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Embedded System Module

Toradex Colibri T30 computer-on-module (system-on-chip) board|thumb|right Embedded System Module, or ESM, is a compact computer-on-module (COM) standard. An ESM module typically includes a CPU processor, memory, module-specific I/O interfaces and a number of basic front I/O connectors. They can be plugged on a carrier board or be used as a stand-alone processor card. If the ESM module is plugged on a carrier, it relies on the standard PCI bus as a board-to-board interface. In this case two connectors create a link to the carrier. While the "J1" connector provides a specified PCI connection, the "J2" connector brings I/O signals from the ESM module to the carrier, which then includes all necessary connectors. The signal assignment of J2 is not fixed but can be completely customized, although there are reserved pins for a 64-bit PCI bus interface. A third connector, "J3", is used for additional I/O signals if the ESM module has no front I/O. The signal assignment of this connector is fixed to support a special set of I/O functions. A large part of the I/O functions on ESMs are often controlled by an onboard FPGA component (field-programmable gate array) so that every module can easily be tailored to a specialized application through user-defined functions. Such functions are loaded into the FPGA as IP cores.…

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Article summary

Toradex Colibri T30 computer-on-module (system-on-chip) board|thumb|right Embedded System Module, or ESM, is a compact computer-on-module (COM) standard. An ESM module typically includes a CPU processor, memory, module-specific I/O interfaces and a number of basic front I/O connectors. They can be plugged on a carrier board or be used as a stand-alone processor card. If the ESM module is plugged on a carrier, it relies on the standard PCI bus as a board-to-board interface. In this case two connectors create a link to the carrier. While the "J1" connector provides a specified PCI connection, the "J2" connector brings I/O signals from the ESM module to the carrier, which then includes all necessary connectors. The signal assignment of J2 is not fixed but can be completely customized, although there are reserved pins for a 64-bit PCI bus interface. A third connector, "J3", is used for additional I/O signals if the ESM module has no front I/O. The signal assignment of this connector is fixed to support a special set of I/O functions. A large part of the I/O functions on ESMs are often controlled by an onboard FPGA component (field-programmable gate array) so that every module can easily be tailored to a specialized application through user-defined functions. Such functions are loaded into the FPGA as IP cores.…

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  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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