Category: Know How

Shortage of electronic components

DRAM memory chips have been in short supply for several months now. Passive components such as MLCC capacitors are now also being added. As the current demand is higher than the manufacturers’ supply, the components have risen in price accordingly.

The same applies to spo-comm systems: components for some systems are in short supply. For the spo-book WINDBOX II Quad, for example, both we and our suppliers currently need a longer lead time.

For you, this means that orders placed at short notice may be subject to longer delivery times. If you have already planned projects for which a fixed delivery date is required, please allow for the slightly longer delivery times.

Source: heise.de

What is behind Tegra from Nvidia?

The term Tegra refers to a single-chip system based on the ARM architecture  (“SoC”, stands for: System on a Chip) from Nvidia. This system is primarily intended for use in cell phones, cars and tablet PCs. The Tegra contains everything from CPU and memory to a graphics chip with integrated video encoder and decoder.

More about SoC

A system like the Tegra focuses primarily on the development of AI computers. Certain developer kits, which are available for every Tegra chip, also offer more specialized applications such as deep learning, autonomous machines and multi-camera solutions.

You will soon find out what the new Tegra model in the spo-comm range has to offer.

Processes at spo-comm regarding Windows updates

We at spo-comm attach great importance to installing all Windows updates before we send systems to our customers. However, it may also be the case that there are delays with so-called major Windows updates. This is due to the fact that they are time-consuming on the one hand and often involve various additional patches on the other. The nimble hands in our production department also need some time to create special customer images.
If you would like us to update your customer image at shorter intervals, please contact us by e-mail or telephone.

Definition TDP according to Intel

Intel defines TDP in one of its white papers as follows: “The upper point of the thermal profile consists of the Thermal Design Power (TDP) and the associated Tcase¬ value.  Thermal Design Power (TDP) should be used for processor thermal solution design targets. TDP is not the maximum power that the processor can dissipate.”

Tcase describes the temperature measurement via a thermocouple embedded in the center of the heat distributor. The original measurement is carried out at the factory. After production, Tcase is calibrated by the BIOS. The measurement results are read on a diode between and below the cores. (Source: Intel)

According to Intel, TDP therefore represents a guideline value for the recommended heat dissipation, among other things. At the same time, the Thermal Design Power says nothing about the maximum possible power output.

ComputerBase.de lists another Intel definition in one of its current articles: According to this, TDP also stands for “the average power consumption (in watts) that the processor derives when operating at base frequency with all cores active at a highly complex workload defined by Intel”.

It is true that we can only speculate as to what exactly is meant by a “highly complex workload”. What is clear from this definition, however, is that the thermal design power is in no way based on the turbo clock rates of a processor. As the Thermal Design Power refers exclusively to the base clock of a CPU, it is therefore not possible to deduce how much power a processor consumes throughout the day.

Definition TDP according to AMD

Intel also mentions AMD’s definition of thermal design power in its white paper. According to AMD, TDP means: “The thermal design power is the maximum power a processor can draw for a thermally significant period while running commercially useful software.” The constraining conditions for TDP are specified in the notes in the thermal and power tables.”

ComputerBase.de also lists a further definition of AMD:
“The TDP is a strict measure of the thermal power dissipation of an ASIC (= Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), which defines the minimum cooling system required to achieve the specified performance.”

Consequently, this would mean that a CPU can only achieve the intended performance as long as the performance is not throttled by excessive temperatures. At the maximum permissible ambient temperature, the CPU must therefore dissipate the power loss that ensures that the temperature of the CPU is exactly at its critical limit.

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UHD, 4K and 8K – how are they connected?

Let’s start with the terminology: UHD stands for Ultra High Definition (literally “ultra-high resolution”). The “K” in 4K and 8K stands for the number one thousand. We explain what this is all about below.
The term UHD covers two different picture resolutions. The first is UHD-1 and the second is UHD-2, which has a resolution of 3840 × 2160 pixels and stands for what is normally understood as 4K. In the cinema sector, however, there is a different resolution, namely 4096 × 2160 pixels. The term 4K is derived precisely from this 4 thousand number, which stands for the horizontal pixels.

UHD-2 or 8K – no longer just dreams of the future

In contrast to 4K, 8K doubles both the horizontal and vertical number of pixels. This means that a total of four times as many pixels can be displayed – 33 million in total – and this corresponds to a resolution of 7680 × 4320 pixels.
Not only the increase in resolution, but also the expansion of the color space (WCG, Wider Color Gamut), the contrast range (HDR, Higher Dynamic Range) and the increase in the refresh rate to a maximum of 120fps go hand in hand with 8K.

With HDMI 2.1 from 4K to 8K and up to 10K resolution

8K requires a data rate of 24 Gbit/s and therefore also a special cable that meets this requirement. In January 2017, the HDMI Forum published the final specifications for a suitable cable. This is the successor to HDMI 2.0: HDMI 2.1. This cable enables a data rate of 48 Gbit/s for 8K@60Hz and therefore also exceeds the DisplayPort standard, which has allowed around 32 Gbit/s since version 1.3 (see also “VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI – What is the difference between these multimedia interfaces?”). With compression of the HDMI 2.1 cable, a resolution of 10,328 × 7,760, i.e. 10K, is even possible.

8K with spo-comm Mini-PCs

We currently have two mini PCs in our range that can play 8K content. One of these is our well-known digital signage player par excellence: the spo-book KUMO IV . This actively cooled mini PC can play content in a resolution of up to 8K thanks to its dedicated nVidia GTX 1060 graphics card with 6 GB DDR5 VRAM. The second in the group is our latest system – the spo-book RUGGED GTX 1050 Ti . This PC is also equipped with a dedicated nVidia graphics card – and unlike the KUMO IV, it is also passively cooled. As the name suggests, the system is equipped with an nVidia GTX 1050 Ti, with 4GB of memory and up to 32GB of video RAM. An 8K video wall is also possible with the help of four of the seven HDMI connections.

Are you curious?

Configure spo-book KUMO V here and test it for free!

Configure your spo-book RUGGED GTX1050 Ti here and test it for free!

AMD processors for high performance in embedded computing

With the new embedded processors, which go by the name of Ryzen, AMD is presenting a new benchmark and thus opening fire against its competitor Intel. These CPUs are mainly used for embedded applications with high performance requirements. These include digital signage applications, which have to process high-resolution 4K content, as well as use in smart robotics and vehicle computing. AMD processors also feature integrated GPUs based on the latest AMD Radeon Vega architecture.

Source: elektronikpraxis.vogel.de

AMD’s 7nm next-level GPUs

AMD dropped a bombshell at this year’s Computex. The US chip developer has announced that professional Radeon Intel products based on the new Vega 20 GPU will be released this year. This is manufactured using the so-called 7 nm process and is aimed at the B2B market. It is not yet clear whether consumers will be able to enjoy Vega 20. However, it is clear that gamers will also be able to enjoy 7 nm products. In addition, AMD has not yet released any information about the technical specifications. It was only announced that there will be a memory expansion of 32 gigabytes of HBM 2, which also increases the memory bandwidth to 4,096 due to the four HBM2 stacks.

Source: computerbase.de

Windows 7 support discontinued

Last year, Microsoft and Intel announced that new CPUs would only be supported on the latest Windows – we are talking about Windows 10 here. Conversely, this means that there is no longer driver support for Kaby Lake processors under Windows 7 and 8.1. Windows 7 support for Skylake CPUs has been extended by Microsoft until 2020. However, Microsoft advises upgrading to Windows 10 as soon as CPUs that were launched on the market from August 2016 onwards are used. This currently affects both the Kaby Lake generation already mentioned and the Coffee Lake generation presented in October 2017.
For this reason, spo-comm will only offer support for Windows 10 for new systems in future.

Source: heise.de

Learn more about spo-comm

Spectre Next Generation

Research teams have currently discovered eight new security vulnerabilities in Intel CPUs. All eight are essentially due to the same design problem and are therefore called “Spectre Next Generation”. The loopholes are currently still being kept ‘secret’ – exclusive information on this is available to c’t.

High-risk for clouds

Intel classifies four of these eight vulnerabilities as high-risk – the others are labeled as ‘medium’. According to c’t, one of the next-generation vulnerabilities is particularly threatening: it can be exploited for attacks across the boundaries of virtual machines. This poses an enormous security risk, especially for cloud hosters, as passwords and secret keys for data transmission are at risk. In addition, Intel’s Software Guard Extension for protecting sensitive data is not protected against Spectre.

CPU patches in progress

c’t only has information from Intel and their patch plans so far. Each of the eight next-generation gaps requires its own patches, which Intel is already working on – in some cases together with operating system manufacturers. Intel is planning two patch waves: The first is to take place in May, the second is planned for August. It is recommended to install these Spectre Next Generation updates quickly.

Statement from Intel

“Protecting our customers’ data and ensuring the security of our products is a top priority at Intel. We are constantly working closely with customers, partners, other chip manufacturers and security researchers to understand and solve problems. This process also includes reserving blocks of CVE numbers. We stand firmly behind the concept of coordinated disclosure [von Schwachstellen] and will share additional information on potential issues as we finalize safeguards. As a general rule, we recommend that everyone continuously updates their systems.”

[UPDATE]: First patches postponed

As mentioned in the text above, the first patches for the Spectre-NG vulnerabilities were already planned for this May – Monday, May 7th to be exact. This has now passed and there are no patches: Intel asked for a delay.
Obviously Intel has problems to provide updates in time and has now postponed the release – for the time being for 2 weeks, the new date is May 21st. This is when new microcode updates are to be made available and Intel wants to announce information on two of the Spectre Next Generation vulnerabilities at the same time. According to heise – with exclusive information – this date is not yet fixed either: Intel is said to have already applied for a further deadline extension until July 10. [UPDATE /]

Source: heise; c’t

Read the latest article on Intel’s Spectre and Meltdown

Windows update KB4090007 for Windows 10

Hoping for BIOS updates for Intel processors from 2013 and 2014 has come to an end. The latest version of the optional Windows update KB4090007 from 24.04.2018 not only brings microcode updates for Coffee Lake (Core i-8000), Kaby Lake (i-7000) and Skylake (i-6000), but also for Broadwell (i-5000) and Haswell (i-4000). The update is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 10 – but can still only be downloaded from the Windows Update Catalog  via an unsecured http connection. However, Windows 10 computers with Intel Atom processors still require BIOS updates.

The update also solves another problem: BIOS updates with supposedly new microcode updates have been released for some systems since December 2017, but the PowerShell script Get-SpeculationControl still reports no BTI protection.

Meltdown patches for Windows 7

Microsoft does not provide microcode updates for Windows 7 via Windows Update – BIOS updates are still required here. At the end of March, there were serious problems with the patches for the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 against the Meltdown vulnerability, which became known as “Total Meltdown”. However, anyone who has applied the patches from the beginning (early March) is protected against Total Meltdown.

A PoC (Proof of Concept)  has been published to ensure that you are protected against Total Meltdown.

Source: heise

Read the first part on Spectre and Meltdown

Read the first update on Spectre and Meltdown

1. Intel points out that microcode updates are now available for all processors released in the last five years.
2. Intel has also worked very closely with antivirus software providers to ensure compatibility.

Intel also announced on its website that the hardware design of new processors has been changed to protect them against the second variant of Spectre and Meltdown – there is currently no solution for Spectre variant 1. According to Intel, these innovations create obstacles for potential attackers through additional protective walls – on the one hand between running applications and on the other between processes with different access rights.

According to Brian Krzanich, the first processors that will have this new hardware protection – Intel is talking about eighth-generation Core i processors, among others – will probably be released in the second half of 2018. It is still unclear exactly which processor series is meant, as the “Ice Lake” processors were intended to be the ninth Core i generation. It is possible that there will be an “intermediate generation” codenamed “Whiskey Lake”.

To the previous Spectre and Meltdown article

How does Power over Ethernet work?

More and more devices, including our RUGGED T1000, for example, have the PoE function. Ethernet not only occupies a leading position for local network cabling, but also for security networks. Power over Ethernet eliminates the need for a separate power connection and the classic plug-in power supply units. Instead, the device draws its power from the data network. In addition to the data signals, power is also fed into the data line – usually at a central point in the network distributor.

Where is Power over Ethernet needed?

PoE is often found with devices that would normally have to be connected to different sockets with different cables. Power over Ethernet is a particularly suitable solution for areas of application in which a high level of security is required for the data connection, for example for (surveillance) cameras or servers.

What PoE standards are there and what do the PoE classes stand for?

Today, Power over Ethernet usually refers to the IEEE standard 802.3af-2003 (“DTE Power over MDI”), which was adopted in June 2003. There is now a newer standard IEEE 802.3at-2009, which was previously known as PoE+ or PoE plus. This increases the maximum power output from 15.4 W of the to 25.5 W.
All devices that are supplied with power via PoE or PoE+ are assigned a class of 0-4. The class depends on the level of power consumption of the appliance. The devices assigned to classes 1, 2 and 3 require only a very low, low or medium amount of power, whereas class 4 (PoE+) requires a high amount of power and is only compatible with PoE+ PSE devices. As soon as a Powered Device (PD) device is connected to a Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) device, it transmits the class to the PSE device so that it can provide the correct amount of power.

What are the advantages of Power over Ethernet?

The main advantage of Power over Ethernet is that a power supply cable is not required. This makes it possible to install Ethernet-connected devices in places that are difficult to access, such as server cabinets. On the one hand, this saves installation costs and, on the other hand, the reliability of the device can be increased by implementing a central uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

Configure the RUGGED T1000 now!

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History of Spectre and Meltdown

Since the beginning of the year, one topic has been causing a lot of excitement in the IT world: The processor problems Meltdown and Spectre were uncovered. The CPUs at risk are mainly from Intel, but AMD and smartphone chips from Apple and Samsung, for example, are also affected. Intel was already informed about these security vulnerabilities in June 2017, but only made this public at the beginning of January 2018.

Processor gap: What happens?

The security gaps in the processors make it possible for attackers to access sensitive data by cleverly exploiting these gaps. Modern processors rely on the so-called out-of-order feature. Commands are executed speculatively and presumably required data is loaded into the caches. In the program flow, however, it is possible that they are not executed after all due to incorrect speculation. It is precisely this speculation of commands that makes the discovered attack scenarios possible.

Which CPUs are affected?

Intel in particular has suffered from the security gaps that have been discovered. Processors of the Core generation since 2008 are affected, but also the Intel Atom C, E, A, x3 and Z series as well as the Celeron and Pentium J and N series.

The official Intel page on this topic and a list of all affected Intel processors can be found here.

Google also took a stand and published that processors from AMD and ARM are also affected. Although Android systems are affected, they have been protected since the last security update on January 2. Apple is also said to have already closed some of the gaps with an earlier update and plans to follow up with further fixes with the update to 10.3.3.

You can find AMD’s official page on this topic here.

What measures are there against Spectre and Meltdown?

The security loopholes can be solved by extensive security patches for all existing operating systems. However, there is currently chaos here: BIOS updates with CPU microcode updates are only distributed by a few manufacturers. Microsoft has already withdrawn a Windows patch for older systems. But even Apple only vaguely explains what happens to Macs from the years before 2010 on which macOS High Sierra does not run.

According to some information, which has not been confirmed by Intel, AMD or other manufacturers, the security updates that are distributed are intended to slow down older (i.e. pre-2013) and weaker processors more than modern ones. For desktop PCs, notebooks and tablets – with the latest processors and Windows 10 – performance drops only minimally. However, Microsoft expects significantly higher performance losses on Windows 7 PCs with older CPUs. The most noticeable effects can be found on systems with Intel processors and fast SSDs (especially PCIe SSDs with NVM protocol, if the microcode update has been installed in addition to the Windows update.

You can find the official Microsoft page here.

To the Microsoft Security TechCenter

Fake BSI emails about security updates

Beware of fake emails about alleged Spectre and Meltdown updates. The e-mails written in the name of the BSI (Federal Office for Information Security) inform you that your end device is vulnerable and try to persuade you to install a supposed update. You can find an example of such a fake e-mail here. 

Affected spo-comm Mini-PCs

Together with our partners, we are always looking for and testing solutions. As soon as reliable information is available from Intel or Microsoft, we can provide suitable updates.

These spo-books are NOT affected as things stand at present:

–    spo-book WINDBOX II
–    spo-book WINDBOX II Plus
–    spo-book BRICK MSE45
–    spo-book BRICK NM10
–    spo-book TURO GM45
–    spo-book NOVA GM45
–    spo-book BOX NM10
–    spo-book FLUKE NM10
–    spo-book iDESK
–    spo-book MOVE NM10
–    spo-book RUGGED NM10
–    spo-book MOVE T56N
–    spo-book RUGGED T56N
–    spo-book ION 2
–    spo-book ION 3
–    spo-book POS NM10
–    spo-book POS NM10 slim
–    spo-book SQUARE 15
–    spo-book TECH 92F
–    spo-book UNO NM10
–    spo-book WINDBOX III

With regard to the Spectre and Meltdown issues, spo-comm:

– Always follow the updates from Intel, AMD & Microsoft
– Check the updates first on test computers in the deployment scenario before installing them on live systems,
– For older devices, test the security patches and check the performance, as the updates may result in performance losses.
– Exercise extreme caution with BSI emails, as they may be fake.

Read our latest What’s New article

CPU issues “Spectre” and “Meltdown”

Since the beginning of the year, the IT industry has been preoccupied with one topic in particular: the Meltdown and Spectre security vulnerabilities discovered in processors, which primarily affect Intel processors. By cleverly exploiting these gaps, attackers can use malicious code to read data that the computer processes in memory – including passwords. We at spo-comm are also working intensively on the current problems and their solutions.

You will also soon find a news ticker on our website where you can find out everything you need to know about the above-mentioned security vulnerabilities. So you are always up to date! You can also find out which of our devices are affected and what we are doing about it.

No more surcharging: no more extra costs for cashless payments

Since January 13, 2018, merchants across the EU have been prohibited from charging extra fees for cashless payment methods. This so-called “surcharging” was used when a customer wanted to pay in an online store by credit card, SEPA direct debit or bank transfer, for example. Although not initially affected by the “surcharging” ban, PayPal is also changing its terms and conditions as of January 9, 2018, which now state that merchants are not entitled to “charge a fee for using PayPal services as a payment method in your online store”.

For spo-comm customers this means: You want to buy the systems via our online store and pay by credit card or PayPal? Even if the new regulations apply to the B2C sector, you will no longer pay any separate fees for this.

Our spo-comm online store

New DIN RAILS for our BRICK range

DIN rails are now also available for our BRICK series. These brackets are attached to the matching VESA wall bracket with two screws each, allowing these Mini PCs to be installed in server cabinets, etc. They can be selected directly as an accessory when configuring your Mini PC.