Dual core rail-mount industrial PC runs Linux
Mar 29, 2007 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 155 views
Kontron has added dual core processing to its line of DIN rail-mountable industrial PCs. The fanless ThinkIO-Duo interfaces directly to modular DIN rail I/O components from Wago, and is available with Linux support.
The ThinkIO-Duo is powered by a 1.2 GHz Intel Core Duo U2500 processor. It is available with either 512 MB or 1 GB of RAM, and from 512 MB to 2 GB of internal flash-based nonvolatile storage, and a front panel-accessible CompactFlash slot accommodates additional storage. Interfaces include three Ethernet, two USB 2.0, and one RS232 port, and a DVI-I port enables connection to a display.
For modular connection to various industrial data acquisition and control interfaces, Kontron recommends mounting its ThinkIO computers directly onto the I/O-System 750 DIN rail mounting system from Wago (shown below).
Wago's I/O-System 750
(Click image for larger view)
The Wago I/O-System enables “snap-in” installation of a range of digital and analog interface modules, as well as controllers for industrial fieldbuses such as Profibus, CANopen, and LONworks. In addition to these traditional industrial fieldbuses, Kontron notes that with suitable software its ThinkIO industrial PCs can also implement an Ethernet-based “software field bus.”
The ThinkIO-Duo is supported with both Linux and Windows XP Embedded. Kontron also offers the option of CoDeSys “soft PLC” (programmable logic controller) software from Smart Software Solutions, a “hardware-independent implementation of IEC 61131-3,” a standard that defines programming languages for industrial automation PLCs.
Price and availability were not revealed. As of publication time, the ThinIO-Duo did not appear on Kontron's website.
More details about the Kontron's original (non-Core Duo) ThinkIO are available in our complete Device Profile, here.
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