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Advantech
Co. Ltd., delivering hardware and software solutions that empower
the e-world, is teaming up with Micron Technology, Inc. and Microsoft
to bring new capabilities to the embedded CPU platform market.
By utilizing Micron's SyncFlash® memory, which provides flash
memory with the same performance as SDRAM and offers a price/performance
advantage over other flash technologies, Advantech engineers are
able to bring lightning fast instant-on performance to Advantech's
x86-based single board computers (SBC) testing "Talisker,"
Microsoft Corp.'s next generation OS for Windows CE. With a targeted
3-second "cold start" time, the entire platform gives
users a feature-rich, extremely reliable system for high-availability
applications with reduced hardware investment and increased performance.
This is a combination customers are asking for.
"We are
excited about Advantech's continued development efforts around
the Windows Embedded Family of products," said Keith White,
Senior Director at Microsoft's Embedded Appliance and Platform
Group. "Advantech is an important system integrator and their
use of Micron's SyncFlash memory technology will extend an important
set of solutions for customers that require near 'instant-on'
capabilities for Microsoft's embedded operating systems such as
'Talisker,' the next-generation operating system for Windows CE
and Windows XP Embedded."
Advantages
of SyncFlash® Memory
"SyncFlash memory offers Advantech's single board computers many advantages, giving Microsoft a pathway to instant-on performance," said Dean Klein, Micron's VP of Market Development. "SyncFlash memory offers customers a simplified system design that is cost effective and a viable memory solution for a wide range of consumer and communications applications." The strengths of SyncFlash memory, developed by Micron Technology, play well into the needs of the embedded market. Realizing the increased importance of flash memory in the portable consumer electronic device market, Micron has given flash more functionality, using a DRAM-like internal architecture. SyncFlash memory replaces traditional flash that is typically used to store operating code. It also reduces the need for redundant DRAM because code does not have to be duplicated in DRAM for optimal performance. Instructions can be directly executed from flash. SyncFlash memory has a 16-bit data bus that supports burst-read operations at maximum speeds of 100MHz through a four-bank architecture, which allows users to update operating code without interrupting ongoing functions. SyncFlash memory provides SDRAM (100MHz) performance for flash memory, eliminates additional required DRAM memory and is priced comparable with standard flash.
Customers
Know What They Want
Advantech
is giving the market the first SBC using Micron's SyncFlash memory.
Advantech is helping customers with special requirements to gain
"instant-on" performance by dramatically decreasing
the "cold-start" time needed to boot Microsoft Windows
CE. Although Windows CE has long achieved such performance on
RISC and other non-x86 architectures, realizing this performance
on an x86 platform is key. Advantech's Windows CE software team
is leveraging the efficiencies gained by using the fast SDRAM
equivalent speeds of SyncFlash memory. Without having an OS to
load and then reload, systems can reset themselves in as fast
as 3 seconds. The stability of this system equates to the BIOS
setup utility that is always the last and most dependable resort
for recovering a PC system. Advantech's solution is an extremely
reliable system that can operate smoothly with many hardware parts
broken or disabled. A system like this is most useful for applications
such as digital broadcasting client solutions. Using Advantech's
solution, a broadcasting client can recover from a system crisis
(reset) in 3 seconds while continuing to broadcast, as long as
RAM, video and Ethernet are functioning. This is perhaps the best
high available system solution for digital broadcasting systems
today. The instant-on capability is also attractive for automotive,
instrumentation, gaming, military and health care applications,
where immediate access to profound PC functionality, high performance
and a Microsoft Windows CE or Windows XP embedded operating system
is desired.
Advantech's
XIP Development Kit
Advantech will soon release an XIP Development Kit using "Talisker," the next generation of Microsoft's popular Windows CE OS. We will also offer a similar solution for Microsoft's new Windows XP embedded as well. Both these solutions will utilize Micron's SyncFlash memory technology. This development kit will include a SBC (hardware) with a 32 or 64MB SyncFlash device and XIP development tools, including special BIOS.
Contact
Information
If near instant-on
capability, the industry's most reliable operation and Microsoft's
newest Windows CE "Talisker" OS interests you, contact
your local Advantech sales representative for more information,
or send an e-mail to epc@advantech.com.tw
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