［ Electronic Equipment ］ Information Equipment

Industrial Computers, μPORT
M5A
Keywords

Junya Yamashita,
Minoru Suzuki,
Hitoshi Yamakawa,
Masaya Sakaguchi

Computer, High reliability, Redundancy, Environmental resistance

Abstract

Our industrial computers, called “μPORT Series,” are high-performancecomputer products developed exclusively to monitor and control various social
infrastructure systems such as electric power networks, water processing (drinking water and sewage treatment plants), railways, and industrial systems. We
recently developed a new ﬂagship model called “μPORT M5A.”
Compared with our conventional model, μPORT M5 Model 200, this productoffers better computing performance and improved reliability by adopting a better Central Processing Unit (CPU). For a high reliability design, we secured thethermal and key component redundancy. In addition, our design conforms to theElectro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) standards. We worked hard to make thismodel an easy-to-use product, with a better design, and realized a compact
design and backward compatibility for retroﬁtting work.

1 Preface
Our industrial computers, called “μPORTSeries,” have been used to monitor and control various social infrastructure systems. They have longcontributed to the stable operation of these systems.
Our new model, μPORT M5A, is designed (1)to meet the market demands on the product such ascontinuous 24/7 operation and stable long-term
product supply and (2) to offer high-quality stable
operation. Since a server-class CPU is installed anda latest user interface standard is adopted, performance has been greatly improved compared withour conventional model. In order to cope with system redundancy, the number of points to manage
Digital Input/Digital Output (DI/DO) signals and thenumber of Ethernet ports are increased. We offerline-ups of duplex power supply systems andRedundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID)
model storage. In doing so, we improved reliabilityby the system redundancy. For the use of desktop
PC mode, we improved the ease of use and renovated the design to offer better visuals.
This paper introduces our latest industrial computer model, μPORT M5A, that can easily realize
system redundancy through the redundancy ofmajor parts. We aim to offer better usability andreliability by positively adopting industrial de-facto
standards and latest technologies.

2 Outline of the Product
Table 1 shows basic speciﬁcations. Table 2
shows the operating condition speciﬁcations. Fig. 1
shows an external appearance. Fig. 2 shows theblock diagram.

2.1 Adoption of a High-Performance
Processor( 1) Processor
An Intel Xeon E3-1268Lv3 (2.30 GHz) processor is adopted for the CPU. It offers a high processing capability of the quad core.
( 2 ) Chipset
By adopting a C226 chipset for the server,
it complies with the high-speed interfaces suchas PCI Express3.0, USB3.0, and SATA3.0. Thisimproves IO access performance.
( 3 ) Large-capacity memory
Two chips of DDR3-SDRAM (Double Data
Rate 3 – Synchronous Dynamic Access Memory)
are mounted to a maximum of 16GB to enable running multiple large memory applications. In addition, we realized high reliability by complying with
the Error Correction Code (ECC) memory.
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Table 1 Basic Specifications

Table 2 Operating Condition Specifications

Basic speciﬁcations of μPORT M5A are shown.

Operating condition speciﬁcations of μPORT M5A are shown.

ItemItemSpecifications

Specifications

Product nameμPORT M5A

Ambient temperature 5〜40℃

CPUIntel Xeon E3-1268Lv3 (2.30 GHz)

Ambient humidity

20〜80%RHCache

8MB SmartCache±0.25mm (1〜14Hz)

Chip setIntel C226

Resistance tovibration

Main memory2-slot (Max. 8 pcs × 2GB modules)
DDR3 SO-DIMM (1333MT/s): With ECC

Shock resistance

19.6m/s2 (11ms sinusoidal half wave)

Ambient conditions

System drive

Hardware mirror model: 2.5 inch HDD
SSD model: 2.5 inch SSD

Free from rigorous dust contamination
Free from corrosive gases and conductivedustExpansion slot

PCI slot: 3 slots (32-bit at 33 MHz)PCI Express3.0 (×8): 1 slot
PCI Express3.0 (×4): 1 slot

Acoustic environment

95dB Max.

Power input

Single-phase AC 100〜240V

Dielectric strength

AC-FG: AC1500V

Graphic function DVI−D: 1 port (1920 × 1200Max.)
VGA: 1 port (1920 × 1200Max.)USB

USB3.0: 4ch (Back side)
USB2.0: 2ch (Front side)

Network

1000BASE-TX: 4ch ( Wake-on-LAN compliant)Serial1.96m/s2 (14〜100Hz)

Insulation resistance AC-FG: DC500V 20MΩ or above
Incoming noise
durability

AC input 1kVp-p 50ns〜1μs pulses

Dsub 9-pin: 2chNon-sensitive
short-break time

20ms Max.

Audio

LINE OUT: 1 portGrounding

Class D grounding

DI/DOGeneral-purpose DI: 8 points, general-purpose
DO: 8 points
Alarm: 2 types (2 contact points for redundancy)

Power consumption 480VA Max.

BIOS

Phoenix BIOS installedOS

Windows10 IoT LTSB2016 64-bit version
Red Hat Enterprise Linux7.2 64-bit version
Windows Server 2016 64-bit version

RAS functions

WDT: 2 types, monitoring of fan, power supply,
temperature, SMART, and memory, log acquisition, error code display, self-diagnostic function

Inrush current

40A Max.

Dust-proof filter Mounting-enabled
Main body size

W350 × H160 × D370mm ( TYP)

Main body mass 13.0kg Max.

Fig. 1

2.2 High Scalability( 1) Expansion bus
Eight lanes of PCI Express and another fourlanes of PCI Express are accommodated in eachslot. An image processing board or a gigabit
Ethernet board can be connected for high-speed
performance requirements. There are three PCI
slots on a motherboard. This means conventional
PCI card can be inserted into the PCI slot on it. As
such, we can accommodate the retroﬁtting workrequirement.

2.3 High-Reliability Design( 1) Thermal design
We conducted thermal analysis on the cooling
air from the fan installed in the front area in order todetermine an optimal airﬂow amount of cooling air
across the heat generating components such asCPU, etc. Based on the result of this thermal analysis, we determined the fan position, ventilation hole

12MEIDEN REVIEW Series No.177 2019 No.3

μPORT M5A

External appearance of μPORT M5A is shown.

position, size, and necessity for wind guide. By theveriﬁcation test, we conﬁrmed the thermal redundancy and realized high reliability.
( 2 ) Redundancy
To cope with duplex systems, two Ethernet
ports for higher and lower level network communication are equipped as standard. The DI/DO ports
to indicate systemʼs status and alarming conditions
are also equipped in doubled amounts of items
compared with our conventional model. We are themanaging system redundancy this way.
Further, we made the AC/DC power supply unit
into a redundant power supply system. This means
even if either power supply fails, the system cancontinue to operate without stopping the device since
the power units are hot-swap (the removal andreplacement of a power module without shuttingGraphic connector(VGA ＋ DVI-D)
LAN×2

USB3.0 × 4
LAN × 2AC100 ～ 240V
COM × 2

LINE OUT

DIO
Primaryunit

DDR3SO-DIMM

LANcontroller

CPUXeon E3-1268Lv3(2.30 GHz)

Super I/O

USB toAudio

Primaryunit

Redundant power supply

Chip set (PCH) C226

PCI Express toPCI
PCI Express (×8): 1 slot
PCI Express (×4): 1 slot
PCI: 3 slots

HDD/SSD pack
Mirror model: 1 packSingle model: 2 packs
USB2.0 × 2

Fig. 2Block Diagram

A block diagram of μPORT M5A is shown.

down the system.) The Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
model is equipped with Hardware (H/W) Redundant
Array of Independent Disk (RAID) in order to securesystem disk redundancy.
(3) Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
This equipment is manufactured in accordancewith relevant EMC standards such as IEC61000-6-2
and IEC61000-6-4. Accordingly, it has the ability ofworking correctly in different electronic devices andcomponents, even in the presence of other devices
that emit electromagnetic waves. This capability isrequired for general industrial electronic devices
and products.
( 4 ) Reliability Availability Serviceability (RAS) functions
By drawing on our extensive experience, RAS
functions are accommodated. It can detect variouskinds of error such as fan malfunction, thermalabnormality, power supply error, HDD error, andmany other unusual phenomena. Table 3 shows
the RAS speciﬁcations.

2.4 Ease of Use and Design Improvement
Fig. 3 shows a front view and Fig. 4 showsa back view. We improved the ease of use by integrating various functions on the front. Such functions are for maintenance work, status display, andoperation work (which are needed after start-up
operation of this device).

Table 3 RAS Specifications
The RAS functions are shown. It can detect equipment error
early on and can reduce the meantime to repair.
ItemSpecifications

Watchdog timer

SW runaway monitoring (timer value:5〜127s) 2ch

Fan monitoring

Monitoring of casing fan and power
supply fanThermal error detection

CPU and casing temperature monitoring

Power supply monitoring Power unit error monitoring
Mirror error detection

Mirror disk error monitoring

ECC error detection

Memory ECC error monitoring

Preventive maintenancealarm

Announcement of replacing time forlife-limited parts

Error code display

7-segment 2-digit

General-purpose DI/DO

8 points each

As a part of our design change, compared withthe conventional model, we completely improved
the aesthetics of μPORT Series developing a chicdesign in black.
As a part of our design change, compared withthe conventional model, the equipment volume wasreduced by about 36% and the mass by about 15%
making it an eco-friendly product. For installation,
we took into account of the backward (retroﬁt)
compatibility. As such, the new product is designedto enable easy replacement from our conventionalmodels.
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13USB2.0 port
Display/switch area

USB1

USB2

POWER

Windows 10 OS, Windows Server OS, and LinuxOS, you can install suitable application software
according to the system application.

DRIVE

ERROR
POST

3 Postscript

CLEAR

Drive unit

Fig. 3Mirror card
LED display

Cooling fanFront View

This is a design featuring easy maintenance, clear display, andease of operation.

PCI Express (×8)
: 1 slotLAN1・LAN2
USB3.0 port
DVI-D

Power blank unit
(Installed in caseof single seriesoperation)

PCI Express (×4)
: 1 slotVGA

μPORT M5A developed is our ﬂagship modelof μPORT Series. It has high performance, highfunctions, high scalability, and high reliability. It iscurrently being used in various ﬁelds such as servers for the monitoring and control of infrastructure
systems, etc. In doing so, we expect that our product will positively contribute to our society.
Going forward, we will work to improve functions and reliability, and continue to develop moreeasy-to-use products to meet on-site requirements.
・Intel and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation in U.S.
and/or other countries.
・Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox, Inc., U.S.
・Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation,Power unit
FG terminal

DIOconnector 2Fig. 4

DIO

DIOLINEOUT

1LANDIO
LINE
connector 1 OUT

2345

LAN3・ COM1・ PCI slot
LAN4
COM2

Back View

It is designed to connect with the external devices in a compact
manner.

U.S.
・SmartCache is a trademark of Isilon Systems LLC.
・PCI Express is a registered trademark of PCI-SIG.
・Wake on LAN is a registered trademark of IBM Corporattion,
U.S.
・Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
・Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a registered trademark of RedHat, Inc.

2.5 Applicable Operating Systems (OSes)
Since the product can be operated under various 64-bit OSes, it can run large memory applications. In addition, since the product can run on

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・Xerox is a registered trademarks or trademarks of Xerox
Corporation in Japan and/or other countries.
・Phenix is a registered trademark of Phenix Technologies Ltd.
・All product and company names mentioned in this paper are
the trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners.