Tag: portwell

Ring Up POS System Sales with Intel® vPro™ Technology

Posted on by Mark Scantlebury

The market for point-of-sale (POS) machines is extremely competitive, but POS machine designers can get an edge by appealing to two top retailer concerns: security and maintenance costs. Solve these problems for retailers and they are likely to line up to buy your money-saving solution.

How big of a problem are these two issues? According to Global IT service provider CompuCom, an IT visit can cost USD $187. A remote repair, on the other hand, costs just USD $12 – that’s 90 percent less expensive.

What about security? According to the Verizon 2015 Data Breach Investigations Report, the location of 70 percent of retail security breaches is the point of sale. This one remarkable fact shows just how vulnerable legacy POS machines are to identity thieves.

The first step to solving these issues for retailers is basing POS solutions on Intel® vPro™ platforms. Platform choices include the Intel® Core™ i5/i7 vPro™ processor family and the Intel® Xeon® processor E5-1600, E3-1500, and E3-1200 product families, as well as numerous Intel® chipsets and network adapters.

In cases where retailers are already using POS machines with these components, IT managers and managed service providers can activate the Intel vPro features in them. Intel® Setup and Configuration Software 9.0 makes implementing Intel vPro processor-based devices simple and fast. In a matter of minutes, many of the security and manageability features described here can be available.

Reducing Maintenance Costs

Intel® vPro™ technology and its remote device management component, Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT), easily and inexpensively integrate with existing IT environments and management infrastructure. Once activated, Intel vPro technology and Intel AMT work together to support the following management capabilities:

  • Real-time access and full remote control over POS devices with integrated Keyboard-Video-Mouse (KVM) capabilities – even when operating systems or disk drives fail and the device won’t boot (Figure 1)
  • Direct remote boots into the BIOS (via KVM support)
  • Highly secure remote resets of forgotten disk encryption passphrases or PINs
  • Remote system reimages and rebuilds
  • Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) support to boot devices remotely using their PXE-capable network interface controller (NIC)
  • Remote shutdown and power-on to reduce energy consumption
  • Provision of a temporary POS device to enable users to continue working while a device is repaired or reimaged

Figure 1. Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) enables real-time access and full remote control over POS devices with integrated Keyboard-Video-Mouse (KVM) capabilities – even when operating systems or disk drives fail and the device won’t boot.

Improving Security at the Point of Sale

Any compromise of data generated at a retail POS is unacceptable – yet many retailers still rely on software-based authentication such as username and password. More than 50 percent of data breaches are caused by misused or stolen user credentials.

A retailer’s reputation can be lost right along with any customer identity information in a fraction of a second. Intel vPro technology helps protect against threats from hackers and identity thieves through exceptional, hardware-based security features. Its security takes a multilayered approach:

  • Protection through hardware-based security access featuring the multifactor authentication of Intel® Authenticate Technology. In addition, Remote Secure Erase and Intel® Enterprise Digital Fence provide excellent data protection for Intel® Solid State Drives.
  • Detection through security features such as BIOS Guard and OS Guard offering hardware-based device and platform protection against BIOS and malware attacks.
  • Correction through remote out-of-band patching and recovery.

Use Case Examples

Intel vPro technology solutions are helping retail operations all over the world save on maintenance. The Bank of New Zealand, for instance, uses Intel vPro technology for their ATMs to power up devices for delivering patches, distributing software updates, and enforcing security policies. When an ATM experiences a system crash, the bank avoids a costly truck roll by running diagnostics and remediating issues via a remote hardware-based KVM session.

METRO Cash & Carry, an international leader in self-service wholesale, uses Intel vPro technology to remotely update POS machines even if a location is closed and machines are switched off (Figure 2). According to internal tests, METRO is saving the equivalent of several IT workdays per month by employing the remote manageability features offered by Intel Core vPro processors.

Figure 2. Intel® vPro™ technology enables remotely updating POS machines even if a location is closed and machines are switched off.

Architectural Considerations

Intel vPro technology platforms include features and capabilities to tightly integrate with complex infrastructure components such as Microsoft Active Directory*, DNS, DHCP, public key infrastructure (PKI), enterprise WLAN environments, and standard toolsets such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and McAfee ePO Deep Command*. These infrastructure components are optional and depend upon IT requirements around security and investment in existing systems management products.

At the highest level, the recommended and most secure version of the solution architecture is comprised of the components shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4.

Figure 3. This diagram shows how to use Intel® vPro™ technology in a retail enterprise environment for the best results in terms of security and manageability.

Figure 4. This is a close-up of the Intel® vPro™ technology portion of Figure 3.

Putting Intel® vPro Technology on the Sales Floor

For over a decade now Intel has continuously improved the feature set of Intel vPro technology and the performance, stability, and reliability of Intel AMT. POS machine designers can choose from a wider variety than ever of embedded boards and POS systems offering Intel vPro technology, including new boards and systems featuring the latest 6th generation Intel® Core™ i5/i7 vPro processors. With advances in performance, productivity, data security, and identity protection, these processors provide Intel’s best solution yet for retail POS.

To provide a sample of what’s available from members of the Intel® Internet of Things Solutions Alliance, we chose a selection based on the mini-ITX form factor. Mini-ITX is a good choice because components are on a single board, all I/O is defined and integrated on the board in a standard manner with standard commercial connections, and the boards are competitively priced.

Product Intel® vPro™ Processors Form Factor Features
Avalue EMX-Q170 6th generation Intel® Core™ i7/i5 processor product family Mini-ITX
  • 1x Intel® I219LM PCIe Gigabit Ethernet PHY
  • Realtek ALC892 HD Audio Codec
  • 5x SATA III, 1 x SATA III or 1 x mSATA III switch by Jumper
  • 1x full-size mPCIe with mSATA Support (SATA III)
  • 6x USB 2.0 by pin header
  • 1x PS2 keyboard/PS2 mouse with dual deck USB 2.0
  • Line-in, Mic-in, Line-out
  • Onboard Infineon SLB9665 support TPM 2.0
  • ATX Power
Ennoconn NSB-3011 Intel® Xeon® processors E3-1275 v5, E3-1268L v5, E5-1225 v5 Mini-ITX
  • DDR4 support (ECC memory support)
  • 2x GbE
  • USB 3,0
  • COM
  • Audio
Fujitsu D3433-S i7-6700 i7-6700TE i5-6500 i5-6500TE Mini-ITX
  • DDR4 2133 SO-DIMM up to 32GB
  • PCIe Gen3 and mPCIe
  • RAID
  • 2x GbE
  • TPM 2.0
  • 1x DVI
  • Audio
iBASE MI990 i7-6822EQ

i7-6820EQ

i5-6442EQ

i5-6440EQ

 Mini-ITX
  • 6x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0
  • 4x SATA III
  • DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort, and 24-bit dual channel LVDS
  • 2x GbE
  • TPM 2.0
  • Digital I/O (4-in/4-out)
  • Watchdog timer
IEI KINO-AQ170 6th generation Intel® Core™ i7/i5 processor product family Mini-ITX
  • 3x display (HDMI 2.0/HDMI/Display Port/VGA/iDP)
  • SATA 6Gb/s
  • USB 3.0
  • 1x SMBus
  • Watchdog timer
Jetway JNF594-Q170 6th generation Intel® Core™ i7/i5 processor product family Mini-ITX
  • 3x display (HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D)
  • RAID
  • 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1x mPCIe
  • Audio
  • 4x serial (2x RS232, 2x RS232/422/485)
  • CE, FCC, ROHS, REACH, EuP/ErP
MSI MS-98B2 I76600U Mini-ITX
  • 2x SO-DIMM DDR4-2133 up to 32 GB
  • 2x GbE
  • 2x SATA III
  • mSATA/mPCIe shared slot
  • Watchdog Timer
  • FCC, CE, C-Tick, VCCI, BSMI
Portwell WADE-8017 6th generation Intel® Core™ i7/i5 processor product family Mini-ITX
  • 3x display (HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA)
  • 1x PCIe x16
  • 1x M.2
  • Serial (1x RS-232/422/485; 1x RS-232; 4x RS-232 on pin header)
  • TPM 1.2 (optional)
  • MTBF over 120,000 hours at 40° C

Give Your POS Solutions the Intel® vPro™ Technology Advantage

Boost your sales by differentiating your POS systems using the manageability and security features that come by starting with a board offering Intel vPro technology. For a complete list of the hundreds of embedded systems and boards targeting the retail market and offering Intel vPro technology, see the Alliance’s Solutions Directory.

Putting Digital Signage in Motion

Posted on by Mark Scantlebury

There’s nothing like mass transit trains and buses for providing a captive audience for advertising. In fact, many transit systems depend on advertising revenues to supplement their tight budgets and help hold down fare prices. But do transit companies need a dedicated media player on a train or bus to deliver advertising? Or is it possible to give them more for their money by offering multi-function telematics solutions that can perform other important tasks?

Digital signage manufacturers and system integrators looking to offer such a versatile product would need a unit that can deliver powerful compute and graphics capabilities while operating within the power constraints of a bus or train. In addition, this unit would need to meet all the environmental challenges of life on wheels and rails – from temperature extremes to vibration.

Portwell recently introduced such a rugged, multi-function solution for handling mobile digital signage and more (Figure 1). Their PCS-8311P telematics system is a tough embedded computer offering four Power over Ethernet (PoE) M12 ports. These ports enable the system to perform as a digital signage media player and a network video recorder (NVR) by providing data transfer capabilities and power to smart displays and onboard surveillance cameras over a connection that can withstand serious shock and vibration. The ports can also solidly connect and power other LAN peripherals, such as door sensors or ticket printers.

Figure 1. The Portwell PCS-8311P telematics system makes a versatile onboard media player that can handle NVR duties and a variety of other transit tasks.

Overall, the PCS-8311P is a textbook example of versatility. It is designed for use in commercial and municipal vehicles in applications such as in-vehicle infotainment, digital signage, mobile communications, navigation, onboard surveillance, and fleet management.

Let’s take a look how its design, extensive I/O, powerful but low-power-consumption processor, and other features make it so well-suited to on-the-road digital signage applications and more.

Rugged Design

The PCS-8311P meets MIL-STD-810F standards for vibration, shock and crash hazards, as well as EN50121 standards and EN50155 certification for railway applications (Figure 2). The unit’s tough aluminum-alloy enclosure includes cooling fins and wall- and VESA-mounting options, enabling the system to operate in harsh environments. The unit supports a wide operating temperature range (-40°~70°C), allowing use in almost any climate – cold, tropical, and desert. Its M12 ports enable unshakeable connections. And dual hot-swappable SATA storage with options for SSDs and RAID 1 (as well as RAID 0) provides redundancy and fast drive replacement to keep vehicles in service.

Figure 2. The Portwell PCS-8311P meets MIL-STD-810F standards for vibration, shock and crash hazards, as well as EN50121 standards and EN50155 certification for railway applications.

Built for Vehicle Power and Communications Limitations

Buses and trains generally operate on 24/28-volt systems, and their electronic components face input voltage power variances during operation. In addition, embedded computers for transit need to incorporate ignition-sensing power control systems to ensure their digital signage and other applications operate only when the vehicle is running. This prevents battery drainage when vehicles are garaged. Equally important, transit embedded systems must perform sequenced shutdowns so that when a bus or train is shut off, the signage solution’s operating system does not crash and introduce errors in the software.

The PCS-8311P is designed to run on a wide range of DC power – from 9V to 36V. Its intelligent power ignition control provides power management for smart startups and shutdowns. It even includes short-circuit protection through an auto-recovery function. The four IEEE802.3af PoE interfaces deliver up to 15.4W per port – enough to power surveillance cameras, smart displays, and even self-contained (all-in-one) digital signage systems.

As for communications, the PCS-8311P offers an excellent array of choices for connecting on the move. The unit supports up to three wireless modules, including LTE, 3.5G (with SIM card), and WLAN (Wi-Fi). It also offers GSM/GPRS and Bluetooth*, plus GPS Dead Reckoning. Savvy developers can use the GPS Dead Reckoning to offer timely location-based advertising and information. For instance, when the bus or train is approaching a stop with a restaurant, pre-arranged advertising for that restaurant could display a special for transit riders.

Wide Range of Essential I/O

Rich COM I/O interfaces, including support for optional CAN 2.0B, help transit companies maximize their investment in legacy devices and equipment. The unit includes three RS-232 (two with RS-485 and Auto Direction Control), two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, four in and four out DIO ports, one line-out audio, one microphone port, and one SIM card socket (Figure 2 and Figure 3). Of course, there are also the aforementioned M12 Ports for GbE PoE, as well as three display connections (DVI-I, DisplayPort, and VGA).

Figure 3. The Portwell PCS-8311P provides a rich selection of I/O on both sides of the unit.

A Processor Designed for Efficient Compute and Graphics Performance

With a thermal design power (TDP) rating of 15 W, the 5th generation Intel® Core™ i7-5650U processor brings all the performance you expect of an Intel® Core™ i7 processor to applications requiring low power consumption and stunning images and video. Now you can put on wheels and rails the same Ultra HD 4K graphics as advanced indoor systems.

The 5th generation Intel Core i7-5650U processor profits from Intel’s 14nm technology, 2nd generation 3D tri-gate transistors, and latest architectural enhancements. The processor combines a powerful dual-core CPU with a platform controller hub (PCH) to create a single multi-chip solution. The result is a PC-class processor for space- and power-constrained embedded applications that delivers solid compute performance, HD graphics, and high quality sound.

The integrated Intel® HD Graphics 6000 engine uses an improved architecture and an additional VDBOX unit (multi-format video codec). For digital signage applications, this combination delivers smoother visual quality, extremely fast media-transcode performance, and outstanding HD media playback. Intel® Clear Video HD technology and Intel® Quick Sync Video 2 add visual quality and color fidelity enhancements that enable eye-catching video quality. Codec support includes VP8 and HEVC/H.265. The processor supports the latest APIs as well – DirectX 11.2 and OpenGL 4.3.

For cases where the PCS-8311P is used both as a digital signage media player and an NVR, the 5th generation Intel® Core™ processors deliver faster video conversion compared to the previous generation. Video conversion to compressed formats can make a big difference in how many hours of video can be saved onboard the unit’s two drives.

Make a Compelling Case for Your Digital Signage Solution

The Portwell PCS-8311P is an excellent platform to build on for offering a transit digital signage system that can do double duty and even triple duty as an NVR and a mobile communications, management and navigation system. In addition, manufacturers can visit the Solutions Directory to find other rugged digital signage systems.