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The eDNP/8331 is a 32-bit arm-based "virtual" system-on-module (SoM) including Debian Linux operating system and firmware functions for headless embedded gateways. It is available as intellectual property under a licensing model.
The complete SoM circuit is available as a schematic and PCB snippet for the widely used "Altium Designer" electronic design automation (EDA) tool.
The eDNP/8331 snippet can be imported into custom Altium projects in just a few steps, extended to include the required add-on and I/O functions, and fully integrated onto a single cost-optimized base board.
The package includes a backend function library with a Docker-based update server, digital twin and PKI security modules.
In addition, the DNP/8331 is also deliverable as a real system-on-module for evaluation, fast prototyping and low-volume productions.
An eDNP/8331 can be fully integrated into an Altium Designer project as a snippet in the schematic design of a custom board, and can be incorporated into the final production product.
The individual eDNP/8331 signals of the schematic symbol are adapted to a Debian Linux operating system, which is available as an accessory for a microSD card.
The ideal application environment for the eDNP/8331 is in IoT data integration for sensor and actuator functions. This usually involves transmitting the data from a sensor to a higher-level platform, making a decision there, and using this decision to send new output data to actuators.
The functions of the eDNP/8331 serve as a link between sensors, actuators and the respective platform (the backend). In the context of an IoT product development, there are four decisive individual steps for which DNP/8331 and eDNP/8331 offer many advantages:
1.
IoT Data Prototype
Development of a prototype to create an overall data picture that fits the task. The DNP/8331 can be used for this purpose.
2.
Proof-of-Concept Software Development
Longer iteration phase to develop the required software components for the sensor and actuator data. This also includes test scenarios to verify or validate the result.
3.
Development of the Series Hardware
Development of the series hardware including the eDNP/8331 snippet. The goal is a highly integrated and cost-optimized assembly with minimal unit costs.
4.
Market Launch
(incl. Certifications)
As part of the market launch, the necessary approvals for the respective target markets are also obtained (CE, UL, etc.).
The main component of the eDNP/8331 consists of a SoM circuit in the form of a snippet for the "Altium Designer" electronic design automation (EDA) tool, which can be integrated into a custom schematic resp. board layout.
In addition, there is a comprehensive technology stack as a construction kit for integrable embedded systems solutions.
The individual components and functions can be represented as a layered model, as shown in the adjacent figure.
The Backend Function Library offers the following modules, among others:
The firmware stack also includes plug-in software modules to use functions from the backend function library as well as the I/O function library, e.g. the TensorFlow Lite runtime environment for inference operation of an AI application.
The individual functions require the integration of the corresponding plug-in code blocks into the firmware stack.
Snippets for use in your own base board designs with Altium Designer.
The developer of an eDNP/8331-based solution has a comprehensive selection of different function blocks at his disposal.
In addition to a virtual SoM as an Altium snippet that can be fully integrated into the data logger circuitry and offers a slot for pre-certified LTE radio modules, the necessary software functions also exist.
These include an eDNP/8331 firmware for LTE-A, LTE-M and NB-IoT connections plus various cloud server functions with a public key infrastructure (PKI) for cybersecurity that can be hosted on any Linux root server on the Internet.
Technical information about the wireless IoT data modem can be found in the eDNP/8331WDM-L datasheet.
We build industrial data loggers for machines and plants. Our customers want flexible remote access functions to the data.
However, an ex-factory cloud connection with an Internet giant would not be a solution for various reasons, but at best an option.
We therefore need not only a cost-optimized hardware solution for IoT wireless connections that can be deployed internationally, but also a powerful and modular cloud platform without vendor lock-in.
The cloud software functions must be quickly and easily adaptable to customer needs.
A complete OT/IT gateway in the form of coordinated hardware and software components is available as intellectual property for the eDNP/8331.
These include the Gerber data, bill of materials (BOM), pick-and-place data (CPL) and, on the part of the software, the boot loader, the Debian Linux operating system with two Ethernet LAN drivers and the firmware with a netfilter.org-based firewall.
In addition to the hardware and software, there is also a workflow for the practical deployment of an eDNP/8331-based OT/IT network gateway. This includes a threat analysis based on IEC 62443-4-1. This involves visualizing the data flow with the trust boundaries, processes and data storage functions for an end-to-end communication relationship.
This allows potential attack vectors to be identified and assessed with the help of the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). Finally, a suitable countermeasure is selected for each relevant threat, e.g., active attack detection (intrusion detection) within the OT network.
In the future, we want to equip the control cabinets of our machine tools with their own Ethernet LAN interface in order to provide users with secure access to all relevant assemblies within the machine LAN as part of their digitalization projects.
This additional interface should have complete physical separation from the control cabinet LAN and have security mechanisms, that comply with the current state of the art.
In this way, we want to respond to the new EU NIS2 directive and the EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 with regard to safe machine networkability.
| Processor | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer / Type | Sochip S3 with Arm Cortex-A7 CPU |
| Clock speed | 1008 MHz |
| Memory | |
| RAM | 128 MB DDR3 SDRAM |
| Storage media | 1x SD card holder or 8 GB eMMC |
| Interfaces | |
| Ethernet | 1x 10/100 Mbps |
| USB | 1x USB 2.0 host port with max. 480 Mbps |
| UART | 3x UART (COM1 with all hardware handshake signals, COM2 TX/RX only, COM3 TX/RX/RTS/CTS - functional OR with 4 GPIO signals) |
| SPI | 1x SPI master controller, functional OR with 4 GPIO signals |
| I2C | 1x I2C master controller, functional OR with 2 GPIO signals |
| GPIO | 20-Pin GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) |
| Special Functions | |
| RTC | 1x Real time clock |
| Watchdog | 1x Timer watchdog (hardware-based, software-configurable) 1x Power supervisor (hardware-based) |
| Electrical Characteristics | |
| Power supply | 3.3 VDC ±5% |
| Current consumption | 300 mA typ. / 500 mA max. |
| Mechanical Characteristics (DNP/8331 only) | |
| Socket | 40 pin JEDEC DIL-40 connector, 2.54 mm centers (pin-compatible to other SSV DIL-40 devices) |
| Mass | <150 g |
| Dimensions | 55 mm x 23 mm |
| Operating temperature | 0 .. 70 °C |
The eDNP/8331 is a "virtual" system-on-module, which can be integrated as an Altium snippet into own schematic and PCB layouts
The DNP/8331 is the "real" system-on-module, which is available for evaluation, fast prototyping and low-volume productions.
On our GitHub profile we provide more information about the eDNP/8331:
For evaluation or fast prototyping – i.e. for steps 1 and 2 of the product development (see above) – we also offer two base boards suitable for the DNP/8331.
The scope of delivery of the two base boards includes, in
addition to the respective schematic, the CAD data for processing the cutouts of a suitable housing from the ME series of Phoenix Contact.
The base board MB/935A is used to connect external peripherals via USB and offers the following interfaces:
The baseboard MB/941 is used to integrate Mini PCIe-based communication cards such as 4G, NB-IoT or LTE Cat-M1 modems. It offers the following interfaces:
| Software Components | |
|---|---|
| Boot loader | U-Boot with A/B dual boot partitions |
| Operating system | Debian Linux (protected APT server access) |
| Webserver | lighttpd with SSL for SSV/WebUI user interface |
| Runtime environment | Python 3, C/C++ |
| IP address assignment | IPv4, IPv6, Static, DHCP, AutoIP, UPnP |
| Protocol stack | ARP, ICMP, IPv4, IPv6, DHCP (client + server), DNS (incl. DynDNS support), TCP, UDP, FTP, HTTP, SNMP, Telnet, TFTP |
| Security protocols | OpenSSL/TLS, OpenSSH/SSH, HTTPS, OpenVPN (client + server), SFTP, SNMPv3, PKCS#11 for ATECC secure element |
| TCP server | Telnet, FTP, HTTP(S), SSH, SFTP |
| Firewall | netfilter + iptables |
| Proxy functions | HTTP/HTTPS (web), DNS, FTP, generic TCP port mapping, generic UDP port mapping |
| Machine learning | TensorFlow Lite interpreter for deep learning |
| Miscellaneous | C/C++ build environment (compiler etc.); I2C tools with i2cdetect, i2cdump, i2cget and i2cset; CLI tool for ATECC secure element with HMAC- and ECDSA-functions and more |
SSV Software Systems GmbH
Dünenweg 5
30419 Hannover
Phone: +49(0)511 · 40 000-0
Fax: +49(0)511 · 40 000-40
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