Industrial automation environments often combine legacy equipment with modern connected infrastructure. PLCs, controllers, sensors, and machines may still rely on serial communication, while newer systems increasingly use high-speed Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and cellular networks.
An industrial automation OEM needed a compact computing platform for an industrial IoT gateway that could support communication between existing machine-level devices and newer factory or remote networks.
Premio’s CT-DAS02 3.5-inch industrial SBC provided the hardware foundation for this gateway design with industrial serial interfaces, dual 2.5GbE networking, local NVMe storage, modular wireless and cellular expansion, GPIO, and wide-voltage DC input.
Challenges
- Support connectivity to legacy serial-based industrial equipment
- Provide two high-speed Ethernet interfaces for multi-network architectures
- Allow optional Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 4G/5G expansion
- Support local NVMe storage
- Fit compute, networking, storage, and industrial I/O into a compact footprint
- Integrate with different industrial DC power environments
Solution
- Premio CT-DAS02 3.5-inch industrial SBC
- Intel Processor N97, with Intel N150 and Atom x7433RE options
- Up to 16GB DDR5-4800 memory
- 2× Intel i226V 2.5GbE LAN
- M.2 M-Key for NVMe storage
- M.2 B-Key for compatible NVMe or 4G/5G modules
- Dual Nano SIM socket
- M.2 E-Key for compatible Wi-Fi/Bluetooth modules
- RS-232/422/485, RS-232, and 8-bit GPIO
- 9–36V DC input
- 146 × 102 mm 3.5-inch SBC form factor
Benefits
- Simplified gateway hardware architecture
- Flexible wired and optional wireless connectivity
- Support for both legacy and modern interfaces
- Configurable M.2 expansion
- Compact integration footprint
- One hardware platform adaptable to multiple gateway configurations
Company Overview
The customer is an industrial automation OEM, developing connected gateway systems for factory equipment, machine monitoring, brownfield automation, and remote industrial installations.
Its gateways collect and transfer data between machine-level devices and higher-level factory or remote systems. The customer needed a compact hardware platform that could support both established industrial interfaces and newer networking technologies without requiring a different SBC for each project.
The Challenges
Connecting Existing Industrial Equipment
Many brownfield factories continue to use machines, PLCs, controllers, and peripheral devices that rely on serial communication.
The gateway therefore needed hardware interfaces that could connect to this existing equipment without requiring external serial converters.
CT-DAS02 provides 1× RS-232/422/485, 1× RS-232, and 1× 8-bit GPIO, giving gateway designers interfaces for connecting surrounding industrial devices and machine-level signals.
Supporting Multiple Wired Networks
The gateway also needed two Ethernet interfaces so system designers could build architectures involving separate network segments.
For example, one Ethernet interface could be assigned to a machine-side network, while the second could connect toward factory or supervisory infrastructure.
CT-DAS02 provides 2× Intel i226V 2.5GbE LAN interfaces, eliminating the need for an additional Ethernet adapter in designs requiring two wired connections.
Adding Wireless and Cellular Options
Different deployments may require different connectivity methods.
Some installations may use wired Ethernet only, while others may require Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cellular communication depending on the site and overall system design.
The customer therefore needed a board that could support optional wireless and cellular expansion without changing the core computing platform.
Supporting Local Storage
Industrial gateway systems may require local storage for the operating system, application software, logs, buffering, or collected equipment data.
The platform therefore needed an integrated high-speed storage option without consuming the interfaces intended for industrial I/O.
Fitting Into Compact Equipment
Industrial gateways are often integrated inside existing machinery, cabinets, or embedded enclosures.
The customer needed to combine compute, networking, storage, industrial I/O, and expansion capability within a compact board-level footprint.
The Solution
Premio’s CT-DAS02 was selected as the embedded hardware platform for the gateway design.
The standard configuration supports the Intel Processor N97, with project-based Intel N150 and Intel Atom x7433RE processor options. The board supports up to 16GB DDR5-4800 memory.
This processing platform provides the computing foundation needed for gateway, monitoring, data-handling, and software-based protocol communication applications without positioning the board as a high-performance AI platform.
Dual 2.5GbE for Multi-Network Designs
CT-DAS02 provides two 2.5GbE LAN interfaces, allowing system designers to connect separate wired network segments, such as a machine network and a factory or enterprise network. This makes the board suitable as the hardware foundation for gateway architectures that bridge different network environments, while traffic routing, segmentation, and processing are handled by the gateway software and overall system configuration.
Flexible M.2 Expansion
CT-DAS02 provides three M.2 expansion paths:
- M.2 M-Key for PCIe NVMe storage
- M.2 B-Key for compatible NVMe or 4G/5G modules
- M.2 E-Key for compatible Wi-Fi/Bluetooth modules
This allows the OEM to configure storage and connectivity according to each gateway design.
The board also provides SATA 3.0, which shares resources with the M.2 B-Key configuration.
Optional 4G/5G Connectivity
The M.2 B-Key supports compatible cellular modules, while the board includes a dual Nano SIM socket.
This provides the hardware expansion path needed for cellular-enabled gateway designs.
Actual 4G/5G operation depends on the selected modem, SIM configuration, antennas, drivers, software, and carrier support. Features such as carrier switching or failover should therefore be treated as system-level capabilities rather than functions provided directly by the SBC.
Optional Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
The M.2 E-Key provides an expansion interface for compatible Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules.
This gives the customer the option to add wireless networking without changing the base SBC architecture.
Industrial Serial and GPIO Interfaces
CT-DAS02 includes:
- 1× RS-232/422/485
- 1× RS-232
- 1× 8-bit GPIO
These interfaces provide the physical connectivity required for gateway software to communicate with legacy machines, controllers, and peripheral equipment.
A typical system architecture could be:
PLC / Controller → Serial → CT-DAS02 → Ethernet / Optional Wi-Fi or 5G → Factory or Remote System
The CT-DAS02 provides the hardware interfaces in this architecture, while protocol conversion, routing, monitoring, and data handling are implemented at the system and software level.
Wide-Voltage Power Integration
CT-DAS02 supports 9–36V DC input and incorporates over-voltage, over-current, reverse-polarity, and DC surge protection.
This gives system designers more flexibility when integrating the SBC with different industrial DC power architectures.
Compact 3.5-Inch Form Factor
The CT-DAS02 measures 146 × 102 mm, allowing its compute, networking, storage, industrial I/O, and expansion interfaces to fit within a compact 3.5-inch SBC footprint.
This helps OEMs design gateway systems for installations where board space is limited.
The Benefits
Simplified Gateway Hardware Architecture
By combining processor resources, dual Ethernet, serial I/O, GPIO, NVMe storage, and M.2 expansion interfaces on one SBC, CT-DAS02 reduces the number of separate hardware components needed in the gateway design.
Flexible Connectivity Configuration
The M.2 architecture allows system designers to select storage, cellular, and wireless modules based on project requirements.
The same base board can therefore be configured for designs such as:
- Ethernet-only
- Ethernet + Wi-Fi
- Ethernet + 4G/5G
- Ethernet + Wi-Fi + 4G/5G
The availability of these configurations depends on the selected modules and overall system design.
Support for Legacy and Modern Interfaces
Serial communication and GPIO provide interfaces for existing industrial equipment, while dual 2.5GbE and optional wireless or cellular modules provide connectivity options for newer infrastructure.
This makes CT-DAS02 a practical hardware foundation for brownfield gateway designs.
Reduced Integration Footprint
The 146 × 102 mm form factor allows gateway computing and connectivity functions to be integrated into compact machinery, control cabinets, and embedded enclosures without moving to a larger motherboard platform.
Conclusion
Industrial gateway systems increasingly need hardware that can accommodate both established machine-level interfaces and newer networking technologies.
Premio’s CT-DAS02 3.5-inch industrial SBC provides a compact hardware foundation with dual 2.5GbE, industrial serial I/O, GPIO, NVMe storage, modular Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and 4G/5G expansion, dual Nano SIM support, and 9–36V DC input.
By bringing these interfaces and expansion options together on one 146 × 102 mm SBC, CT-DAS02 gives industrial OEMs a flexible platform for building gateway systems that connect existing industrial equipment with modern wired and wireless network infrastructure.
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