Kansas City, MO — (press release) — Arcom has announced a development kit for Embedded Linux that includes a working configuration of the operating system and all necessary drivers. The new SBC-MediaGX dev kit saves time and money by eliminating the need for the embedded systems developer to create their own flavor of Embedded Linux and purchase drivers from a third-party supplier. It includes a pre-defined build of Linux based on the Red Hat 6.2 distribution that has been optimized for use on Arcom hardware and is pre-loaded and configured into the embedded flash.

Up to now, Embedded Linux development has generally required the user to obtain the operating system and drivers from a standard distribution or third party vendor. Paring down a standard distribution by eliminating unneeded modules while maintaining a working configuration can involve a considerable effort. On the other hand, purchasing software from a third-party vendor drives up the cost and requires integrating the software with the board. In addition, third-party drivers also often need to be purchased.

The Arcom kit, on the other hand, contains a complete set of components to enable the rapid development of new Embedded Linux based applications. The development kit is fully licensed and ready to run out of the box. It also includes the software drivers, cables and documentation to support all on-board features of Arcom's SBC-MediaGX kit. An easy to use installation CD offers several preconfigured builds and sample code to allow engineers to concentrate on development from day one. The CD includes a simple installation utility, Linux-enabled BIOS image, technical manual, Quickstart tutorial guide and a complete product information.

Arcom Embedded Linux is a compact, highly reliable implementation of Linux for use in embedded control and communication products. The implementation is based on a proven 2.2.17 kernel distribution that offers standard file hierarchy, shell and text utilities combined with a rugged journaling flash filing system to achieve maximum system integrity for truly embedded applications. Embedded Linux drivers are included for graphics controller, serial ports, parallel port, PS/2 keyboard adaptor, PS/2 mouse, watchdog timer, audio, 10/100 BaseTx Ethernet controller and IDE drive. An embedded Web server supports both static and, via CGI, dynamic HTML pages. The kit also includes a minimal X Window system for running and displaying X applications on the local or remote display.

The kit includes an Arcom SBC-MediaGX processor board that is based on the Pentium performance National MediaGX 233MHz processor. The board has 64MB DRAM and 16 MB Flash EPROM. It can be expanded to up to 128 MB DRAM, giving the embedded systems designer plenty of headroom. A 5V power supply module includes adaptors for US, UK and European sockets. Peripherals include a C&T graphics controller, 3 serial ports, parallel port, keyboard adaptor, PS/2 mouse, watchdog timer, on-board 10/100 BaseTx Ethernet controller and IDE drive controller. An optional 6.5″ color LCD is available.

 
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