COM-HPC Answers concerns for Performance at the Edge

By John Reardon, Editor

The hurdles to achieving what has been dreamed up in the board room continue to challenge design engineers wanting to host the most advance, high-performance solutions possible at the edge. The need for an open standard that meets these computing requirements may have just been introduced by our friends at PICMG with COM-HPC. The enthusiasm surrounding COM-HPC may just propel it to be the solution of choice for those wishing to address the most compute-intensive applications that also involve the need for greater memory and I/O. Although too new to understand its broad appeal, the enthusiasm has brought forth a variety of products bound to capture a design engineer’s heart.

The new standard modular design continues for easy and quick deployment from system to system. The standardization in architectures allows for the next generation solutions to be employed without changing the carrier board and the surrounding system enclosure. COMHPC extends beyond COM Express to offer greater performance, higher density memory, and next-generation performance I/O. So, although the impact on COM Express is unclear, COM-HPC holds a unique place higher on the performance curve.

The demands at the edge are plain to see as performance demands continue to grow. Three COM-HPC Module types are defined: The Server Module with a fixed input voltage, the Client Module with a fixed input voltage, and the Client Wide Range Input Voltage. The Client Module targets use in high-end embedded applications that need multiple displays, a variety of I/O bandwidth, and powerful CPUs at the edge. The standard power input is 12 volts with the Wide Range covering between 8 volts to 20 Volts.

The Server Type COM-HPC is focused on the high end of the compute spectrum for embedded solutions. Supporting intensive CPU capability with multiple cores, extended memory, and lots of high bandwidth I/O. This includes multiple 10Gbps or 25Gbps Ethernet, up to 65 PICe lanes performing at up to PCIe Gen 5 speeds. Although not restricted, the Server Type COM-HPC will typically favor the larger form factors to accommodate the higher density memory required.

COM-HPC has improved power input within each of the 5 form factors (A-E). The different board sizes facilitate the use of a variety of processors and are not restricted to X86 solutions. The system’s Thermal Design Power (TDP) supports 110-watt processors and the overall power inputs are over 300 Watts. The larger size “E” can support 1 TB memory utilizing 8x pcs long DIMM.

COM-HPC employs a pair of 400 pin connectors that provide flexibility by supporting existing and future interfaces such as PCIe Gen 5 with 32 GT/s and up to 100 Gb Ethernet. Depending on the use, the connector pinouts are optimized for Client or Server modules as defined in the specification.

The universal appeal of COM-HPC has led to many companies releasing products. So far, this initiative includes twenty companies: ADLINK, Advantech, Amphenol, congatec, Elma, Emerson, ept, FASTWEL, HEITEC, Intel, Kontron, MEN Mikro, MSC Technologies, N.A.T., Samtec, SECO, TE Connectivity, Trenz Electronic, and VersaLogic. This broad support will be great news to the consumer wanting to pick the specific flavor that meets their needs without being locked into a single-source solution.

Driven by SWAP-C, the defense industry will surely be looking at COM-HPC as a possible solution as it checks many of the boxes. COM-HPC is a transformational capability that will be critical in maintaining our defenses in an era of advance sensors, informational fusion, and connectivity. COM-HPC is a powerful multiplier able to handle numerous video streams, communications links, and advance electronic warfare for the situational awareness that contributes to an integrated picture of the battlefield. The possible applications are wide and varied from communication links to sensor arrays. By increasing the computing strength at the edge, a real-time response in identifying the threat is greatly enhanced.