RAID-Capable Box PC from MEN Micro Offers Flexible Storage Capacity

BLUE BELL, Pa. December 2013 – MEN Micro Inc., a world-renowned provider of embedded computing and I/O solutions for mission-critical industrial, mobile and harsh environment applications, now offers a box PC with five integrated Ethernet interfaces. The low profile, maintenance-free BL50S is designed for reliable storage in harsh environments.

The robust BL50S boasts two hot-plug-capable HDD/SSD shuttles in a slim 2.4″ housing. It can support RAID 0 for applications requiring fast data transfer, such as audio and video in a video recorder, as well as RAID 1 for more data safety if used as a compact content server.

Of the five available Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, one is a Gigabit Ethernet uplink and the other four operate as a 4-port Ethernet switch with Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality. The BL50S combines two devices into one without any additional components.

The front panel includes one DisplayPort with 2560×1600 resolution, two USB 2.0 ports and other configurable slots for RS232, CAN bus or other I/O requirements.

One PCI Express Mini Card slot with two SIM card slots enables the implementation of a wide range of functionality, including mobile service standards such as GSM (2G), UMTS (3G) and LTE (4G), wireless communication standards WLAN/Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 and related standards as well as GPS or GLONASS positioning systems.

The BL50S is based on the AMD T48N Embedded G-Series APU running at 1.4 GHz, which provides high scalability in CPU (single/dual core) and graphics performance. Additionally, the new box PC offers 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM, one SD card and one mSATA slot. The class S2 wide-range power supply features a 24 VDC and 36 VDC nominal input voltage and a power consumption of 30 W.

As part of MEN Micro’s family of scalable box PCs, the new unit provides easy and cost-effective I/O adaptations, regardless of the processor board in use. The BL50S also accommodates other APUs from the Embedded G-Series for even more flexible configurations. It is compliant with EN 50155 and prepared for E1 certification.

Designed for fanless operation at temperatures from -40°C to +70°C (+85°C for up to 10 minutes), the unit features a special aluminum housing with cooling fins that serve as a heatsink for the internal electronics, providing conduction cooling. The housing is also coated against dust and humidity for additional protection in harsh environments.

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