MEN presents the G20, its first 64-bit CompactPCI® Serial single-board computer, which opens up a new era in terms of speed and robustness.
CompactPCI Serial is based on CompactPCI (PICMG 2.0), but supports fast serial data transfer. Thanks to this higher speed, the board is perfectly suited for applications requiring high computing power, for example in transportation, industrial automation or power generation.
With the new, extremely fast 64-bit Intel® Core™ i7 processor, the G20 reaches a base frequency of 2.53GHz. In addition, the processor supports Intel Turbo Boost technology, which enables a maximum turbo frequency of 3.2GHz depending on the workload.
Excellent graphics and connectivity
The G20 offers a total of eight PCI Express® lines for fast communication. The board also offers excellent graphics performance which can be accessed via two DisplayPorts at the front of the G20. These are well suited for infotainment applications and can also be used as HDMI or DVI ports using external adapters. Two PCIe-driven Gigabit Ethernet and two USB 2.0 interfaces are also available on the board front.
Thanks to the new CompactPCI Serial standard the board offers a multitude of serial interfaces via rear I/O. 8 USB, 6 SATA; a display or HDMI port (instead of one port at the front), 5 PCI Express x1, a PEG x8 and a PEG x4 port are provided for the user’s applications.
The G20 is equipped with a new fast 8GB DDR3 ECC SDRAM which is soldered against shock and vibration. A CompactFlash and a microSD card slot connected via one USB interface can be used for extending the memory capacity.
Different watchdogs for monitoring the processor and board temperature complete the functionality of the G20, which is shipped with board support packages for Windows and Linux. The InsydeH2O EFI BIOS has been developed specifically for embedded applications. Equipped with special components of the Intel Embedded Line, the G20 has a guaranteed minimum availability of seven years.
Robust design for harsh environments
The robust design of the G20 makes it particularly well suited for applications in harsh environments. Possible ranges of application are monitoring, control, measurement and test systems. Target markets are transportation, industrial automation, avionics and energy supply. The G20 meets the DIN, EN and IEC industry standards.
The new proposed CompactPCI Serial standard
CompactPCI Serial PICMG CPCI-S.0 is a new independent base standard, proposed and currently under development. This standard introduces a completely new connector, which enables a much higher signal density and supports even higher transmission frequencies of 12Gb/s and more. In addition this connector only supports modern point-to-point connections.
CompactPCI Serial is consistently based on the mechanics of CompactPCI (PICMG 2.0), so it remains 100% compatible to IEC 1101. For this reason, all 19in system solutions can be used without limitations. The dimensions of the backplanes are identical to those of the CompactPCI backplanes and are fixed in the same way. Front panels and handles, as well as the well-proven hot plug mechanics – the switch in the handle – remain the same and acquire a new meaning for hard disk raids. Only the connector is replaced by a modern type which is able to support the high frequencies.