Our Research in SLC NAND Endurance on EECatalog

Update Since publishing, EECatalog is no longer. We’ve moved the original article to our own blog: SLC NAND Secrets Exposed.          Home

This whitepaper is the result of many months of effort, working together with our customers in the field, in troubleshooting and coming up with an “smoking gun” explanation and solution for a decrease in SLC NAND flash endurance. It’s valuable information for any embedded system users who rely on their data and filesystem to be free of corruption. Be sure to read the full whitepaper atSLC NAND: Secrets Exposed at EECatalog.com (WayBack Machine Archived Link).

While you’re at it, you may want to take a look at our related articles, featuring the solution we came up with for the decreased flash endurance,XNAND2: NAND Device Driver for Todays Lower Endurance SLC NAND,and how to further prevent data loss,Whitepaper: Preventing Filesystem Corruption in Embedded Linux.                               Home

Demonstrating the TS-SILO Power Reserve Solution

Eliza Nelson, our Field Applications Engineer, takes some time during the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) inMinneapolis to show us a demo on the new TS-SILO super capacitor, power reserve solution. In the video, a TS-7680 equipped with onboard TS-SILO gets it’s power feed mercilessly taken away in an ever lasting loop every minute or so. Thanks to the TS-SILO, it has time to gracefully shutdown each time. Power is restored, the TS-SILO gets fully charged again in under a minute, and power is ripped away again. Enjoy the video!

New! Linux v4.9 Download. The Linux v4.9 kernel with long term support until 2023 is now available for download. Refer to the manual for details.

Practical Guide to Getting Started with the TS-7400-V2

Introduction

This guide aims to get you through the basic steps of getting your TS-7400-V2 up and running so you can begin development. It’s mostly an extrapolation of the official TS-7400-V2 Manual, but provides a more practical and casual approach in setting up connections, networking, and general environment.

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grow-sd: Script for Resizing SD Card Partitions Using sfdisk

The purpose of this example script, which we call grow-sd, is to demonstrate a use case for using sfdisk, or what I like to call ‘scripted fdisk’, to modify a partition on an SD card provided by Technologic Systems. This is useful when your production SD card image, originally copied from a 512 MB SD card, is being written to a much larger capacity SD card, and you want the additional storage space. Keep in mind, the script itself is specific to Technologic Systems’ embedded boards, and only applies to those images which are shipped with four partitions (ie. TS-7350). However, this script also generically demonstrates and example usage of sfdisk. We thought it’d be helpful to publish in hopes it would be useful. Feel free to modify it to fit your requirements.

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NetBSD Toaster Powered by the TS-7200 ARM9 SBC

Important: Newer TS-7250-V2 Product Available. The TS-7250-V2 is the new and improved version of this product! Recommended for new designs.

It has long been regarded that the UNIX-like OS NetBSD is portable to every type of machine except perhaps your kitchen toaster. Technologic Systems, however, has conquered this last frontier. Using the rugged, embedded TS-7200 single board computer housed inside the empty space of a standard two slice toaster, Technologic Systems has designed a functional NetBSD controlled toaster.

netbsd-toaster

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NetBSD/evbarm Support on the TS-7200

From the Archives: This article was resurrected from our white paper archives from back in December of 2004. Principles presented should be long-enduring, but there may have been some changes in the NetBSD/Linux/Unix marketplace since. 

Important: Newer TS-7250-V2 Product Available. The TS-7250-V2 is the new and improved version of this product! Recommended for new designs.

netbsd-ts-7200

Why NetBSD?

NetBSD is very similar to Linux (and actually can run Linux binaries), so you may be asking yourself why one would choose to run NetBSD instead of Linux? I will list the most common general reasons cited that apply to specifically to embedded systems designers. Wasabi Systems also has a very well written write-up describing Linux vs. NetBSD and even a guide for OEMs migrating from Linux to NetBSD.

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How To Compile the Mainline Linux Kernel v4.9 for TS-4900

embedded-linux-ts-board

Here’s a quick how-to guide straight from one of our engineers on how to compile the mainline Linux Kernel v4.9-rc1 and install it on the TS-4900. Support for the TS-4900 in the mainline kernel image (v4.9 and up) is a pretty big deal for us, and we’re excited about it. A big shout out to our friends at Savoir-faire Linux for their hard work in making this happen!

Step 1: Install the Toolchain

We need to install the toolchain from Ubuntu or Debian Jessie by running the following command:              Home

apt-get install gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf build-essential lzop u-boot-tools libncursesw5-dev -y

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Introduction to PC/104 Connectors

Technologic Systems products use two types of PC/104 connectors: 1.) the standard PC/104 connector and 2.) the PC/104 stack-thru connector. The standard connector is for any SBC used by itself or at the bottom of a PC/104 stack. The standard connector is provided on all of our PC/104 SBCs by default. The optional stack-thru connector is for clients who wish to use a Technologic Systems SBC in conjunction with their PC/104 motherboard. In this case, the Technologic Systems SBC will be mounted above the client board and will require a PC/104 stack-thru connector. PC/104 peripherals (daughter-boards) always have a stack-thru connector, because they must be mounted above the PC/104 SBC. Below you will find pictures of the two PC/104 connectors and an example of a PC/104 stack.           Home

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Benefits of ISO 9001 Implementation

 

History

Back in late 2014, Technologic Systems was looking to broaden its customer base and standardize its operations. We were aware that more and more customers were requiring that their suppliers be ISO 9000 registered. A decision was made to pursue the certification.                Home

Why Certify?

We knew ISO 9001 certification would allow us to compete in a much broader arena. We wanted to demonstrate that we use the best practice process approach, have robust procedures, and consistently strive to achieve the highest standards.

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Insiders View of Company Culture at Technologic Systems

 

TS-Stone-Sign-1600x400In every business, no matter how large or small, you work with others. Going to work means daily interaction with your fellow co-workers and workplace. Many people spend more time with their co-workers and workplace than they do their actual personal lives. So what keeps these employees happy and motivated? Company culture. It is a combined atmosphere that each workplace must consider, embrace, and nurture. It’s not just the people you work with or your everyday tasks. It’s a combination of absolutely everything you come in contact with, from the parking lot to the desk or chair you are at, or even the truck you drive (if it’s a company provided vehicle). Every one of these aspects is what makes up company culture.

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