Embedded
Figure 2:
congatec offers a starter kit for real- time workload consolidation that includes an Intel Xeon E2 processor- based COM Express Type 6 module plus an RTS hypervisor from Real-Time Systems
autonomous vehicles that perform multiple tasks in parallel. Based on a congatec COM Express Type 6 module with Intel Xeon E2 processor and integrating three virtual machines, the solution-ready platform can reboot a system application without affecting the real-time application running on another virtual machine. There is no way to do something similar with a Windows- hosted hypervisor or container!
Networking (TSN) or TSN over 10BaseT1L even up to the decentralised sensor or actuator, which is ideal for standardisation and seamless communication.
IP-based real-time networking is especially attractive for large plants – and the process industry in particular – because the second wire for the IP protocol can be used to address devices that are not just 100 meters, but kilometers away. This way, literally everything can be connected over IP, and communicate without obstructions in real time. The data from these devices is then also accessible to IIoT edge servers and can, for example, be made available in suitable containers for big data analytics. People no longer want to store everything in central clouds. Today, a lot of analytics is done locally. The same applies to most of the earlier mentioned functions emerging with digitisation and networking. There is just one exception: Applications that require hard deterministic real-time which must not be disturbed by other computing processes, cannot be managed with these containers. This demands real-time capable hypervisor technology such as the RTS hypervisor from Real-Time Systems, which congatec offers as a function-validated standard option on all relevant Computer-on-Modules. Multi-core processors are especially attractive for such installations since multiple cores allow multiple configurations. In theory, each core can run its own virtual machine, whose OS can boot independently of the other cores. The AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 processors, as offered for example on COM Express Type 6 modules from congatec, provide up to 8 cores to run 16 threads independently in parallel. In principle, this approach also works with dual-core systems. By basing the design on Computer-on-
Modules, it is possible to scale the number of cores as the consolidation progresses and to balance the embedded system optimally by simply swapping the module.
Real-time workload consolidation kits
To make it as simple as possible for developers get started with such modular edge servers, congatec has teamed up with Intel and Real-Time Systems to put together a development kit for workload consolidation. This Intel-certified RFP (ready for production) kit is specifically tailored for the next generation of vision-based collaborative robot and automation controls, as well as
Time sensitive networking With new 5G technologies and 10+ GbE networks making it necessary to perform real-time processing in tactile Internet environments, the kit has also been designed to support Time Sensitive Networking. TSN technology complies with many standards, such as Time Aware Shaping (TAS), virtual LANs over Ethernet (IEEE 802.1q), and real-time synchronisation via the Precision Time Protocol (PTP). PTP handles the synchronisation between the nodes, with time specified by a master. The clock of each slave supports high-precision synchronisation within a two-digit nanosecond accuracy range, and time- stamped packets are sent based on these clocks. This enables PTP networks to synchronise with the same accuracy. When using a 1219 Intel Ethernet interface, no additional dedicated hardware or proprietary application is needed as clock synchronisation can be implemented entirely based on this standard component. The real-time workload consolidation kit is available directly from congatec or through the Intel marketplace.
congatec
www.congatec.com
Figure 3:
System consolidation is interesting for manufacturing cells with several previously decentralised robot controllers
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