embedded intel solutions summer 2008
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Embedded Intel® SolutionsSUMMER 2008
Solution Providers ForumArticles from companies providing important solutions for engineers and embedded developers utilizing Embedded Intel® Processors
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Creating a Parallel Programming Language for Multicore
Trends in High-Speed Embedded Market: Linley Interview
Green Embedded for Energy Management
Intel® ATOM™ Processor Meets Medical Electronics
Challenges for Designing Telecom-Network Apps
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2 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
SUMMER 2008
IN THIS ISSUE
32 AAEONAAEON’s Turn-Key Solution (TKS) Platforms
33 ADLINK TechnologyBenefits of Standardization with Computer on Modules
34 AdvantechMulti-core Processor AMC’s - Re-shaping the Network
36 AMPRO Computers, IncUsing High-end Intel® Processors in Space, Power, Cost, and Reliability Critical Embedded Applications
37 ArdenceIntel® Processor-based OEM/ODM Total Solutions
38 iGoLogicExtraordinary Performance With Unprecedented Touch Experience iGo Panel PC
40 KontronIntegrating ATCA Hardware with HA Middleware
44 NEXCOMWorld’s First Integrated, Ergonomic, and Energy-Efficient Mobile Tablet PC from NEXCOM
46 TenAsys CorporationINtime RTOS for Windows on Multi-Core Pro-vides Hard Real-Time Determinism
FROMTHE EDITOR 4 Multicore is Here to Stay
By John Blyler
NEWS 6 Intel and Ecosystem News
By Craig Szydlowski
FOCUS ON INTEL 8 Creating a Parallel Programming
Language for Multicore By Ed Sperling
FOCUS ON INTEL12 Parallelism Primer
By Max Domeika - Intel
MARKET WATCH14 Trends in the High-Speed Embedded Market
By Geoffrey James
STANDARDS WATCH16 Green Embedded Solutions Focus
on Energy Management By Craig Szydlowski
19 Intel® Atom™ Processor-based COMs Meet the Demands of Medical ElectronicsBy Christine Van De Graaf, Kontron
21 Analyze x86 Executables to Improve Software QualityBy Paul Anderson, GrammaTech Inc.
23 Implementing the Intel® Atom™ Processor Series on the Intel® ECX Form FactorBy Frank Shen, Product Marketing Director, American Portwell Technology Inc.
25 Looking Beyond PC/104-Plus By Geoffrey James
28 Challenges for Designing Telecoms/ Networking Applications on Top of Multi-Core Environments By Eric Carmes
60 Taming the Multicore Beast By Jakob Engblom
48 ADLINK Technology49 Advantech Corporation49 Emerson Network Power52 Flexcomm Limited52 ITOX53 Kaparel Corporation53 Kontron54 Lynuxworks55 MSI Computer Corp. 55 Nexcom56 Protech Technologies, Inc. 56 Trenton
DEPARTMENTS
SPECIAL FEATURES
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
58 Arrow Electronics59 AVNET
INTEL® AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS
LAST WORD
4 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
FROM THE EDITOR
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Multicore is Here to Stay By John Blyler - Editorial Director
Do you feel inundated with multicore coverage? Some of our read-
ers have expressed weariness with the industry’s multicore push.
Such feelings are understandable, as all of the big players have blanketed
the media channels as they tout the benefits of multicore architectures.
I’m not suggesting that the benefits of lower power, greater levels of
performance, and competitive costs are just marketing hype. They’re
not, which is why so many articles have been devoted to embedded multicore trends
and technology over the last couple of years in this magazine (see referenced highlights
below). Naturally, there are economic reasons why the major embedded chip companies
are moving to multicore designs (see my last few Editor’s Notes). But hype or no hype,
embedded multicore platforms are here to stay.
In fact, the adoption of multicore systems is a growing trend among embedded de-
signers. According to a Venture Development Corp. (VDC) study highlighted at the
recent Multicore Expo (www.multicore-expo.com), embedded multicore CPU systems
are expected to grow dramatically from $372 million in 2007 to $2473 million in 2011.
The percent of developers who are using or will be using multicore in the next 12 months
is expected to increase by 55%. In 24 months, adoption will increase to nearly 79%. These
are astounding predictions!
The good news is that many designers are finding that multicore architectures will
solve a variety of embedded-hardware challenges. The bad news is that the software side
of the embedded multicore is lacking. There is a major—and widening—gap between
hardware and software capabilities in the multicore world. The VDC report noted that
vendors have reported that only about 6% of their tools were ready for parallel chips
in 2007. Equally troubling is the further finding that as much as 85% of all embedded
programming is done in C or C++. Although these are great languages, they aren’t op-
timized for multicore designs. In the short term, the industry must find ways to make
C/C++ more supportive of multicore architectures. The long-term solution will require
a new language and set of tools.
For these reasons and others, I’ll be increasing the coverage of multicore software
technology and techniques in EIS magazine. What better way to get to the crux of the
software challenge than by talking directly to the leading developers of embedded mul-
ticore technology—Intel and its ecosystem vendors? EIS editor Ed Sperling sat down
with Intel to discuss this very issue in the lead story, “Creating a Parallel Programming
Language for Multicore.” Max Domeika, one of Intel’s software gurus, goes over the
basics of parallelism as well. In addition, EIS contributing editor Geoffrey James takes
us back to the big picture of the multicore ecosystem with an interview of Linley Gwe-
nap—one of the most respected analysts in the microprocessor industry.
Several of this issue’s feature articles and case studies focus indirectly on both
hardware and software challenges in multicore. Of course, I’ll continue to cover the
embedded-hardware design space as a whole—in all its breadth. For example, EIS editor
Craig Szydloski looks at the growing effect of energy management or environmental
factors on embedded designs in “Green Embedded Solutions Focus on Energy Manage-
ment.” Other important topics include the Intel® Embedded Compact Extended Form
Factor (Intel® ECX Form Factor), the implementation of Intel’s new Atom™ processors,
and case studies in the medical and telecom industries. Breadth as well as depth is im-
portant for today’s embedded designers. It also is critical for any publication that hopes
to be of service to these talented though taxed professionals.
John Blyler can be reached at: [email protected]
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6 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
NEWS
Intel and Ecosystem News
By Craig Szydlowski
Advantech Enables Smaller Portable Devices with COM Express ‘Micro’ Form Factor Boards
Shrinking CPU modules further, Advantech unveiled its
COM-Express SOM-5775 board measuring only 95mm x
95mm (3.74” x 3.74”). This ‘Micro’ form factor performs the
same functions as ‘Basic’ COM (computer-on-module) Express
modules, but is about 24 percent smaller. These boards can be
used in ultra compact devices that require substantial computing
performance and low power consumption.
The SOM-5775 is equipped with the new Intel® Atom™
processor Z5xx series that delivers the benefits of Intel®
architecture for small form factor, thermally constrained and
fanless embedded applications. While running at 1.6 GHz core
speed, this processor consumes about 2.2 watts (thermal design
power) in an ultra-small 13x14 mm package.
The Intel Atom processor employs enhanced Intel SpeedStep®
Technology to reduce average system power consumption and
increase battery life. It is paired with a single-chip controller hub
supporting integrated graphics.
The pin definitions of SOM-5775 are the same as a standard
COM Express board and can work directly with existing carrier
boards, providing a seamless upgrade path for those customers
who are considering moving to the new Intel Atom platform. The
SOM-5775 supports DDR2 memory up to 1 Gbyte, 10/100 Mbps
Ethernet, 8 USB 2.0 ports and a PCI Express™ interface. In addition,
the integrated graphic engine supports CRT and 24-bit LCD
display modes. The target operating systems will be Windows® XP
Embedded and Vista.
Advantech SOM (System On Module) series is backwardly
compatible with existing hardware and software systems. These
boards feature long life support and are fully scalable, allowing
developers an easy path to address upgrades or changing application
needs. Advantech’s own SUSI (Secure and Unified Smart Interface)
API library provides a set of user-friendly, intelligent and integrated
interfaces, which speeds development and enhances security. The
SOM-5775 will be available in Q2, 2008.
3U VPX Form Factor SBC Addresses Demanding Embedded Applications
Expanding its support of VPX, GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms
launched the VPXcel3 SBC320, the first 3U VPX single board
computer (SBC) to feature Intel® Core™2 Duo processor
technology combined with a server class memory controller.
VPX (previously known as VITA 46) brings switched fabrics to
VMEbus-based systems. VPX was specifically created with the
defense community in mind, and it retains the existing 6U and
3U form factors, supports existing PMC and XMC mezzanines
and maintains the maximum possible compatibility with
VMEbus. With this latest product launch, GE Fanuc supports a
total of leven VPX products.
Figure. VPXcel3 SBC320 Single Board Computer
The SBC320, available in five air- and conduction-cooled
ruggedization levels, is designed for demanding space-
constrained embedded computing applications that require
high compute performance and low heat dissipation. This SBC
incorporates the low-voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processor L7400
running at 1.5 GHz and the Intel® 3100 chipset, which combines
server-class memory and I/O controller functions into a single
component. The system supports up to 2 GBytes of DDR2 ECC-
enabled SDRAM and 128 Mbytes of user Flash memory.
The board routes two 4-lane PCI Express ports running at
2.5 GHz to the backplane, which provides a high level of system
throughput to the serial switched fabric VPX architecture. The
SBC320 has many connectivity options including two USB 2.0
ports, two SATA 150 ports, two 10/100/1000BaseT Gigabit
Ethernet ports, two UART (RS232) ports and a PCI-X compliant
PMC site. Developers can choose among a comprehensive set of
operating systems (e.g., Linux®, VxWorks and Windows®) and test
software support including built-in test (BIT) and background
condition screening (BCS). Covers for the SBC320 are optionally
available to allow 2-level maintenance.
Craig Szydlowski is a regular contributing editor to
Embedded Intel® Solutions magazine. He is a writer
specializing in business and technology. He has over
20 years of engineering and marketing experience
with embedded and communications systems at
IBM and Siemens.
NEWS
http://[email protected]: +1-510-656-2248
NEXCOM 8.4” Intel® Atom™ Processor-Based Mobile Tablet PC
Mobile Tablet PCfor Logistic Application
Mobile Tablet PCfor Medical Application
Mobile Tablet PCfor Harsh Environment
FOCUS ON INTEL
Software development almost always lags behind changes in
hardware, but in the case of multicore chips software the gap
is widening.
In hardware, the ability to get increasing performance out of
a single-core processor within acceptable power budgets became
extraordinarily difficult at 130 nanometers, and totally impracti-
cal at 65nm. In portable devices such as a notebook computer,
boosting performance by 50 percent for a single-core chip would
make it too hot to hold or deplete the battery life to cool it—or
both. Even in places where the chips can be cooled effectively,
such as data centers, the demand for energy to lower the heat in
server racks has become so enormous that it has drawn the wrath
of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The solution, in hardware at least, is to add more cores onto
chips, which is exactly what companies such as IBM, AMD and
Intel have done, or to simply add more lower-function chips. But
adding more cores has created a nightmare for software develop-
ers, who almost universally approach problems serially rather than
in parallel. The problem is that to keep increasing performance,
applications now have to scale across processors, taking advantage
of an ever-rising number of cores as they become available.
Even where they have been successful, application developers
have utilized multiple cores by threading different functions or
operations across those cores. In the case of database searches,
for example, threading works extremely well because a single
task can be parsed among the available processors or cores. The
more cores available, the faster the application runs. In contrast,
that becomes much harder with gaming software because the
tasks are both different and randomly ordered.
“Threads are really a low-level way to get performance in-
creases,” says Anwar Ghuloum, principal engineer at Intel. “It’s
easy to make mistakes and deadlock the program.”
Intel’s research lab is working with its top customers to de-
velop a new programming environment, Intel Ct, which is a key
component in Intel’s Tera Scale project (see Figure). At the Intel®
Developer Forum in China in April, Zhang Cia, chief technology
officer at Neusoft Co., presented a slide showing the number of
lines of code needed for a single command was 36 for a single-
threaded application, 29 using a vectorized, multi-threaded
approach with forward scalability—the result of working with
Ct—and 116 lines using a single-threaded vectorized approach,
which does not scale.
That’s a somewhat ideal scenario. Neusoft, based in Shenyang
City, China, develops security software, and sees a parallel pro-
gramming future. When it comes to other companies, such as
gaming software makers, the course is less obvious. In the case
of desktop applications such as Microsoft Word, there are few, if
any, advantages to writing the code in parallel.
In developing Ct, Intel has focused on applications that can
be built for speed.
“The real question is how we get the productivity of the last
generation of object-oriented languages like C++ and the performance
benefits of Fortran,” Ghuloum says. “If you take a look at C code ver-
sus Fortran, the Fortran had two times better performance.”
Benefits and costsFrom a performance standpoint, developing software that
can take advantage of more cores is a slam-dunk argument. It’s
the only way to build a system cost-effectively using a single
die or even multiple embedded cores. But there also is perfor-
mance overhead associated with multiple cores. Even with highly
parallelized applications, adding another core doesn’t double
performance.
Intel estimates that with a programming language like C++,
the performance hit already was 20 percent to 30 percent, which
was acceptable given the productivity gain in writing code. With
parallel programming, the overhead is probably in the 30 percent
range. But with multiple cores, the total performance still can be
increased as much as six times.
Ken Karnofsky, director of signal processing and communica-
tions at The Mathworks, says his company has been working to
parallelize computations in its MATLAB product and to simu-
late code faster in both MATLAB and Simulink. He says that
work includes splitting functions as well as spreading out differ-
ent functions across processors.
“There are some embarrassingly parallel computations—
computations that are done over and over again with different
parameters for different data,” he says. “That is relatively straight-
forward. The harder ones are where you have to consider how the
algorithms are structured and how you distribute the data.”
Using more parallel software, in some cases, means more
middleware, which also exacts a toll on total performance. Intel
is developing its own middleware to work with multiple cores.
IBM has been doing the same in its Cell processor, creating a
hypervisor that acts like a traffic cop for the chip. And because all
of this traffic has to be directed dynamically, that carries a power
and performance price tag.
Creating a Parallel Programming Language for Multicore
Intel and its ecosystem are developing a parallel programming language for multicore chips, but don’t expect miracles anytime soon.
8 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
By Ed Sperling
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10 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
FOCUS ON INTEL
The upside is that more software also means more program-
mability. While it’s up to the chip’s architect to determine the
percentage of functionality in software versus hardware, add-
ing more software—either in embedded code, firmware or
externally—allows some flexibility in how a device is built. And
from an inventory standpoint, discrete components can be
field-upgraded in rapidly changing markets such as consumer
electronics to incorporate the latest communications protocols
or interfaces.
All of this has to be worked out by the architect and chip
designers, of course. In the embedded world, the tradeoff has al-
ways been a tradeoff of programmability versus fixed function,
Ghuloum says. “For maximum heterogeneity, you want a micro-
controller or a processor and fixed function circuits. But you also
can make it quasi programmable. In a camera chip, the compres-
sion is very fast. A lot of that is programmable. “
Not all cores are alikeStill, developing software in parallel is immensely more com-
plex, which is why there hasn’t been a focused effort to do it until
now. Just as cheap gasoline made alternative energy sources a job
for the future, classical scaling made multicore less attractive.
Multicore programming is no longer something that can be ig-
nored, despite its complexity. And that complexity grows when
you consider that not all cores are alike—some are large, some
are small, some are homogeneous, others are heterogeneous.
And in software parallelization, the same application may take
advantage of some or all of these different types of cores at dif-
ferent times.
Until now, Ct has worked largely on a shared memory system.
Intel is now examining whether to use a distributed computing
environment approach so that an application can scale to every
node on the system.
All of this will take time, of course. The first step is for librar-
ies and frameworks to be parallel-enabled, which Intel believes
will happen in the next one to two years. After that, it could take
5 to 10 years for the development language to become main-
stream—something that will require lots of work on the part of
Intel, its ecosystem, and research currently being done by univer-
sities around the globe.
“Problem number one is how to make multicore program-
ming easier,” says Ghuloum. “That’s not solved yet. “
Ed Sperling is a regular contributing editor to Chip
Design magazine. Ed has spent the past two de-
cades immersed in technology. He is the recipient
of numerous awards for journalistic excellence.
Ct: A Throughput Programming ModelTVEC<F32> a(src1), b(src2);TVEC<F32> c = a + b;c.copyOut(dest);
1 1 0 00 1 0 1 0 1 0 00 0 1 1
1 1 0 00 1 0 1 0 1 0 00 0 1 1+
Thread 4
0 0 1 1
0 0 1 1+
Thread 3
0 1 0 0
0 1 0 0+
Thread 2
0 0 0 1
0 0 0 1+
Thread 1
1 1 0 1
1 1 0 1+
Ct JIT Compiler:Auto-vectorization,
SSE, AVX, LarrabeeCore 1
SIMDUnit
Core 2
SIMDUnit
Core 3
SIMDUnit
Core 4
SIMDUnit
Programmer Thinks Serially; Ct Exploits Parallelism
Ct Parallel Runtime:Auto-Scale to Increasing
Cores
User WritesCore Independent C++ Code
Figure: CT is a programming model developed by Intel and its ecosystem for multicore chip development, as demonstrated by the Tera-Scale program
12 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
FOCUS ON INTEL
Parallelism Primer
By Max Domeika - Intel
The typical goal of threading is to improve performance by
either reducing latency or improving throughput. Reduc-
ing latency is also referred to as reducing turnaround time and
means shortening the time period from start to completion of a
unit of work. Improving throughput is defined as increasing the
number of work items processed per unit of time.
ThreadA thread is an OS entity that contains an instruction pointer,
stack, and a set of register values. To help in understanding, it is
good to compare a thread to a process. An OS process contains
the same items as a thread such as an instruction pointer and
a stack, but in addition has associated with it a memory region
or heap. Logically, a thread fits inside a process in that multiple
threads have different instruction pointers and stacks, but share
a heap that is associated with a process by the OS.
Threads are a feature of the OS and require the OS to share
memory which enables sharing of the heap. This is an important
fact because not all embedded OSes support shared memory
and as a result, not all embedded OSes support threads. A clari-
fication is that the type of threads discussed here is user level
software threads. Hardware threads are a feature of many micro-
processors and are quite distinct in the meaning and capability.
For example, the term simultaneous multi-threading is a mi-
croprocessor feature that enables one processor core to appear
and function as multiple processor cores. For this discussion,
hardware threads are relevant only in that they may provide the
processor cores that the software threads execute upon.
One other clarification is that this discussion focuses on user level
threads only. We do not include discussion of kernel level threads or
how different OSes map user level threads to kernel threads.
DecompositionEffectively threading an application requires a plan for assign-
ing the work to multiple threads. Two categories of dividing work
are functional decomposition and data decomposition and are
summarized as:
1. Functional decomposition – division based upon the type
of work.
2. Data decomposition – division based upon the data
needing processing.
Functional decomposition is the breaking down of a task into
independent steps in your application that can execute concur-
rently. For example, consider an intrusion detection system that
performs the following checks on a packet stream:
Check for scanning attacks
Check for denial of service attacks
Check for penetration attacks
As long as each step above was an independent task, it would
be possible to apply functional decomposition and execute each
step concurrently. Figure 6.1 shows sample OpenMP code that
uses the section directive to express the parallelism.
When this code is executed, the OpenMP run-time system
executes the function in each OpenMP section on a different
thread and in parallel (as long as the number of processor cores
exceeds the number of threads executing).
In practice, attempting to execute multiple threads on the
same data at the same time may result in less than ideal perfor-
mance due to the cost of synchronizing access to the data.
Pipelining is a category of functional decomposition that re-
duces the synchronization cost while maintaining many of the
benefits of concurrent execution. A case study will be presented
later that employs pipelining to enable parallelism.
Data decomposition is the breaking down of a task into
smaller pieces of work based upon the data that requires pro-
cessing. For example, consider an image processing application
where multiple images need to be converted from one format to
another format. Each conversion takes on the order of seconds
to complete and the processing of each image is independent of
#pragma omp parallel sections{#pragma omp sectionCheck_for_scanning_attacks() ;
#pragma omp section
Check_for_denial_of_service_attacks() ;
#pragma omp section
Check_for_penetration_attacks() ;}Figure 6.1 : Functional decomposition example
#pragma omp parallel for{for (i=0;i<1000000;i++) {process_image(i);}Figure 6.2 : Data decomposition example
www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 13
FOCUS ON INTEL
the processing of the other images. This application lends itself
quite naturally to data decomposition. Figure 6.2 shows sample
OpenMP code using the parallel for directive.
When this code is executed, the OpenMP run-time system
will divide the processing of the images between the allocated
threads for parallel execution (assuming the number of proces-
sor cores is greater than 1). If the processing of each individual
image consumed a great deal of time, it may make sense to multi-
thread the processing of the individual image and execute the
processing of the subimages by different threads. A case study
will be presented later that employs data decomposition in order
to multi-thread image rendering.
In general, it is easier to scale applications by employing data
decomposition than it is using functional decomposition. In
practice you may find a combination of different decompositions
works well for your particular application.
ScalabilityScalability is the degree to which an application benefits from
additional processor cores.
As the number of cores the application uses is increased,
it would be nice if performance of the application increased
as well. There are natural limits to how much of an applica-
tion can be executed in parallel and this limits the obtained
performance benefit of parallelism. Amdahl’s Law is used to
compute the limits of obtained performance and is expressed [2]:
where Fraction e = the amount of the application that executes
in parallel; and Speedup e = how many times faster the parallel
portion executes compared to the original. For example, consider
an application that executes in parallel 50% of the time. Also, as-
sume the application executes on a system with four processor
cores and was threaded in such a way that the performance scales
with the number of processor cores. In this example, Fraction e =
0.5 and Speedup e = 4, and therefore Speedup = 1.6.
Efficiency is a measure of how effectively the total number of
processor cores is being employed in running the application in
parallel; the goal is a 100% measure of efficiency. In the previous
example, three processor cores are idle for 4/5 of the execution
time, which means 12/20 of the four processor cores ’ time is idle
and thus 8/20 of the time the processor cores are active with 40%
efficiency.
Consider another example involving the aforementioned im-
age processing problem with the following constraints:
Ten seconds of initialization that must run serially
One second to process one image (processing of different
images can be accomplished in parallel)
Ten seconds of post-processing that must run serially
Table 6.1 shows the calculations of scalability and efficiency
for a number of different processor cores. One observable trend
is that as the number of processor cores increases, the cor-
responding decrease in execution time is not as significant. In
other words, the speedup does not scale linearly with the number
of processor cores. For example, the scalability with 32 processor
cores is 10.89 and with 300 processors is 15.24, not 108.9 (10 X
10.89). This trend occurs because the serial portion of the appli-
cation is beginning to dominate the overall execution time. With
16 processor cores, the execution time of the image processing
step is 300/16 = 18.75 s. With 300 processor cores, the execution
time of the image processing step is 300/300 = 1 s. Furthermore,
299 processor cores are active for only 1 s out of the 21 s of total
execution time. Thus, efficiency is 5.1%. The conclusion is: maxi-
mize the benefits of parallelism by parallelizing as much of the
application as possible.
One other point worth mentioning is that scalability should
always be compared against the best achievable time on one
processor core. For example, if the use of a new compiler and op-
timization settings resulted in a decrease in execution time when
run on one processor core, the scalability numbers and efficiency
percentages should be recalculated.
Max Domeika is a senior staff software engineer
in the Software Products division at Intel®, creat-
ing software tools targeting the Intel architecture
market.
The reader’s discount offer is as follows:
Order this book today and you will receive an additional 15%
discount. Click here www.elsevierdirect.com and be sure to
type in 92836 when ordering this book. Or call 1-800-545-
2522 and be sure to mention 92836 when ordering this book.
Offer expires 7/31/2008.
Printed with permission from Newnes, a division of Elsevier. Copyright 2008.
“Software Development for Embedded Multi-Core Systems, A Practical Guide Using
Embedded Intel® Architecture” by Max Domeika. For more information about this title
and other similar books, please visit www.elsevierdirect.com.
14 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
MARKET WATCH
Linley Gwennap, founder of The Linley Group and one of the
most respected analysts in the microprocessor industry, re-
cently co-authored the fourth edition of “A Guide to High-Speed
Embedded Processors.” We asked him to characterize the current
state of the market, its trends, and the vendors that dominate it.
Embedded Intel® Solutions: Who is the intended audience for
your report?
Linley Gwennnap: Our primary audience consists of people
who design a piece of equipment that requires a general-pur-
pose processor or network chip. The reports cover companies
developing their own CPUs to deliver extra performance, which
is why we excluded processors below 400 MHz—a speed range
easily achievable by a synthesizable core. The report thus pro-
vides an in-depth look at the top products and top vendors in the
high-end embedded processor space, specifically AMCC, AMD,
Broadcom, Cavium, Freescale, IBM, Intel, Marvell, PMC-Sierra,
RMI, and Via Technologies. People using CPUs from these firms
have diverse requirements for performance, power dissipation,
peripheral integration, and price. This guide is intended to help
them make the right selection.
Embedded Intel® Solutions: How does it accomplish that?
LG: The number of markets for high-speed processors continues
to grow. In networking alone, these speedy chips are needed for
complex functions, such as intrusion detection and other secu-
rity functions, storage management, router control plane, and
networking services. Consumer devices, such as set-top boxes,
HDTV receivers, and automobile navigation systems, also need
high-performance CPUs, as do high-speed printers, thin clients,
kiosks, industrial control, medical imaging, and a host of other
devices. System designers prefer a chip that integrates easily into
their designs. We help them identify that chip.
Embedded Intel® Solutions: What’s your research methodology?
LG: We go directly to the vendors and conduct in-depth interviews
of the product managers, architects, and executives to make sure
we have a thorough understanding of feature sets, market strat-
egy, and business strategy. Because we have a strong background
in the semiconductor industry, we take these opportunities to dig
deep and drill down well beneath the brochure level to uncover
the real differences between vendors and products. We boil all
that down in our report and offer informed opinions about what
applications will work well with each product. Essentially, we’re
trying to provide all the information and perspective needed for
system designers to make an intelligent decision.
Embedded Intel® Solutions: What long-term trend is driving
the market for high-end embedded processors?
LG: I’d have to say that it’s the movement toward multi-core ar-
chitectures. Just a few years ago, you’d be hard pressed to find
any multi-core CPU in this market segment. Now you’d be hard
pressed to find one that isn’t. This trend is important because,
unlike previous CPU innovations, multi-core forces system
manufacturers to change their software. The traditional ways
to improve processor speed, like raising the clock speed, simply
caused the software to run faster automatically. By contrast, you
must make software multi-threaded in order to take full advan-
tage of multi-core. In addition, multi-core adds complexity to
the chip design, mandating changes to interconnects, memory,
and I/O to ensure that all those processors are being constantly
fed the right data. It’s not an easy task and some multi-core CPU
designs work better and more efficiently than others.
Embedded Intel® Solutions: Where do you see multi-core as a
key requirement for an embedded system?
LG: Multi-core, by definition, is at the high end of the embedded
market. A system that requires, for example, an 8-bit controller
is obviously inappropriate. While embedded systems are begin-
ning to permeate nearly every kind of electronic product, we see
multi-core playing a major role in broadcast video processing,
surveillance applications that compress multiple streams, and
low-level networking where multiple packet streams must be
analyzed and processed. In all of these applications, you can as-
sign each task to a single CPU on the chip. Where multi-core
will prove much less useful is any complicated application where
processing must take place a step at a time or where there’s a
single data stream that must be number-crunched in real time.
Embedded Intel® Solutions: How are the major vendors posi-
tioned in this market?
Trends in the High-Speed Embedded Market
Linley Gwennap explains the future of multi-core embedded.
By Geoffrey James
MARKET WATCH
www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 15
MARKET WATCH
LG: Intel dominates the market at the dollar level because their
CPUs tend to dominate the high end of the embedded market-
-especially systems, like airport kiosks and ATMs, which have
a strong resemblance to the personal computer. Freescale, on
the other hand, has been able to optimize their CPUs to meet
the needs of networking--by integrating an Ethernet interface,
for instance. They’ve also used a RISC core that consumes less
power than a comparably powerful Intel core and included cir-
cuitry that otherwise would have to be provided on a separate
chip. As a result, Freescale has been particularly successful in
base stations, DSL, and enterprise routers.
Embedded Intel® Solutions: What do you see in the future for
multi-core embedded?
LG: Any time there’s a big technology shift, it creates an op-
portunity for new entrants. This is no exception and there are a
number of smaller companies participating in interesting mar-
ket niches. For example, there’s a company called Cavium that
came right out of the gate with a chip with 16 processors running
1 GHz each based upon the MIPS core. That’s a lot of proces-
sors compared with Freescale’s multi-core units (which have two
processors) and Intel’s multi-core units (which have up to four).
However, they’ll eventually have some competition in this space
because the other vendors, most notably Intel, have announced
plans to gradually increase the number of CPUs on a chip. For
Intel, this would probably mean using the Intel® Atom™ microar-
chitecture rather than the x86 family, simply because the power
requirements are fairly demanding.
Embedded Intel® Solutions: Do you see IBM’s CELL chip mak-
ing a play in the embedded space?
LG: You can’t rule it out because IBM has been making noise for
years about expanding the market for that chip family. However,
IBM appears to be focusing on markets where there’s a big dol-
lar value, like computer gaming, where they’ve been successful
with the Playstation 3. I’m not sure that they’re all that interested
in adapting the CELL to put it into a networking application or
signal-processing application. The entire market for high-end
embedded CPUs is only around $1 billion a year and that’s ap-
parently not big enough to attract IBM’s attention.
Geoffrey James is a regular contributing author
for Embedded Intel® Solutions magazine. He is
both an author and journalist who writes about
business, technology, public policy, strategy, and
sales/marketing. Geoffrey has written over a hun-
dred feature stories for national publications.
Source: The Linley Group
Figure: Worldwide revenue market share for high-end/mid-range embedded CPUs.
16 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
STANDARDS WATCH
Global warming and other environmental concerns are chang-
ing the way people live and do business. Customers worldwide
are increasingly showing their preference for companies who prac-
tice social and environmental responsibility. Seeing opportunities
to differentiate themselves, embedded-systems manufacturers
are leveraging energy management to lower power consumption.
These efforts allow customers to protect the environment and save
money with an energy-efficient computing infrastructure.
Energy management requires a multi-pronged approach to ad-
dress both the board and system levels. Boards are incorporating
more energy-efficient processors and using software to transition
power states when computing demand changes. Remote manage-
ment systems also are helping to curb electricity usage. They shut
off systems, such as cash registers, after a store closes.
Organizations and StandardsIt may only be a matter of time before governments begin
imposing taxes and penalties on companies that don’t practice
environmentally good information-technology (IT) policies.
For companies preferring a more proactive approach, some ini-
tiatives are already well underway:
• IEEE P802.3az: Energy Efficient Ethernet Task Force
Targeting to release a draft specification as early as September,
this group is working on a standard to reduce the power
consumption on 100-Mbit and Gigabit Ethernet networks.
Under the proposal, Ethernet chips with no data to send would
be able to put the physical layer (PHY) into a sleep mode. This
option could save up to 1.5 W on Gigabit interfaces and 10
W on 10-Gbit interfaces. Furthermore, the team is looking at
ways to turn off subsystems—the PCI Express bus, memory
controller, and circuitry in the host processor—when there’s no
incoming data from the network (http://www.ieee802.org/3/az).
• Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)
This open industry specification, which was first released in
December 1996, was co-developed by Hewlett-Packard, Intel,
Microsoft, Phoenix, and Toshiba. It establishes industry-
standard interfaces for operating-system-directed power
management on notebooks, desktops, and servers. Although
it’s been widely adopted by notebook systems to conserve
battery power, the growing emphasis on energy conservation
may expand the adoption of this specification.
The ACPI specification defines four global system states, G0-G3,
as shown in Figure 1. These states are called Working, Sleeping, Soft
Off, and Mechanical Off, respectively. Within each global state, there
are sub-states that provide greater granularity for determining which
system components are powered down (http://www.acpica.org).
• The Green Grid
This global consortium is dedicated to advancing energy
efficiency in data centers and business-computing
ecosystems. Although its focus is on data centers, the group
is developing tools—such as defining models and metrics
and developing energy-efficient standards and measurement
methods—that could apply to embedded applications.
In April, the Green Grid announced collaborations with
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) to
accelerate the adoption of best practices for energy efficiency
in governmental agencies and the private sector
• Climate Savers Computing Initiative
Started by Google and Intel in 2007, this is a nonprofit group
of eco-conscious consumers, businesses, and conservation
organizations. They promote the development, deployment,
and adoption of smart technologies that can both improve the
efficiency of a computer’s power delivery and reduce the energy
consumed when the computer is in an inactive state. A top issue
Green Embedded Solutions Focus on Energy Management
By Craig Szydlowski
Figure 1: Here are the four global system states defined by the ACPI specification.
STANDARDS WATCH
www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 17
STANDARDS WATCH
is that roughly 50% of the AC power delivered from a wall socket
to a PC never actually performs any work, according to Urs
Hölzle, Google fellow and senior vice president of operations.
Half of that energy gets converted to heat or is dissipated in some
other manner in the AC-to-
DC conversion (http://www.
climatesaverscomputing.org).
Energy-Efficient Processors
It wasn’t long ago that sys-
tem developers had to deal
with processors that topped 100
W. Basically, such processors can-
celled out everyone’s best efforts to minimize board-level power
consumption. Now, energy-efficient multi-core processors are
operating within a saner power range like 15 to 65 W. These pro-
cessors are monitoring the processing workload and using power
gating to reduce average energy usage as much as 35% to 40%. “A
large retailer, considering replacing its 5000 terminals with new
units that operate 33% more efficiently, can reduce annual energy
costs for POS terminals alone by $131,000—or nearly $1 million
over the average seven-year life,” says Scott Langdoc of IDC .
System TechniquesStill, other energy-saving opportunities are available to soft-
ware developers. They can dynamically adjust processor voltage
and core frequency. This step also lowers fan power consumption,
as the fans don’t need to spin as
quickly. In fact, during periods of
low demand, other system com-
ponents—hard drives, network
interface cards, and actuators—
can potentially be throttled to
save power. Embedded develop-
ers can directly manage processor
power states using capabilities like
Intel SpeedStep® Technology. They
also can integrate other mechanisms, such as Intelligent Platform
Management Interface (IPMI), to control power to other system
elements. Remote management systems can power off systems au-
tomatically during off hours without employee intervention and
save electricity in facilities that aren’t running 24 to 7.
Practicing Environmental ResponsibilityEmbedded customers are demanding action from electronics
manufacturers to step up their adoption of more environmentally
safe manufacturing processes. In response, semiconductor makers
“Customers worldwide are increasingly showing their preference
for companies who practice social and environmental responsibility.”
The HDCIII provides industry leading SS7/ATM performance and capacity for Next Generation and IMS networks. Designed to exceed your system requirements, the HDCIII provides superior scalability, flexibility and price performance ratios, making it the perfect choice for your SS7/ATM signaling needs.
FEATURES INCLUDE:• 8 software selectable trunks of full E1, T1, or J1 per card• 2, 4 and 8 trunk card options available• A combination of up to 248 MTP2 LSLs and 8 MTP2 HSLs• Simultaneous support for MTP2 LSLs, HSLs, and SS7 ATM AAL5• Support for up to 256 channels of one or a combination of protocols on one card, including Frame Relay, HDLC, X.25,LAPB/D/F/V5• On board processor and STREAMS environment for local MTP2 protocol execution, reduces CPU overhead and maximizes performance• PMC, AMC, PCI/X and PCIe board formats supported from a single driver• API compatibility with previous generation of HDC boards
APPLICATION EXAMPLES• Signaling Gateways• Media Gateway Controllers• SGSN, GGSN, MSC, HLR, VLR and BSS Nodes• VAS Applications such as SMS, Roaming and Billing• Test and Measurement applications• Simulation and Monitoring Systems
are manufacturing lead- and halogen-free products by replacing these
toxic materials with new, earth-friendly compounds, such as metal
hydroxides for flame retardation.
Furthering environmental responsibility, the IBM Retail Green
Initiative develops conservation-oriented technology solutions
that enable retailers to meet their ecological goals. “Our objective
is to help retailers better position themselves with consumers, who
increasingly value companies that are working to minimize their
impact on the planet,” says Steven Ladwig, general manager of
IBM Retail Store Solutions. For example, IBM and Intel are work-
ing together to design cost-effective, green retail solutions with
eco-friendly features and support “sustainability” through product-
longevity and material-reuse programs. One example is the IBM
SurePOS 700 Series (see Figure 2). This family of point-of-sale (POS)
systems reduces energy consumption by as much as 30% and carries
service life cycles up to seven years.
Good Corporate CitizensGoing green is a worldwide movement and more attention is
being paid to the energy efficiency of computing systems. In fact,
more and more companies are making their environmental ini-
tiatives public. “Retailers are proactively informing customers
about their green efforts. Tesco, the world’s third-biggest retailer,
recently had a press release announcing plans to measure and
publish its total direct carbon footprint as part of its commitment
to tackle climate change,” says Alan Outlaw, corporate director of
SMB, IBM Retail Store Solutions.
Craig Szydlowski is a regular contributing editor
to Embedded Intel® Solutions. He is a technology
writer with over 20 years of semiconductor and em-
bedded market experience working for Intel, IBM,
and Siemens. Szydlowski holds a BSEE from Yale
University and an MBA from the Wharton
Figure 2. The SurePOS 700 family of point-of-sale systems promises to reduce energy consumption while increasing product longevity.
Designing with Intel® Embedded
Processors?
Embedded Intel® Solutionsdelivers in-depth product, technology and design information to engineers
and embedded developers who design with Intel® Embedded processors
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18 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
STANDARDS WATCH
Medical original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) face
many challenges over the lifecycle of their products. Those
challenges range from performance and reliability requirements
and passing certifications to ensuring that their technology and
products keep up with evolving needs. The continuing evolution
of processors and the emergence of new, high-speed, serial dif-
ferential interfaces challenge medical OEMs to implement new
capabilities. At the same time, they must focus on their core
business and adhere to the product-release timeframe.
Medical-equipment designers have some embedded-comput-
ing options available to them, such as commercial-off-the-shelf
(COTS) motherboards, long-life industrial motherboards, and
high-volume application-specific custom solutions. Some distinct
advantages are available with a computer-on-module (COM),
semi-custom embedded solution with a CPU module and appli-
cation-specific baseboard. These solutions include high levels of
processing performance and I/O bandwidth in a compact form
factor. More significantly, COM solutions are inherently modular.
They help designers achieve faster time to market, reduced devel-
opment cost, minimized design risk, simplified future upgrade
paths, scalability, and increased application longevity. All of these
benefits lead to the potential for increased market share.
Providing new applications to improve medical imaging
and diagnostics is one of the greatest challenges facing medi-
cal-equipment designers. At the same time, recent advances in
processing technology are squeezing more performance and
power efficiency into ultra-small packages. One example of such
performance/power efficiency can be found in the latest small-
form-factor, industry-standard COMs. These solutions are based
on the latest 45-nm Intel® processor technology.
Medical-Device Design ChallengesMedical electronic equipment aims to enhance patient care
and reduce cost in a variety of healthcare specialties. Ulti-
mately, its goal is to save lives. The OEMs that are developing
medical-imaging applications are faced with significant design
challenges including power consumption, scalability, process-
ing capabilities, and application support. As the demand for
mobile point-of-care devices increases, size, weight, and further
power constraints also will be added to the mix. For a medical
professional to examine a patient thoroughly and assess his or
her condition promptly with such a take-everywhere diagnostic
tool, high-resolution images are required. Those images need to
be manipulated in real time. Inherent in this demand is the expec-
tation that the device will have high-speed capabilities in terms of
processing, video and data conversion, and communications—all
in a minimally sized package.
Unlike the consumer market, some medical devices must
meet longevity requirements of 10 to 15 years. As the medical
industry, computing standards, and technology advance, the re-
quirements for a given device are likely to change several times
over its life cycle. Thus, devices must be scalable and upgradeable
so that applications can be updated without completely rede-
signing the device. The time to market for embedded medical
applications is a concern that’s made more challenging by the
amount of time allotted to testing for and approval by the FDA
and other regulatory entities. Testing is a significant financial
endeavor for any device. But the stringent requirements faced by
medical OEMs mean the design and development budget must
be monitored closely for continual optimization.
Intel® Atom™ Processor-based COMs Meet the Demands of
Medical Electronics
By Christine Van De Graaf, Kontron
By leveraging the Intel® Atom™ Processor this COM-Express-compatible module achieves clock speeds between 1.1 and 1.6 GHz and thermal design power of less than 5 W.
www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 19
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Advantages Of COMs Hardware design, firmware and driver development, and
interface testing are just a few of the aspects of any embedded
design. Upgrades may include modifying some or all of these
areas. Designing a full custom motherboard and its enclosure re-
quires extended development time. It also results in nonstandard
device size and interfaces. A smaller, fully custom, FPGA-based
design is similarly unappealing due to the cost of developing
drivers that are specific for every interface at each revision. The
testing required also is a problem. Engineering, debugging, and
supporting a single-board computer for each new processor and
bus simply isn’t feasible. After all, a custom design can average as
long as 24 weeks.
The COM approach puts an entire computer host complex
on a small-form-factor module. That module can be mounted on
carrier boards that contain application-specific I/O and power
circuitry. All standard PC functions, such as graphics, Ethernet,
and buses, can be added via an off-the-shelf module. A custom
baseboard is then developed to interface with application-spe-
cific peripherals like storage devices, expansion sockets, and
COM connectors. Given this modularity, medical OEMs can
take advantage of the cost reduction and shortened development
timeframe that COMs provide when they’re expanding product
portfolios or modifying existing designs—especially those that
must be kept current over a five-to-ten-year lifecycle.
Focusing on the application-specific portion enables a COM-
based design to be completed within 12 weeks—a mere one-half
to one-third the time allotted for a custom design. This design can
be done by a team consisting of one electrical engineer, one sys-
tems engineer, and one mechanical engineer. To allow for more
straightforward testing and approval than soft-based designs,
the COMs hardware will have COTS drivers for each hard-based
interface. The schedule savings is enhanced by resource and cost
savings, as a custom product typically would require two addi-
tional hardware engineers and one firmware programmer.
Performance upgrades can be implemented without a single
modification to the baseboard. Rather than redesigning the entire
motherboard, a new module from the same family can simply be
installed. The device will then be ready for the approval process.
This changes the effort from a multi-engineer project over several
months to a single-engineer, one-week task. Because the I/O would
not require modification in all updates, the failure risks of the EN
60601-1 Parts 1, 2, and 4 tests are reduced greatly for an estimated
retesting cost savings of 40%. Such schedule and cost optimiza-
tions are critical to remaining competitive in the market.
An Advanced COM SolutionUntil recently, pocket ultrasound devices were largely inef-
fective because image quality was sacrificed in favor of mobility.
The power consumption of available processors has remained
high, which impairs fanless designs and reduces battery life. In
addition, no standards-based embedded-computing platform
has quite met all of the device requirements. Advanced process
technology—incorporated into an ultra-small COM form fac-
tor—has alleviated these problems to provide a standardized,
ultra-portable, high-performance embedded-computing plat-
form. That platform offers interfaces like Gigabit Ethernet, PCI
Express x1 lane, and two SATA II ports.
For example, the nanoETXexpress family of COM-Express-
compatible modules has a footprint that’s just 39% of the original
COM-Express-standard “Basic” form-factor module (see the Fig-
ure). The nanoETXexpress-SP COM is based on the Intel Atom
processor. Along with the Intel® System Controller Hub US15W,
the Intel® Atom™ processor Z5xx series provides significant re-
ductions in footprint and thermal design power compared to
the Ultra Low Voltage Intel® Celeron® M processor. Clock speeds
between 1.1 and 1.6 GHz achieve high performance within a
thermal design power of less than 5 W, allowing for fanless de-
signs. Superior image quality is provided via support for 32-bit
floating-point operations, hardware video decoding, dual inde-
pendent displays, hyper-threading technology, and 24-bit color.
The power-optimized front side bus can transfer data at rates up
to 533 MHz. In addition, the C6 low-power state reduces power
consumption while 13 additional states in SSE3 improve multi-
media instruction support. Options also are available for USB
and wireless connectivity.
With the release of this module, applications that previously
faced barriers due to size, performance issues, or power-con-
sumption limitations can now be developed using a standard
COM implementation. Adherence to the PICMG COM Express
standard ensures compatibility and expandability. One pos-
sible application of this new COM is a pocket-sized ultrasound
machine. Such a machine could transmit images wirelessly to a
standard PC for remote diagnosis. For instance, an EMT could
use this device while first on the scene so that a doctor could be-
gin the diagnosis and treatment process even before personally
attending the patient. This application could provide conve-
nience and time savings while improving the quality of patient
care. Many possibilities exist for mobile medical devices using
credit-card-sized COMs. In some cases, they may even help cli-
nicians save lives.
Christine Van De Graaf is the product marketing
manager for Kontron America’s Embedded Mod-
ules Division located in Northern California’s
Silicon Valley. She has more than seven years of
experience working in the embedded-computing
technology industry. Van De Graaf holds an MBA
in marketing management from California State
University, East Bay, Hayward, CA. Contact Info: christine.van-
[email protected] 510.661.2220 x 250
www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 21
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Advanced static-analysis tools for source code have become
popular because they’ve proven themselves highly effective
at improving software quality. These tools can find serious pro-
gramming defects that are difficult to find using other means,
such as manual inspection or testing. Such defects include re-
source leaks, buffer overruns, race conditions, and null-pointer
de-references. Advanced static-analysis tools can find these de-
fects without the need for test cases. Historically, such tools have
only been able to work on source code. More recently, however,
there has been increasing interest in using these techniques to
analyze machine code. Three factors are contributing to this
trend. First, more reliance is being placed on third-party code,
which is not available in source form. Secondly, there are techni-
cal advantages to being able to analyze machine code over source
code. Finally, advances by the research community mean that
such techniques are becoming feasible.
Source-Only AnalysesThe disadvantage of source-only analyses is that it’s very rare
that all of the source code for an application is available. Almost
all applications link with third-party libraries including operat-
ing-system libraries. A source-code analysis tool is blind to any
non-source components. As a result, they usually ignore these
components entirely or make some simple assumptions about
what the components might do in practice. For commonly used
libraries, models are sometimes used. These are stubs of code
written to approximate the important aspects of the component.
This has two effects: The approximations may not be good enough
and the analysis may fail to find flaws in those components.
Object-Code AnalysesEven in cases where the source code is available, it’s helpful
to analyze the object code instead. After all, computers don’t
execute source code. They execute machine code. There may be
subtle yet important differences between the apparent semantics
of source code and the semantics of the machine code to which
it’s compiled. This is known as the What You See Is Not What
You eXecute (WYSINWYX) effect [1]. Such effects arise in sev-
eral ways. Source language definitions are full of ambiguities
and inconsistencies. In such cases, the compiler is free to resolve
these as it generates the machine code. A source analyzer also
will resolve them. But there’s no guarantee that it will resolve
them in the same way as the compiler. As a result, there will be
a mismatch between what the code actually does and what the
analysis thinks it does. Compiler optimizers take advantage of
these ambiguities frequently. Thus, the semantics of the source
code may even be different depending on the level of optimi-
zation used. Finally, the compiler itself may contain flaws and
generate incorrect code.
The danger of this kind of effect is illustrated by a simple ex-
ample found during a 2002 security review at Microsoft [2]. The
relevant code was the following:
memset(password,’\0’,len);
free(password);
The password variable was a heap-allocated buffer containing
sensitive data. The intent was sound: to minimize the lifetime
of sensitive data. Before returning the buffer to the heap, the
programmer therefore attempted to zero out its contents. Yet
the compiler noticed that the value being assigned to password
was never used. It optimized the program by removing the call
to memset, which meant that the sensitive data was returned
unaltered to the heap. As a result, a security vulnerability was
introduced that was entirely invisible in the source-code repre-
sentation.
The WYSINWYX effect can arise in other ways too. The
order of the evaluation of arguments is a very common cause.
Also, memory layout is important to consider—the location of
variables in memory, on the stack, or in registers. Some security
exploits depend strongly on particular layouts.
A source analyzer could attempt to model exactly how com-
pilers deal with these constructs. But this is rarely possible,
as this behavior isn’t documented. Or they could try to do an
analysis that takes into account all possible resolutions of such
ambiguities. In practice, however, this is infeasible without giv-
ing up performance and precision.
An analyzer that looks at object code suffers from none of
these disadvantages. All of the ambiguities and inconsistencies
have been resolved by the compiler. In addition, the analysis will
consider the code that is actually going to be executed. The anal-
yses of object code can therefore be more precise than similar
source-code analyses.
Analyze x86 Executables to Improve Software Quality
By Paul Anderson, GrammaTech Inc.
22 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
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Machine-Code AnalysisMany teams in both industry and academia are working on
machine-code analysis techniques and have demonstrated suc-
cess. Microsoft has tools for finding defects in device drivers. In
addition, several researchers at the University of Wisconsin Mad-
ison have reported methods for identifying malicious code and
security vulnerabilities. Veracode offers a service for scanning
machine code for security issues. With these tools, the challenge
is to create an intermediate representation (IR) or model of the
code that can be used to bring
techniques like static analysis
or model checking to bear.
Creating an IR for source
code is relatively straight-
forward. But machine-code
analysis is much harder. Source
code is well structured. In addition, it is easy to identify variables,
functions, types, and other high-level constructs. In contrast,
machine code is potentially completely unstructured. It may
have been generated from any source language by any compiler
or have been written by hand. It also may have undergone opti-
mization and been stripped of symbolic information. In a hostile
environment, it may even have been obfuscated.
For some programs, it’s impossible to distinguish between
code and data. Functions may not have a single entry point and
even be contiguous. There’s no guarantee that any particular
calling convention is uniformly respected. In addition, control
structures may contain indirect jumps—a construct that’s not pres-
ent in most source languages. The types of values aren’t apparent: A
pointer is indistinguishable from an integer or character. Variables
have been translated into memory locations and their sizes aren’t
immediately available. Disassemblers like IDA Pro can help with
some aspects of IR recovery. But they require manual input to help
them resolve some of the more complicated constructs.
Some more advanced techniques for IR recovery are the result
of joint research between GrammaTech and the University of
Wisconsin Madison. The result of this partnership is CodeSurfer/
x86. Specific IR includes a disassembly listing, the control-flow
and call graphs (with indirections resolved), variable and type in-
formation, and fine-grained dependences. As well as being useful
for finding defects, these representations are useful for reverse
engineering. The figure shows CodeSurfer/x86 being used to in-
spect the behavior of the Nimda worm. Here, the call graph can
be seen despite the author’s intent
to obfuscate it using indirect
function calls.
It’s clear that technologies
are starting to become avail-
able that will make it possible
to analyze machine code for pro-
gramming flaws and security vulnerabilities. Some tools are
already available for limited purposes. Services are available as
well. Tools will soon be offered to allow users to do this on their
own code. These advances are expected to improve software reli-
ability. They will put pressure on those who supply object-code
components to audit those components for both security and
quality issues.
References:[1] Balakrishnan, G., Reps, T., Melski, D., and Teitelbaum, T., “WYSINWYX: What You See Is Not What You eXecute,” Proc. IFIP Working Conference on Verified Software: Theories, Tools, Experiments, 2005, Zurich, Switzer-land.[2] Howard, M., “Some Bad News and Some Good News,” http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dncode/html/se-cure10102002.asp.
Paul Anderson is VP of Engineering at GrammaT-
ech, a spin-off of Cornell University that specializes
in static analysis. He received his B.Sc. from Kings
College, University of London and his Ph.D. in com-
puter science from City University London. Paul
manages GrammaTech’s engineering team and is
the architect of the company’s static-analysis tools.
Figure: This screenshot shows CodeSurfer/x86 being used to analyze the object code of the Nimda worm.
“A source-code analysis tool is blind to any non-source components.”
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In an industry where thinking small is the default mindset,
embedded-systems boards (ESBs) for use in compact and fan-
less applications are on the rise. Examples of such applications
include portable medical-imaging devices and in-vehicle info-
tainment systems.
Benefits of the Intel® Embedded Compact Extended Form
Factor (Intel® ECX Form Factor) single-board computer (SBC)
are well known (see “Intel® ECX Form Factor Provides Cost
and Space-Saving Solutions,” http://www.embeddedintel.com/
search_results.php?results=138). Its compact size of only 102 x
146 mm provides a small footprint. But what components will
complement this small size? This was the problem that faced de-
signers at Portwell. For example, the processor would need to
be small; that was a given. In addition, it would need to be low
power. If the final product was to be the logical next step in the
company’s family of ESBs for applications like car PCs, it also
would need to be fanless while supporting single and dual display
and operating under extreme temperatures. Based on these cri-
teria, the new, 45nm, ultra-low-power, single-form-factor Intel®
Atom™ processor and its paired control chip appeared to be a
good candidate. Its features include the following:
• It represented the latest manufacturing technology.
• Its combined CPU and System Controller Hub (SCH)
consumed less than 5 W.
• The CPU measured a mere 13 x 14 mm and the SCH was
only 22 square mm.
• It supported dual display, audio, USB, and SDIO.
• It boasted a 400-/533-MHz FSB speed with a 32-bit address.
• It had an integrated 3D graphics core.
• It supported single, clone, and dual-independent video
modes.
To meet all of specifications, however, the resulting prod-
uct would definitely increase the engineering requirement for
high-density-interconnect (HDI) technology. This fact invited
concerns about higher-complexity design processes and subse-
quent increases in the learning curve, performance-qualification
tests, and production yields—as well as subsequent fears of in-
creased product costs. Plus, the designers would need to work
with a vendor that was capable of manufacturing HDI printed-
circuit boards (PCBs).
Before starting the project, a list of engineering efforts
that would be key to design, development, and manufactur-
ing was created:
• Easy migration from small to large Intel Atom processor
package
• Placement and layout for high density
• Versatile video interfaces
• Power management
• Optimized manufacturing
Defining the objectives if a good start, but doesn’t guarantee
a successful outcome. Designing and manufacturing a device
based on HDI technology remains a major challenge. But it was
just one of many.
Starting Small With Room For GrowthThe Intel Atom processor is configured in two package sizes:
small and large. The small package accommodates operation in
the commercial/regular temperature range of 0 to 40 degrees C. The
large package supports the industrial/extended temperature range
of -40 to +85 degrees C, but will not be available until late 2008.
Implementing the Intel® Atom™ Processor Series on the Intel® ECX Form Factor
By Frank Shen, Product Marketing Director, American Portwell Technology Inc.
Figure: This picture shows one of the first Intel® Atom™ processor-based in-vehicle infotainment systems - a compact car PC that fits in a single-DIN space.
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The two packages differ in CPU and SCH size as well as ball
pitch. Both packages consist of a paired CPU and SCH, which
also became a challenge to its implementation. While the large
package wouldn’t require an HDI PCB, the small package utilized
an HDI ball grid array (BGA). It therefore made high-density
technology essential. One of the key design considerations was
to design a board that would accommodate the small package
while leaving room to migrate to the large package when it be-
came available. Optimizing the placement and layout to reserve
this space (without changing the size of the Intel ECX form fac-
tor) for the large package can make the eventual migration to the
bigger processor faster and easier.
Advanced Placement And RoutingThe next step was to find a PCB supplier that could provide
an HDI product. Natually, the board design and layout process
had to ensure optimal placement of the components within the
confines of the Intel ECX form factor. The compact form factor
of the Intel Atom processor small package came with the follow-
ing: 441 pins and 0.5992 solder ball pitch on the CPU and 1249
pins and 0.5927 solder ball pitch on the SCH. Because this ultra-
small package had less room to route, placement and layout were
serious issues. The critical engineering considerations that arose
from working in such a confined space were: how to optimize lo-
cation for each component, how to eliminate signal interference,
and how to stabilize the trace connection between PCB layers.
Once the placement process was completed, the designers
turned their attention to the layout of the circuitry on the PCB.
They could then optimize the connections and ensure maximum
performance from the board. One of the many issues for layout
routing on an HDI PCB is the potential for higher interference.
After all, maintaining the optimum signal condition between
trace and trace and layer and layer is much more difficult – do-
able, but difficult.
Putting Customers In The PictureVideo is one of the important features in our customers’ ap-
plications. The Intel Atom processor was particularly suitable for
this project because it was already designed to support single-,
clone-, or dual-display video output. Yet work was still required
to meet all of the design specifications. In addition to the LVDS
video interface on board, two additional video interfaces needed
to be available to increase flexibility: VGA and DVI.
In order to enable these different video outputs on the PEB-
2736 board, two video-connector modules were required to
deliver the video signals. Customers that wanted to use a VGA
display needed to plug in their VGA modules. If a customer
needed DVI output, he or she selected the DVI module. This
feature provided users with the flexibility to work with different
displays, such as one LCD via LVDS and another display via VGA
or DVI.
Powering Up The AtomThe Intel Atom processor’s paired control chip is a depar-
ture from previous Intel® chipsets,, which incorporate the power
plane needed by the CPU. In prior chipsets, the south bridge
usually supplies the power sequence for the second control chip
and CPU. The Intel Atom processor breaks with that convention
and doesn’t include these signals. Its architecture consists of a
CPU and a single chip—the system controller hub (SCH)—which
doesn’t power the CPU.
To generate the voltage that’s necessary for the processor’s
required timing, a power-plane and power-sequence solution
needs to be in place. This meant that an independent power-plane
management solution was necessary to fire up the processor. En-
gineering this power-plane management without taking up a lot
of space posed an initial challenge. An embedded controller (EC)
was finally selected to handle power-plane management and boot
up the Intel Atom processor.
The EC provided the minimum functionality that was re-
quired. At the same time, it provided thermal management and
an advanced-configuration-and-power-interface (ACPI) host
interface. That interface defines common interfaces for hard-
ware recognition, motherboard, device configuration, and power
management. The EC also provided a serial-peripheral-interface
(SPI) bus interface. This microprocessor solution booted up the
CPU and SCH while enabling the designers to maintain its space-
saving and cost-effective design.
Making The SMT SmarterIn addition to circuit design, placement, and layout, manufac-
turing is the final key engineering effort that’s needed to ensure
the success of any product. Due to the high-density-intercon-
nect technology, more detailed processes were implemented in
the surface-mount-technology (SMT) operation. The optimized
process needs to assemble the board, meet Portwell’s quality
standard, and remain within our economic scale. Our produc-
tion engineers responded to this requirement by fine-tuning
their approach in order to augment the process. They managed to
reduce production time while still maintaining an effective yield
rate. Since completing the project early this year, the PEB-2736
has morphed into the PCS-8230—the first Intel Atom processor-
based in-vehicle infotainment system (see Figure). It’s a compact
car PC that fits in a single-DIN space.
Frank Shen is the product marketing director at
American Portwell Technology, where he is respon-
sible for product management and new market
development. Shen has over 15 years of product
marketing experience in embedded computing,
industrial computing, and touch panel industries.
He holds a master’s degree in electrical engineer-
ing from University of Southern California.
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The PC104 family of stackable systems remains a small
but highly interesting segment of the embedded sys-
tems market. The world’s foremost expert on this market is
probably Eric Heikkila, the director for embedded hardware
systems at Venture Development Corp., a Boston MA-based
market research firm. Heikkila holds a BS in Electrical Engi-
neering with a minor in Economics from Bucknell University
where his studies focused on electrical control systems, digi-
tal system design, and electromechanical energy conversion &
power systems.
Heikkila also a co-author of the 14th edition of “Merchant
Computer Boards for Embedded/Real-Time Applications,”
the industry’s standard reference on market size, share and
forecasting for this segment. In the report (published Febru-
ary of 2007), he estimated that the PC/104 family of stackable
modules would reach approximately $264 million in 2007 and
would achieve a 9.51 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) from 2005 to 2010, far outpacing many other high
tech segments. We asked him about the report and how the
PC/104 segment is likely to change in the years ahead.
GJ: What has changed in the
market since you published
your report?
EH: Not a great deal in terms
of the overall dynamics of the
market. The growing eco-
nomic uncertainty looks likely
to have a negative impact on sales for 2008, f latting out our
original forecast somewhat. However, we believe that most of
the industries that the PC/104 market serves are reasonably
resilient and so we’re sticking to our projections for 2009 and
2010. In the short term, we expect cost pressures to create
somewhat more demand for PC/104 with USB, which costs less
than implementation using the PCI bus. It won’t have a huge
impact on unit shipment, but it will definitely be measurable.
GJ: The PC/104 family comprises about half of the stackable
embedded systems market. Since PC/104 represents a stan-
dard, why are there still so many alternative architectures?
EH: There are specific applications that require features that
PC-104 doesn’t support well. For example, with the EPIC ar-
chitecture, you have more space on the board, which allows
you to package more functionality into the entire system.
There are also cases where there’s a need for a larger board
to better deal with heat dissipation than is generally available
on a PC/104 system. Because of this, we believe that these
alternative architectures will continue to exist for some time
to come.
GJ: Standardization usually drives market consolidation. That
hasn’t happened with PC/104. How come?
EH: PC/104 tends to appeal to niche markets, specifically
military/aerospace and industrial systems. All of these ap-
plications tend to be small in unit volume and require a
significant amount of customization. PC/104 vendors must
therefore be able to engage closely with the customer and
make changes as necessary to meet customer needs. What’s
emerged, then, are a large number of relatively small firms, all
specializing in particular application areas.
GJ: Why hasn’t the custom-
ization moved up a level of
abstraction? You’d think that
some of the customization
could be accomplished in soft-
ware rather than hardware.
EH: With PC/104, the “secret
sauce” that justifies one vendor over another is typically how
that vendor handles I/O. Making changes to the I/O capa-
bilities of a system typically requires making changes at the
system level, an activity that always means a certain amount
of custom manufacturing. If it were possible to make these
kind of changes purely using software, rest assured that some-
body would be doing it.
GJ: Do Embedded System on Chips (SoCs) represent a com-
petitive threat to PC/104?
EH: To a certain extent at the very low end. However, most
PC/104 systems have I/O requirements that cannot easily be
By Geoffrey James
Looking Beyond PC/104-PlusAn Interview with Embedded Systems Analyst Eric Heikkila
“It’s pretty clear that PC/104 with a PCI-Express bus is the next
generational step ...”
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met in an SoC environment. In addition, PC/104 systems gen-
erally require customization, which is more difficult to do in a
SoC environment without undergoing the expense of design-
ing a new ASIC. Therefore, I think that the impact of SoC on
the PC/104 market will be fairly limited.
GJ: Why is USB so important for PC/104?
EH: USB enables faster data transfer rates than the old ISA
bus without adding as much extra cost as the PCI bus. While
PCI remains faster, USB is more cost-effective, which is why
we believe it will be a valuable tool in the PC/104 tool kit.
GJ: Why should cost be important, if there’s so much custom-
ization going on?
EH: It’s true that the PC/104 market is not particularly price-
sensitive, because much of the expense of a system lies in the
specialty work and customization that’s required for most ap-
plications. However, while the price of the hardware is not a
primary concern, it is still a concern. All other things being
identical, the ability to offer a functional system at a lower
price than a competitor is definitely going to influence the
selection of a PC/104 vendor.
GJ: What’s next, beyond USB?
EH: It’s pretty clear that PC/104 with a PCI-Express bus is the
next generational step because it will allow data transfer rates
Stackables Shipments by Vertical Market, 2007 (Total $507.1m)
Industrial Control & Automation (29%)
Instrumentation (13%)
Medical (15%)
Military/Aerospace/Defense (14%)
Transportation (12%)
Communications (6%)
Other (11%)
SOURCE: Venture Development Corp.
RAW DATA: Industrial Control & Automation (29%) 29%Instrumentation (13%) 13%Medical (15%) 15%Military/Aerospace/Defense (14%) 14%Transportation (12%) 12%Communications (6%) 6%Other (11%) 11%
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FeaturedDistributors
Embedded Intel ® SolutionsSUMMER 2008
Solution Providers ForumArticles from companies providing important solutions for engineers
and embedded developers utilizing Embedded Intel® Processors
GoldSponsors
Creating a Parallel Programming Language for MulticoreTrends in High-Speed Embedded Market: Linley Interview
Green Embedded for Energy ManagementIntel ATOM Meets Medical Electronics
Challenges for Designing Telecom-Network Apps
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www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 27
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in excess of anything that’s available today. Unfortunately,
there’s some controversy surrounding how PCI-Express
should be implemented, with some companies doing their
own early work that’s incompatible with the work from other
firms. However, we expect the standard to eventually settle
down and provide a platform that’s likely to remain useful for
five to ten years into the future.
GJ: Do you see PC/104 penetrating into additional markets?
EH: Today, PC/104 tends to sell into military/aerospace and
industrial segments. We believe that there’s some limited op-
portunity beyond these niches in segments like transportation
(e.g. a controller on a high speed train) and medical devices
(e.g. a controller on a portable MRI machine). However, there
are some markets, like communications, where PC/104 simply
doesn’t provide sufficient bandwidth to be particularly useful.
So we expect PC/104 to pretty much remain in its niche mar-
kets, although we do expect those niche markets to continue
to grow.
GJ: Will there ever be more standardization in the PC/104
segment?
EH: Overall, the trend in embedded systems is towards greater
standardization. As the technology evolves, system manufac-
turers are learning to put more functionality into embedded
systems. More functionality crammed into a system means
that there’s less need for customization, thereby making it
more practical to use a standardized architecture. That being
said, PC/104 is likely to resist the pressure to standardize be-
cause the applications tend to be limited to very small market
niches. In addition, PC/104 tends to be used in environments
where requirements tend to be strict and inflexible.
GJ: Wouldn’t there be some benefit resulting from greater
standardization, like economies of scale in manufacturing the
systems?
EH: With military and aerospace contracts, the emphasis is
on getting it right, not saving money or cost savings in the
manufacturing arena. That being said, even PC/104 will not
be entirely immune to the standardization trend. There’s an
overall trend in Military and aerospace purchasing to use of
lower-cost commercial off-the-shelf components and systems
whenever possible. As a result, pressure may develop to stan-
dardize around a smaller number of PC/104 implementations.
Geoffrey James is a frequent contributing writer
for Embedded Intel® Solutions magazine.
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Until now, running a processor at a higher frequency was the
only solution to increase processing capabilities. Unfor-
tunately, this approach has recently reached micro-electronics
limits. Multi-Core (MC) processor technology was introduced
a few years ago and is bringing a smart solution to run several
processors in parallel while keeping power consumption under
acceptable limits.
MC technology is a great technology to address many applica-
tions. As performance requirements keep growing (demanding
applications, growing number of subscribers, higher bandwidth,
secured communications, etc.) the telecommunications and net-
working markets are MC early adopters. They can clearly benefit
from significant improvements brought by MC technology to
design efficient software architecture for telecommunications,
network and security equipment:
• MC architecture allows a flexible distribution of
cores between Data Plane and Control Plane and the
coexistence of different execution environments (one
for Fast Path, one for Slow Path and Control Plane for
instance) on a single chip. A typical use of MC technology
for telecommunications equipment, for instance on a
16-core processor, is to use several cores to implement
an efficient Fast Path under a Multi-Core Execution
Environment (MCEE), while the remaining number of
cores are dedicated to the OS environment (Linux for
instance) implementing Slow Path (IP stack) and the
Control Plane. The different functions are co-localized in
a single MC chip, but distributed over the different cores.
• MCEE provides APIs to implement lock free packet
processing and optimize memory bandwidth contention
leading to unrivalled performance compared to a standard
OS. Although services provided by such a dedicated
environment are limited, the programming model is
simpler compared to previous generation of Network
Processors based on micro-coded architectures. It is
therefore easier to provide complete features at the Data
Plane level.
• Built-in hardware features (crypto engines, packet matching
engines, and hardware queue for QoS management) can be
used for an efficient implementation of time-consuming
functions such as encryption or deep packet inspection.
• Standard Operating Systems have also been ported on MC
technology. Slow Path and Control Plane that implement
more complex mechanisms can run under a standard
Operating System. However, it requires an efficient multi-
processor implementation of the networking stacks to be
able to use it efficiently across several cores at the same
time.
• MC architecture is by essence scalable and can also be
used to interconnect different MCs to have, for instance, a
distributed Fast Path over several MCs, or to deliver High
Availability features.
Developing networking software for MC can be perceived as
complex because standard software cannot fully benefit from
MC improvements and require some long and costly re-design
phases for each protocol. In particular, one of the key issues to be
solved is the integration of Control Plane, Slow Path and Fast Path
to benefit from the level of performance of the MC technology.
By Eric Carmes
Challenges for Designing Telecoms/ Networking Applications on Top
of Multi-Core Environments
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Efficient networking software for MC platforms has to be de-
signed with several key concepts in mind:
• Networking software should be specifically designed for
MC including, an efficient Fast Path architecture to
make the best use of MC performance according to the
number of cores, a flexible distribution of Control Plane
/ Slow Path / Fast Path over the cores, and a complete
synchronization between these three elements.
• High-level APIs to interface HW features such as crypto-
engines or hardware queues for QoS should be available
while generic features should be fully portable to provide
hardware independence.
• MC specific software running under MCEE should be
fully integrated with the Control Plane OS to provide a
transparent solution for applications and to maximize
reuse of existing software. Such integration hides MC
complexities for applications.
• Networking software should integrate a complete and
comprehensive set of L2/L3 networking features, each one
optimized between Fast Path and Slow Path.
• Networking software should be open for extension to ease
the integration of differentiating and value added features.
Meeting these key concepts will significantly reduce time-to-
market for equipment providers to deploy innovative services for
fixed and wireless networks and will help to meet cost and design
challenges for designing telecoms / networking applications on
top of multi-core environments.
Eric Carmes is Founder and CEO of 6WIND. Eric
holds a Master of Science degree from both INSA
(French University for Applied Sciences) and ESE
(French Electrical Engineering University). Con-
tact Eric at [email protected].
Perspective“It transforms into a bird
Its name is Peng
The wingspan of Peng
We know not how many thousand leagues”
- Chuang Tzu
Sometimes you can fall for a trap when you work on
the same project with the same people for years on end.
You start assuming that the thoughts and state of mind
shared by the folks you iteract with completely represents
the state of mind of the general engineering community.
I may have recently fallen into this trap with regard to the
adoption and leveraging of multicore processors in the
embedded community.
Last month at Multicore Expo, I heard a speaker
comment on the need to make code “Multicore ready”.
My initial thoughts in reaction were “What do you mean
Multicore ready? I’ve been pitching software techniques
for Multicore for over 3 years now. Everyone should be
moving already.”
I could sense many attendees responded positively
to the speaker’s comment. This led me to wonder if I’d
fallen into the trap of having a perspective limited by the
engineers I have the most contact with (other engineers at
Intel) and the work I’ve been doing.
So my question is where are folks at with leveraging
multicore processors in their embedded design? Are we
still predominately in a state of wondering what to do
with multicore processors and how to make code ‘Mul-
ticore ready’? Or are we well past that point and into
planning our next design to take further advantage of
multicore processors?
I’m basically asking - what help do customers need?
To read more, visit: www.chipdesignmag.com/blogs
Max’s DilemmaBlog by Max Domeika
BLOG
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ADLINK Technology 33Benefits of Standardization with Computer on Modules
Advantech 34Multi-core Processor AMC’s - Re-shaping the Network
Ardence 37Real Time Symmetric Multiprocessing for Multicore Embedded Applications
Kontron 40Integrating ATCA Hardware with HA Middleware
NEXCOM 44World’s First Integrated, Ergonomic, and Energy-Efficient Mobile Tablet PC from NEXCOM
AMPRO Computers, Inc. 36Using High-end Intel® Processors in Space, Power, Cost, and Reliability Critical Embedded Applications
TenAsys Corporation 46INtime RTOS for Windows on Multi-Core Provides Hard Real-Time Determinism
iGoLogic 38Extraordinary Performance With Unprecedented Touch Experience iGo Panel PC
Your Best Solution Provider
inspiration & innovation Go on
AAEON 32AAEON’s Turn-Key Solution (TKS) Platforms
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32 | Embedded Intel® Solutions —Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
AAEON’s Turn-Key Solution (TKS) Platforms
AAEON proudly introduces its Embedded Turn-Key
Solutions. These are embedded computing platforms with
CPU, system memory and storage devices including an
array of peripheral device options to simplify your project.
Encased in an AAEON chassis with a pre-installed operat-
ing system, this Turn-Key Solution (TKS) is ready to tackle
your mission-critical applications.
Many of AAEON’s customers have strong software applica-
tion expertise and system integration capabilities; however,
chassis design requires a different set of skills and resources.
Leave the chassis design to AAEON and have your embedded
computer delivered Ready-To-Run. Compatibility is no longer
an issue when your system is delivered fully configured and
tested. Customized BIOS settings and your application soft-
ware pre-installed are just some of the many options an AAEON
Turn-Key System provides. For more information, please visit
http://www.aaeon.com.tw/partner/turn-key/index.html.
by AAEON
CONTACT US
3 Crown Plaza
Hazlet, New Jersey 07730
U.S.A.
Ph 732-203-9300 x-116
Fx 732-203-9311
AAEON’s Turn-Key Solution Platforms Include:• Embedded Boards in various Form Factors: 3.5”, 5.25” and
Mini-ITX
• Associated Hardware Components, such as CPU, RAM,
HDD, CFD
• Chassis with Fan or Fanless Option
• AC or DC Power Supply Unit
• LCD Panels with Optional Sizes and Resolutions
• Pre-built Embedded OS (Windows® XP Embedded and
Windows® CE)
• Assembly and Test Service
The Benefits of Turn-Key Solution Platforms:• One-Stop Shopping to Save Purchasing Effort
• Better Compatibility Among the Modules Integrated
• Ready-to-Use Embedded Platforms
• Shortened System Development Cycle and Time to Market
• Reduced Maintenance Efforts
• Validated Components
Model Name TKS-G10 TKS-G11 TKS-G20 TKS-G30 TKS-G50 TKS-T52
Board Size 3.5” SubCompact Board 3.5” SubCompact Board 3.5” SubCompact Board 3.5” SubCompact Board 3.5” SubCompact Board Mini-ITX
CPU BoardSupport
GENE-1425 GENE-1270 GENE-8310/ GENE-9310 with ultra low power processor
GENE-8310 withIntel® Celeron M processor 600MHz/
GENE-5315/ GENE-5312
GENE-8310/ GENE-9310 EMB-852T/ EMB-945T/ EMB-9458T/ EMB-6908T
Dimension 7” x 4.17” x 1.57” (178mm x 106mm x 40mm)
7” x 4.17” x 1.57” (178mm x 105mm x 40mm)
10” x 5.75” x 2.48” (254mm x 146mm x 63mm)
10” x 5.75” x 2.08” (254mm x 146mm x 53mm)
10” x 5.75” x 2.08” (254mm x 146mm x 53mm) 10.75” x 11.81” x 2.56” (273mm x 300mm x 65mm)
Mounting Desktop/Wallmount
Desktop/ Wallmount for VESA mounting holes
Desktop/Wallmount
Desktop/Wallmount
Desktop/Wallmount
Desktop
System Cooling Fanless Fanless Fanless Fanless 6cm fan x 1 5cm fan x 2
Ethernet WAN x 2,LAN x 4
1 1 1(GENE-8310); 2 (GENE-5312/ GENE-5315)
1 1 (EMB-852T/ EMB-945T);2 (EMB-9458T/ EMB-6908T)
Wireless LAN Antenna for Mini PCI WiFi (optional) SDIO WiFi(optional)
Antenna for Mini PCI WiFi (optional)
Antenna for Mini PCI WiFi (optional) Antenna for Mini PCI WiFi (optional) PCI or USB WiFi (optional)
SSD Onboard Flash Onboard Flash CompactFlash™ CompactFlash™ CompactFlash™ CompactFlash™
HDD N/A N/A 2.5” x 1 2.5” x 1 2.5” x 1 2.5” x 1
USB Host 1 2 4 4 4 4 (EMB-852T/ EMB-945T);6 (EMB-9458T/ EMB-6908T)
USB Client 1 1 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Serial Port 1 1 2 2 2 2
Digital I/O N/A N/A 8-bit (optional) 8-bit (optional) 8-bit (optional) N/A
VGA N/A 1 1 1 1 1
DVI N/A N/A 1 (optional) 1 (optional) 1 (optional) 1 (EMB-9458T/ EMB-6908T)
TV-out N/A N/A S-Video x 1 (optional) S-Video x 1 (optional) S-Video x 1 (optional) N/A
Audio N/A Line-out Line-out, Mic Line-out, Mic Line-out, Mic Line-out, Line-in, Mic in rear I/O
PowerRequirement
+9V to +24V DC input +9V to +24V DC input 100V to 240V AC input/ +9 to +30V DC input
100V to 240V AC input/ +9 to +30V DC input
100V to 240V AC input/ +9 to +30V DC input +12V DC input
OperatingTemperature
32˚F ~ 113˚F (0˚C ~ 45˚C) 32˚F ~ 122˚F (0˚C ~ 50˚C) 32˚F ~ 113˚F (0˚C ~ 40˚C) 32˚F ~ 113˚F (0˚C ~ 40˚C) 32˚F ~ 113˚F (0˚C ~ 40˚C) 32˚F ~ 113˚F (0˚C ~ 40˚C)
Vibration 1g rms/ 5~500Hz/random operation
1g rms/ 5~500Hz/random operation
0.5g rms/ 5~500Hz/random operation
0.5g rms/ 5~500Hz/random operation
0.5g rms/ 5~500Hz/random operation
N/A
EMC CE/FCC Class A CE/FCC Class B CE/FCC Class A CE/FCC Class A CE/FCC Class A CE/FCC Class A
Turn-Key Solution Platform Family Series
Your One-Stop Shop for Solutions & Service
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www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 33
Benefits of Standardization with Computer on Modules
Only a decade ago, most embedded OEM projects where
based on one-off-designs when computer components were
concerned. Unusually shaped boards with uncommon and pro-
prietary peripherals were built into the equipment that these
boards where meant to control and monitor. All these board de-
signs were very different, but they all had one thing in common:
all system cores where based on a CPU with system memory
and a chipset to support most standard PC functions to enable
the product to communicate with the real world and store
system data. All uniquely designed systems have their unique
problems that need to be uniquely diagnosed, debugged, and
solved. The same system core may be designed and debugged
over and over for different systems. IT professionals believed
this method to be most suitable for automation.
At that time, standard form factors such as ATX and half- and
full-sized SBC were available; however their over-standard-
ization and form factor limitations restricted their application
area to small and medium quantity designs where space is not
an issue. When used in embedded projects, bulky wiring com-
plicates assembly and greatly affects MTBF values. Only with
the emergence of the Computer on Modules design some 7
years ago, was the right synergy achieved for successful large
scale deployment in embedded OEM projects. The Computer
on Module concept is still the only form factor today that
allows OEM to standardize their system core while not giving
up the possibility of achieving a fully unique application with
their custom-built carriers.
Benefits of StandardizationMany of the benefits of standardization are due to mass produc-
tion, as standardization results in far greater quantities of core
modules than the dedicated designs of 10 years ago. A single
core module today can be used in many different projects.
• Reduces cost: mass production equals a better price
performance ratio
• Improves quality: mass production equals higher product
quality
• Improves negotiating power for the buyer: standards drive
product differentiation and competition toward price
and service and away from features. This gives buyer
both better pricing and better support.
• Standard architectures (x86): allows software teams to
develop new applications faster with fewer people.
• Scalable and flexible: more module offerings can be applied
to the same platform.
Collaborative CooperationWith today’s global economy, companies are faced with the
necessity of an even faster time to market at a reduced cost.
Outsourcing has become the key to achieve this. With it, the
importance of product standardization, and specifically open
standards, has become very apparent. COM Express, the first
truly open Computer on Module form factor specification by
PICMG, exhibits the uniqueness of the concept. Open standards
can be paired with a customer’s propriety in-house designed
carrier board to still create a very unique product value.
Standardization and open standards are the basic require-
ments for the new trend in product design called “Collaborative
Innovation”. Collaborative Innovation is a response to customer
demand for closer cooperation within their ecosystem partners
who design and manufacture the standard building blocks for
their products. Customers nowadays require Collaborative
Innovation to achieve better design and production efficiency
by acquiring better product knowledge and support from their
vendors. Customers demand a tighter integration of people,
skills, and knowledge across company boundaries. It benefits
a supplier to be closely involved in mechanical and thermal
issues, even when the customer is taking care of carrier board
design and packaging of the product internally.
About ADLINKADLINK has been one of the contributing members of the
PICMG COM Express sub committee responsible for develop-
ing this new and exciting open form factor for Computers on
Modules. ADLINK’s complete Computer on Module product
family includes ETX modules for PCI/ISA oriented designs, and
COM Express modules based on PCI Express or PCI bus and
compliant with the PICMG COM Express form factor.
by ADLINK Technology
CONTACT US
ADLINK Technology Inc.
8900 Research Drive
Irvine, CA 92618 USA
866-4-ADLINK Toll Free
949-727-2099 Fax
www.adlinktech.com
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34 | Embedded Intel® Solutions —Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
Multi-core Processor AMC’s - Re-shaping the Network
Intel® Core™2 Duo processors are members of Intel’s grow-
ing product line of multi-core processors based on Intel®
Core™ micro architecture, delivering breakthrough energy-
efficient performance for embedded platforms. These
processors provide an excellent performance-per watt
choice for small form factor applications such as interactive
clients (i.e., point-of-sale terminals and ATMs), gaming plat-
forms, industrial control and automation, digital security
surveillance and medical imaging. Beyond the more deeply
embedded applications in these markets, another perfor-
mance-hungry, power sensitive market exists in Telecom
and Networking equipment, where power per backplane
slot as well as optimum slot usage is paramount.
Thermal constraints within legacy bladed systems such
as CompactPCI® and the more recent MicroTCA architec-
tures make Intel Core™2 Duo processor-based products
ideally suited for the next wave of product upgrades or
complete technology overhauls. The Intel Core 2 Duo
processor also provides the optimum performance per
watt when designed on to Processor AMC’s inserted in
to ATCA-based Compute blades or Advanced Mezzanine
Card (AMC) Carriers.
Products such as Advantech’s MIC-5602 can now become
Intel Core 2 Duo processor-based TCP/IP offload engines
or packet processing AMC’s. They can be integrated into
ATCA Blades or Carriers as well as MicroTCA systems to ac-
complish network processing tasks with the advantage of
running on dedicated general purpose processors executing
legacy code.
Further performance advantages can be obtained by the in-
corporation of multi-core aware network middleware from
companies such as 6WIND who provide an open frame-
work which eases the transition from single to many cores.
In fact they even go a step further by placing configuration
and management at the heart of their software to solve real
business issues of time and cost savings associated with
software integration, interface, configuration and network
management of multi-core machines.
As we move forward through 2008 developers will be testing
the ability of general purpose processor cores to outperform
network processors in certain applications. Network proces-
sors are also multi-core processors, but augmented with
networking-specific instructions, on-chip accelerators and
by Advantech Corporation
CONTACT US
Advantech Corporation
38 Tesla, Suite 100
Irvine, CA92618
USA
1-800-866-6008 Toll Free
www.advantech.com
memory. However the key measurement criteria will be to evalu-
ate how well multi-core general-purpose processors could work
within programmable networking equipment, such as routers,
network analyzers or integrated security platforms.
Currently, the specialized network processor features mentioned
above provide improved performance, but they do come at the
cost of reduced generality and familiarity which can also be con-
ceived as somewhat detrimental to programmer productivity. A
larger installed base of software and developers exists around
Intel-based platforms and there is also an expectation of better
application portability to future systems.
Intel’s multi-core revolution is leading the way for reduced slot
counts in CompactPCI, ATCA and MicroTCA bladed systems and
offers economies of scale in both product provisioning and re-use.
Not only can the same Intel Core 2 Duo processor-based blade be
used in multiple instances as an application processor, but it can be
used as an intelligent packet processing engine with multiple gigabit
Ethernet ports offering line-speed packet inspection capabilities.
In a CompactPCI environment the same Intel Core 2 Duo proces-
sor-based blades can be used as the baseboard for application
processing, intelligent I/O control and gateway functionality by
populating them with I/O-specific PCI Mezzanine Cards (PMCs).
This provides some compelling benefits such as the same com-
munication interface between baseboards, be it via PICMG 2.16
packet-switching or non transparent PCI bridging mechanisms
with identical programming interfaces. Beyond the pure techni-
cal advantages, commercial benefits such as reduced inventory
and improved volume pricing can also be achieved.
With the many-core revolution well underway and advanced gen-
eral purpose system-on-chip functionality approaching fast, we
are entering an accelerated software-defined functionality era.
Host Media Processing brought us the ability to process a telepho-
ny call’s media stream rather than use digital signal processors
(DSP’s) to perform the task. Right now, software defined Radio,
RFID and Radar initiatives are moving ahead fast. By developing
with multi-bladed, multi-processor and multi-core configurations
today, our embedded Intel Core 2 Duo and Intel®
Core™2 Quad processor-based computing blades are
preparing the future shape of the network.
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Using High-end Intel® Processors in Space, Power, Cost, and Reliability Critical
Embedded Applicationsby Ampro Computers Inc.
Competitive pressures have long suggested using off-the-shelf board-level computers to increase the efficiency of developing embedded system products. Instead of “re-inventing the wheel” by developing and debugging an embedded computer and porting a BIOS or RTOS, compa-nies can focus on developing application-specific hardware and software, resulting in fast-track development of highly differentiated, competitive end products.
The advantages of using off-the-shelf, board-level embedded computers are further enhanced by utilizing an “embedded PC” architecture, which combines well-known operating systems and tools with familiar hardware components.
Recently, however, technology advances have intro-duced both challenges and opportunities into both the hardware and software sides of the equation. For ex-ample, high-speed buses and interfaces such as PCI Express, SATA, USB2.0, and LVDS have burst upon the scene over the past few years, as have multi-core CPUs such as the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor.
Similarly, platform-level software technology has evolved dramatically. Examples include operating systems such as Linux 2.6, Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE 6.0, and VxWorks 6.x; filesystem technologies such as journaling, encryption, flash memory management, and RAID; OS ex-tensions such as virtualization, hypervisors, and real-time performance; and protocol stacks for wireless communi-cations, multimedia, DRM, security, etc.
To help OEMs keep up with all these evolving hardware and software technologies, Ampro offers a continu-ally evolving product line of single-board computers (SBCs) and computer-on-modules (COMs) that span a wide range of form-factors, performance levels, and application-oriented features.
Ampro’s embedded PC products, offered in five basic form-factors as tabulated below, integrate Intel® proces-sors ranging from the Intel® Celeron® M to Intel Core 2 Duo processors, at speeds up to 1.86 GHz. In addition to the CPUs, the boards provide onboard memory; graphics, storage, and Ethernet controllers, USB and other I/O ports, and expansion buses such as PCI and PCI Express.
In addition to specific size constraints, embedded sys-tems must often meet stringent environmental factors, including fanless operation either to eliminate noise or to protect the electronics from dust or moisture. To
meet such requirements, Ampro offers SBC and COM products designed and tested to comply with the three environmental profiles tabulated below.
Of note, Ampro’s Rugged and Extreme Rugged products are designed for harsh environments from the ground up, not simply lot screened. In order to support extremes of shock, vibration, humidity, and temperature, utmost care is given to component selection, circuit design, PCB layout and materials, thermal solutions, and manufacturing pro-cesses, and HALT testing is used to locate and correct weak spots in the designs.
Equally important is the choice of manufacturing materi-als and process technology. The EU requirements for RoHS compliance means that suppliers can no longer rely or tin-lead solder on an inexpensive no-clean immersion gold process to provide durable solder joints that hold compo-nents in place without cracking under flexing loads.
Finally, recognizing the critical need for OEMs to maintain consistency throughout the life of their products, Ampro works tirelessly to ensure long-term availability and stable configurations of its board-level embedded computers.
In conclusion, thanks to their careful design and component selection -- and comprehensive software support -- Ampro’s SBC and COM products can help OEMs leverage Intel’s high-end processors for reliable, cost-effective embedded applications. By using off-the-shelf, board-level, embedded PCs as the basis of their designs, OEMs can accelerate their product development cycles and increase their investment on application-specific features and product differentiation.
Environment Profile Characteristics Industrial 0 to +60 °C Rugged -20 to +70 °C
Extreme Rugged -40 to +85 °C;
splash, humidity, shock, vibration resistant
Table 1: Environmental Profiles Supported by Ampro’s Embedded PCs
CONTACT US
Ampro Computers, Inc. 5215 Hellyer Avenue #110 San Jose, CA 95138 USA 408.360.0200 Telephone 408.360.0222 Fax [email protected] www.ampro.com
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www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 37
Real Time Symmetric Multiprocessing for Multicore Embedded Applications
by Ardence, a Citrix Company
Ardence Announces Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) Support for Intel ® multicore processors running Windows Real-time Applications
Ardence, a Citrix Company, announces support for Symmetric Multiprocessor Systems (SMP) in the up-coming release of its market leading real-time Windows extension, RTX. With the release of version 9.0, multi-ple processors can be configured for real-time activities. RTSS threads can be assigned to run on specific proces-sors and they can run concurrently, providing significant benefits, including:
• Performance boost – Multiple processors dedicated to
critical, real-time tasks. Up to seven real-time threads
may concurrently run on an eight-processor system.
• Performance scalability – Performance scaling that
doesn’t require code rewrites. Real-time and non real-
time performance balance is adjustable by changing the
number of RTSS processors and Windows processors.
• High availability – Critical tasks can be scheduled to run
on more than one RTSS processor.
• IRQ Affinity – Users can specify a dedicated RTSS
processor for processing the I/O of individual pieces of
hardware.
• System fault handling – Real-time tasks survive over
system crashes and blue screen events.
In the RTX environment, users may configure the quantity of processors dedicated to Windows and how many are dedicated to the Real-Time Subsystem (RTSS). RTX 9.0 supports systems that have as many as eight processors in this initial release; seven of which can be assigned to support RTSS processes.RTX 9.0 will be generally avail-able in Q3 2008, and is currently in Beta.
CONTACT US
Ardence, a Citrix Company 14 Crosby driveBedford, MA 10730USA978.301.8000 [email protected]
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Wi-Fi Resistive orCapacitive
90°
Portrait andLandscape
VESA Mount Webcam
Extraordinary performancewith unprecedented
Touch Experience iGo Panel PC
www.igopanelpc.com
Extraordinary Performance With Unprecedented Touch Experience iGo
Panel PCby iGoLogic
iGo Panel PC is the ultimate industrial fanless embedded solu-
tion. Features Intel® Celeron® M processor 1.5 GHz with 17” or
19” widescreen TFT LCD WXGA and touch screen, It provides
the best HD (High Definition) video performance to support 720P
multimedia applications. It also features 5 RS232 ports, 4 USB 2.0
ports, 2 Ethernet ports wifi (wireless LAN b/g), internal speakers ,
and more. It supports Microsoft Windows XP Pro and XP embed-
ded on a 2.5” hard drive or a solid state Compact Flash module.
iGo17 Panel PC and iGo19 Panel PC can be broadly implemented
and perfect for several markets, such as Digital Signage, POS,
Kiosk, Gaming markets, automation.
Infinite Imagination Goes OniGo Panel PC can be built-to-order for infinite color front bezel which enables your imagination deploy with your applications friendly and efficiently.
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www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 39
Your Best Solution Provider
inspiration & innovation Go on
nspiration & Innovation Go ono Deliver a Richer Signage
Inspiration & Innovation Go on to Deliver a Richer Signage ExperienceThere is almost no limitation on how and where
the iGo17 and iGo19 widescreen Panel PC can
be used. Whether you need to offer informa-
tion, digitalize your signage ads, broadcast live
news, offer your customers the power to inter-
act easily through a touch-screen panel or use
it to collect data, etc. iGo17 Panel PC and iGo19
Panel PC fanless all in one solutions empower
you to achieve that friendly and easy manners.
Corporate StrengthsConsistency, Reliability, Quality, and Flexibility are our corporate
core strengths. iGoLogic has well established first-tier relation-
ship with major IPC embedded manufacturers and components
vendors. iGoLogic’s product line include Mini - ITX Motherboards
and accessories, Embedded Computing Platforms, All-in-One
Panel Computers, Industrial Automation Devices, Industrial PC
platforms, Network Appliances, Storage Appliances, and more.
iGoLogic’s continual drive of inspiration and innovation have been
gaining overall efficiency and flexibility for our customers. Our
achievement in customer intimacy has helped us to set the high-
est standards of solutions and services. As a leading industrial
solution provider, iGoLogic has devoted to produce state-of-the-
art solutions that aid users in achieving their goals.
CONTACT US
iGoLogic, Inc.
46723 Fremont Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94538, USA.
Toll Free 877-iGo-9888
www.igopanelpc.com
Innovative thermal design
17” 19”
16.6”3.3”
12.5
”
18.81”3.47”
13.8
2”
System
I/O
Display
Packing List
Mainboard
CPU
Memory
Chipset
Wireless LAN
SSD
HDD
Camera module
Mounting
Stand
OS
Size with Frame
Weight
Operating Environment
Power Supply
Warranty
Certification
Intel® processor-based Mini-ITX Industry MainboardIntel® Celeron® M processor 1.5 GHz
512 MB DDR DIMM memory
Intel® 852GM chipset with Intel® ICH4 I/O Controller Hub
802.11b/g w/Antenna
1 x Compact Flash socket
2.5” 40 GB notebook HDD
1.3M pixels
VESA mount ready
Desktop Stand
Pre-installed Microsoft Windows XP Pro
(recommended)
475mm x 351mm x 88mm
(18.71” x 13.82” x 3.47”)
25 lbs
0-40°C / 32-104°F
AC-DC AC 100-240V 80W (US)
1 year limited warranty (parts & labor)
FCC, CE
Intel® processor-based Mini-ITX Industry MainboardIntel® Celeron® M processor 1.5 GHz
512 MB DDR DIMM memory
Intel® 852GM chipset with Intel® ICH4 I/O Controller Hub
802.11b/g w/Antenna
1 x Compact Flash socket
2.5” 40 GB notebook HDD
N/A
VESA mount ready
Desktop Stand
Pre-installed Microsoft Windows XP Pro
(recommended)
422mm x 317mm x 83.6mm
(16.6” x 12.5” x 3.3”)
25 lbs
0-40°C / 32-104°F
AC-DC AC 100-240V 80W (US)
1 year limited warranty (parts & labor)
FCC, CE
COM
Ethernet
Wireless LAN
VGA
Audio
USB
PS2
Power switch
Reset
5 x RS232 COM ports
2 x 10/100 Intel Fast Ethernets
Mini-PCI Interface support 64 bit and
128bit WEP encryption 802.11 b/g
VGA output
AC’97 codec audio
4 x USB2.0 ports
Keyboard & Mouse
Bypass front panel button switch
Reset switch
5 x RS232 COM ports
2 x 10/100 Intel Fast Ethernets
Mini-PCI Interface support 64 bit and
128bit WEP encryption 802.11 b/g
VGA output
AC’97 codec audio
4 x USB2.0 ports
Keyboard & Mouse
Bypass front panel button switch
Reset switch
Chipset
Memory Size
Size/Type
Resolution
Integrated in Intel® 852GM GMCH
Max. up to 64MB frame buffer sharing
system memory
19” TFT Resistive touch WXGA screen
1440 x 900 Pixels
Integrated in Intel® 852GM GMCH
Max. up to 64MB frame buffer sharing
system memory
17” TFT Resistive touch WXGA screen
1440 x 900 Pixels
AC Adapter, Driver
OptionalMemory
Solid State
Operating System
Touch Screen
Fram Color
Fram Type
Table Stand
1 GB DDR Memory
2.5” IDE Flash Driver
Microsoft Windows XP Home, XP
embedded
Changeable Touch or No Touch
Custom Color
Open Frame
1 GB DDR Memory
2.5” IDE Flash Driver
Microsoft Windows XP Home, XP
embedded
Changeable Touch or No Touch
Custom Color
Open Frame
17” 19”
Wi-Fi Resistive orCapacitive
90°
Portrait andLandscape
VESA Mount
FanlessCustomColor Frame
Slim andstylish Design
Webcam
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Integrating ATCA Hardware with HA Middleware
Solving the Challenges of Integrating the Complex Building Blocks for Network Service Applications
Telecommunications applications such as IP-TV, social net-
working and 4G presence-enabled services are setting the
foundation for a broad spectrum of content delivery platforms.
Telecommunication service providers (TEPs) and the telecom-
munications (TEMs) that support them are now focusing on
new delivery platforms for converged network applications.
Competition is intensifying as TEMs must keep up with these
time-to-market demands, quality of experience (QOE) expecta-
tions and increasing complexity of the network, while focusing
on differentiating their application. The demand to deliver con-
tent and provide services is slated to grow very rapidly, placing
heavy demands on the communications infrastructure, while re-
quiring significant scalability along with uninterrupted service
availability.
IPTV is an area that shows huge promise in delivering a
comprehensive communication experience that can include
everything from entertainment, corporate information dis-
semination, complex conferencing, and public information
access. IPTV combines all the video, voice and data exchange
services from computer and wireless devices with all the tele-
vision programming and Video on Demand (VoD) services.
According to a new bi-annual IPTV Forecast from Multimedia
Research Group (MRG) released in November 2007, growth for
IPTV is projected from 13.5 million in 2007 to 72.6 million in 2011,
roughly a 40% compounded annual growth rate. In North America,
Verizon and AT&T are growing considerably faster than previous-
ly forecasted, and MRG expects Verizon to be the world’s largest
IPTV service provider in 2011.
However, this market progression is not without its challenges.
MRG believes that the continued growth of the global IPTV indus-
try, specifically in Europe, Asia and North America, hinges upon
the often misunderstood “middleware” component that glues to-
gether the many working parts of the IPTV end-to-end system.
Without a flexible middleware solution that can easily and pre-
dictably increase the number of subscribers and the breadth of
services, IPTV operators will not be able to sustain long-term
growth or stability.
Developers need proven, off-the-shelf customizable solutions
that will allow them to concentrate on their application-specif-
ic core competencies and focus on delivering differentiating
features and greater application value and performance.
Partnering with a platform integration vendor to ensure the
validity and reliability of system is just as important to over-
all success.
by Sven Freudenfeld, Kontron
COTS ApproachBuilding a distributed, highly available and reliable system to deliv-
er these services is a complex and often daunting task, particularly
since back-end design is increasing in its complexity. Designing
the entire system in house is no longer a realistic use of resources
nor is it a cost-effective option. Instead, developers are looking to
a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) approach that is driven by stan-
dards in order to accelerate and take some of the risk out of the
development cycle and ultimately meet delivery schedules.
By using COTS building blocks from the hardware computing
platform up to the operating system (OS), High Availability (HA)-
middleware and certain protocol components, NEPs and TEMs
are given the fundamental elements to create a carrier-grade plat-
form. The benefits of a carrier-based platform with a true open
architecture foundation are realized in the form of highly differen-
tiated products that are scalable, freeing up valuable engineering
resources then could be used to design applications that add value
to and reduce the time to market of more innovative services.
Integrating all of the complex building blocks together is essen-
tial and can provide a number of unique technical challenges.
As a result, the desire for straightforward integration manage-
ment that has been validated and tested is rapidly becoming a
necessity. The SCOPE Alliance, has defined a reference archi-
tecture for a generic Carrier Grade Base Platform (CGBP). This
architecture, which includes hardware, operating system, op-
erations and maintenance functions and tools, also specifies
middleware as a fundamental component for service availabili-
ty. As CGBP building blocks become commoditized, the industry
cooperates in many initiatives to specify and implement an
Fig. 1: A detailed view of COTS or proprietary hardware
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open architecture. SCOPE also creates profiles for The Service
Availability Forum (SA Forum), the main organization active in
the middleware standardization effort. The SCOPE Alliance has
also published the ATCA profile, which provides guidance for a
common platform to create carrier Grade Platforms that fulfill
the needs of NEPs and their customers, the service providers.
In September 2007, the SCOPE Alliance released the Middleware
Profile v2.0. This updated profile, along with previously pub-
lished Reference Architecture, and profiles (Middleware v1.0,
ATCA, AMC, and Operating System) provides the Carrier Grade
Base Platforms/COTS ecosystem (consumers & suppliers, speci-
fications setting bodies, and the Open Source community) with
comprehensive guidance regarding the creation of interoperable
Carrier Grade Base Platforms for NEPs and Systems Integrators.
The AdvancedTCA Building BlockThe advent of the AdvancedTCA, the first standardized hard-
ware platform to meet carrier-class requirements, provides the
hardware building blocks and flexibility to integrate complex
high-performance systems from off-the-shelf components.
Processing capabilities and available bandwidth increase with
multi-core processors while maintaining a smaller footprint and
lower power performance than were achievable in past rack-
mount configurations. Manufacturers who take advantage of
the latest multi-core processors in these COTS form factors will
be able to build faster, more scalable systems without upgrad-
ing the framework or increasing floor space. Combining ATCA
blades with Advanced Mezzanine processor Cards on a carrier
grade, standard-based platform allows network management to
take place entirely on one ATCA slot on the ATCA switch blade,
alleviating the bandwidth from the fabric and maximizing the
footprint of the overall system. Delivering reliable high-perfor-
mance solutions that scale with the demands of the market is
quite promising with such advancements.
More Complex Building Blocks for Next-Generation Network SystemsSelecting the appropriate hardware to support a given set of
communications protocols and applications is just the beginning
of the engineering workload associated with launching a new
carrier-class platform. Along with the robust, highly intelligent,
high availability and reliable hardware components provided by
AdvancedTCA also comes a degree of complexity in the details of
virtually every facet of the system. Besides the standards-based
COTS system management building blocks, there are a number
of other elements which must all work together seamlessly.
System design engineers must also integrate the associated OS
and in some instances the Board Support Package (BSP) with the
associated supporting drivers for the components on the board or
system and develop middleware to integrate the hardware with
the application reliably. The management capabilities for all the
hardware, fabrics, software, and system components are quite
sophisticated and experts knowledgeable in the complex stan-
dards are required in order to pull all the building blocks together
into a cohesive system. Robust operating systems are necessary
to maintain dependable systems in high availability environments,
allowing for continued service with an interface to the user base
that allows the specifics of the hardware to remain transparent.
The Daunting Task of IntegrationWhile the benefits of using AdvancedTCA standard are many,
it still requires a certain level of an integration effort that can
take from six to 12 months to make sure all the building blocks
work seamlessly together. In addition, integrating the hardware
platform can require a great deal of support in the form of pro-
gram management, functional experts, quality assurance, tools
and deployment support all of which adds up to a tremendous
amount of precious personnel, time and money resources.
To begin with, integration efforts are on different levels start-
ing from interoperability on the hardware level when using
multiple sources for the system components. There are also
the considerations of thermal, mechanical, fabric connectiv-
ity and IPMI interoperability. This first integration task can
become quite complex. Having all the tools to perform this
task is already a significant investment not to mention the
engineering time to perform that validation and integration.
When integrating multi-sourced standard components, fur-
ther challenges arise when it comes down to identifying which
“vendor” is at fault when problems occur.
The next level of integration requires that the preferred OS is work-
ing and supported on the desired blades and might require an
additional validation effort. The manageability within the system
can take a major undertaking. Even by using standard-based com-
ponents, the system management (middleware), HPI, and shelf
management all need to be validated as a cohesive management
unit. Even if the components are designed based on standards or
a recipe, every vendor may have different method of implement-
ing it. For a product to be successful, it needs to be a complete
solution with hardware, middleware, OS, etc. Integrating all these
elements is a year’s worth of intense work which can be a time-
consuming and costly task for a systems provider.
The following outlines an example of the cost associated with re-
sources and lost revenue due to incremental time-to-market in a
real-world network application developed in house.
From the initial procurement phase (which involves component
selection, procurement and learning curve) to carrier-class
integration and validation of the hardware platform, to deploy-
ment support (including debug and component upgrade), the
incremental time to market can add up to over 700 days. The
lost revenue due to this delay can add up to a loss of $1Million
for every month not in the market, which totals to an astounding
cost of nearly $24Million. Within this, the portion associated
with just developing the custom middleware to meet the re-
quirements can total up to more than $500,000. Whereas, the
build and validate portion can add almost $250,000.
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42 | Embedded Intel® Solutions —Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
CONTACT US
Kontron
14118 Stowe Drive
Poway, CA 92064
USA
858.677.0877 Telephone
www.kontron.com
The Emergence of MiddlewareGiven the difficult, detailed and time-consuming nature of
pulling the pieces of the platform together, embedded system
companies should not be discouraged away from develop-
ing AdvancedTCA-based carrier class systems. In fact, the
rapid middleware ecosystem growth provides new opportuni-
ties for realizing fully integrated carrier grade base platforms
(CGBP). The SA Forum provides guidance to TEM’s beginning
to gain recognition for the portability, interoperability and in-
creased innovation they enable. Standards-based middleware
provides TEMs with off-the-shelf high availability software to
complement its carrier-grade equipment.
Frequently there is a lapse between the availability of the
hardware and date which it is possible to deploy applications
due to the schedule cost of the back-end software develop-
ment. This gap can be being filled with middleware platforms
that provide chassis management functions, inter-process
communications, and services that are scalable from deeply
embedded to large, complex systems.
Case in Point - IPTV However, many experts feel that the single most important barrier
to widespread adoption of IPTV hinges upon a superior quality of
service (QoS) that delivers maximum quality of experience (QoE)
to the end user. Yet major design, technology and business chal-
lenges threaten to derail performance.
In order to achieve superior QoE and QoS, IPTV applications
must meet the following specifications:
• High Network Processing Capability – to relieve I/O
bottlenecks and manage concurrent data streams efficiently
for IPTV.
• Proven Standardized Platforms – to leverage advanced
technology, while remaining focused on core competencies.
• Manageability – The ability to manage the network,
perform upgrades, service existing equipment and
avoid IPTV downtime is more important than ever.
With increasing subscriber demands, service providers
demand network visibility and management at the
blade, module and system levels.
• Scalability – To prepare and build a system for change, it
is important for service providers to implement technology
that is flexible, scalable and easy to upgrade. The need
to support emerging technology and provide increased
performance, places greater emphasis on hardware
adaptability in network deployments.
• High Reliability and Availability – In an “always on”
environment, IPTV systems must be extremely available
and reliable. Network element and application failure
negatively impact the QoE. With on-demand content,
it is essential that a high availability framework be
implemented that supports controlled and managed
failover.
• Interactivity – With the emerging ability to support
High Definition resolutions on decoders, and System-
on-Chip integrated decoders, introduction of full
interactive video services based on IPTV and IP set-
top-box models that go beyond Video on Demand and
Electronic Program Guide are becoming a reality. Live
interaction between people becomes a springboard
for an entirely new paradigm of communication.
• Fast Time to Market – Widespread adoption of IPTV
requires network equipment manufacturers to adopt a
standards driven, commercial COTS approach to accelerate
development cycles and continue to meet demands.
In order to solve the business and technical challenges, an
IPTV initiative called the IPTV Experience was formed to build
an infrastructure resource. Comprised of leading companies
Enea, Intel, Kontron, and RADVISION, this broad-based in-
dustry initiative that takes full advantage of the latest proven
processor technology, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hard-
ware, middleware, and video networking.
The global effort brings together leading companies from the soft-
ware, hardware and semiconductor industries, each with a specific
solution to one or several of the major roadblocks impeding the
mass adoption of IPTV. As an alliance, member companies bring
a systemic view with an emphasis on off-the-shelf, rapidly deploy-
able solutions to accelerate the roll out of this new medium.
For this complete white paper visit kontron.com/choice.
Sven Freudenfeld is responsible for North American Business Development for the Kontron AG line of AdvancedTCA, AdvancedMC, MicroTCA, and Pre-Integrated OM Solutions. Sven possesses more than 15 years of experience with voice, data, and wireless communications, having worked extensively with Nortel Networks in Systems Engineering, Sanmina-SCI in Test Engineering, and Deutsche Telekom in Network engineering. Sven holds an electrical engineering degree from Germany, and is also VP of The Communications Platforms Trade Association (CP-TA) and is the Chair of the CP-TA marketing workgroup focusing on the interoperability of COTS standard building blocks.
Fig. 2: High Availability Middleware Overview
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44 | Embedded Intel® Solutions —Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
World’s First Integrated, Ergonomic, and Energy-Efficient Mobile Tablet PC
from NEXCOM
NEXCOM introduces three new handheld 8.4” Fan-less Mobile Tablet PC based on Intel® Atom™ Processors
For seekers of industrial-grade mobile tablet PC with long battery life, NEXCOM proudly presents three new models of handheld 8.4”
fan-less mobile tablet PC: MTC 2100-MD, MTC 2100 and MRC 2100.
The centerpiece for all three models is Intel’s smallest processor (at press time) with ultra-low power consumption — the Intel®
Atom™ processor, coupled with the Intel® System Controller Hub US15W. In addition, some important features — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
2.0, data security protection, digital camera, and the sunlight readable touch screen — come standard on each of the three models.
MTC 2100-MD is made for health care usage in the hospitals. Featuring Intel® Atom™ processor up to 1.86 GHz with512 KB on-die
L2 cache, the MTC 2100-MD provides a powerful mobile computing platform with an 8.4” TFT color LCD and EMR (Electro Magnetic
Resonance) digitizer touch screen. It has an onboard RFID reader that significantly facilitates monitoring patients with RFID rings and
can also be used to keep track of medicines. The MTC 2100-MD has build-in Wi-Fi 802.11/b/g/n and RFID reader and Bluetooth to en-
hance the mobility and smooth data access.
Main Features • Support Intel® Atom™ processors
• Intel® System Controller Hub US15W
• Integrated Touch screen and EMR digitizer
• Integrated 1.3 Mega pixel Camera
• Integrated RFID reader/ optional Barcode Scanner
• Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Integrated Secure Data by Infi neon TPM 1.2 and Fingerprint
• 4 ~ 8 Hours Long Lasting Battery Life
by NEXCOM
Mobile Tablet PC MTC2100-MD
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MTC 2100 is an ultra reliable handheld mobile tablet PC to consolidate data collection and processing into one solution for ware-
house management, logistics management and fleet management. For logistics management, you can scan the barcode of goods to
improve the accuracy of the order picking and staging process. The MTC 2100 is capable to send real-time picking and staging instruc-
tions to fleet truck drivers via GPRS/ GSM/ HSDPA/ UMTS wireless network
Main Features • Supports Intel® Atom™ processors
• 1 x 200-pin DDR2 SO-DIMM socket, up to 2 GB SDRAM
• Intel® System Controller Hub US15W
• Dual Independent Display (LVDS + SDVO)
• Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Sunlight Readable Touch Screen
• Integrated SiRF III GPS module
• Integrated 1.3 Mega Pixel camera
• Integrated Laser Barcode Scanner
• Integrated Secure Data by Infineon TPM 1.2 and Fingerprint Recognition
• Supports 3.5G or WIMAX Module
• 4 ~ 8 Hours Long Lasting Battery Life
MRC 2100 is especially rugged for use in tough outdoor environments. With special rubber pads installed, it can withstand a
vertical drop of up to 4 feet (120 cm) high and is suitable to be mounted on vehicles. The MRC 2100 provides a powerful mobile
computing platform with an 8.4 in TFT color LCD and sunlight readable touch screen. The MRC 2100 has build-in Wi-Fi 802.11/b/g/n
and Bluetooth to enhance the mobility and smooth data access for various vertical markets. Furthermore, the MRC 2100 has the
strictest measurement to protect all your sensitive data by implementing TPM encryption and fingerprint security features.
To extend its functionality, the MRC 2100 has a docking connector for USB, PCI-Express and SDVO ports, while the expan-
sion slots include Mini card Socket. The MRC 2100 can be tailored to fit in various vertical applications, such as Point of
Services, retailing, logistic and much more.
Main Features • Support Intel® Atom™ processors
• Intel® System Controller Hub US15W
• Dual Independent Display (LVDS + SDVO)
• Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Supports 3.5G or WIMAX Module
• Integrated Secure Data by Infi neon TPM 1.2 and Fingerprint
• 4 ~ 8 Hours Long Lasting Battery Life
• Optional RFID/ Barcode Scanner
CONTACT US
NEXCOM USA
3758 Spinnaker Court
Fremont, CA 94538
Office: (510)656-2248
Fax: (510)656-2158
www.nexcom.com
Mobile Tablet PC MTC2100
Mobile Rugged PC MRC 2100
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46 | Embedded Intel® Solutions —Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
Embedded Virtual Manager on Multi-Core Solves Legacy RTOS Problems
Starting from scratch is a luxury many embedded de-
velopers cannot afford. Building solutions on a base
of existing proven software is often the fastest and
most reliable road to success. But how does one add
features to existing proven real-time software without
disturbing the underlying reliability and performance
of that legacy software?
A History of Real-Time for WindowsIn 1997 TenAsys Corporation introduced INtime®, an
RTOS that provides hard real-time determinism along-
side Microsoft® Windows® on a single embedded PC.
A unique form of virtualization makes this possible,
letting Windows run unmodified as the lowest priority
task in the system. This “real-time Windows platform”
has provided hundreds of developers the means to
build deterministic embedded Windows systems that
reliably control critical machine functions and simul-
taneously include high-level interfaces for system
monitoring, enterprise connectivity, and complex user
interaction.
Using Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT)
TenAsys now offers the eVM™ platform, an embedded
virtual machine manager (VMM) capable of support-
ing the demands of a variety of embedded operating
systems while simultaneously hosting the Windows
OS, each on dedicated cores of a multi-core proces-
sor. This has very useful implications for applications
that need to preserve legacy real-time code.
An Embedded VMM for Real-TimeThe eVM platform facilitates migrating legacy embed-
ded code from obsolete hardware to modern embedded
platforms. Legacy I/O can be virtualized and redirected to
minimize rewriting proven software. For example, an ob-
solete ISA system can be migrated to a smaller and less
expensive single-board computer by redirecting access
to ISA peripherals to equivalent on-board PCI devices.
Traditional VMM software emulates an entire machine,
giving each guest OS what it thinks is control of the hard-
ware. Direct access to real I/O, particularly specialized I/O,
is a key requirement of embedded software. A traditional
VMM does not provide direct and unfettered access to
the underlying physical I/O.
by Paul Fischer, TenAsys Corp.
CONTACT US
TenAsys Corporation1400 NW Compton Drive, #301Beaverton, OR 97006(877) 277-9189 Toll Free+1-503-748-4720 Telephone
Multi-Core Intel® Processors Support Real-Time VirtualizationThe TenAsys eVM utilizes multi-core Intel VT processors to
host virtually any OS, both legacy and current, alongside
Microsoft Windows. In an eVM system, resources are par-
titioned, insuring each OS has direct access to time-critical
hardware that would be restricted or denied by a traditional
VMM. Assigning I/O exclusively, and dedicating CPU core(s)
to an OS, is essential to guaranteeing determinism.
Determinism and the priority of real-time tasks are fun-
damental requirements for an RTOS; hosting an RTOS
on the eVM platform does not dilute those requirements.
Partitioning resources insures that only the authorized OS
will have direct access to its time-critical I/O, with little or
no overhead from the VMM.
ConclusionThe net gains from the application of virtualization tech-
nology on Intel multi-core processor platforms are the
elimination of redundant computer and communication
hardware, faster communication and coordination between
RTOS and Windows subsystems, improved reliability and
robustness, re-use of proven legacy applications, and
simplified development and debugging. Systems that pre-
viously required multiple discrete computing modules can
be combined onto a single hardware platform, saving costs
in design, manufacturing, and maintenance.
Use the TenAsys® INtime® RTOS to give your applications direct access to performance-
critical I/O on a dedicated core, so Windows and your real-time code execute at full speed. INtime
applications run alongside Windows on a single hardware platform without sacrificing determinism.
Errors are reduced and development costs are lowered
because you use a single IDE, Microsoft Visual Studio, to edit, compile, and debug real-time and Windows code.
We’ve led the way in virtualization for over 25 years.
Call toll-free (877) 277-9189 or visit www.tenasys.com/multicore
25years
Copyright © 2008 TenAsys Corporation. All rights reserved. TENASYS, INTIME, and IRMX are registered trademarks of TenAsys Corporation. Other trademarks and brand names are the property of their respective owners .
48 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
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ADLINK aTCA-6900 Dual-Core and Quad Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Pro-cessors LV 10 GbE AdvancedMC™ Carrier Blade
The ADLINK aTCA-6900 features the latest Intel® 5100 chipset and Intel® I/O Controller Hub 9R (Intel® ICH9R) with 64-bit low-voltage Intel® Xeon® processors and DDR2-667 REG/ECC up to 16 GB support. Compliant with PICMG® 3.1 Option 1/9, the aTCA-6900 supports dual IEEE802.3ap compliant 10GBASE-KX4 and 1000BASE-BX ports for fabric interface connectivity. Featuring dual-AMC.0 mid-size bays, this new carrier blade has on-board 24-port Gigabit Ethernet Switch-on-Chip providing high speed data tunnels switching between base / fabric interface, update channels, front panel egress ports, rear transition module and AMC.2 ports. Peripherals include USB v2.0 ports, analog RGB graphics, serial console and RAID 0/1/5 SATA/SAS AMC.3 storage devices.
Features:
• Dual Quad-Core and Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors LV with 12/4 MB L2 Cache
• 64-bit Intel® Extended Memory Technology• Dual-DDR2-667 REG/ECC Channels with 16 GB Maximum
Capacity• Intel® 5100 chipset and Intel ICH9R• Dual-AMC.0 Mid-size Bays• Dual-10GBASE-KX4/1000BASE-BX Fabric Interface Channels• On-board 24-port Gigabit Ethernet Switch-on-Chip• RAID 0/1/5 SATA Ports
ADLINK Technology Inc.8900 Research DriveIrvine, CA 92618 USA866-4-ADLINK Toll Free949-727-2099 [email protected]
Product Showcase IndexADLINK TechnologyaTCA-6900 Dual-Core and Quad Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processors LV 10 GbE AdvancedMC™ Carrier Blade ................. 48
Advantech CorporationAdvantech launches Intel Q35 PICMG 1.3 SHB supporting 45-nm tech FSB 1333MHz CPUs.................................................... 49 Emerson Network PowerATCA-7150 Processor Blade .......................................................... 49ATCA-7301 Processor Blade.......................................................... 50ATCA-7350 Multicore Processor Blade ......................................... 50CPCI7200 Single-Board Computer .................................................51PrAMC-7210 AMC Module ................................................................... 51Flexcomm LimitedFIDS28MC1 – 10G POS System Platform.......................................... 52FIDS43MS1 – SME/SOHO Router With ADSL2+ Accessing............ 52
ITOX Applied ComputingITOX BL100-N – A Cost-Effective Mini-ITX Solution ..................... 52
Kaparel CorporationMicroTCA 5U System .................................................................... 53
KontronKontron CP6001 & CP6923 ........................................................... 53
Kontron nanoETXexpress-SP -- The credit card size COM Express compatible solution from the origninal COM Inventor .... 54
LynuxworksLynxSecure................................................................................... 54
MSI Computer Corp.MSI Fuzzy Q35DO – Intel® Q35 Express Chipset-Based Mini-ITX Embedded Solution ..................................................... 55
NexcomPowerful New Generation of Digital Signage Media Player .....55
Reliable Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor-Based Fan-less Computer .......................................................................55
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Embedded Intel® SolutionsSUMMER 2008
Solution Providers ForumArticles from companies providing important solutions for engineers and embedded developers utilizing Embedded Intel® Processors
GoldSponsors
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Green Embedded for Energy Management
Intel® ATOM™ Processor Meets Medical Electronics
Challenges for Designing Telecom-Network Apps
Protech Technologies, Inc.PSB-701LF – Protech Systems’ Long Life PICMG 1.3 CPU board with Intel® Q35 Express Chipset................................................... 56TrentonTrenton’s Multi-Core System Host Boards (SHBs) & Backplanes Maximize System Flexibility and Capability ..................................... 56
www.embeddedintel.com | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | 49
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PCE-5124 is a PICMG 1.3 form-factor single host board which is designed with the Intel® Q35 Express chipset plus I/O Controller Hub 9 DO (ICH9 DO) platform for industrial applications that need high computing power and strong I/O capability. PCE-5124 supports 45nm and 65nm manufacture technology Intel® CoreTM
2 Duo, Intel® CoreTM 2 Quad, and Intel® Pentium® processors and Intel® Celeron® processors 4xx series with FSB up to 1333MHz and DDR2 667/800MHz SDRAM up to 8GB.
By supporting advanced computing technology, PCE-5124 is suitable for computing power hungry industrial applications. PCE-5124 performs excellent graphic processing capability by it’s embedded Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 with shared memory up to 256MB. PCE-5124 can provide strong 2D/3D graphic processing power without an add-on graphic card, it saves user extra cost, power consumption and thermal design effort caused by an add-on graphic card. PCE-5124 also has rich I/O interfaces, it’s 6 SATA2 ports can support software RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 to be a cost-effective data reliability solution, the 6 on-board serial ports (COM ports) allows PCE-5124 to meet various industrial control applications.
With 1 PCI-E x 16 and 4 PCI-E x 1 lanes go down to the backplane, PCE-5124 can expand various expansion slots such as PCI, PCI-X and PCI-E slots with various backplanes. With outstanding performance and exceptional features, PCE-5124 is the very advanced computing platform for today’s and tomorrow’s up-and-coming industrial applications.
Advantech Corporation 38 Tesla, Suite 100Irvine, CA92618USA1-800-866-6008 Toll [email protected] www.advantech.com
Advantech launches Intel Q35 PICMG 1.3 SHB supporting 45-nm tech FSB 1333MHz CPUs
ATCA-7150 Processor Blade
The ATCA-7150 AdvancedTCA® processor blade from Emerson Network Power delivers a combination of performance and flexibility to help drive the successful implementation of next-generation telecom networks. It builds on the ATCA® standard to provide the right product at the right time to meet the needs of the telecom industry.
With two low-voltage Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® processors, the ATCA-7150 is the highest performance processing blade in an ATCA form factor. It also provides Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) interfaces to the PICMG® 3.0 base interface and the PICMG 3.1 fabric interface in a dual star configuration. Several other network configurations are available. An array of main memory options and two local mass storage options add to the performance and flexibility of the ATCA-7150 processor blade.
Key features include:• High performance processor blade with SMP support• Two, low-voltage Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® processors (2.13 GHz)• Multiple software packages including operating system• PICMG 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet base interface support• PICMG 3.1, Option 1 fabric interface support• Two SAS hard drive or SATA solid state disk bays for on-
board storage and RAID 0/1 support• Service Availability Forum™ (SA Forum) compliant HPI
interface• Designed for NEBS and ETSI compliance• RoHS (5 of 6) compliant
Emerson Network Power 2900 S. Diablo Way, Suite 190 Tempe, AZ 85282USA1 800 759 1107 Toll Free1 602 438 5720 Telephoneembeddedcomputingsales@emerson.comwww.EmersonNetworkPower.com/EmbeddedComputing
50 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
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ATCA-7301 Processor Blade
The Emerson Network Power ATCA-7301 is an AdvancedTCA®
processor blade with a powerful processing complex featuring the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor running at 2.16 GHz, local storage, standard I/O and redundant Gigabit Ethernet connections to the back plane’s base interface. Furthermore, the ATCA-7301 provides two AdvancedMC™ (AMC) sites, which can be used to provide additional processing power or I/O capabilities.
A Gigabit Ethernet (+ 2-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet) switch provides flexibility for routing Gigabit Ethernet ports between the baseboard’s control processor, AMC-based processing or I/O nodes, and the base and fabric interfaces. The ATCA-7301 blade provides system management capabilities and is hot swap compatible. The power and flexibility of the design makes it ideally suited for the telecom and datacom markets.
Key features include:• 2.16 GHz Intel® Core™2 Duo processors• On-board Gigabit Ethernet switch• Two mid-size AdvancedMC sites• AMC.0, AMC.1 and AMC.2 compliant• PICMG® 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet base interface• PICMG 3.1, Option 1, 2 and 9 fabric interface support• SAS disk AMC module option• Mixed data plane and control application on the same blade• Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Wind River PNE-LE• Designed for NEBS and ETSI compliance• RoHS (6 of 6) compliant
Emerson Network Power 2900 S. Diablo Way, Suite 190 Tempe, AZ 85282USA1 800 759 1107 Toll Free1 602 438 5720 Telephoneembeddedcomputingsales@emerson.comwww.EmersonNetworkPower.com/EmbeddedComputing
ATCA-7350 Multicore Processor Blade
The Emerson Network Power ATCA-7350 is an Intel®
processor-based compute blade that delivers a combination of performance and flexibility to help drive the successful implementation of next-generation telecom networks. It builds on the AdvancedTCA® (ATCA®) standard to provide the right product at the right time to meet the needs of the telecom industry.
With two Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® processors, the ATCA-7350 processor blade delivers the highest processing performance in an ATCA form factor. The PICMG 3.1 compliant fabric interface provides ten Gigabit Ethernet (10Gbps) capability for applications requiring higher network throughput in the backplane. The blade provides Gigabit Ethernet (1Gbps) interfaces to the PICMG® 3.0 base interface and the PICMG 3.1 fabric interface in a dual star configuration. Several other
network configurations are also available.
An array of main memory options, and two local mass storage options add to the performance and flexibility of the ATCA-7350 processor blade.
Key features include:• High performance processor blade with SMP support• Two, Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® processors LV (2.13 GHz)• Multiple software packages including operating system• PICMG 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet base interface support• PICMG 3.1, Option 1 and 9 fabric interface support• Two on-board 2.5” form factor hard disk bays supporting
hot swap and RAID 0/1• Multiple disk options including SAS hard drives, SATA drives
with extended temperature range, and solid state disks• Designed for NEBS and ETSI compliance
Emerson Network Power 2900 S. Diablo Way, Suite 190 Tempe, AZ 85282USA1 800 759 1107 Toll Free1 602 438 5720 Telephoneembeddedcomputingsales@emerson.comwww.EmersonNetworkPower.com/EmbeddedComputing
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CPCI7200 Single-Board Computer
The Emerson Network Power CPCI7200 single-board computer (SBC) uses the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor and Intel® E7520 chipset with Intel® 6300ESB I/O Controller Hub. The single-slot configuration is ideal for thermally constrained environments and includes dual Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and dual channel 3.2GB/s high speed, double data rate DDR2, for a combined maximum bandwidth of 6.4GB/s.
The CPCI7200 is a low-power, high-performance SBC that offers full hot swap compliance per PICMG® 2.1 and supports the PICMG 2.9 System Management and PICMG 2.16 CompactPCI®
Packet Switching Backplane open specifications. In addition to the PICMG 2.16 variants, the CPCI7200 offers other value-added features including the PLX6466 PCI-to-PCI bridge (PPB) for universal CompactPCI system – or peripheral-slot functionality.
Also, the CPCI7200 board supports the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification for full board remote system and platform management as well as baseboard management controller (BMC) and peripheral mode. Overall, with the value-added PLX6466 and Gigabit Ethernet/PICMG 2.16 features, the CPCI7200 board is a superior choice for telecom applications like softswitches, control plane media-transport nodes, wireless gateways, and control plane CompactPCI and PICMG 2.16 systems as well as industrial automation, aerospace, and medical applications such as railway control, on board flight information systems, and medical imaging.
Emerson Network Power 2900 S. Diablo Way, Suite 190 Tempe, AZ 85282USA1 800 759 1107 Toll Free1 602 438 5720 Telephoneembeddedcomputingsales@emerson.comwww.EmersonNetworkPower.com/EmbeddedComputing
PrAMC-7210 AMC Module
The Emerson Network Power PrAMC-7210 is designed to the AdvancedMC™ (AMC) specifications, making it usable in both AdvancedTCA® carriers as well as MicroTCA™ based applications. The PrAMC-7210 is a perfect fit for applications looking for control plane processing, and other processor intensive applications that needs not only faster data transfers based on Gigabit Ethernet or PCI Express interfaces, but also multi-core processing performance.
The PrAMC-7210, with the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor core, can scale up to 1.5 GHz CPU speeds with memory sizes from 2GB to 4GB (2GB standard), allowing the software reuse for application developers. The Intel® 3100 chipset supports integrated north and south bridges, 4-channel DMA engine, DDR2-400 memory, USB, UART, SATA and PCI Express
controllers. This reduces both the on-board real estate as well as power consumption. This leaves room for additional features like USB, additional memory, etc. PrAMC-7210 can augment already deployed systems with more processing power required to support new feature development, and easy migration path based on standard interfaces like PCI Express and Gigabit Ethernet.
The module management controller (MMC) implementing IPMIv1.5 based management and hot-swap feature allows for module replacement or field upgrades, reducing the system down time to almost zero. Carrier Grade Linux brings forth the high availability features required for telecom applications.
Emerson Network Power 2900 S. Diablo Way, Suite 190 Tempe, AZ 85282USA1 800 759 1107 Toll Free1 602 438 5720 Telephoneembeddedcomputingsales@emerson.comwww.EmersonNetworkPower.com/EmbeddedComputing
52 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
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FIDS28MC1 ATCA form factor main board is powered by the Intel XScale® core-based Intel® IXP2805 network processor for high performance packet filtering and network security. The board offers 2 couple 10G OC192 signal fiber lines and 10 gigabits Ethernet ports. With SPI switch on board, it allows user to configure single/bidirectional OC192 to OC192/10 GE and 10 GE to 10 GE packet processing. FIDS28MC1 is a cost-effective embedded system which offers high performance network communication that saves up to 50% in cost compared to other traditional 10G OC192 system.
Applications:• Backbone network surveillance• High-speed network IP throughput
FIDS28MC1 – 10G POS System Platform
FIDS43MS1 is a mass-production ready SME/SOHO router based on latest Intel® IXP435 network processor. With ADSL2+ integration by daughter card (Optional: ST ADSL2+ solution/Conexant solution/Broadcom solution), it supports downstream rates of up to 24 Mbps; there’s 1 WAN port and 4 LAN ports in the platform; additionally, this platform supports IEEE802.3af POE standard; integrated miniPCI slot allows WLAN access via IEEE802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi card. FIDS43MS1’s software packages offer complete gateway services including VPN, stateful packet inspection firewall, WiMAX CPE, bridging and routing, and remote management.
Applications:
• ADSL/ADSL2+ SME/SOHO router• Wireless(Wi-Fi/WiMAX) gateway
FIDS43MS1 – SME/SOHO Router With ADSL2+ Accessing
[email protected]://www.flexcomm.com.cn
[email protected]://www.flexcomm.com.cn
ITOX BL100-N – A Cost-Effective Mini-ITX Solution
The ITOX BL100-N Mini-ITX board addresses the key requirements of embedded computing applications - Cost, Stability and Long-Term Availability. The Intel® Q35 Express chipset-based motherboard is compatible with lower-cost desktop processors, including Intel® Celeron® 4xx series processors, Intel® Core™2 Duo processors and Intel® Core™2 Quad processors. It also supports Intel® Enhanced Memory 64 Technology, Enhanced Intel Speedstep® Technology, and Intel Fast Memory Access.
Requiring only 13 watts (TDP), the Intel® Q35 Express chipset provides a 50 percent power reduction over previous generation chipsets. Even more power savings and performance can be realized using next-generation 45nm Intel® Core™2 Duo processors and Intel® Core™2 Quad processors with a 1333 MHz system bus.
Dual independent display support is provided by the onboard VGA graphics port and LVDS DFP interface, with up to QXGA (2048x1536) resolution. Additional performance increases are realized through the incorporation of Intel® Quiet System technology, which regulate fan speeds for increased noise reduction, and Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (Intel® VT-d).
Additional Features:• Up to 2GB DDR2 667MHz or 800MHz Memory• 1333/1066/800Mhz Front-Side Bus Support• PCI Expansion Slot• Dual Gigabit LAN Ports• 6 USB 2.0 Ports
• 4 Serial COM Ports• 1 PCI Slot• VGA Graphics Port (2048x1536@75Hz)• LVDS DFP Interface (1600x1200 18/24bit)• Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio• Guaranteed availability through 2014
ITOX Applied Computing8 Elkins RoadEast Brunswick, NJ 08816732-390-2815 Telephone888-200-ITOX Toll Free732-390-2817 [email protected]
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Kontron 14118 Stowe Drive Poway, CA 92064USA858.677.0877 [email protected] www.kontron.com
Kontron CP6001 & CP6923
In today’s demanding world, designers need smart solutions. Kontron’s 6U CompactPCI CP6001 and CP6923 were designed with exactly that in mind. The CP6001 features a rugged Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor and is a perfect fit with the CP6923 PICMG 2.16 rugged Ethernet switch board. Both the CP6001 and the CP6923 boards are available in three rugged levels: R1-Standard, R2-Rugged Air-Cooled, R3-Conduction-Cooled. (R3-Conduction-Cooled versions shown here.)
With up to 8 GB of USB or 2 GB soldered flash, the CP6001 enables construction of a highly shock and vibration resistant system with non-rotating, non-volatile memory. The CP6923 board supports all relevant standards on carrier grade L2 and L3 switching and routing. Together, these 6U CompactPCI boards provide a cost-effective solution for rugged systems.
CP6001• Up to 8 GB of USB or 2 GB soldered flash• Based on the Mobile Intel® 945GM Express chipset with a
front side bus of up to 667 MHz and ICH7-R Southbridge• Two independent video outputs to the rear I/O (2x DVI - 1x
DVI and 1x HDMI)CP6923• 24x GbE ports• Leading edge technology based on BCM5650X chip• Copper, optical, rear I/O version; hot swap; IPMI-
comprehensive; firmware package
Kontron CP6923-R3
Kontron CP6001-R3
The Kaparel MicroTCA Systems were designed as a compact solution for flexible and cost-critical applications. AdvancedMC modules are plugged directly into a High-Speed backplane without a carrier card. MicroTCA stands out due to its very small design, but also due to its high scalability and clearly reduced system costs. The compact design allows a variable installation in 200mm deep 482.6mm (19”) enclosures or instrument cases and wall-mounted enclosures.
The advantages of MicroTCA extend beyond the telecommunications market, to medical technology, safety engineering or industrial automations etc. Kaparel a Rittal Company offers rack-mounted systems as well as development systems in 2U, 3U, 4U, and 5U including backplanes for the accommodation of AdvancedMC modules in half and full height.
Kaparel Corporation97 Randall DriveWaterloo, Ontario N2V 1C5Canada817-447-9420 Telephone800-452-7273 Toll Free 519-725-0414 [email protected] www.kaparel.com
MicroTCA 5U System
54 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
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LynxSecure
With the introduction of the new LynxSecure separation kernel, LynuxWorksTM once again raises the bar when it comes to superior embedded software security and safety. LynxSecure expands on the proven real-time capabilities of the LynxOS® real-time operating system (RTOS) with time-space partitioning and operating-system virtualization.
The LynxSecure separation kernel is a virtual machine monitor that is certifiable to (a) Common Criteria EAL-7 security certification (Evaluated Assurance Level 7), which is a level of certification unattained by any known operating system to date; and (b) DO-178B level A, the highest level of FAA certification for safety-critical avionics applications. LynxSecure conforms to the Multiple Independent Levels of Security/Safety (MILS) architecture.
Features & Benefits• Optimal security and safety- the only operating system to
support CC EAL-7 and DO-178B level A• Real time- time-space partitioned RTOS for superior
determinism and performance• Virtualization technology- supports multiple heterogeneous
operating system environments on the same physical hardware using Intel VT hardware
• Highly scalable- supports Symmetric MultiProcessing (SMP) and 64-bit addressing for high-end scalability
• Support for open standards- supports 100% binary compatibility for Linux or POSIX-based software application to migrate to a highly robust, secure environment
LynuxWorks, Inc.855 Embedded WaySan Jose, CA 95138USA800.255.5969 Toll Free408.979.3900 Telephone408.979.3920 [email protected]
Kontron nanoETXexpress-SP -- The credit card size COM Express compatible solution from the origninal COM Inventor
The Kontron nanoETXexpress-SP is the first credit card-sized COM Express modules based on the Intel® 45mn technology platform – the Intel® Atom™ processor Z500 series and the Intel® System Controller Hub US15W. Intel’s new two-chip solution makes it easy for nanoETXexpress to support embedded applications in areas not previously possible.
With a foot print of a mere 55 mm x 84 mm, the nanoETXexpress is a COM Express™ module that is ideal for ultra-mobile applications that require energy saving x86 processor performance, high-end graphics, PCI Express and Serial ATA combined with longer battery life. Kontron’s nanoETXexpress products are designed with the requirements of handheld devices, such as those for
medical or multi-media applications, small mobile data systems, in mind. Kontron nanoETXexpress modules are 100 percent compatible with the COM Express™ (COM.0) Type 1 pin-out in terms of connector location and pin definition.
For more information on the Kontron nanoETXexpress-SP COM Express compatible solution, visit www.kontron.com/nano.
Key Features• Highly efficient Intel® Atom™ processor Z500 series• Integrated memory controller, graphics engine and I/O
controller in single, space-saving Intel® System Controller Hub US15W
• Unprecedented power consumption/performance ratio for x86 based ultra mobile solutions
• PCI Express, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, SerialATA, LVDS, HD Audio, etc.
• 100 percent COM Express pin-out type 1 compatible
Request a sample today and start evaluating immediately!
Kontron 14118 Stowe Drive Poway, CA 92064USA858.677.0877 [email protected] www.kontron.com
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MSI Fuzzy Q35DO – Intel® Q35 Express Chipset-Based Mini-ITX Embedded Solution
Based on the latest Intel® Q35 Express chipset and Intel® I/O Controller Hub 9 DO (ICH9 DO), the Fuzzy Q35DO is a complete balance of performance, functionality, and price competitiveness for industrial computing. The Q35D0 has support for Intel® processors in LGA775 package, bringing the highest level of flexibility and power to business.
The Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 built-in graphics core provides power to 2D performance and quality while fully supporting DirectX® 9.0c for 3D functionality.
In addition to its flexible capacity upgrades and advanced functions, the Fuzzy Q35DO is easy to set up and maintain. Full support for RAID 0,1,1+0 functions provide the increased performance and fault tolerance expected from industrial-
grade components.
Specifications• Intel® Q35 Express Chipset and ICH9 DO• Support for Intel® processors in LGA775 package• Two DDR2 667/800/1066/1333MHz DIMMS for 4GB Memory Support• Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 with DirectX® 9.0 Support• Dual GbE functionality - Intel® 82566DM, Intel® 82573L• 1 PCI-E 16x Slot• USB 2.0, Serial ATA, and IDE Support• RAID 0,1,0+1
About MSIMSI, a world-class manufacturer of an extensive variety of the highest quality IT products, is one of the world’s top five and Taiwan’s top 3 leading motherboard manufacturers. Technical leadership and innovation are the pillars behind MSI’s effort to maintain its momentum.
MSI Computer Corp. 901 Canada Court City of Industry, CA 91748USA626 913 0828 [email protected] www.msicomputer.com
NEXCOM newly-released NDiS161 is specially designed for Digital Signage Platform. It is ultra-slim, easy to be mounted behind the large-size display devices as LCD TV or PDP. NDiS161 operates on the mobile Intel® Core™2 Duo, Intel® Core™ Duo and Intel® Celeron® processors. Its fan-less thermal design can reduce the cost of maintenance. The stable reliability can guarantee working for 24/7 operations. NDiS161 provides DVI and VGA display interfaces, one GbE Ethernet with optional wireless(WiFi) connectivity, USB 2.0 ports and storage space for 2.5” HDD or SSD.
Features:• Mobile Intel® 945GME Express chipset• 410mm(H) ultra-slim casing design • Robust fan-less operating • DVI, VGA, S-Video and optional HDMI
Application:• Retail and wholesale• Hospitality• Entertainment• Education• Supermarket• Transportation• Health Care
Powerful New Generation of Digital Signage Media Player
http://[email protected]: +1-510-656-2248
Fan-less ready-to-configure design, NISE 3110 provides most flexible solution for Mobile Intel® 945GME Expressosk System. Featuring high performance Intel 945 GME chipsets, the NISE 3110 supports Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor and DDR2 667/533 memory. The rugged NISE 3110 provides one CompactFlash socket and one 2.5’’ HDD drive bay. Legacy device connection includes three RS232 ports, one RS232/422/485 port, and two PCI expansion slots. This is the highly reliable and fully secured platform to streamline your operation system.
Features:• Intel® Core™2 Duo, Intel® Core™ Duo processors• Mobile Intel 945GME Express chipset• Dual 1000/100/10 Mbps LAN ports• 6X USB 2.0/ VGA/ DVI• 3X RS232 and 1XRS232/422/485 via DB Connector
Application:• Gaming Solution• Kiosk / ATM• POS & Self-service Machine• Multimedia Entertainment
Reliable Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor-Based Fan-less Computer
http://[email protected]: +1-510-656-2248
56 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
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The PSB-701LF is based on the Intel® Q35 Express chipset and I/O Controller Hub 9 DO (ICH9 DO) configuration, which ensures its compatibility with the latest processing technology, including the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo, Intel® Core™ 2 Quad and Intel Celeron® processor configurations. Accordingly, the new model can accommodate the need for reliable usage with all leading Windows-based software applications, and can do so at any of various price levels. In fact, the PSB-701LF delivers clock speeds ranging from 1.6 – 2.0 GHz with the Intel Celeron® processor up to 2.4 – 2.66 GHz with the Intel Core™ 2 processor. Paired with two 240-pin DDR2 DIMM slots supporting Dual Channel memory architecture, plus DDR2 running at 667-800 MHz, the card provides up to 4GB of RAM.
Connectivity is another of the many advantages built into the PSB-701LF. There are four SATA II interface connectors for high-speed data transfer via RAID 0,1,10,5, along with a 20-pin header for operation via TPM (Trusted Platform Module) 1.2. Two serial ports, COM 1 and COM 2, provide RS232 and RS232/422/485 compatibility, while 10/100/1000 Mbps ports are provided for LAN 1 and LAN 2, with support for ATX-powered Wake-on-LAN. High Definition Audio is via Realtek ALC202A and a 10-pin header, and two DIN connectors are in place for keyboard and mouse connection.
The PSB-701LF was designed to satisfy the needs of memory-intensive applications, such as gaming, multimedia, medicine
and medical imaging, and telecommunications, all of which benefit from the product’s Dual Channel memory system. The card’s significant memory capability and high transfer rates are further supported by the Intel Q35 Express chipset, which offers a host of other features: Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator 3100 and Rapid Recovery are included, along with tougher security and more thorough data protection, easier manageability and minimized power consumption. All this helps earn the FCC and CE certifications for the PSB-701LF
Protech Technologies, Inc.950 Fee Ana St., Suite #B Placentia, CA 928701-888-776-9767 Toll Free714-996-7200 Telephone714-996-7300 [email protected] www.protech-ipc.com
PSB-701LF
Trenton’s Multi-Core System Host Boards (SHBs) & Backplanes Maximize System Flexibility and Capability
Trenton PICMG® 1.3 products form the backbone of many industrial computers deployed in telecommunications, broadcasting, medical, industrial automation, homeland security, military and aerospace applications. Trenton’s extensive line of PICMG 1.3 SHBs & backplanes support a wide variety of PCI Express, PCI-X, PCI and purpose-built ISA option card combinations. Trenton products are designed to provide many years of trouble-free service in robust embedded computing applications and our PICMG 1.3 products come with a standard five-year factory warranty.
TECHNICAL SPECS· MCX/MCG – Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® processors (Series
54xx/53xx), Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® processors (Series 52xx/51xx), Server-class and Graphics-class PCI Express configurations
· T4L, TML and TQ9 - Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processors (TQ9 only), Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors (TQ9 & TML) and Intel® Pentium® 4 processors (T4L only), Graphics-class PCI Express configurations
· SLT/SLI – Single or dual processor SHBs featuring the Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® processors LV with a passive heat sink design and a Server-class PCI Express configuration
· NLT/NLI – Single or dual processor SHBs featuring single-core Intel® Xeon® processors and a Server-class PCI Express configuration
Server-class Backplanes (use with MCX, SLT/SLI or NLT/NLI SHBs)
BPX6806BPX6736BPX6719BPX6620BPX6610BPX6571BPX5BPX3/2BPX3/14BPX3/8
Graphics-class Backplanes (use with MCG, TQ9, TML or T4L SHBs)
BPG6741BPG6714BPG6615BPG6600BPG6544BPG4BPG2/2
TRENTON Technology, Inc.2350 Centennial DriveGainesville, GA 30504United States770-287-3100 Telephone800-875-6031 Toll Free770-287-3150 [email protected] www.TrentonTechnology.com
Featured Intel® Authorized Distributors
AdditionalIntel Core 2 Duo Processor Family Features:
Dual-core desktop
processors
Quad-core desktop
processors
Quad-core server
processors
Dual-core mobile
processors
Intel recently introduced the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T9400*, the next-generation of the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor family. The new processor is based on Intel’s industry-leading 45-nanometer (nm) Hi-k metal gate silicon technology and its latest microarchitecture enhancements. With more than 400 million transistors for dual-core processors and more than 800 million for quad-core, the 45 nm processor introduces new microarchitecture features for greater performance at a given frequency. The following is a brief description of the improved features.
New Intel® SIMD Extensions 4 (SSE4) Instructions. Extends the Intel® 64 architecture instruction set architecture to better take advantage of Intel’s next-generation 45 nm silicon manufacturing process and expands the performance and capabilities of Intel® architecture. In addition, this instruction set delivers further performance gains for SIMD software and will enable these microprocessors to deliver superior performance and energy efficiency to a broad range of 32- and 64-bit software.
Larger, Enhanced Intel® Advanced Smart Cache. Processors include a 50% larger L2 cache with a 24-way associativity to further improve the hit rate and maximize utilization. These large caches improve performance and efficiency by increasing the probability that each execution core can access data from a higher performance, more efficient cache subsystem.
Higher Speed Cores and System Interface. Processors will run at higher core speeds (greater than 3 GHz for some versions) than previous Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Front-side bus speeds will be increased up to 1.600 GHz, in addition to the 1.066 GHz and 1.333 GHz now available. This will improve overall system performance.
Enhanced Intel® Virtualization Technology. The Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9400 speeds up virtual machine transition (entry/exit) times by an average of 25 to 75%. This is all done through microarchitecture improvements and requires no virtual machine software changes.
Super Shuffle Engine. Implementing a full-width, single-pass shuffle unit that is 128-bits wide, these processors can perform full-width shuffles in a single cycle. This doubles the speed for most byte, word or dword SSE data shuffle operations and significantly reduces latency and throughput for SSE2, SSE3 and Intel SSE4 instructions that have shuffle-like operations like pack, unpack and wider packed shifts.
Fast Radix-16 Divider. Processors provide faster divide performance, roughly doubling the divider speed over previous generations for scientific computations, 3D transformations and other mathematical-intensive functions. The inclusion of a new, fast divide technique called radix 16 speeds division in both floating-point and integer operations.
Store Forwarding. To speed up the reading of the result of a misaligned store that crosses an 8-byte address boundary and is still in a pipeline, these processors can forward the result of the store to the load immediately rather than waiting for the store to finish and write to memory.
Improved Operating System (OS) Synchronization Primitive Performance. Certain OSs temporarily block out or mask interrupts when starting a critical section of code and needing exclusive access over a resource such as an I/O device. Through faster clear interrupts/set interrupts (CLI/STI) capability, these processors can move into and out of this mode faster, significantly improving performance. And, they can execute locked instructions such as XCHG, ADD/ XADD/NEG/BTS/AND and CMPXCHG faster.
Improving Energy EfficiencyIn addition to Intel 45nm Hi-k silicon technology
benefits, the Intel Core 2 Duo processor family builds on the energy-efficiency capabilities of the Intel Core microarchitecture with two important additions. Deep Power Down Technology is a radically new and advanced power management state (C-state) that significantly reduces the power of the processor during idle periods so internal transistor power leakage is no longer a factor. And, to further increase the speed at which single-threaded applications can be processed, thus improving the performance of many applications, Intel has enhanced the Intel® Dynamic Acceleration Technology.
45 nm Next-Generation Intel® Core™ Microarchitecture
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor FamilyNew innovations and enhancements deliver higher performance and energy efficiency.
© Avnet, Inc. 2008. Al l r ights reserved. AVNET is a registered trademark of Avnet, Inc.
Al l other brand or product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information aboutthe Intel Core 2 Duo processor family and Intel’s 45 nm technology, visit
www.em.avnet.com/intel.
*Intel® processor numbers are not a measure of performance.
Processor numbers differentiate features within each processor
series, not across different processor sequences. See
http://www.intel.com/products/processor_number for details.
60 | Embedded Intel® Solutions — Summer 2008 | www.embeddedintel.com
LAST WORD
Recent media attention has focused on the creation of three
industry-supported university labs in the U.S. These labs
are dedicated to improving software development for multicore
chips. They are located at the universities of Stanford, Berkeley,
and Urbana-Champaign and funded by computing industry
leaders AMD, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Sun. By
leveraging the BEE3 field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) -
based system simulators, the
three research groups plan to
provide a testing ground for
designing and programming
systems with a potentially
very large number of cores.
The research looks into
both programming models
and hardware support, such as transactional memory. Funda-
mentally, the question being addressed is how the combined
hardware-software system can better support the expression of
parallel algorithms and programs. Eventually, this work will pro-
vide new technology that will be part of the processors that we all
buy. It is research that should have been done many years ago.
In the here and now, however, the virtualized-software-devel-
opment (VSD) and virtual-platform industry is already offering
market-ready development platforms with multicore capabilities.
These tools help programmers tackle the problems that currently
face them as they migrate their existing code from single proces-
sors to multiprocessors and multicore devices. At the Embedded
Systems Conference (ESC), Virtutech conducted a survey with
embedded-multicore-chip provider Freescale Semiconductor.
The companies’ goal was to gauge the interest and readiness of
engineers to develop for multicore systems and adopt virtual
platforms for their development work.
The results of the survey demonstrate that engineers want to
move to new multicore architectures. But they are constrained
by the fact that software innovation hasn’t kept pace with the
multicore hardware on which it’s designed to run. As a result, the
computing world isn’t realizing the potential advantages of mul-
ticore processors and SoCs. After all, software cannot keep up
and tends to get stuck in debugging parallel software. This issue
is especially acute for many users of embedded x86 processors,
as the x86 world has turned completely to multicore to provide
increased performance.
Virtualized software development can solve this problem
by providing the development tools and pre-existing hardware
models that simplify and accelerate complex software develop-
ment. Two particular problems solved by virtual platforms are
repeatability and probe effects. On a physical parallel computer,
every run of a parallel program will be different, as the timing
of interactions between cores varies. This means that timing-re-
lated bugs, such as race conditions, will show up every once in a
while. In addition, repeating them is very hard.
In the world of virtualized
software development, re-
peatability is ensured by the
virtualization system con-
trolling the virtual time and
recording all inputs. Once
a bug has manifested itself
inside the virtual world, it can
be trivially reproduced—over and over again. Designers also can
use reverse execution to back out of a bug and investigate the sys-
tem state that leads up to the problem. This is impossible physical
hardware as well as a great boon to parallel software debugging.
Virtualized software development also is free from probe ef-
fects, as instrumentation is added inside the virtualization layer
without disturbing the timing or behavior of the software run-
ning on the virtual hardware. This removes the “Heisenbug”
effect (in which the act of trying to observe a bug makes it go
away due to the disturbance you introduce). In doing so, it makes
the debug of parallel software a much more palatable task.
Apart from the host-target side, a new version of the Simics
development platform enables software developers to leverage
the multicore architecture of their host environment to run very
large virtual-hardware setups containing many tens of boards
and networked machines on a single workstation. One can see
how multicore enables new levels of performance once that soft-
ware is parallelized.
Jakob Engblom is technical marketing manager at
Virtutech in Stockholm, Sweden. He holds an MSc
in computer science and a PhD in computer systems
from Uppsala University. Engblom is interested in
parallel computer architectures, simulation tech-
nology, and embedded-software development.
By Jakob Engblom
Taming the Multicore Beast
“The results of the survey demonstrate that engineers want to move to new
multicore architectures, but ...”
The Embedded Communications Computing business of Motorola is now a business of Emerson Network Power.
Emerson, Business-Critical Continuity, Emerson Network Power and the Emerson Network Power logo are trademarks of Emerson Electric Co. AdvancedTCA, CompactPCI, MicroTCA and AdvancedMC are trademarks of PICMG. Intel is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. ©2008 Emerson Electric Co.
Intel® technology-based embedded solutions. Just another reason why Emerson Network Power is the global leader
Emerson Network Power is now clearly the leading provider of embedded computing solutions.
Make our AdvancedTCA® ®, Processor PMC,
See how Emerson Network Power can help you build a clear advantage.
Go to www.EmersonNetworkPower.com/EmbeddedComputing
To you, the advantages are clear.
To your customer, it makes you the clear choice.
ATCA integrated platforms for IPTV and Video on Demand
CHOICEis good
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1-888-294-4558 - [email protected]: +49 0 800 7253756 - Asia: +886 2 2910 3532
Life is good when you have choices. People who subscribe to IPTV or Video on Demand services are no different. They want quality viewing loaded with diverse, interactive features. To support these services, network equipment providers need a wealth of building-block options and suppliers to design their carrier-grade network applications. That’s where Kontron comes into play. We offer highly flexible integration services of AdvancedTCA platforms that come fully pre-tested and validated just the wayyou need it to get your application to market – quickly.
Design your next application with Kontron.IMS • IPTV • WIRELESS • CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORKS
OM9020 – ATCA 2-slot Integrated IPTV, VoD Platformv Kontron AT8030 ATCA node; three Intel® Core™2 Duo processorsv Astute Networks’ Caspian ATCA iSCSI, RAID-5 board; density of 1.5TB/slot.v I/O performance at 44K I/Os per second
Visit Kontron @ NXTcomm 2008!
June 16-19, 2008 | Booth SL4123
Come see – Live – Kontron’s latest ATCA platform for IPTV and Video on Demand applications!
www.kontron.com
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