People's living environments have changed from the ancient caves to the buildings, mansions, and skyscrapers along with the evolution of the technological civilization. Homes are no longer just shelters or recreation areas for listening to music or watching TV. We have now entered a new era where low-cost, low-power, high-density, miniaturized wireless connectivity solutions are the norm. We can combine all ICT devices at home using multi-screen cloud applications, such as those for automatic appliances, remote voice and gesture control, and wearable devices. These innovations will give birth to more wireless applications and create unlimited business opportunities.Definitions of homes and the evolution and evolvement of designsVijay Nagarajan, Director of Product Marketing for the Wireless Connectivity Group of Broadcom Corporation, noted in a recently speech how human habitations have evolved from the caves in 100,000 BC to the common three-story brick buildings in the early 20th century, which later evolved into taller buildings with elevators, and then multi-floor skyscrapers that were connected by foot bridges.In addition to the residential patterns, people's demand for audio-visual content has also been growing rapidly. According to a May 2013 Cisco VNI research, it is estimated that the total global Internet traffic bandwidth will reach up to 786Tera bps by 2017, which is equivalent to having 720 million people streaming HD (1280X720p) videos simultaneously or having video clips with lengths totaling five million years played through the Internet each month. By the end of 2017, the total global Internet traffic will reach 1.4 Zettabytes.Nagarajan cited a well-known smart home in 2014 as an example to explain the concept: a smart home generally has a 50-inch or larger LCD TV with a Blu-ray player in the TV cabinet, and the air conditioning, lighting and curtains are all controlled through touch-enabled human-machine interfaces. According to predictions made by research institutions such as ABI and Juniper Research in 2013, a total of 70 million wearable devices will be sold by 2017, and a total of 30 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to each other by 2020.Accordingly, Broadcom estimates that in 2020, smart homes not only will have connected TVs, desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones; even the washing machines, refrigerators, ovens, cooktops, kitchens, etc. will all be connected to the Internet and interconnected to each other wirelessly.As we approach the Internet of Things, connectivity is vitalNagarajan indicated that connectivity is vital regardless whether it is through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC or MCU; and they must satisfy the unique features of low-power, low-cost, and smaller size. Broadcom proposed the Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) platform concept in April 2013 to provide customers with a comprehensive flexible and customizable solution to help build a broader Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.At present, WICED comprises three application platforms: WICED Bridge, WICED Beacon, and WICED Audio. Whether it is for health care, home automation, or wearable devices, WICED is able to provide complete application solutions.Nagarajan played a short WICED video to introduce the states of home networking applications, including: gesture-control smart rings developed by Nod Labs; Samsung's Galaxy Gear smart watch and smartphone remote-controlled air-conditioning systems; the Leap PAD Ultra Wi-Fi-enabled low-power education tablets for children; Nest Labs' mobile phone-controlled smoke and lighting controllers, as well as self-learning temperature controls; the MyQ Garage smart garage sensors developed by Chamberlain Company with which users can open/close the garage door remotely using a smartphone and receive alerts when the garage has been broken into; the Wi-Fi home control system developed by Honeywell whereby uses can use a tablet/cell phone to control home lighting, air conditioning, as well as gardening automation where the paths of sprinkler sprays can be adjusted through the Internet; and the LIFX LED lamps whereby the color temperatures, light colors, and brightness, and the switching on/off can be controlled via a mobile phone and Wi-Fi.Routers - the nerve center of the connected homeNagarajan mentioned that the router is the most critical device for home networking. For example, multimedia devices such as multimedia players, remote controls, headphones, digital TVs, network storage devices, home appliances, set-top boxes, 3D glasses, printers, game consoles, Blu-ray Disc players, thin clients, and personal health care devices must use a router as the gateway in order to be interconnected.At present, routers must be able to transmit video signals and data, meeting the needs of a full range of networking devices, and covering home automation applications as well as behind-the-scene operation features. In the future, routers must have faster connection speeds and broader scopes in order to enable easier connectivity and access to wireless services. And the 5G Wi-Fi wireless networking technology will be the best solution to meet the needs of home networking.The 5G Wi-Fi wireless networking technology, or officially the 802.11ac standard, uses a higher frequency spectrum and wider operating bandwidth. It has evolved from the BPSK to the 256-QAM modulation and decoding technology, providing the Gbps wireless networking speed. It has also incorporated the STBC as well as LDPC data recovery and beam forming technologies. This technology can provide greater coverage, and stronger reception signals for terminal devices, and increase stability.Creating the world's fastest wireless routerNagarajan indicated that Broadcom proposed the 5G Wi-Fi XSTREAM router architecture in April of this year. The router uses the five- core 2.96GHz microprocessor architecture; has two sets of 80MHz operation bandwidth channels; provides two sets of 3x3 11ac and one set of 3x3 11n operation channels; implements six antennas/six data streams; and adopts advanced technologies such as SmartConnect, AnyBeam, and TurboQAM. Compared to that of the commercially available Wi-Fi certified devices, the 5G Wi-Fi XSTREAM router architecture can provide double or even triple the connection performance and can enhance the MU-MIMO multi-antenna multi-user operating performance by up to 50%.In a comparison demo, Nagarajan connected six devices (two MacBook Pros, one 1x1 11ac Galaxy S4, one 2x2 11ac Galaxy S5, and two 1x1 11n iPhone 5s) to the fastest 802.11ac router on the market today and to a new router based on the 5G WI-FI XSTREAM architecture new router. The devices were connected to the two routers simultaneously. The connection rates for the routers indicated that the XSTREAM architecture can at least double the actual connection speeds for each connected device, and can at least triple the actual connection speeds for each connected devices that support the 3x3(3Streams) 11ac, such as the MacBook Pro.Finally, Nagarajan mentioned that the six-antenna RT-AC3200 router launched by Asus in June at COMPUTEX TAIPEI is the best example of Broadcom's 5G WI-FI XSTREAM architecture. With its six streams of 11ac (433x6 = 2,600 Mbps) and three streams of 11n/TurboQAM (150x3 x 1.33 = 600 Mbps) total connection bandwidth, it is the wireless router with the fastest connection rate/total bandwidth in the world.Vijay Nagarajan, Director of Product Marketing for the Wireless Connectivity Group of Broadcom Corporation

Marvell Semiconductor who started up in hard drive controller has actively expanded its procut porfolio of storage devices, networking and communications, connectivity, mobile communications and consumer electronics. It has been offering software and hardware designs for six types of end devices for five categories of cloud, providing completed services for silicon component vendors, manufacturers, software developers, as well as system integrators, in achieving its "Smart Life and Smart Lifestyle" vision.Software and hardware integration for six types of end devices in five cloudsAccording to Weining Gan, Chief Solution Architect at Marvell Semiconductor, Marvell was established in Silicon Valley in 1995, and is the world's top-five fabless semiconductor company with branches in Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Israel, Europe, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and Korea. Its products span across storage, networking, communications, connectivity components, mobile communications and consumer electronics sectors shipping billion chips sold each year.Marvell focuses on six types of end devices used in five types of cloud environments: 1. Smart TVs; 2. PCs/Chromebook laptops; 3. Tablets; 4. Mobile phones; 5. Wearable devices; and 6. IoT equipment. It is also engaged in products for operator router equipment in Internet infrastructure clouds, CE routers for enterprise users, 4G LTE/Wi-Fi network connectivity components for the mobile cloud, as well as broadband modems for home clouds. A total of 70% of global SSD controller ICs are from Marvell, and it introduced the first ARM server to the market. Marvell is also the second-largest silicon component supplier for data centers.End-to-end mobile cloud hardware and software solutionsSilicon components used in mobile devices, such as PC/Chromebooks, tablets, mobile phones, wearable devices, and IoT devices, include application processors, graphics controllers, cellular modem ICs, RF radio ICs, Wi-Fi 802.11 wireless networking ICs, Bluetooth chips, NFC ICs, GPS chips, microcontrollers, and sensor hub ICs, said Gan.Licensed frequency band RANs such as those of 4G/LTE involve the microwave equipment required for the backhaul network and PON equipment and front-haul base station technology for the future cloud RAN. Metropolitan transmissions backbones take advantage of IP RAN (L3 VPN) and PTN (L2 VPN) technologies, as well as LTE back-end Evolved Packet Core (EPC). In unlicensed (Wi-Fi) RAN architecture, a portion of the customer front-end goes through the 4G LTE or WiFi and transitions to wireline IP RAN/PTN backbone network at intermediate base stations. For the last mile, it goes back to 4G LTE/Wi-Fi to the broadband modem or small cell of the user.Backbone networks connecting nations and continents use IP/MPLS multiprotocol label switching and OTN/DWDM fiber-optic long-range transmissions technologies. Marvell provides silicon components used by the aforementioned technologies including high-performance multi-core processors, network processors, integrated packet processors, high-capacity switching fiber-optic equipment, high-speed Ethernet switches, high-speed Ethernet physical layer IP, 10G PON passive fiber-optic network components, as well as H.hn G.fast components.Gan pointed out that the data centers operators such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Baidu, and Tencent, regardless of what clustering architectures they use, all require silicon component such as high-performance multicore processors, network processors, integrated packet processors, high-capacity fiber-optic switching equipment, high-speed Ethernet switches, as well as high-speed Ethernet physical layer components.Evolution of data centers and status of market ecosystemThe data center industry ecosystem, Gan pointed out, is composed of system software, application software, maintenance services, silicon components, system design and contracted manufacturers. Traditional data centers first went through system design by system vendors who also selected the system software and maintenance services. Then, they looked up to silicon component suppliers to provide ICs components, contract manufacturers to establish production contracts, application software developers to be responsible for a portion of the maintenance services. Server and computing systems vendors include those from IBM, HP, and Dell; storage device vendors include EMC, NetApp, and Hitachi; networking and communications equipment were provided by Cisco, Juniper, Brocade, and etc.Data centers designed under traditional vendor differentiation can increase the value of system developers but are not able to reduce subsequent data center operating costs, which is why the new "vanity free" design concept is impacting the entire industry ecosystem. With silicon ICs/components, CM/ODM, and maintenance services determined during the system design phase as well as system software implemented based on open source codes integrated with in-house software, vanity free data center designs can significantly reduce early-phase costs as well as operating expenses.Gan said that the most famous vanity free project is Facebook's Open Compute Project (OCP) which establishes one of the most efficient computing infrastructures at the lowest possible cost. Its servers are vanity free in order to reduce the cost of computing nodes, while the design of its storage system is also segmented to include low-cost storage device areas, thereby building a highly energy efficient data center. Virtual IO is used to design open and scalable computing resources, with remote control management tools designed to ensure solid hardware management. In addition, certification standards are also designed for solutions providers.Between April 2011 and April 2012, OPC open computing centers totaling 300,000 square feet in floor space were built in Prineville, Oregon, and Forest City, North Carolina, respectively. In 2014, another OCP data center opened in Lulea, Sweden which occupies a plot of land totaling 968,000 square feet. At the end of 2014, there will be 1.4 million-square foot OCP data center in Altoona, Iowa. Vanity free design brings an additional 38% of energy efficiency in computing and save an additional 24% in costs.Marvell buildse end-to-end industry ecosystemGan also pointed out that Marvell has built a consolidated end-to-end industry ecosystem centered around customer demand. Marvell provides fundamental silicon solutions as well as box-level solutions for manufacturing services to the CM/OEM/ODM. Marvell also engages in application-level solutions in collaboration with independent software vendors.He concluded that Marvell provides complete silicon components, software and hardware resource including multicore application processors, system software, wireless networking components, and Ethernet physical layer connectivity components for mobile phone, as well as the packet processors needed by switches, the network processors needed for network packet control, and control panels, thereby enhancing the end user experiences.Weining Gan, Chief Solution Architect at Marvell Semiconductor

From the Xiaomi tablet running on NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor to Asus' 5-in-1 Transformer notebook, a new mobile device specification war is raging. The various new technologies, such as 4K Ultra HD, USB 3.1 Type C, 802.11ac, WiGig, and WiHD will bring new technological challenges to product developers. In collaboration with the organizer of Computex Taipei 2014, Digitimes organized the "DTF2014 Mobile Summit" on June 4 at the Taipei International Convention Center. There were guest speakers from Broadcom, Marvell, VIA Lab, Wilocity, Corning, AverLogic, Silicon Image, and DTS, discussing a wide range of topics. They analyzed technology and applications trends, showing R&D engineers how they could incorporate the latest mobile technologies and designs into their product developments.Digitimes Mobile Summit, Computex Taipei 2014

Microsoft Devices Group has unveiled the Nokia X2, the newest addition to the expanding Nokia X family of smartphones.The new Nokia X2 provides access to Android apps and Microsoft services, while allowing users to switch between apps with the Fastlane feature. The Nokia X2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor featuring a dual-core 1.2GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM. The Nokia X2 debuts the next-generation Nokia X Software Platform 2.0 and major enhancements to the user interface.Microsoft's new services including OneNote and Yammer are also available to download free from the Nokia Store.The Nokia X2 will be available at launch in orange, black and green, with yellow, white and dark grey coming later to the lineup.The Nokia X2 will be available initially as a dual-SIM device and will begin rolling out globally in July 2014 for EUR99 (US$135). Microsoft Nokia X2 smartphone specifications Item Detail Display ClearBlack 4.3-inch WGVA Processor Snapdragon 200 processor featuring a dual core 1.2GHz CPU RAM 1 GB Camera, rear 5MP autofocus with flash Camera, front VGA Battery 1800 mAh Talk time 2G: up to 10 hours 3G: up to 13 hours Standby time Up to 23 days Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, June 2014Microsoft Nokia X2 smartphonePhoto: Company

GKB is launching seven new 800 TVL cameras: GKB 3818, 3518, 5418,1318, 6018, 4218, 6918 and 2718. These cameras are designed with Sony's latest Effio-V sensor. The Sony Effio-V technology is able to capture the accurate color picture in the extremely bright as well as dark environments. This innovation technology helps cameras easier to identify objects in challenging lighting situations, such as tunnel, parking lots, and entrance of commercial building.Outstanding performance in the challenge light conditions"Being able to identify object in the dark is a huge advantage when securing your property and protecting your people," said Jim Lin, senior R&D manager at GKB. The Effio-V cameras' 3D-DNR is able to reach the minimum of object-blurred while the object is moving at low light condition. In addition, the Effio-V cameras provide the Real WDR function, which display double shutter image and intelligent image processing for improving visibility under extreme high contrast conditions.Diverse situational mode options for easy setting upGKB's Effio-V cameras offer several automation scenes such as indoor, outdoor, extreme backlight, and ITS (intelligent transportation system) options for efficient and easy-to-installation. Besides, the camera supports UTC Controller (Up the Cable), allowing you to easily control the Effio-V cameras' OSD menu from the remote DVR.Full spectrum of housing choiceGKB provides the full line-up of its new Effio-V Analog Series cameras, available in indoor dome, vandal dome and outdoor vandal bullet versions.

Have you ever wanted to make your machines 15% smaller and 10% faster? ABB's new IRB 1200 allows you to do exactly that.With the introduction of the IRB 1200 ABB addresses the needs of the material handling and machine tending industries for flexibility, ease of use, compactness and short cycle times while still maintaining large working envelopes."We are excited to introduce the IRB 1200," says Phil Crowther, Small Robots Product Manager. "Our exhaustive market analysis and development process has resulted in a robot that is incredibly compact, allowing for maximization of useable working range and operation as close to the work piece as possible."The IRB 1200's functional form factor is a feature which is not merely a cosmetic enhancement. Its smooth surfaces make it easy to keep clean and maintain in environments such as CNC machine tending and material handling in the food industry. This theme of efficient design is one which can be found across the entire spectrum of IRB 1200 features.For instance, both electrical and air connections can be made to the robot via side ports or an underline option. In addition an Ethernet port makes it easy to integrate with other equipment. These connections are routed internally on the robot from very close to the wrist flange all the way to the foot thus enhancing the compactness of the package.The IRB 1200 comes in two variants which can handle a wide range of applications and are cost effective due to commonality of parts. The 700 mm reach variant can carry a payload of up to 7 kg, while the longer reach 900 mm variant can carry up to 5 kg. Both variants can be mounted at any angle and come with IP 40 protection as standard. IP 67 protection is also available as an option.By design, the IRB 1200 has no offset in axis two. This innovation results in a longer stroke than other robots, meaning the IRB 1200 can be placed very close to the work piece and still be functional. One particular benefit of this long stroke is that it allows for a much more compact installation when the robot is mounted on the ceiling inside a small cell, such as in electronics machining or polishing applications.As a complete solution, the IRB 1200 excels in situations that require a compact package without sacrificing working range or functionality. Shorter travel distances between operations results in faster cycle times in as small a cell as possible, meaning you can do more with less.All ABB Robotics' products are fully supported by the ABB Robotics' global sales and service organization in 53 countries and over 100 locations.Visit http://www.abb.com/robotics for further information.

In this article, we will discuss how to maximize the value from the use of emulation systems on SoC development projects.What has changed in emulation usage modelsFor many years, the principal emulation system use model was to take simulation-debugged RTL and map it as "early silicon" in reprogrammable hardware, and then operate it with real software while connected to a real physical environment. The goal was to gain confidence that the SoC would actually work as intended before committing to silicon. This verification methodology is referred to as in-circuit emulation, or ICE. In ICE, with the emulator running much slower than the connected physical environment, each system-level interface typically requires a data buffering mechanism to match the emulation system to the environment. In such environments with design specific hardware configurations comprising the verification environment, the emulation system access is essentially restricted to a single project at a time.Maximizing the value of today's emulation systems requires taking different approaches than those of the past- namely: the use of virtual test environments and optimization of verification flow via a better mix of verification methods.Virtual test environments simplify the use model on today's complex SoCs and increase accessibilityThere has been a large shift from ICE to transaction-based accelerated verification in which the emulated DUT interacts at very high speeds with a virtual environment. The key driver for this is the ever increasing number of external interfaces on SoCs - a tablet, wireless phone, or digital TV SoC may have >20 external connections, running the gamut of peripheral and communications protocols.The implementation of a transaction-based verification methodology provides many benefits over an in-circuit emulation methodology. The entire design is contained within its hardware and its associated PC: no target board is required, nor external cabling, level shifters or speed-adapters. Instead, the external environment is modeled as a group of transactor models for each aspect of the SoC interface; e.g. PCIe, USB, keypad, LCD display and camera sensors. The front end of each transactor that communicates at a high-level of abstraction with each peripheral is modeled in C on the PC (Figure 1).Emulation transactors (VIP) typically are comprised of three elements. At the core is a synthesizable protocol specific element, usually a BFM or full IP implementation that is placed in the emulation hardware along with the DUT. Advanced systems like ZeBu have dedicated resources for these elements, to optimize the performance in the system (Figure 2). In the normal two-way data flow, communications between the host and DUT in the emulator are transaction-based, maximizing the system performance. On the downstream side, the protocol block converts the transaction-level signals to pin-level signals, and interfaces to the DUT's protocol specific physical interface.A well architected emulation system can accommodate dozens of such protocol specific transaction-level interfaces.The beauty of transaction-based verification methodology is that all the interfacing from the DUT to the external test environment is software configurable and downloadable. Changing the system from one block to another, or testing multiple blocks in parallel, or even shifting from one SoC design to another, can all be done through software configurations from anywhere on a network. The system, accessed as a networked resource, offers much more flexibility and value than if used for ICE based verification.Use the right methodology at the right timeA factor in obtaining the best out of the emulation system is to use a mix of verification methods appropriate to different stages on a project. During early architectural design, high-level models in virtual prototypes are used to make tradeoffs and optimize different parts of the design. With much of today's SoCs consisting of major blocks being re-used from prior designs or licensed from third parties, there is considerable RTL available very early in the project.In such cases, hybrid emulation - emulation environment can be used where the RTL models can be exercised in the emulator, and the blocks of the design are exercised in the virtual prototype. The full visibility into the RTL within the emulator can prove extremely useful in identifying implementation problems in the RTL blocks while exploring your design alternatives.Once RTL is all available, typically block-level designs are initially tested with simulation. Once the bug discovery frequency drops to a reasonable level, maybe a bug a day, users frequently will move the block-level testing to an emulation system and begin running more exhaustive tests at speeds unattainable with simulation. At this point, firmware may be introduced to verify the initial hardware - software interactions.After running initial regression tests in simulation on the entire SoC, many teams quickly move their full SoC testing to emulation where they can greatly expand the real-time cycles on their designs. Typically at this point, early versions of drivers and other low level software are available and testing can begin moving into realistic system test scenarios.When the RTL design is stable enough, it's time to give emulation system access to the software development teams, whom up to that point may have been using non-cycle accurate transaction-level models for development. It may also be optimal to provide multiple, high performance FPGA-based prototypes, like our HAPS systems, to the software team to accelerate their development.ConclusionGetting the most value and productivity of your emulation system generally requires that you*Leverage virtual test environments to simplify the use model and increase accessibility*Adopt the most appropriate verification methodology at the right time to optimize your entire verification flow.Figure 1: The front end of each transactor that communicates at a high-level of abstraction with each peripheral is modeled in C on the PCFigure 2: The back end that converts high-level commands into bit-level protocols is mapped to hardware within the emulation system's RTB architecture

Apple has introduced a new 21.5-inch iMac starting at US$1,099. Featuring an ultra-thin design, a 21.5-inch display, Core i5 processors and the latest OS X operating system, the new iMac will be pushed to focus on the entry-level desktop market.The new 21.5-inch iMac features a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz, Intel HD 5000 graphics, 8GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive. All iMac models include next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and two Thunderbolt ports and four USB 3.0 ports.The new 21.5-inch iMac is available through the Apple Online Store, Apple's retail stores and select Apple authorized resellers. Configure-to-order options include a 1TB hard drive, a 1TB Fusion Drive, and up to 256GB flash storage.Apple 21.5-inch entry-level iMac all-in-one PCPhoto: Company

Amazon has unveiled Fire, the first smartphone designed by the company and features Amazon's Dynamic Perspective and Firefly. Dynamic Perspective uses a new sensor system to respond to the way consumers hold, view, and move the Fire. Firefly quickly recognizes things in the real world, web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and barcodes, movies, music, and products, and lets consumers take action in seconds, all with a press of the Firefly button.Dynamic Perspective uses four ultra-low power specialized cameras and four infrared LEDs built into the front face of Fire, a dedicated custom processor, real-time computer vision algorithms, and a new high-performing and power-efficient graphics rendering engine.Dynamic Perspective features include one-handed gestures for auto-scroll, tilt, swivel and peek for quicker, easier navigation and a better media and entertainment experience; and the enhanced carousel for developers to customize the contents of their dynamic app and how it responds to user actions, Amazon claimed.Firefly combines Amazon's catalog of physical and digital content with multiple image, text and audio recognition technologies to quickly identify web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and barcodes, plus over 100 million items, including movies, TV episodes, songs, and products.Fire is built using materials including Gorilla Glass 3 for the rear and front, aluminum buttons, stainless steel details and a rubberized polyurethane grip area. The smartphone also features Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon 2.2GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 4.7-inch HD display, global LTE and connectivity with nine bands of LTE, four bands of GSM, five bands of UMTS for better voice coverage and faster data speeds, 802.11ac support, Wi-Fi channel bonding, NFC, and Bluetooth.The smartphone is also equipped with a custom-tuned 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with backside illumination, LED flash, 5-element f/2.0 lens, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), and HDR capabilities, and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera.Fire ships on July 25 and is available exclusively on AT&T. Fire with 32GB is available for US$199 with a two-year contract.Amazon Fire smartphonePhoto: Company

AAEON, a major developer of industrial computing solutions, has released the world's smallest network appliance, the FWS-2250.The compact chassis and use of the Intel Atom E3815 processor has resulted in a highly affordable SMB/SOHO desktop unit. Equipped with four GbE ports with Intel controllers and with up to 8 GB installed in the two memory slots, there is ample memory, processing power and networking capability for applications such as small firewalls, IDS/IPS, load balancing, network access control, bandwidth management, web filters and anti-spam applications. Drawing only about 20 watts, the low power consumption is an added benefit.The AAEON FWS-2250 also offers a good selection of I/O ports. In addition to the LAN ports, there are also a CompactFlash socket, an RJ-45 console port and three USB ports. Furthermore, there is an optional Mini-PCIe port and bypass on one pair of the Ethernet ports.The greatest benefit considered to its compact size. "Compared to our competitors, the FWS-2250 is about 30% smaller in size, which save customers' shipping expense and provides SMB/SOHO users with secure and stylish network appliance" said Wayne Chen, CTO of AAEON. "We also offer a competitive price within the fanless solution market."About AAEONAAEON is a leading manufacturer of advanced industrial and embedded computing platforms. Committed to innovative engineering, AAEON provides integrated solutions, hardware and services for premier OEM/ODMs and system integrators worldwide. Reliable and high quality computing platforms include industrial motherboards and systems, industrial displays, rugged tablets, PC/104 modules, PICMG half-size and full-size boards and COM modules, embedded SBCs, embedded controllers and related accessories. AAEON also offers customized end-to-end services from initial product conceptualization and product development on through to volume manufacturing and after-sales service programs. AAEON is an Associate member of the Intel Internet of Things Solutions Alliance. http://www.aaeon.com/