Rockwell Automation 6000 User Manual

RAC6000

Industrial Computers

Technical Reference Guide

RAC6000 Industrial Computers

Technical Reference Guide

This document contains a collection of general computer technology information. It also
contains detailed technical information for the RAC6000 industrial computer products.
Here is an overview of the document:

• Glossary of Terms – some independent websites of computer glossaries.

• Computer Component Definitions – overview of key computer components and

application to RAC6000 products.

• Reliability Information – product MTBF overview and data.

• RAC6000 Product Support – overview of RAC6000 computer support strategy.

• Computer Technical Data Sheets – detailed technical specifications for RAC6000

Processor Cards and Active Motherboards.

• RAC6000 Chemical Resistance – comprehensive tables for 6180, 6181, and 6185

products.

Glossary of Terms

The following websites contain detailed glossaries for computer terms and acronyms.

http://www.geek.com/glossary/glossary.htm
http://homepages.enterprise.net/jenko/Glossary/G.html
http://www.computeruser.com/resources/dictionary/dictionary.html

Computer Component Definitions

The following sections provide an overview for various computer terms and components,
as well as their application to RAC6000 computer products.

Passive Backplane Computers

A computer platform consisting of a multi-slot backplane and a separate plug-in CPU
card. Several years ago when computers were less reliable and changing rapidly, passive
backplane computers were popular because it is easy to replace the CPU card for repairs
or upgrades. Today passive backplane computers are popular because they can offer lots
of add-in card slots, or can be designed to fit small enclosures. Passive backplane
computers are primarily used in industrial and telecommunications applications, so their
technology usually lags commercial PCs by at least 6 months. The 6155 and 6181
computers are passive back-plane designs.

Active Motherboard Computers

A computer platform with the processor, memory, I/O ports, and add-in card slots
integrated onto a single circuit board. Almost all commercial PCs today contain active
motherboards, because they are the most cost-effective design. Today’s trends are
toward higher integration on the motherboard, such as embedded video and network
interfaces. The most popular motherboard size is the ATX standard. The ATX standard

defines the circuit board dimensions, the card slot and I/O connector locations, and the
power supply voltage and current requirements. New PC technologies are first
implemented on active motherboard designs for the commercial market. The 6155 and
6180 computers are ATX active motherboard designs, so can deliver these new
technologies more quickly to the industrial PC market.

ISA Slots

“Industry Standard Adapter.” This is an add-in card slot that connects the card to the
computer processor over the 8MHz ISA bus, with either an 8-bit or 16-bit data path. ISA
is a legacy bus originally developed for the IBM PC. Most ISA cards do not support
“Plug and Play”, so the user must manually configure the system memory and interrupts
according to each card’s requirements. ISA slots are no longer available in most
commercial computers, and are no longer listed in PC standards. Because many
industrial applications still use ISA cards, all RAC6000 computers provide at least 1 ISA
slot.

PCI Slots

“Peripheral Connect Interface.” This is an add-in card slot that connects the card to the
computer processor over the 33MHz PCI bus. PCI cards support “Plug and Play”, which
allows a computer’s BIOS to automatically assign resources to the cards. This makes it
easy to install and configure PCI cards and their drivers. All RAC6000 computers
provide at least 1 PCI slot.

Shared Slots

This is a physical slot that can be used as either an ISA slot or a PCI slot, but not both
simultaneously. It has two connectors to support either card type. Shared slots are useful
when backplane space is limited, because they increase the available mix of ISA and PCI
slots.

Card Slot Specification

All RAC6000 literature defines computer slots by an “X / Y / Z” designation. The “X”
denotes the number of PCI slots, the “Y” is the number of ISA slots, and “Z” is the
number of shared slots. A computer with a 3/2/1 slot configuration has 3 PCI slots, 2
ISA slots, and 1 shared slot that can be used for either PCI or ISA. This computer can
support up to 4 PCI and 2 ISA cards, or 3 PCI and 3 ISA cards.

Processor Packages

Intel has developed a variety of “standardized” electronic sockets for its Pentium,
Pentium II, Pentium III, and Celeron processors. These packages are commonly referred
to as Socket 7, Slot 1, and Socket 370.

Socket 7

The original Intel Pentium processor socket is often called a “Socket 7” design. Many
other companies offer drop-in processors for Socket 7 motherboards. The 6155 and 6180
Pentium 166MHz options are a socket 7 design. The 6181 CPU card is a Socket 7
design, and supports Intel Pentium 166MHz, Intel Pentium MMX 233MHz, and AMD

K6-2 366MHz processors. The Pentium 166 and MMX233 are on Intel’s long-life or
embedded roadmap.

Slot 1

Intel changed to a “Slot 1” package with its Pentium II, Pentium III, and Celeron
processors. The “Slot 1” package is a cartridge that plugs into the motherboard at a right
angle. Some of the high-end Intel processors are still available in Slot 1. The 6155 and
6180 Pentium III options are currently Slot 1 designs, but will be migrating to Socket 370
with the next motherboard release. No Intel Slot 1 processors are on their long-life or
embedded roadmap.

Socket 370

Intel is now offering a “Socket 370” design in its new Pentium III and Celeron
processors. Socket 370 processors have a more traditional integrated circuit package.
The 6155 Celeron 433MHz CPU card is a Socket 370 design. The upcoming 6155 and
6180 new motherboard will be a Socket 370 design. The Pentium III 600MHz processor
in Socket 370 packaging is on Intel’s embedded roadmap.

RAM

Computer random access memory (RAM) is packaged in either Single-Inline-Memory­Modules (SIMMs) or Dual-Inline-Memory-Modules (DIMMs). DIMMs are used today
in most computers, because they offer a higher density. DIMMs are currently available
in up to 256MB configurations. Computer motherboards and CPU cards have from 1 to 4
memory sockets. In older SIMM socket designs, 4 memory sockets are organized in 2
memory banks, 2 sockets to a bank. The SIMM devices in each bank must be the same
size. Today’s computer boards with DIMM sockets to not have this restriction.

Hard Drives

Computer hard drives are mass storage devices to hold the operating system, application
programs, and data files. Today’s hard drives are usually a single-platter device. The
most popular size is a 3.5-inch platter for desktop systems. 2.5-inch platter hard drives
are used in laptop computers. The hard drive connects back to the computer through
either an EIDE or SCSI parallel bus. EIDE hard drives are the most popular because it is
a less expensive interface. SCSI hard drives typically support faster data access times,
but cost more than EIDE drives. Today’s 3.5-inch hard drive capacities start at around 10
Gigabytes, and are available up to hundreds of gigabytes.

Hard drives are the fastest-changing technology in a computer system. Vendors typically
only support specific models for 3 to 6 months. RAC6000 computers buffer these rapid
changes by offering memory size ranges instead of specific sizes. These ranges are
current Medium (8-13GB), Large (13-30GB), and Extra Large (30+GB). All single hard­drive computers use EIDE hard drives. The RAID1 dual hard drive option uses SCSI
hard drives.

Video cards

A video interface takes digital information from the computer and converts it into video
signals that drive the computer display. The speed of the interface between the video
circuitry and processor influences the display’s update rates. Today’s most common
interfaces are based on either a PCI bus interface or the newer AGP (Advanced Graphics
Port) interface. The video interface can be either integrated into the motherboard or CPU
card, or located on a separate video card. Most of today’s computer motherboards have a
dedicated AGP slot.

The video interface uses very high-speed memory to storage the digital video
information. The amount of video memory required is a function of the display
resolution and color depth. For simple VGA (640x480 pixels) resolution and 256-bit (1
byte) color, only 307,200 bytes of video memory are needed. That is 1 byte for each
pixel. For XGA (1024x480 pixels) resolution and true 32-bit (4 byte) color, 3,145,728
bytes of video memory as required. This simple formula applies to typical computer
applications. Some newer video technologies such as 3D graphics require more memory.
Next-generation Intel processor chipsets will use system memory instead of traditional
video memory.

Allen-Bradley computers offer a variety of video interfaces. The 6181 computer and
6155 passive backplane computers have the video interface integrated into their CPU
cards. These interfaces currently support 1-2MB video memory and PCI interfaces. No
additional video card is required in these computers.

The 6155 active motherboard computer uses standard commercial video cards. The
current options are a 4MB PCI video card or an 8MB AGP video card.

The 6180 active motherboard computers use custom-designed PCI and AGP video cards.
The 6180 video cards are customized to provide internal connections to the integral LCD
display, as well as support external video connections. The current options are a 4MB
PCI video card or a 4MB AGP video card. The 4MB memory is sufficient to operate the
highest resolution display option (15” LCD, 1024x768) in true-color depth.

LCD Displays

The 6180 and 6181 computers have integrated LCD displays. These are either STN
(Super Twist Numatic) or TFT (Thin Film Transistor) color LCD displays. STN LCD
panels use a scanning type technology to control the liquid crystal pixels. The advantage
of STN is lower cost. The disadvantages are reduced brightness and contrast, reduced
viewing angles, and in some cases lower operating temperatures. TFT LCD panels use
individual transistors to control each pixel. The advantages of TFT are high brightness
and contrast, wide viewing angles, and higher operating temperatures. The disadvantage
of TFT is higher cost.

Current sizes offered in RAC6000 computers are 10.4” 640x480 resolution, 10.4”
800x600 resolution, 12.1” 800x600 resolution, and 15” 1024x768 resolution. LCD
displays differ from CRT displays, in that there is only 1 physical element for each

display pixel. CRTs have a very fine pixel resolution, and can easily change between
display resolutions. LCDs are best used with the native-mode resolution, and there are
averaging errors when lower resolutions are used. Neither LCDs or CRTs can support
resolutions higher than their maximum rating.

Touchscreens

A touchscreen is a sensing device used as an operator interface option on computer
monitors. It acts as a transparent switch, passing on the operator’s finger or stylus
position when activated to the computer. The touchscreen driver interprets the physical
activation into location data on the desktop, much like a mouse driver. There are many
types of touchscreen technologies available: resistive, capacitive, infrared, SAW are
among the most common. RAC6000 computers use analog resistive touchscreens
exclusively.

Resistive Touchscreen

This touchscreen technology uses two sheets of a thin, transparent overlay material that
rests over the display surface. The two sheets are each coated with a conductive material,
and held apart by small spacer dots. When depressed, the two sheets close like a switch.
In matrix touchscreens, the sheets are screened with rows and columns, and the touch
resolution depends upon the row and column sizes. In analog touchscreens, a voltage
gradient is used so touch resolution is essentially infinite. The advantages of resistive
touchscreens are high touch resolution, good durability, easy to panel seal for NEMA4
applications, and impervious to false activation from surface dirt and debris. The
disadvantage of resistive touchscreens is reduced display brightness caused by the two
overlay sheets.

Capacitive Touchscreen

This touchscreen technology uses a single sheet of thin, transparent overlay material that
rests over the display surface. The single sheet is coated with a conductive material, and
driving by an oscillating voltage gradient. When a human figure comes in contact with
the material, water in the skin disrupts the voltage field, and the contact position is
decoded by the interface electronics. The resolution is essentially infinite. The
advantages of capacitive touchscreens are increased display brightness with only a single
overlay sheet, and easy to panel seal for NEMA4 applications. The disadvantage is that a
bare human finger is needed to activate the touchscreen. Gloves or stylus devices cannot
be used.

Infrared Touchscreen

This touchscreen technology uses a border of infrared LEDs and sensors around the
display surface. The IR beams are broken when the display surface is touched, and the
position then decoded by the interface electronics. The advantages of infrared
touchscreens are the display brightness not affected by any overlay material, and there is
no overlay that can be damaged by cutting or abrasions. The disadvantages of infrared
touchscreens are limited touch resolution, difficult to panel seal, and sensitivity to false
activation from surface dirt, water, and debris.