congatec’s new µATX server carrier boards provide more scalability for Intel’s Ice Lake D processor family

On March 21, Germany’s congatec, a leading embedded and edge computing technology provider, continued to expand its modular edge server ecosystem. New products include server carrier boards in the µATX form factor and COM-HPC Server modules based on the latest generation Intel Xeon Ice Lake D processors. This new µATX server carrier board for COM-HPC modules is designed for edge applications and compact real-time servers for critical infrastructure. This µATX server carrier board is flexibly expandable and compatible with congatec’s latest COM-HPC Server module. Combined with modules powered by the latest Intel Xeon D-1800 and D-2800 processors, customers have immediate access to the µATX platform for applications that require space-saving, rugged design and high performance.

With the launch of the new µATX carrier board for the COM-HPC Server module, congatec is fulfilling its commitment as a provider of ready-to-use advanced computing solutions for the industrial sector. The ecosystem of COM-HPC modules and µATX carrier boards provides original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with a wide range of customization options at the module, board and system levels, giving developers the freedom to choose based on their needs. Tailored to the stringent requirements of edge computing, this ecosystem approach provides powerful, reliable and ready-to-use building blocks for industrial environments. The modular approach not only shortens the time to market for new designs, but also ensures their future scalability.

The new µATX specification conga-HPC/uATX server carrier board - provides a wealth of I/O interfaces and expansion options in a compact standard form factor. This makes this carrier board an ideal solution for numerous applications such as virtual machine (VM) consolidation servers or consolidated edge servers for energy microgrids, video processing, facial recognition, security applications, smart city infrastructure and many other applications. The conga-HPC/uATX server carrier board provides multiple features to meet the needs of such applications, including powerful communication capabilities and bandwidth up to 100 GbE, x8 and x16 PCIe processing for AI-intensive workloads through GPGPU or other compute accelerators expansion, 2 M.2 Key M slots for NVMe SSD and 1 M.2 Key B slot for compact AI accelerator or Wi-Fi/LTE/5G communication module.

The newly launched conga-HPC/sILL and conga-HPC/sILH Server modules are equipped with the new Intel Ice Lake D-1800 LCC and D-2800 HCC processor series. Compared to the previous-generation D-1700/D-2700 series, the new processors offer up to 15% better performance at the same thermal design power (TDP). The improved performance per watt of these new COM-HPC modules makes them ideal for high-performance applications that have previously been constrained by thermal budgets. In addition, thanks to Intel Speed Select technology, designers can more easily balance the relationship between computing performance and TDP in system design. The latest processors support up to 22 cores with higher clock speeds to support next-generation edge applications and deliver higher performance per watt, enabling more energy-efficient and reliable designs. Scalable edge computing performance and modular approach not only increase design flexibility and future scalability, but also reduce total cost of ownership and shorten time to market.

What's impressive about the new COM-HPC Server module is its firmware-integrated hypervisor, which makes it easier to evaluate a consolidated server for virtual machines. In addition, TCC, TCN and optional SyncE support provide comprehensive real-time capabilities. This is particularly ideal for all networked 5G solutions that require ultra-low latency and tight frequency/clock synchronization.

In addition to the COM-HPC Sever module based on the µATX solution platform, congatec also offers a variety of comprehensive cooling solutions, including passive cooling solutions for small chassis. In addition to custom conga-HPC/uATX server carrier boards, the service package includes customer-customized BIOS/UEFI and real-time hypervisor implementation, as well as expansion of additional Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) capabilities for digitalization purposes.