Vision Systems GmbH - Industrial PC provider, created a further upgraded member of the Alekto family of ARM 9 RISC based embedded industrial computers. Like its elder brothers the Alekto Plus is rich in industrial communication and control capabilities, combined with two independent Fast Ethernet interfaces.
Alekto Plus runs the full-featured Debian GNU/Linux operating system with Kernel 2.6. The system is suitable to cover control and networking applications for industrial control, transportation systems, environmental monitoring and small office servers. With the new expansion slot for miniPCI Express cards the Alekto Plus enables for communication on remote locations.

Alekto is a fanless design, RISC-based architecture and reliably operates in an IP30 certified aluminium case from -10 to 65°C. It is ideally suited for harsh environments, as typically in industrial and factory automation applications. To further enhance such usage an internal microSD reader is available as mass storage for operating system and user data.
To read more about the basic features of the Alekto family, please read the older news messages (first, second or third).

• Variety of interfaces
  Many interfaces, like LAN, USB, I²C, serial ports RS232/422/485, digital I/O and MiniPCI-Slot, make it easy to connect various industrial devices to the OnRISC Alekto.
  
  
• Added slot for Mini Cards
  New slot for miniPCI Express cards, combined with a slot for SIM cards.
  
  
• Linux up to date
  Debian GNU/Linux on ARM with Kernel 2.6.35 boots from C/F card or the internal microSD reader. Kernel 2.6 has better support for USB devices, handles the Watchdog Timer of Alekto, and provides the udev file system for devices. Many other new features can be read in the public Linux documentations.
  
  
• BuildRoot
  The BuildRoot system is now available for OnRISC. This is a set of Makefiles and patches that makes it easy to generate a complete embedded Linux system.
  
  

MiniPCI Express slot

The basic Alekto provides an expansion slot for miniPCI extension cards. Usually a WLAN interface is added here, to enable wireless communication with the Alekto. The Alekto Plus not only still provides this expansion slot, but also offers a new slot for miniPCI Express cards (Mini Cards).
MiniPCI Express is the modern option for compact system expansion cards. The standard defines signals for PCIe x1, USB 2.0 and also signals for SIM cards. This new expansion slot provides the USB 2.0 function, together with the SIM card. Most Mini Cards for GSM/3G (GSM/GPRS/Edge/UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA) use just the connection via USB 2.0, these Cards are functional in the system.

MicroSD card slot

Alekto Plus also provides the internal slot for microSD cards, which allows for booting the system. It can separate the operating system and application/configuration files from production data such as protocol files or NC programs on the Compact Flash card. The operating system is protected then against accidentally removal. Administrators are free to decide for their configuration, and use the Compact Flash slot to upload new data and configurations. This is especially useful where a network is not available, and mobile communication is planned for limited use.

OpenWrt

Since implementation of the cousin Alekto LAN (News page) the OnRISC family officially supports the router software distribution OpenWrt. Several GSM/3G modules are supported by OpenWrt, so making the Alekto Plus a GSM router is possible.

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