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Tiny Wi-Fi device server ships with Linux SDK

Jul 19, 2011 — by Eric Brown — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 2 views

Lantronix is now shipping a wireless device server module with a Timesys LinuxLink software development kit (SDK). The PremierWave EN includes a 400MHz Atmel ARM9 processor, an Ethernet port, and a dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n modem, and ships with Linux-based Lantronix firmware — offering secure tunneling, configuration, diagnostics, LAN bridging, and remote access applications.

Lantronix announced the PremierWave EN back in February, and now says the next generation of the the 2.16 x 1.18 x 0.25-inch (55 x 30 x 6.3mm) device server has begun shipping. The company also revealed more information on its networking software stack for the module and announced a Timesys-developed Linux SDK.


Lantronix PremierWave EN

(Click to enlarge)

The PremierWave EN is intended to be embedded into another device. Like Lantronix' earlier MatchPort NR device server, the PremierWave EN offers an Ethernet port, but it is also said to provide full Linux support and secure Wi-Fi networking.

The PremierWave EN allows design engineers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to "easily add Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking to virtually any device," says the company. The module is said to offer secure wireless connectivity for medical, financial, customer, and other applications.

The PremierWave EN is built on a dedicated 32-bit ARM9 processor clocked to 400MHz, says Lantronix. Judging by the photo above, it's an Atmel SAM9G20. The module is further equipped with 64MB of SDRAM and 64MB of flash memory.

The dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 802.11a/b/g/n modem ships with an onboard antenna, and supports security standards including AES, SSL, TLS, and SSH, says Lantronix. The module's serial interface includes dual serial ports, an Ethernet port, a full-speed USB 2.0 host and device connection, an I2C interface, and a high-speed SPI interface, says the company.

The PremierWave EN supports operating temperatures of -40 to 185 deg. F (-40 to 85 deg. C), says Lantronix. The module is said to consume 515mA at 3.3 Volts, or 284mA on standby.

Remote connectivity, secure tunneling, and web-based configuration

The PremierWave EN's networking firmware includes network load balancing and traffic segmentation, says the company. Meanwhile, a Virtual IP (VIP) Access feature is said to ensure secure remote access to equipment, even if it is located behind a corporate firewall.

The module can also scan access points for signal strength, authentication, and encryption types, and then display the results on a web page, says Lantronix. This is said to enable remote technicians to diagnose problems as they occur, and to troubleshoot over any IP network without a service call.

Specific components of the Lantronix firmware include:

  • VIP Access — allows remote connectivity behind firewalls
  • Advanced Applications Suite:
    • tunneling application for making serial device data available over wired and wireless networks
    • secure tunneling application that extends standard tunneling technology via standard and secure network connectivity options
    • configuration manager with a command-line interface (CLI) and XML configuration features
    • web-based configuration manager for device management using a standard web browser
    • system-level and diagnostic utilities, said to offer deployment and remote management features
  • Ethernet-to-Wireless LAN Bridging — touted for high data packet forwarding performance

Timesys LinuxLink SDK

Timesys has supplied an SDK for the module that features its LinuxLink, software development framework, complete with toolchains and other open source components. The SDK is designed to let developers quickly assemble and boot an initial embedded Linux image on a PremierWave EN development kit, says Lantronix.

In addition, developers can use the LinuxLink-based package to patch, configure, rebuild, and update a custom Linux platform on a desktop. They can also debug and tune the platform with more than 1,000 open source development tools, libraries, and utilities, says Lantronix. Technical support and documentation is also said to be available.

Stated Paul Pishal, vice president of Product Management at Lantronix, "The release of the PremierWave EN software development kit with Timesys will help developers reduce development time, lower risks and decrease costs associated with building an embedded Linux-based product."

Availability

The PremierWave EN is available now with the Lantronix networking firmware and Timesys LinuxLink SDK at an undisclosed price, says the company. More information on the module may be found at the Lantronix PremierWave EN product page, and more on the SDK may be found at the Timesys PremierWave EN page.

 


This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.



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