New Server-on-Modules make debut

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Congatec is introducing new Server-on-Modules with Intel Xeon D processors (Broadwell) parallel to the preview release of the COM Express Type 7 specification.

Based on the COM Express Basic standard form factor (95 x 125 mm), the modules feature 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, 32 PCIe lanes and headless server performance currently with up to 16 server cores and 48 gigabytes of DDR4 ECC RAM.

Examples of target applications for the new Server-on-Modules are industrial automation, storage and networking appliances, as well as modular server designs and base stations for telecom carriers, service provider’s server farms as well as cloud, edge and fog servers for IoT and Industry 4.0 applications.

The application-ready, modular core of the congatec Server-on-Modules offers a standardised footprint, carrier board interfaces and a cooling concept, which significantly simplifies system designs – accelerating the launch of new, robust server technology. Plus, future performance upgrades can be carried out in a remarkably simple and cost-saving way, as only the Server-on-Module needs to be exchanged – even in case of a switch in the processor architecture. Without module technology, upgrading proprietary SBC designs and ATCA platforms used for carrier infrastructures is significantly more expensive.

“Up to now, it was not possible to execute 10 Gigabit Ethernet natively on the modules,” says Christian Eder, Marketing Director at congatec “However, this bandwidth is required to create easily scalable, module server topologies via virtualisation. The Type 7 pinout fulfils these demands. It offers up to four 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports and an impressive number of 32 PCIe lanes which are commonly used on this type of server to connect fast SSDs or discrete GPUs. The COM Express footprint is tiny and allows more cores per rack. This extremely compact and robust server technology allows 10 GbE connections to be carried into the field, which is essential for hosting IoT applications.“

These Server-on-Modules come in a headless design and are available with 10 different server processors: from the 16-core Intel Xeon processor D1577 to the Intel Pentium processor D1519 for the industrial temperature range (-40 °C to +85 °C). In terms of memory, they offer up to 48 gigabytes of fast 2400DDR4 memory with or without error correction code (ECC) depending on customers’ requirements.

A feature of the device is the high level of network performance due to 2x 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports. It also supports the NC-SI Network Controller Sideband Interface for connecting a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) allowing out-of-band remote manageability. System extensions including flash memory can be connected via up to 24 PCI Express Gen 3.0 Lanes and 8x PCIe Gen 2.0 Lanes. 2x SATA 6G ports are available for conventional storage media. Further I/O interfaces, including 4x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, LPC, SPI, I2C Bus and 2x UART, are featured.

Congatec offers operating system support for all popular Linux distributions and Microsoft Windows variants, including Microsoft Windows 10 IoT. An extensive range of accessories, such as standardized cooling solutions and the new COM Express Type 7 carrier board for evaluation, simplifies the design-in and will become available parallel to the launch of the new modules.