Quick starter set for evaluation of COM Express Type 7 server-on-modules as ‘micro servers’

New Products | August 16, 2017

By eeNews Europe

MPUs/MCUs Development Kits Boards & Embedded Cards

Engineers can make use of reduced validation efforts of their own carrier board layouts, as they can re-use the proposed best practice components and PCB design schematics for their own dedicated next-gen modular micro servers. congatec provides the schematics of the new carrier board (conga-X7/EVAL), free to all registered quick starter set customers.

The congatec quick starter set is intended for the design of Industry 4.0 micro servers communicating in real-time, redundant fog servers, and transcoding cloudlets at the edge of carrier-grade infrastructures typically operating on a massive scale. It targets commercial temperature (0°C to 60°C) as well as extended temperature ranges (-40C to +85°C) for rooftop and public transportation installations. It has 4x 10 Gbit and 1x 1 Gbit Ethernet, 4x USB 3.0 and baseboard management controller providing VGA, iKVM and virtual storage.

“Cloud, edge, and fog application markets are all brand new – and engineers need a trustworthy platform strategy to ensure fastest time to market for their challenging and usually time critical projects. By offering a quick starter set that is compiled out of our COM Express Type 7 modules, complementary cooling solutions, and our new evaluation carrier board conga-X7/EVAL, we provide everything engineers require for the computing cores of these servers. To support fast implementation, we never implemented automated service chats and anonymous telephone hotlines, recognizing that personal and competent support is ideal to make our customers successful. We can also help with dedicated Embedded Design & Manufacturing services for the embedded server designer,” explains Christian Eder, Director Marketing at congatec.

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The congatec conga-X7/EVAL evaluation carrier board for COM Express Type 7 server-on-modules features 4x 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ interfaces, which can be equipped with optical (XFP) or copper transceivers, as well as a Gigabit Ethernet port. For server extensions, the board executes 32 PCI Express lanes via 1x PCIe x16, 1x PCIe x8 and 2x PCIe x4 slots. Further extensions include 4x USB 3.0/2.0 and a COM port. Its Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) features include an integrated board management controller, adding 1x VGA for local displays as well as iKVM to transport keyboard, video and mouse signals over LAN for remote management. For SSDs or HDDs, there are 2x SATA Gen3 interfaces and the above-mentioned PCIe lanes which support NVMe for fast mass storage devices. Further features include 1x LPC header, 1x I²C bus, 1x SM bus, 1x 8 Bit GPIO and fan control. The power supply supports ATX PSUs as well as 12 VDC plain via banana jacks. For custom designs, congatec provides the PCB schematics and bill of materials to registered customers.

The COM Express Type 7 quick starter set comprises a selection of standard products that engineers can bundle according to their specific demands. Typical quick starter sets for COM Express Type 7 integrate the conga-X7/EVAL carrier board plus its schematics, which are freely downloadable for registered customers. Also included in the set is one of the following COM Express Type 7 server-on-modules with accompanying cooling solution:

Processor	Cores	Intel® Smart Cache [MB]	Clock/ Burst [GHz]	TDP [W]	Temperature range
Intel^® Xeon^© D1577	16	24	1.3 / 2.1	45	0 to +60°C
Intel® Xeon^© D1548	8	12	2.0 / 2.6	45	0 to +60°C
Intel® Xeon^© D1527	4	6	2.2 / 2.7	35	0 to +60°C
Intel® Xeon^© D1559	12	18	1.5 / 2.1	45	-40 to +85°C
Intel® Xeon^© D1539	8	12	1.6 / 2.2	35	-40 to +85°C
Intel® Xeon^© D1529	4	6	1.3	20	-40 to +85°C
Intel® Pentium^© D1519	4	6	2.1 / 1.5	25	-40 to +85°C
Intel® Pentium^© D1508	2	3	2.2 / 2.6	25	0 to +60°C
Intel® Pentium^© D1509	2	3	1.5	19	0 to +60°C