Ampro Corporation LITTLE BOARD P5X - Manual (Page 8)

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The Pentium CPU has its standard on-chip cache memory (typically 16K). In addition, a 512K byte
synchronous-burst secondary cache is provided to increase performance.
The board uses a single DIMM memory module for main DRAM memory, and supports from 16M
bytes to 256M bytes in a 64-bit configuration. Both EDO and SDRAM 3.3V DRAM types are
supported. (5V DRAMS, ECC, and DRAM parity are not supported.)
The module has a full complement of standard PCI PC/AT architectural features, including DMA
channels, interrupt controllers, real-time clock, and timer counters.
Enhanced Embedded-PC BIOS
One of the most valuable features of the Little Board/P5x is its enhanced embedded-PC BIOS,
which includes an extensive set of functions that meet the unique requirements of embedded-
system applications. These enhancements include:
! Compact Flash support. You can use a solid-state Compact Flash memory module in place of
a rotating media drive (see Compact Flash Disk, below).
! Watchdog timer. The WDT monitors the boot process and can be integrated into application
programs using function calls provided in the BIOS.
! Fast boot operation. Normal or accelerated POST.
! Fail-safe boot support. Intelligently retries boot devices (configured in the BIOS) until a
successful boot.
! Battery-free boot support. Saves system Setup information in non-volatile EEPROM. The
board can use this information should the RTC battery fail.
! Serial console option. Lets you use a serial device, such as an ASCII serial terminal, as
console.
! Serial loader option. Supports loading boot code from an external serial source.
! EEPROM access function. 256 bits of serial EEPROM storage are available to the user,
useful for serialization, copy protection, security, etc.
! OEM customization hooks. The module can execute custom code prior to system boot via
ROM extensions; allows sophisticated system customization without BIOS modification
Modular PC/104-Plus Expansion Bus
The Little Board/P5x provides a PC/104-Plus expansion bus for additional system functions. This
bus offers compact, self-stacking, modular expandability. The PC/104-Plus expansion bus is an
extension of the PC/104 bus. The PC/104 bus is defined in the IEEE P996.1 Standard for Compact
Embedded PC Modules. It is an embedded system version of the signal set provided on a desktop
PC's ISA bus. The PC/104-Plus bus includes this signal set, and in addition, signals implementing a
PCI bus, available on an additional 120-pin PCI bus connector.
The growing list of PC/104 and PC/104-Plus modules available from Ampro and hundreds of other
PC/104 vendors includes such functions as communications interfaces, video frame grabbers, field
bus interfaces, digital signal processors (DSPs), data acquisition and control functions, and many
specialized interfaces and controllers. In addition, custom application-specific logic boards can also