emb’Store On-Demand Service for Embedded Computing Emb’Store is the way to manage embedded software updates in real-time. There are three major functions. The first is “System Updates” which updates the BIOS, drivers and SUSI API. The second is “Platform Utilities”, which as the name implies provides utilities designed by Advantech software team for customers to download directly. Third is “OEM applications”, whereby OEM partners can deploy their applications from Emb’Store like Apple‘s App Store and Android marketplaces.

Cover Story

Emb’Store Core Features There are two core features of Emb’Store. The first is: Active Updates and Notification, which means Emb’Store can automatically detect the hardware platform you are using and provide you with all the updates you need. The second core feature is: On-Demand Software Services, which means only the software customers want and need will be delivered—all fully tested and verified.

Active Update Notifications ■ Automatically detects the hardware platform ■ Proactive notification of software updates On-Demand Software Services ■ Delivers only the software you want and ■ Tested, qualified software guaranteed

need

Emb’Store Software Structure The Emb’Store software structure contains a client and server. The server can only be accessed from the Emb’Store client. When the client needs to update a system, it will detect the platform and go to the server database to find the corresponding system update, platform utilities and OEM applications. Clicking on the utility icon on the server will downloaded it to the client and install it on your platform ready to run. No need to worry about compatibility.

Emb’Store Server

Emb’Store Client

The Emb’Store server user interface is totally designed for the embedded market, so all the categories are useful for system integrators, unlike the consumer market where there are a lot of unwanted apps.

On the Emb’Store client you will see three utilities installed successfully. Now, you can run BIOS & Firmware to get the latest BIOS for your platform, run Hardware Monitoring to get device status, and run EWF/FBWF Manager to protect your Windows Embedded OS partition.

Benefits to Customers Emb’Store is very useful for a system integrator when they are designing their embedded solutions. There are three benefits, firstly, it speeds up system integration by eliminating time consuming manual searches. Second, it delivers the latest software to ensure only correct software updates are downloaded. Third, it provides immediate access to the latest innovations from Advantech Software Center and OEM ecosystem partners.

■ Speeds

up system integration by eliminating time consuming manual searches

■ Delivers

the right software and updates to ensure only correct software updates are downloaded

■ Immediate

access to the latest innovations from Advantech Software Center and OEM & Ecosystem Partners Cover Story

Cover Story

Emb’Store Functions There are three major functions of Emb’Store: First, System Updates—this means Emb’Store can auto-detect platforms and offer the latest updates including BIOS, drivers, SUSI API and documents. Second, Platform Utilities—this means Emb’Store will offer corresponding platform utilities on-demand and downloaded them directly to your target device. Third, OEM Applications—this means Emb’Store provides an Open Embedded Framework for OEM application deployment; designed for Advantech embedded platforms.

Active System Updates Active System Updates means it can auto-detect platforms & offer the latest updates, including BIOS, drivers, SUSI API and user documents. When selecting the System Update category, customers will see four utilities with which to find the latest updates for their target platform: ■ BIOS & F/W: search for the latest BIOS file or F/W binary ■ Drivers: search for the latest graphic, audio, and LAN drivers ■ SUSI Utility: Search for the latest SUSI Software API of GPIO, SMBus, and WatchDog Timer ■ Documents: Search for the latest User Manuals and setup documents

On-Demand Platform Utilities On-demand platform utilities are downloaded directly to the target device. Emb’Store can guarantee all utilities are fully tested, verified and up to date. When selecting the Platform Utilities category, customers will see only utilities which are compatible with their target platform for example: ■ Power Management: controls system performance to save power

consumption. ■ Display Control: changes the brightness, backlight on/off, gamma etc. ■ Connection Manager: utility for managing wireless modules like WIFI, 3.5G, GPRS, and GPS etc. ■ iManager 2.0: utility for iManager ready platforms, like SOM3564, SOM-5890 etc. ■ Platform Info: lists the board name, DRAM size, OS type, HDD usage etc. ■ CPU Info: lists the CPU type and manufacturer.

Open Framework for OEM Applications Open framework for OEM applications provides open embedded framework for OEM Applications deployment— designed for Advantech embedded platforms When selecting the OEM Applications category, customers will see many utilities which are developed by 3rd parties, for example: ■ Arconics TrueImage: a tool for OS backup and recovery (Note:

The activation key already bundle with Advantech Microsoft Windows XP/7 license) ■ RTX Soft-Control: a real-time timer and thread editor. ■ …More (Welcome 3rd party alliance with Advantech to provide your solution on Emb’Store ) 20

Cover Story

■ SQFlash Tool: utility for managing SQFlash SSD, CF cards, IDE

DOM, SATA DOM etc. ■ Booting Manager: manages Windows OS boot-up screen and

shutdown screens ■ Hardware Monitoring: monitors CPU/system temp, FAN speeds

and voltages

Cover Story Case 1: Advantech Public Cloud Service

System Update Service for Digital Signage Emb’Store simplifies player application & BIOS maintenance The Challenge

The Solution

Information Display Systems (IDS) are used in the hospitality industry around the world to display all kinds of general information as well as travel, entertainment and advertising content. These next-generation displays offer an invaluable service to customers and help reduce stress and waiting times. Advertising time is sold to marketers who want to reach travelers, and Advantech digital signage products provide the perfect media platform and display engine behind the screens. From time to time media player applications need updating, and often IDS are deployed in large numbers that need to be carefully managed—this is where Emb’Store comes in.

Most Hotels open all day long so on-site maintenance is usually performed during night times, and most operators need to employ several engineers and pay costly over-time fees. Because many software management applications are proprietary solutions, system managers often need to consult technical support teams to resolve problems. To overcome these kinds of scenarios, Advantech developed Emb’Store as cross-platform, value-added, on-demand service on top of our Digital Signage Platform. With Emb’Store, compatibility is assured.

How Emb’Store Helps All Advantech signage devices are preinstalled with the Emb’Store Client, which will auto connect to Advantech Emb’Store server, the client will tell the server what platform is needed and download the latest updates, including a signage player application, BIOS & drivers to keep the device up to date.

Exclusive Hospital Emb’Store Server

Case 2: Industrial Private Cloud Service

Private Emb’Store Server enables instant updates The Challenge

The Solution

A medical device maker developed a medical application using Advantech’s medical grade embedded platforms. When they sold the devices to their customers (a hospital) they found the after service support was very intensive. For example, all the BIOS needed updating, and the vertical application also needed updating. So the question became: how best to deliver and deploy the upgrades to all existing devices?

Hospitals are a closed environment; they don’t want to allow their devices to connect to the internet, so they usually need a medical device maker to send service engineers to perform onsite service—taking a lot of time and money. But with a private implementation of Emb’Store Server, things became much simpler.

How Emb’Store Helps Now, the medical device maker can send their newly tested medical applications directly to the hospital IT people, and the hospital IT can upload it to their private Emb’Store Server so all their medical device can access and perform updates at the same time. This kind of setup saved a lot of time and effort, as well as protecting the hospital’s security.

Cover Story

Technology Forum

The Innovative MI/O Extension Single Board Computer Unveiled By Sandy Chen, Product Manager, Advantech

onfigurable designs and pricing competitiveness are the two primary factors in defining the future of vertical applications. In light of making standardized, embedded single board computers a more thoughtful fit for client demands, Advantech introduced the innovative MI/O Extension solution to assist application providers in quickly providing optimal solutions to their clients, while still securing their domain knowhow in key vertical industrial technologies. Imagine a representative from a system integration company listens attentively to product introductions by various companies, and then examines and searches for suitable products for their clients. At the end of the day, they leave the meeting in disappointment because none of the existing standardized embedded products exactly fits their needs.

Technology Forum

Technology Forum This is a plight shared by many systems integrators. In vertical application markets overall, clients have very specific demands for product specifications and interfaces and oftentimes, the demands are very specific. As a result, they find the standardized embedded single board computers available on the market unsatisfactory. On the other hand, it wouldn’t be cost-effective if the developers choose custom, ODM-based single board computers just to meet client demands for a limited assignment quantity. Another type of embedded computer modules called “Computer On Module” (COM), though a good solution for unique single board computer applications, requires a longer development schedule, and more strenuous R & D effort to ensure that the design and testing process incorporates a CPU board and a

carrier board. This type of R & D-intensive solution is better suited for large-scale, more profitable projects. Advantech thus proposed a new solution – MI/O Extension (multiple I/O Extension) - strategically segmented and positioned between the markets for standard single boards and configurable modules. Advantech developed MI/O Extension as the answer to the demand of systems integrators, so that they won’t have to scrape the barrel and make do with standard products currently on the market. Advantech’s embedded single board computers are powered with flexible Multiple I/O support, allowing integrators to provide optimal solutions to their clients efficiently and cost-effectively.

MI/O Extension Form Factor The Flexible Signal Board Computer with MIOe Extension Modules

Compact Series Dimension 142 x 106 mm (5.7” x 4.0”) Core TDP 9 W – 40 W Features

■ Middle to High end performance platforms ■ Rich I/O ■ Supports extended temperature design ■ Supports iManager

Ultra Series 100 x 72 mm (3.9” x 2.8”) Under 8 W ■ Ultra low power consumption ■ Ultra small form factor ■ Competitive pricing with simple

Technology Forum

I/O

Technology Forum

Configurable Interface – Flexibility is Key Advantech’s MI/O Extension embedded single board computer can be independently used as a standard unit; it also includes scalable interfaces on a unified MIOe connector that clients will most likely need somewhere down the road. This feature permits clients to design their own signature products, utilizing Advantech’s user-driven, versatile modules; or, they can refer to Advantech’s design guide, and allow their engineers to creatively develop their own I/O modules. For one thing, this scalable, configurable interface cuts down time and resources spent on product development. For another, integrators can stay on top of securing domain knowhow and vital information, such as specific design requirements from their clients in the vertical market. Such information is of great industrial value and should be safeguarded with caution. MI/O Extension’s versatility also allows integrators to develop competitive yet specialized products, therefore controlling costs and time required for product and technology development. In general, the development of all software operating systems is a time-consuming process; but with MI/O Extension in

place, developers only need to work on different soft- and hardware integration after choosing a particular solution and thus save time. Solution providers and integrators alike can quickly preempt their targeted markets with the already-developed MI/O extension platform as the core to pair with a variety of I/O modules. Advantech has also included a power design in the unified MI/O Extension connector. Delivering an effective power supply design has been a perpetually vexing issue for integrators. MI/O Extension is a single board computer with flexible I/O support; this particular product is created specifically to include a versatile power supply solution, to help integrators save resources and money spent on designing I/O modules without having to design complicated power on the I/O module. MI/O Extension single board computer is already a stand-alone, ready-for-use product, so all integrators need to do is to add their I/O modules when necessary. From the very beginning, the launch of MI/O Extension was to ensure greater flexibility and simplicity for clients’ product development process.

MI/O Highlights

Ensuring efficient, flexible product development with time and cost saving Features

Benefits

MIOe Unified Connector

Extended interface gives flexiblility to bundled I/O modules.

Expansion Module Options

Ready for future interface expansion and vertical application demands.

Unified System Screw Holes

Unified screw mounting holes makes it easier for system maintainance and platform upgrades.

Concentrated Thermal Design

Concentrated heat generation and dispersion on top side via heat sink/spreader prevents thermal problems and saves space.

Less Cabling Design

Structural uniformity helps reduce cabling and saves cost.

Compact Mechanical Design

With compact and simple integrated design, save up to 20% system space.

MIO-5270

MIO-2260

■ 146 x 102 mm (5.7” x 4”) ■ AMD G-Series SC/DC processor

with N50M FCH, DDR3

up tp 4 GB ■ Multiple displays: 48-bit LVDS, VGA,HDMI ■ DirectX 11, 2D/3D acceleration ■ Dual GbE/COM Ports x 4/ SATA x 2/USB x 6/ GPIO / Cfast

Technology Forum

■ 100 x 72 mm (3.9 x 2.8”) ■ Embedded Intel® Atom™

N455 Single Core + ICH8M, DDR3 memory support ■ Dual Independent display: 18-bit LVDS+ VGA ■ GbE/ COM Port x2/ SATA/ USB 2.0 x 2/GPIO/ SMBus/ CF ■ Low Power Consumption under 8 Watts

Technology Forum

System Integration-Ready Single Boards The other highlight feature of Advantech’s MI/O Extension is that it’s ready for troubleshooting, and effective for system integration in single board computers. Cable assembly used to be one of systems integrators’ biggest headaches when they were tasked with handling single computer products. The complex cabling on single board computers was to blame for the soaring assembly cost, and troubling system assembling issues. MI/O Extension is outfitted with an optimal mechanical design to streamline multiple I/O ports and overall cabling.

is 146 x 102 mm in size, and will be promoted specifically for the 9Watts ~ 40Watts chipset platform segment. From the PCB, material selection and power design, this particular line was created to support wide-temperature designs, with built-in iManager chips; it also supports boot-up in critical conditions, and an automatic system recovery device during voltage dips. The MIO-2xxx Ultra series is 100 x 72 mm (PICO-ITX) in size, and a perfect fit for low power applications under 8Watts that require miniature x86 chipsets, to simplify demands from more price-competitive markets and size-sensitive devices.

In tackling heat radiation, MI/O Extension was designed with a centralized thermal management feature. All the heat conductors distributed across the board, including the CPU, the Southbridge, memory, the active IC, the power zone and the clock generator, are now centralized helping disperse the heat via the heat sink, or a heat spreader. This way, the heat can be more effectively dissipated to eradicate possible issues due to ineffective heat radiation in the system. In the past, different types of boards, each with different locations resulted in expansion difficulties due to the differences in product specs. Advantech developed its MI/O Extension single board computers with unified I/O connector coastlines, and uniformly expanded compatibility of its CF card and mini PCIe locations. An area under the board is also designated for 2.5” hard disks. This structural uniformity helps overcome possible problems during future upgrades.

Integrated Added-Value Services for Firmware and Software MI/O Extension value-added software services include builtin iManager chip technology which is a unique cross-platform combination of hardware and firmware technology that can work across all kinds of operating systems, and provide instant response and detection to allow system administrators to be fully in control. iManager ensures applications boot up in harsh environments and automatically overcome voltage dips. In addition, MI/O Extension supports Advantech’s own SUSIAccess which provides easy remote management so users can more easily monitor, configure, and control a large number of terminals and make maintenance and system recovery simpler.

New Concepts Create New Business Opportunities Two product lines are being planned under the MI/O Extension framework. The first is the MIO-5xxx Compact series which

In August, 2011, Advantech is scheduled to launch MIO-5270, using AMD G-Series platform, and MIO-2260 with Intel Atom N455. Four months later, the company is looking to introduce MIO-5250 using brand new Intel Atom solutions. More low power consumption and high-performance versions of MI/O Extension products are also slated for launch in 2012. Advantech is keeping its finger on the pulse of the market and carefully studying marketing analyses and feedback. The result is the pioneering MI/O Extension product range—a user-oriented solution realized after many trials and experiments. The design of this single board computer took into account soft, hard, and firmware applications. Other than I/O module documents (MIOe design document) for clients design reference, Advantech also offers an evaluation board to provide I/O interface for verification. These features are all parts of Advantech’s thoughtful effort to help integrators create their module designs most cost-effectively, so that integrators can flexibly develop market-sensitive solutions and secure more promising business opportunities!

Technology Forum

Advantech Enables Rich Graphics Apps with AMD’s Fusion APUs By Cameron Swen and Kelly Gillilan, AMD Embedded Solutions

he recent introduction of the AMD Fusion family of APUs solves the need for efficient computational performance and graphics for portable and fixed embedded imaging, casino gaming, digital signage, thin client and in-vehicle applications. Previous processing platforms were either light on graphics rendering or consumed too much power, leading to poor user experiences, reduced battery life, and/or heat removal concerns. AMD’s Fusion family of processors is considered an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) because it integrates a CPU and a discrete-class GPU on the same die, thereby improving graphics data bandwidth while reducing power consumption. These benefits are now available to the broad embedded computing market thanks to Advantech’s deployment of AMD’s Fusion family on a number of standard board form factors including the AIMB-223 Mini-ITX SBC and the brand-new MIO-5270 SBC.

Technology Forum

Advantech Enables Rich Graphical Apps with AMD’s Fusion APUs AMD’s recent introduction of its Fusion family of APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) solves the need for efficient computational performance and graphics for portable and fixed embedded imaging, casino gaming, digital signage, thin client and in-vehicle applications. Previous processing platforms were either light on graphics rendering or consumed too much space and power, leading to poor user experiences, reduced battery life, and/or heat removal concerns. Advantech’s latest embedded boards, AIMB-223 and MIO-5270, showcase these APUs to accelerate time-to-market for these applications.

Advances in Discrete Graphics In the last decade, Moore’s Law has been kind to Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). ATI’s Radeon consumer graphics cards added vertex processing stream operations with the 2000 series, and flexible branching and array manipulation with the 3000 series, subject to limitations on recursion depth and the number of operations to be executed. With each generation, features were added and limitations were removed, including append buffers and atomic operations with the cutting edge Radeon 9000 series. By now, the dozens of processing cores in Radeon GPUs have deep pipelines and are nearly identical to each other, setting the stage for GPGPU (General-Purpose GPU) computing. As opposed to the conventional sequential-processing CPUs which have been enhanced with only modest parallelism in the form of multi-threading and multiple cores, modern GPUs are optimized for massive parallel computing – whether graphics or otherwise.

To Metal” (CTM) initiative that gave early GPU-computing pioneers a set of low-level, proprietary interfaces they could use to craft GPU-accelerated applications. A year later, AMD augmented its GPU software toolkit with the release of the ATI Stream SDK and Brook+, an opensource, C-like language that simplified the use of AMD GPUs for computational tasks. 2010 saw the release of OpenCL, a cross-platform standard for parallel computing coordinated by the Khronos Group; and DirectCompute, a new set of Windows DirectX APIs that facilitates GPU computing applications. OEMs now have two standard tool options for GPU computing. DirectCompute features data structures compatible with DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 application programming interfaces (APIs) and simplifies the process of adding GPU acceleration to the aforementioned embedded applications. OEMs who are not using Windows can select OpenCL, especially if the similar OpenGL is in use already to handle discrete graphics cards. OpenCL includes support for both data-parallel (i.e., SIMD) and task-parallel execution models. It uses data structures compatible with OpenGL APIs, thus helping to simplify the task of adding GPU compute acceleration to OpenGL applications. AMD’s OpenCL compiler supports Radeon 4000 and 5000 series GPUs and its multicore x86 processor offerings.

Certainly, not all embedded workloads are geared toward parallel computing. While it is beneficial to have this entire graphics and computational horsepower lying around, the trick is to find a way to make use of it for embedded applications. After all, DSPs (Digital Signal Processors) have earned their reputation of being difficult to program, and GPUs would follow the same path were it not for two computing languages specifically aimed at simplifying the programming tasks.

DirectCompute and OpenCL Two ground-breaking development tools – OpenCL and DirectCompute – help developers move from single-threaded scalar software to multi-threaded data-parallel software applications. Over the past three years since AMD’s acquisition of ATI, the tools available to developers who use GPU hardware to accelerate applications have undergone a revolution. Before 2007, developers were limited in applying Radeon cards or FirePro accelerators to anything other than traditional 3D applications. Then AMD launched the “Close

Figure 1. The AIMB-223 adopts lower total cost of ownership with DC12V support.

Technology Forum

APUs Signal an Integration Break-Through AMD’s Fusion family of processors is considered an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) because it integrates a CPU and a discrete-class GPU on the same die, thereby improving graphics data bandwidth while reducing power consumption. Although the APU’s scalar x86 cores and SIMD engines share a common path to system memory, AMD’s first generation implementations divide that memory into regions managed by the operating system running on the x86 cores and other regions managed by software running on the SIMD engines. AMD provides high speed block transfer engines that move data between the x86 and SIMD memory partitions. Unlike transfers between an external frame buffer and system memory, these transfers never hit the system’s external bus. Clever software developers can overlap the loading and unloading of blocks in the SIMD memory with execution involving data in other blocks. Insight 64 anticipates that future APU architectures will evolve towards a more seamless memory management model that allows even higher levels of balanced performance scaling. Just as AMD’s architects have combined multiple x86 cores and GPU cores into single chips, technology-oriented OEMs can now begin to fold high performance vector algorithms into programs previously limited by the computational capabilities of conventional multi-core CPUs. Vector designs that emphasize single instructions operating on multiple data items (“SIMD”) deliver higher performance for computationally intensive applications.

to overcome many technical challenges to merge its vector and scalar technologies in a manner that preserves the advantages of each, having the core IP for both processing elements provides this AMD hardware with a significant advantage over other hardware designs which are missing one or the other.

Accessing APUs to Accelerate Applications With Fusion APUs, DirectX 11 processors provide stunning 3D visual effects and dynamic interactivity today. Advanced discrete-class GPU with OpenGL 4.0 and OpenCL support in an integrated device together enable next generation embedded imaging and casino gaming applications now. The APU’s integration reduces the board footprint of a traditional three-chip x86 platform to two chips: The APU and its companion controller hub. A single, scalable platform design allows system OEMs to reduce development costs, optimize solutions and increase graphical and other parallel computational capabilities.

Modular Approach for Application Scalability The benefits of AMD’s Fusion family of APUs are now available to the broad embedded computing market thanks to Advantech’s deployment of embedded board form factors including the AIMB-223 Mini-ITX SBC and the brand-new MIO-5270 SBC.

Total system performance is now enhanced by the addition of a discrete GPU. Until now, transistor budget constraints typically mandated a two chip solution. The APU’s x86 CPU cores and SIMD GPU engines share a common path to system memory to help avoid these constraints. After all those years of debate, it has now become clear that both sides were correct; it is not a question of “either/or,” but rather of “both/and.” Some numerically intensive problems lend themselves to parallel algorithms, and others don’t. When a machine optimized for parallel computation encounters a problem that cannot be computed in a parallel manner, the machine operates as an inefficient scalar processor, and most of its parallel computing resources sit idle. Conversely, a processor optimized for scalar calculations cannot exploit the parallelism in many algorithms, and thus is limited by its scalar processing speed. Scalar processors operate on arrays of data one element at a time. Vector processors like those used in advanced GPU shave dozens, and sometimes hundreds of calculating units that operate simultaneously. APUs cut through scalar workloads using AMD’s proven x86 core technology and through vector workloads using enhanced versions of its GPU technology. Although AMD had 28

Technology Forum

Figure 2. MIO-5270 adopts the newly design from mechanical side, one is advanced thermal design, concentrates 3 main thermal sources CPU, SB, RAM on top side.

Technology Forum

New MI/O Extension Single Board Computer: MIO-5270

High Graphic Performance Industrial Motherboard: AIMB-223

MIO-5270 was designed with the innovative MI/O Extension single board computer form factor (146*102mm). In addition to having all the features of the AMD G-Series processor, MIO-5270 has one unified MIOe connector which supports additional extended interfaces including a display port, four PCIe x1 slots, LPC, SMBus, USB, and power. These give MIO5270 more flexible support to bundled I/O modules, either from Advantech or modules designed by the customer. MIO5270 supports iManager technology, an OS independent system of self management that enhances system reliability. MIO-5270 also makes system integration easier; all heat generating parts are on top, and less cabling is required, making the system small and compact.

Designed with an AMD Mobile G-Series dual/single core processor, AIMB-223 features intelligent performance, power efficiency, and integrated AMD HD Graphics with DX11 support. AIMB-223 comes with plenty of connectivity and expansion options, including: one PCIe x1 and one PCI expansion slot, six serial ports, four SATA III 6 GB/s connectors, eight USB 2.0 ports, and dual display output with several display output interface options: VGA, HDMI, and LVDS. AIMB-223 also comes with software RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 support, offering abundant data storage and reliable data protection, and dual PCI Express-based Gigabit Ethernet ports delivering up to 1000 Mbps of bandwidth for networkintense applications. In addition, AIMB-223 also includes both ATX12V and DCIN power to provide a low total cost solution. All these features are packed into a space-saving, power-efficient, and cost-effective Mini-ITX form factor. All this connectivity is packed into a space-saving, powerefficient, and cost-effective Mini-ITX form factor.

In addition, MIO-5270 adopts the newly design from mechanical side , one is advanced thermal design, concentrates different thermal sources such as CPU, SB, RAM,power and some other active IC on top side. The heatsink could efficiently solve the thermal problem with the most compact design. The other one is integrated I/O and less cabling design. It’s efficient to do system integration be compact and simpler.

In addition, with the graphics engine integrated onto the processor chip, these two-chip solutions provide enhanced graphics performance compared to previous AMD platforms. The integrated graphics controller includes AMD first accelerated processing unit “ Fusion” architecture and also can support dual channel 24bit LVDS for big size panel.

MIO-5270

AIMB-223

MI/O Extension SBC

Mini-ITX

146 x 102 mm (5.7’’ x 4’’)

170 x 170 mm (6.69’’ x 6.69’’)

• Embedded AMD® G- Series Single Core/ Dual Core processor + AMD A50M FCH, 1 x DDR3 memory support upto 4 GB

• Embedded AMD® G- Series Single Core/ Dual Core processor

• DirectX® 11, 2D/3D Acceleration, multiple display: 48-bit LVDS, • One 204-pin SODIMM up to 2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz SDRAM HDMI, VGA (eDP option) • Flexibile design for vertical demands, minimum cabling needed, compact design

• Supports VGA/LVDS/HDMI

• 2 GbE support, HD Audio, Rich I/O interface with 4 COM, 2 SATA, 6 USB, GPIO, Mini PCIe and CFast

• Dual LANs, 6COM, Mini PCIe, and Cfast

• Supports iManager, embedded software APIs and Utilities

• Supports embedded software APIs and Utilities

Contact Advantech today to begin evaluating Fusion technology for imaging, casino gaming, digital signage, thin client, in-vehicle applications and more.

Technology Forum

Windows Embedded Compact 7 By Clound Chen, Product Manager, Advantech

ith the ever continuing advancement of software and hardware, computing platforms are getting smaller and smaller, whilst providing better and better performance. Now, all kinds of embedded installations have entered our lives via an ever expanding internet, cloud services, RFID and other new technologies, and ubiquitous embedded computing has arrived by stealth. Meanwhile, as concerns over climate change have demanded more economic use of energy, so low power installations with high efficiency have become the target for IT experts. To achieve that goal, they have to improve hardware manufacturing processes and use corresponding software to control and manage systems; while more intelligent platforms are needed to combine both and get best performance out of them. With accumulated experience and capability in researching and developing industrial control installations for over 25 years, Advantech has stridden across the industrial computing sector into the software area and designed and developed products ranging from firmware, drivers, software APIs, as well as establishing its own brand of SCADA programs. More importantly, Advantech has integrated Microsoft Windows Embedded OS with its platforms to allow clients in the industrial control area to develop applications with ease and raise platform stability and capability with the advantageous system performance provided by Advantech. Advantechâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s software team also continually develops all kinds of APIs and tools based on Microsoft OS products to add additional value to their platforms with enhanced product competitiveness. Having established years of partnership with Microsoft, in April 2011 Advantech introduced Windows Embedded Compact 7 into its products as a new generation of Microsoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Real-Time OS-WinCE family. This provides our customers with more options for more functions and greater performance, supports more rapid and stable hardware platforms, adds more values to our customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; developed systems, and gives them an edge in a competitive market.

Windows Embedded Compact 7 Windows Embedded Compact 7 (WEC 7) is the evolution of Windows Embedded CE. Compact 7 is a componentized, real-time operating system used to create a wide range of small footprint industrial applications. For the past 15 years OEMs have relied on highly reliably operating systems to bring their applications to market. But now, WEC 7 introduces an improved kernel, and provides new support for critical application performance and device availability. Developers can use familiar tools employing their skills in familiar environments and gain access to the global Windows Embedded partner community to help them create the next generation of devices. WEC 7 introduces new technologies for creating devices that stand apart with attractive, intuitive user interfaces. WEC 7 offers an updated declarative UI framework that allows developers and designers to collaborate and iterate on UI development like never before. The new Embedded IE adds a customizable browser UI, thumbnail and bookmark management support, and the new Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) builds the foundation to create new entertainment experiences. 30

Technology Forum

The evolution of Windows CE over the past 15 years

Windows Embedded Compact Benefits Seamlessly Connect Devices WEC 7 provides developers with the connectivity support needed to create seamless connections to PCs, servers and online services. It offers updated technologies, accelerating the creation of always-connected devices and applications. ■ Simplify media management with new Media Library ■ R icher media streaming with updated MPEG-4 and HD support ■ Flexible plug-in architecture to support third-party content ■ Seamless connection to Microsoft Windows 7 ■ Simplify device management with integrated Windows Device Stage ■ Synchronize data and media with support for MTP ■ Connect to Office and personal information ■ Updated Office viewers for easy sharing of corporate information (docx/xlsx/pptx/pdf) ■ Updated AirSync and Microsoft Exchange support Extensible rich UI framework Deliver innovative user experiences that reinvent the way users interact with their specialized devices. ■ Updated Internet Explorer browsing engine ■ Support for tabs, panning, and zooming ■ Access to rich content with Adobe Flash 10.1 support ■ Immersive experiences with natural touch input ■ Multi-touch integrated with browser for mobile device experiences ■ Extend the power of the device with support for custom gestures A highly reliable platform Build specialized devices and solutions with streamlined tools and technologies that you can trust. ■ Support for latest ARM v7 architectures as well as X86 and MIPS ■ Increased graphics performance with Open GL ES 2.0 ■ Higher performance and reliability with multicore(up to 250 cores) architecture and support for SMP (Symmetric multiprocessing)

New innovations of WEC 7

Memory Manager Updates WEC 7 raises the supported RAM limit to 3 GB of physical RAM. Now, it supports enough RAM to run hundreds of applications using as much RAM as they might need.

Real-time Operating System Powering high-performance embedded devices to manage time-critical responses: ■ Nested interrupts ■ Per-thread quantums ■ 256 levels of thread priority The Windows Embedded Shared Source program The program is designed to help you speed development, reduce troubleshooting and code debugging time, receive assistance in remote device support and gain a deeper understanding of the WEC 7 OS. Receive free access to more than 3.9 million lines of WEC7 source code, including key components such as 100% of the Kernel, supporting 32,000 processes with 2GB of addressable virtual memory space. With the Licensing Program, use and slightly modify existing code to meet new hardware requirements or use that code to develop a driver for a new piece of hardware.

Conclusion Advantech has been dedicated to making progress on the x86 platforms, trying the best it can to enhance its capability in integrating software. We have produced an excellent combination of Intel x86 platforms and Microsoft CE embedded systems. Meanwhile, we also developed a series of software tools based on embedded systems for use by our industrial control customers, which will help save them the burden of work and cost in developing software. In the future, we will implant the WEC7 toolkit into our platforms, and in addition to the existing functions inherited from the earlier version such as Hotkey Manager, Kiosk Mode, AutoRun Manager, Registry Utilities, Server Configure Wizard, Resolution Modifier and Shell Manager, we will add several new functionalities for use in all embedded application areas. To support x86/Intel platforms, when the official timetable for BSP release is available, Advantech will develop and provide our customers with standard OS images for all compatible platforms in our product line. We will also offer a customtailored OS service and integrate software tools developed either by ourselves or in cooperation with a third party, such as SUSI 3.0, iManager, QFlash utility, SUSIAccess, OEM Acronis True Image, and more, to introduce comprehensive WEC7 industrial automation control solutions that will allow our customers to concentrate on programming without compatibility worries. Technology Forum

Product In-Depth

New

Products

2nd Generation Intel® Core™i7/i5 Mobile Processor Mini-ITX with Extended HD Graphics Performance

AIMB-213 Mini-ITX Motherboard with Intel® Atom™ N455/D525 Processors and DDR3 Memory Support

AIMB-272 is a new industrial-grade, Mini-ITX motherboard supporting the latest Intel® Core™i7/i5 and Intel® Celeron® mobile processors with FCPGA 988 sockets. Intel® Core™i7/ i5 and Intel® Celeron® mobile series processors feature intelligent performance, power efficiency, and integrated Intel® HD Graphics with DX10 support. AIMB-272 is capable of SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 & 10 to ensure reliable storage and system protection for networkintensive applications.

Mini-ITX motherboard featuring the latest Intel® Atom™ processors. The single-core N455 and the dual-core D525 integrate Graphics (GMA 3150) and a Memory Controller Hub (GMCH) onto a single chip, enabling even smaller applications and even more power savings. AIMB-213 has rich I/O connectivity with up to eight USB 2.0 ports and six COM ports integrated in a standard 170 x 170 mm form factor. These motherboards also support dual display for LVDS, DVI and VGA.

Embedded Touch Modules- ETM-RES02C Touch Control Board with Value-added TouchWare

Hard Real-Time with RTX® on the Windows® Platforms

Advantech 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 widetemperature operation, ETMRES02C provides an all-in-one solution for POS, Medical and Machine Control applications.

Product In-Depth

Advantech provides hard real-time solutions by integrating RTX and Windows XP for a ready to use image. Featuring a precise clock and timer, deterministic scheduling of realtime threads, and direct access to I/O, Bus and memory. RTX-based applications can survive even if Windows crashes. The solution is deployed to all Advantech Intel® Atom™ N450/D510 based embedded platforms and is suitable for Industrial Automation, Medical Systems, Test and Measurement Systems, Military, Transportation and Robots.

Product In-Depth

2011 Star Product Selection Guide 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ Processor-based Platforms

COM-Express R2.0, Type 6 SOM-5890

Mini-ITX AIMB-272

Micro ATX AIMB-581

ATX AIMB-781

PICMG 1.3 SHB PCE-5126

■ Intel Core + QM67 ■ 95 x 125mm

■ Intel Core + QM67 ■ 170 x 170 mm

■ Intel Core + Q67 ■ 244 x 244 mm

■ Intel Core i7/i5/i3 +

■ Intel Core i7/i5/i3/Xeon ■ Intel Core i3/Xeon E3

(4.92” x 3.74”) ■ Dual Channel DDR3 SO-DIMM up to 16GB

(6.69” x 6.69”) ■ Dual Channel DDR3 SO-DIMM up to 8GB

(9.6” x 9.6”) ■ Dual Channel DDR3 up to 16GB

ATX ASMB-781

E3 + Q67/B65/C206

Q67/B65 ■ 304.8 x 244 mm (12” x 9.6”) ■ Dual Channel DDR3 up to 16GB

■ 338 x 122 mm

+ C206 ■ 304.8 x 244 mm

(13.3” x 4.8”)

(12” x 9.6”)

■ Dual Channel DDR3

up to 8GB

■ Dual Channel DDR3

up to 32GB

Intel® Atom™ E6xx Processor-based Platforms

COM-Ultra SOM-7564

QSeven SOM-3564

COM-Express Compact SOM-6764

PCI-104 PCM-3364

3.5” SBC PCM-9364

■ Standalone Intel Atom E6xx

■ Intel Atom E6xx Processor

Processor Series ■ 84 x 55 mm (3.3”x2.17”) ■ On-board Memory 1GB

Processor Series ■ 70 x 70 mm (2.76”x2.76”) ■ On-board Memory 1GB

Series + Intel Platform Controller Hub EG20T ■ 95 x 95 mm (3.74”x3.74”) ■ On-board Memory 1GB

Series + Intel Platform Controller Hub EG20T ■ 96 x 90 mm (3.8”x3.5”) ■ On-board Memory 1GB

Series + Intel Platform Controller Hub EG20T ■ 146 x 102 mm (5.7”x4”) ■ On-board Memory 1GB

Intel® Atom™ N455/D525 Processor-based Platforms

COM-Ultra SOM-7562 B1

COM-Express Compact PCI-104 SOM-6763 B1 PCM-3363

■ Intel Atom N455 ■ 84 x 55 mm

■ Intel Atom N455/ D525 ■ 95 x 95 mm

(3.3”x2.17”)

■ On-board DDR3 1GB

(3.74” x 3.74”)

■ DDR3 SO-DIMM

up to 4GB (D525)

■ Intel Atom N455/

3.5” SBC PCM-9363

■ Intel Atom N455/ D525 D525 ■ 96 x 90 mm ■ 146 x 102 mm (3.8”x3.5”) (5.7”x 4”) ■ On-board DDR3 1GB ■ DDR3 SO-DIMM up to 4GB

Mini-ITX AIMB-213

Haf-size SBC PCA-6782

Embedded BOX IPC ARK-1503

■ Intel Atom N455/

D525 ■ 170 x 170 mm (6.69” x 6.69”) ■ DDR3 SO-DIMM up to 4GB

D525 ■ 185 x 122 mm (7.3” x 4.8”) ■ DDR2 SO-DIMM up to 2GB

■ Intel Atom D425/ D525 ■ 230.6 x 133 x 44.4 mm

Product In-Depth

(9.08” x 5.24” x 1.75”) ■ DDR3 SO-DIMM

up to 4GB