editor’s report The Future of the Shrinking PC
Smartphone-Sized PC Opens Opportunities in Embedded and Networking A fully functional PC able to run Windows or Linux with WiFi and high-definition graphics has been implemented by Intel for use in myriad applications from embedded control to network gateways and more. by Tom Williams, Editor-in-Chief
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ntel may be up to something new. Although at first glance it might seem unremarkable, the strategy behind a device code-named “Barton Island” could have some far reaching implications. The device is the first of what looks to be a series of Atom-based single-board computers. It includes a single-core E600 series Atom, formerly code-named “Tunnel Creek” along with 1 Gbyte of 400 MHz DDR2 memory, along with an mSATA solid state driver, a choice of HDMI or VGA video interface, HD audio and a USB 2.0 port. Wi-Fi connectivity is also supported, but interestingly, the I/O hub chip that was designed to go with Tunnel Creek has been left off and the four PCIe lanes that come out of the processor have been left as 4 x1 lanes—one going to the USB, another for the SATA drive, another for a mini-card interface and the fourth left for future expansion. It also has a mini-card slot connected to a PCIe lane that is most commonly used for a W-Fi module (Figure 1). The size of 120 x 70 mm (or enclosed in a chassis of 130 x 80 x 15 mm) makes it roughly the size of a smartphone (Figure 2). One might be tempted to compare
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it with a credit card-sized COM express module were it not for the rather limited I/O capability. Of course, even the smallest COM express module requires a carrier card, and a somewhat larger sized PC/104 configuration needs at least one I/O module. So what is going on here? At 600 MHz or 1 GHz, the singlecore processor performance is good but unremarkable; the operating power consumption hits around 15W, so we’re not talking a lot of battery operated or mobile applications. Graphics is supplied by the on-chip GPU. However, the single external USB port can be used for multiple peripheral devices if their performance demands are not excessive. What we appear to have here is a very compact, moderately powerful, low-cost Windows or Linux-based PC that can be readily used in a vast number of scenarios. And that appears to be exactly the idea. When we think of embedded systems, what mostly comes to mind are dedicated applications buried in some device with perhaps a specialized user interface of some kind dedicated to the specific application. Now, of course, we have long had what are known as “embedded PCs,” but they have
largely been used in this sort of scenario as well. Here we seem to have a PC that can, of course, be dedicated to a specific application or set of applications, but that is also quite capable of running almost any Windows or Linux application as well.
Use as a Network Gateway
One recent application that stretches the traditional concept of an embedded system yet shrinks the traditional concept of a PC, is the Nevales SG security gateway from Nevales Networks. The gateway, based on the Barton Island device, is targeted at helping small and medium businesses take advantage of cloud computing with security-as-a-service (SaaS) on a subscription basis. The Barton Island-based device is able to integrate security features including a firewall, VPN, intrusion detection, antivirus, anti-spam, surf detection, spyware guarding, access and bandwidth management, traffic management and reporting using a subscription model. In fact, such a usage model is opening what the company refers to as “the commercialization of IT.” This is precisely the promise that cloud computing offers to small enterprises, which when starting up cannot foresee their exact needs in terms of computing and storage and may not have the budgets to invest in the equipment themselves. In addition to meeting such needs economically, there is of course the issue of security for which they may not have the immediate specialized (and expensive) in-house talent.
A Larger Picture?
Small, compact, integrated devices like Barton Island—which by the way is given other brand names by the ecosystem partners who OEM it—are making the PC universe more granular. This is probably something that Intel has to do to extend the life of the PC in the face of the more ARM-based onslaught of smartphones and tablets. At the same time, such small, full-function PCs will be extending the reach of universal connectivity because they have the potential to act as “micro gateways” almost anywhere.