Copyright
©
2017
congatec
AG
MA50m17
33/60
6
Additional Features
6.1
Onboard Interfaces
6.1.1
eMMC 5.0
Optionally, the conga-MA5 offers an onboard eMMC 5.0 flash (MLC) with up to 128 GB storage capacity and an eMMC 5.0 compliant controller.
Changes to the onboard eMMC may occur during the lifespan of the module in order to keep up with the rapidly changing eMMC technology.
The performance of the newer eMMC may vary depending on the eMMC technology.
Note
For adequate operation of the eMMC, ensure that at least 15 % of the eMMC storage is reserved for vendor-specific functions.
6.2
congatec Board Controller (cBC)
The conga-MA5 is equipped with a Texas Instruments Tiva™ TM4E1231H6ZRBI microcontroller. This onboard microcontroller plays an important
role for most of the congatec BIOS features. It fully isolates some of the embedded features such as system monitoring or the I²C bus from the x86
core architecture, which results in higher embedded feature performance and more reliability, even when the x86 processor is in a low power mode.
6.2.1
Board Information
The cBC provides a rich data-set of manufacturing and board information such as serial number, EAN number, hardware and firmware revisions,
and so on. It also keeps track of dynamically changing data like runtime meter and boot counter.
6.2.2
Fan Control
The conga-MA5 has additional signals and functions to further improve system management. One of these signals is an output signal called
FAN_PWMOUT that allows system fan control using a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) output. Additionally, there is an input signal called
FAN_TACHOIN that provides the ability to monitor the system's fan RPMs (revolutions per minute). This signal must receive two pulses per
revolution in order to produce an accurate reading. For this reason, a two pulse per revolution fan or similar hardware solution is recommended.
Note
For the correct fan control (FAN_PWMOUT, FAN_TACHIN) implementation, see the COM Express Design Guide.
