September 2016
11
E
mbedded
C
omputing
B&S:
Which interfaces needed to be omitted?
Finstel:
Since all the new edge and fog server
appliances are headless and don’t need any
high-end display support, the Digital Display
Interfaces (DDI) on the CD connector were
removed to make way for the four 10GbE
ports. Type 7 will also support up to 32 PCIe
lanes, which is 8 more than on Type 6. To
make space for this, LVDS was completely
removed and SATA and USB ports where
downgraded to 2 and 4 respectively. Finally,
the VGA graphics interface was removed to
make place for an NC-SI port on the AB con-
nector. NC-SI can be used in combination
with either the original GbE port, or with any
of the four 10GbE ports.
B&S:
What is a typical design example for
COM Express Type 7 modules?
Finstel:
We see them as a substitute for leg-
acy ATCA platforms and the many propri-
etary systems in carrier-grade telco networks
because technology upgrades are quite expen-
sive due to all these deployed platforms. With
COM Express modules, upgrades can be
executed parallel to the performance cycles
of the latest processor technologies. So I can
imagine that performance hungry new telco
platforms might get updated annually for the
fastest performance hike at the lowest cost.
New designs can also have quite a small foot-
print that is not much larger than the mod-
ule footprint itself, which is 95x125mm. Add
a height of 1U or 2U for the system and you
have a very compact embedded server com-
puting box. This is interesting for edge and
fog server technology that is hosted by the
field application vendor. But we also see rack
mount as well as carrier-grade system designs
with up to 10 modules in a high-bandwidth
1U system for data-intensive applications with
transfer rates of up to 0.4 terabits per system.
B&S:
Why Computer-on-Modules in such a
complex multi-processor system?
Finstel:
Thanks to the modular design with its
defined pin out, system design becomes inde-
pendent of processor technology. Systems can
be upgraded by a simple module exchange. This
minimizes development costs for performance
upgrades and helps to shorten time-to-market.
OEMs also gain greater design security and can
use their designs for longer, thereby additionally
increasing their return on investment.
B&S:
When will we see the first COM Express
Type 7 module from ADLINK Technology?
Finstel:
It’s already here for early field tests
and full series production will start at the
end of this year. Our new COM Express Type
7 module, the Express-BD7, is based on serv-
er-grade Intel Xeon D SoC processors with a
TDP of 65 watts or less. It targets customers
that are building space-constrained systems
in industrial automation and data commu-
nication, such as virtualization, edge com-
puting or other numerical applications that
require high-density CPU cores balanced by
reasonable power consumption. It hosts up
to 32GB dual channel ECC DDR4 and sup-
ports two 10GbE ports, up to eight PCIe x1
Gen2 lanes, one PCIe x16 Gen3 interface,
two SATA 6Gb/s and four USB 3.0/2.0 ports.
The module comes with a build option for an
extreme rugged operating temperature range
of -40°C to +85°C.
B&S:
Is COM Express Type 7 backed up by
support from processor vendors?
Finstel:
COM Express Type 7 only became
possible because there is a clear silicon road-
map behind it offering embedded long-term
availability!
B&S:
OK. That’s great. Now let’s take a
look at SMARC 2.0. Why a new interface
specification for a standard that already
addresses all the new credit card sized
small form factor designs based on ARM
and x86 technologies?
