21
November 17
C
omputer
-
on
-m
odules
additional PCI Express lanes have been added
to achieve higher throughput. A further advan-
tage of the design concept of COM Express is
that the modules can be used not only as mez-
zanine (plug-in) boards for a carrier board,
but also as a complete single-board computer
(SBC). This makes building multi-module sys-
tems particularly easy. Depending on the ther-
mal design, up to nine Type 7 modules in the
Basic size and thus up to 144 CPU cores can
be accommodated in a single 19” plug-in unit.
To protect against attacks, a comprehensive,
cross-platform security concept comprising
both hardware and software components is
indispensable. State-of-the-art solutions con-
tainmodules for copy protection, IP protection
(licensing), protection against reverse engi-
neering and tampering. This allows compre-
hensive license management and completely
new licensing and business models, such as
billing according to usage time and test periods
for certain features. Big Data is the trend of the
future and more and more data must be reli-
ably recorded and processed physically close to
machines and the cloud. Interfaces to sensors
and actuators are largely established technolo-
gies, but the requirements for computing power
grow disproportionately. Embedded solutions
with interchangeable computer-on-modules
(COMs) offer a singular price/performance
ratio and future-proof investments. The robust
design allows safe use in the vicinity of produc-
tion environments.
The option of outsourcing control functional-
ity to real-time embedded high-performance
computers (eHPC) and their physical prox-
imity to the production equipment lead to
further cost savings through consolidation
without sacrificing safety or functionality.
Automation concepts offer increased produc-
tivity, more flexible production and allow for
better efficiency. But these benefits are depen-
dent on an IT architecture that is both scalable
and powerful. Edge, fog and cloud applica-
tions based on embedded high-performance
computing using COM Express Type 7 mod-
ules offer a cost-efficient way of reaping the
benefits of digitalization in manufacturing.
n
Figure 1. Embedded cloud computing
Figure 2. Consolidated real-time system with eHPC
