Transcript
embedded
computer technology
White Paper
COM Express™
COM Express™ Type 6 module family
EMBEDDED SOLUTIONS
MSC C6C-A7 based on AMD Embedded R-Series APUs
R-SERIES APU
Powerful CPU modules drive four independent full HD displays Intelligent control of up to four high resolution displays for demanding visualization applications in industrial automation, POS / POI and digital signage systems
VII-4_2014-WOEI-6712
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[email protected]
www.msctechnologies.eu
embedded
computer technology
White Paper
CONTENTS
1. Introduction 2. Different solutions for up to four independent full HD displays 2.1 Display hub 2.2 DP daisy chain monitor 2.3 MSC’s innovative solution 3. MSC’s high-performance computer-on-modules 3.1 AMD APUs based COM Express module family 3.2 OpenCL for high resolution imaging 3.3 Universal evaluation carrier board 3.4 Compact starter kit 3.5 Cooling solutions 3.6 Design-in support 4. References
1. Introduction The requirements for the communication interfaces between human and machine in the industrial environment are characterized by the capabilities of consumer television and personal computer technologies. Professional display systems may not be inferior to television or video entertainment systems, but at the same time must fulfill high industrial requirements of robustness and durability. This is true particularly for applications in automation technology and process visualization, but even more so in the fields of digital signage and point of information (POI). Today, high resolution full HD visualization is standard and even higher resolutions such as 4K (four times the resolution of HD) lie just around the corner. Therefore, industrial solutions are needed in order to quickly and simply implement these requirements in new projects. The design cycle of human machine interface (HMI) systems can be optimized by the use of a high-performance processor module that integrates all standard PC functions.
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Computer-on-modules (COM) can easily be mounted via a standard connector on an application-specific baseboard, on which all application-specific functions are implemented. Embedded modules in standardized form factors are available in different versions with a wide choice of processors. Today, extremely powerful processor boards use the COM Express™ technology defined by the PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group).
2. Different solutions for up to four independent full HD displays In the past, it was common that the integrated graphics on the board was sufficient for driving the resolution on display systems. Additional, external graphics cards were used for more demanding systems. New products are coming onto the market that are designed for more demanding requirements The CPU and graphics unit are now fused into one chip and miniaturizing a three-chip solution to one-chip. The direction of development in this area is clearly defined: higher resolution displays and the capability to drive multiple displays. The first COM Express™ modules integrated VGA and LVDS graphics interfaces. The new COM Express™ Type 6 specification added up to three digital display interfaces. Digital display interfaces, especially DisplayPort (DP), are starting to replace analog interfaces. Due to compatibility reasons, VGA has not yet been completely eliminated. An additional embedded DisplayPort (eDP), which optionally can also carry low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), is provided for a system internal display. DisplayPort (DP), specified by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), is an interface that can transfer audio and video signals between processor and display. Image data with a resolution of up to 4096 x 2160p at a frame rate of 60 frames per second can be transferred. 3D applications with full HD images at 120 Hz are also possible. The usable resolution is, for the most part, independent of the cable length. The maximum data rate of DisplayPort is 5.4 Gbit/s.
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embedded
computer technology
A single processor module now can drive multiple independent displays through additional digital display interfaces. An external graphics card is no longer necessary for these solutions. This reduces costs and facilitates streamlined system integrations. The long-term availability of the devices is improved, but is still a problem for graphics cards. In principle, three DisplayPort (DP) interfaces can drive three full HD monitors. In other scenarios such as building a 2x2 video wall, there is a need to connect four independent HD displays. Furthermore, multi-monitoring applications with four displays are rapidly gaining importance. For example, processes can be visualized on one screen, and camera images, status indicators or a Windows®-application displayed on the other screens. Alternatively, it is also possible to drive a 4K monitor with a resolution of 4096 x 2160 pixels.
White Paper 2.2 DP daisy chain monitor A further variant is the use of a DisplayPort (DP) daisy chain compatible monitor. The display is connected to one of the DP outputs (DP2) and also drives the fourth monitor. (Fig. 3)
MSC C6C-A7 AMD Embedded R-Series APU DP0
DP, single link DVI or HDMI
DP1
DP, single link DVI or HDMI
DP2
DP1.2 with Multi-Streaming
DP3/GFX
There are some possibilities to drive four independent full HD displays with only three DisplayPort (DP) outputs - without an external graphics card:
2.1 Display hub
COM Express Carrier Board
DP4/GFX
x8 PCIe DisplayPort 1,2 „Daisy Chain“ Capable Monitor
Figure 3 Four independent displays with DisplayPort repeater in one monitor
A DisplayPort (DP) hub with multi-stream transport (MST) technology can deliver two separate streams for two monitors. It is either mounted on the carrier board or provided externally. The MST hub will increase system costs. The remaining two outputs continue to deliver DisplayPort (DP), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) or Digital Visual Interface (DVI). (Fig. 2)
MSC C6C-A7 AMD Embedded R-Series APU
COM Express Carrier Board
DP0
DP, single link DVI or HDMI
DP1
DP, single link DVI or HDMI
DP2
DP1.2 with Multi-Streaming
DP3/GFX DP4/GFX
x8 PCIe
MST Hub
Figure 2 Four independent displays with external MST hub
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2.3 MSC’s innovative solution The third solution is achieved without additional hardware or special monitors. Three DVI monitors are driven directly via the three digital ports. A fourth display uses part of the multi-functional PCI Express™ x8 signals (PEG) as DVI port (GFX connections). At least two of the displays must have the same resolution; otherwise the effort incurred for the special graphics driver will be too complex. (Fig. 4) The cost-optimized solution is implemented in MSC‘s high-performance MSC C6C-A7 COM Express™ module family, based on AMD’s Embedded R-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) with quad-core or dual-core processors. MPEG4-, MPEG2- or H.264-decoding are supported. Two full HD video streams can be decoded simultaneously. A video compression engine (VCE) accelerates the encoding of HD video streams and enables real-time transcoding.
MSC C6C-A7 AMD Embedded R-Series APU DP0 DP1 DP2
The AMD Eyefinity technology supports the drive of multiple displays using a single AMD R Series APU. This technology is now available on a COM Express™ compact form factor. Eyefinity software allows the connection of up to six independent display contents on just one graphics processing unit (GPU). Due to the simple configuration and flexible upgrade possibilities, the monitors can be used in various landscape and portrait modes. The distortion that occurred with video walls caused by the monitor frames can simply be ‘calculated out’ and thereby compensated.
COM Express Carrier Board HDMI or single Link DVI Single link DVI Single link DVI
DP3/GFX DP4/GFX
By adding an external graphics that can drive up to six additional monitors, up to ten displays total can be driven with the embedded modules.
OR
Minimum of 2 identical displays
Single link DVI
Figure 4 Four Independent Displays – Native Support
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3. MSC’s high-performance computer-on-modules Driving four full HD displays is interesting in various applications such as process visualization, monitoring systems in flight control systems, and medical technology for complex image processing. Other fields of applications include infotainment, point of sale (POS), point of information (POI), and kiosk systems. Further examples are transportation and casino gaming applications with multiple distributed displays. The high-performance MSC C6C-A7 COM Express™ processor module in compact form factor based on AMD’s embedded R-Series accelerated processing unit (APU) can be used to drive HD displays. The APU features very powerful graphics and high parallel computing performance with low power dissipation. The processor module supports OpenCL™. Starter kits and carrier boards are offered for early evaluation and for prototyping of COM Express™ module based systems.
3.1 AMD APUs based COM Express module family
The powerful MSC C6C-A7 COM Express™ Type 6 module family based on AMD embedded R-Series accelerated processing units (APUs) with integrated graphics engine is available in four variants. The high-end boards integrate an AMD R-460L 2.0 GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo) or AMD R-452L 1.6 GHz (2.4 GHz Turbo) quad-core processor. The thermal design power (TDP) levels are 25 W and 19 W, respectively. The two dual-core modules are populated with the AMD R-260H 2.1 GHz (2.6 GHz Turbo) processor or the AMD R-252F 1.7 GHz (2.3 GHz Turbo) processor – each featuring 17 W TDP. The processors support the AMD64 technology and the AMD-V™ virtualization technology. The AMD Fusion Controller Hub (FCH) A75 chipset was also selected. The main memory can be expanded to 16 GB DDR3 dual-channel SDRAM via two SO DIMM sockets. The Radeon HD7000G-Series graphics engine integrated into the AMD R-Series APU supports OpenCL 1.1, DirectX 11, and OpenGL 4.2. The modules allow the connection of up to four independent displays via DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI/DVI with resolutions up to 4096 x 2160p (DP) and 1920 x 1200p (HDMI). MPEG-2 decoding, H.264, and VCE (video compression engine) are supported. The modules have six PCI Express™ x 1 channels and a PCI Express graphics (PEG) x 8 interface. In addition, all modules feature four USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, LPC, Gbit Ethernet, HD audio, and four SATA interfaces (300 MB/s). With DisplayPort, DVI, LCD and VGA interfaces, the MSC C6C-A7 modules offer comprehensive display support. The high-performance platform MSC C6C-A7 runs under the Microsoft Windows® Embedded Standard 7 operating system, as well as Linux. The UEFI firmware from AMI is used as BIOS.
Figure 5 The powerful MSC C6C-A7 COM Express™ module family bases on AMD embedded R-Series accelerated processing units
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White Paper
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DDR3 SODIMM Socket
DDR3 Ch. A
DDR3 SODIMM Socket
DIGON, BLON, BRGHT
DIGON, BLON, BRGHT
PWR_GD, PWR_BTN, RESTIN WDT
RESET#, Status/Ctrl
FAN Connector
SMBus
UMI
MISC
AMD
SMB
COMX_DDI3
MSC C6C-A7
FCH Hudson D3
CMOS Backup GPIOs
VGA
VGA
4x USB 2.0 / 4X USB 2.0/3.0
USB[0:7]
SLEEP#, LID#
VGA Translator
GPIOs HDA
4x SATA-6G
SATA[0:3]
GBE0_MDI
GbE
2x PCIe x1
PCIe[3] PCIe[0:1]
LPC Bus
GPIO
SPI Bus 2xExpressCard support, Misc.
SDIO
BIOS Flash SPI
PCIe x1
PCIe[2]
LPC
TPM
4x USB 3.0
USB3[0:3]
GPIOs
CTRL SD Card-I/F GPI, GPO
CrossBar
HD Audio
TPM_PP
COMX_DDI1 COMX_DDI2
DDP_C
eDP_CTRL
SB-TSI
PWM0, TACHO0
I²C
DP0
Board Controler
PWM1, TACHO1
SMBus
DP/eDP
VGA Main Link
COM Express Connector A/B Type 6
LVDS Translator
MUX
eDP
PCIe x8 PEG
Embedded DP1 R-Series DP2 GFX [4x] DDP_B APU GFX [4x]
UMI
DP/eDP
SB-TSI
4x PCIe x1
DP/eDP/LVDS (2ch/24bpp)
JTAG/ Debug
DDR3 Ch. B Sandy Bridge-Mbl Ivy AMD Bridge GFX [8x] PCIe[0:3]
COM Express Connector C/D Type 6
embedded
µSD Card Socket
GPIOs
GPI, GPO / SDIO-I/F
Figure 6 Block Diagram MSC C6C-A7 COM Express™ Module
3.2 OpenCL or high resolution imaging The high-performance arithmetic units of the graphics controllers can be used for floating point, vector and image processing tasks in applications with vast amounts of data such as high-resolution image acquisition. This is possible due to a uniform programming for various high-performance hardware architectures through the vendor-independent, non-proprietary programming platform Open Computing Language OpenCL™.
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OpenCL™ is an open and royalty-free programming standard maintained by the Khronos Group. It consists of the Language and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) specification for the platform and the runtime layer. The language used is based on a subset of C, ISO C99, a popular programming language among developers. For more information, see MSC’s OpenCL™ whitepaper.
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3.3 Universal evaluation carrier boards The MSC C6-MB-EVA evaluation board enables the set-up and evaluation of prototype systems based on the high-performance MSC C6C-A7 modules. The board can also be used for simultaneous hardware and software development, dramatically accelerating the integration process.
White Paper 3.4 Compact starter kit The intelligent MSC C6-SK-A7-T6T2 starter kit consists of a COM Express™ Type 6 baseboard, the active heat sink with fan, and two DDR3 SO-SDIMM memory modules. The module with AMD APU is freely selectable. The starter kit is also offered with a 15 inch XGA TFT display with LED backlight. Different display models or touch screen panels are available on request.
Figure 7 The MSC C6-MB-EVA carrier board has as all connection options for displays and monitors, which are supported by the Type 6 pin-out The evaluation board in ATX format (305 mm x 244 mm) has a slot for any type of COM Express™ module and all of the interfaces possible with a Type 6 pin-out. Numerous interfaces such as DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, and eDP (embedded DisplayPort) are also provided for connecting displays and monitors. Some interfaces are available externally through connectors on the I/O shield, while others are available as internal interfaces. The I/O shield has four USB 2.0 pin headers and four high-speed USB 3.0 connectors. There is an SD card slot, a network connector, Gbit Ethernet, SATA connections, and a POST Code LED display. The evaluation board can be expanded using a PCI Express™ x4 slot, four PCI Express™ x1 slots, and a PCI Express™ x16 PEG slot. Connectors for MiniPCI Express™ and mSATA cards are available. The HD audio signals are available through HDMI, phone jacks or SPDIFF ports.
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Figure 8 The MSC C6-SK-A7 starter kit comprising of a COM Express™ module with AMD APU and a compact baseboard The compact baseboard with dimensions of 140 mm x 184 mm offers the module socket and numerous important connectors. The configurable Digital Display Interfaces (DDI) include three DisplayPort, three HDMI, and one DVI port. Four USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet, VGA, HD audio, SATA and a PCI Express™ x4 slot can be found onboard.
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3.5 Cooling solutions MSC offers optimized cooling solutions for its MSC C6C-A7 COM Express™ Type 6 module family to quickly solve heat dissipation problems and ensure optimal environmental conditions for the module. Different heat sinks and heat spreaders consists of a single-piece aluminum profile with fins, pressed in standoffs without thread, screws and thermopads for the thermal contact to CPU and chipset. For demanding ambient conditions, there are heat sinks combined with a dedicated speed controlled fan. MSC’s passive cooling solution may be used for systems with sufficient air flow around the module, either through convection or forced by an internal system fan.
White Paper 4. References MSC Whitepaper: COM Express™: High-performance Computer-on-Modules Supporting OpenCL Websites: www.msctechnologies.eu www.amd.com www.picmg.org
About MSC Technologies MSC Technologies, a business group of Avnet Electronics Marketing EMEA, a business region of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), with headquarters in Stutensee, Germany, focuses strongly on embedded computing and display solutions. Furthermore, the European leading high-tech distributor offers wireless, storage and lighting solutions. With its highly qualified application and development engineers as well as its own in-house design capabilities for industrial hardware and software, MSC Technologies is a leader.
Figure 9 Cooling solution for computer-on-modules.
3.6 Design-in support
MSC Technologies Tel. 49 7249 910-0
[email protected] www.msctechnologies.eu
MSC Technologies also offers an intensive system design support. The system integrator has an experienced team of application, systems, and software designers with product know-how and a broad vertical market experience. MSC delivers display systems, IT components and complete embedded systems. Its powerful computer-on- modules are designed and manufactured in Germany.
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