Embedded Systems Conference: COM supports demanding use, high bandwidth

By Control Engineering Staff October 3, 2006
ETXexpress-WPM computer-on-module (COM) from Kontron is intended to satisfy the performance needs of embedded OEMs by providing high performance, integrated operations, and a small footprint.

Boston, MA and Poway, CA— ETXexpress-WPM computer-on-module (COM) from Kontron is said to be designed to support demanding communications applications and offer the highest I/O bandwidth available on the ETXexpress platform. The first COM Express “basic” module to follow pin-out type 3 is built around the Intel Pentium M processor (up to 1.8GHz) and 3100 chipset. The new product was featured at the Embedded Systems Conference held last week in Boston.

The network engine supports up to 2GB of system memory (1x right angle 244-pin mini-DIMM). A 2x vertical mini-DIMM socket module option is available for systems that require up to 4GB of memory. In line with PCI Express as the primary data path for most future-focused embedded applications, the product has 12 PCI Express lanes along with a PCI 2.1, 32-bit interface.

For fast communications, two PCI Express lanes supported by the Intel 3100 chipset are used to facilitate the module’s dual Gigabit Ethernet support. 10/100Base-Tx Ethernet is available to open up three Ethernet connections for an application. Additional features of the new design include 4x serial ATA ports (type 1) and 4x USB 2.0 ports for communication with external add-on peripherals.

—Control Engineering Daily News Desk
Jeanine Katzel , senior editor