UP Connect Plus adds 5G support, 3 GbE ports to UP Core Plus, UP Xtreme SBCs

AAEON UP Connect Plus is a carrier board with three Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports, and an M.2 slot plus a micro SIM card socket adding support for 5G cellular connectivity to the company’s Appolo Lake-based UP Core Plus and Whiskey Lake-powered UP Xtreme single board computers.

UP Connect Plus specifications:

• Connectivity
  • 3 Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports in two configurations:
    • 3x Intel Ethernet Controller I211-AT
    • 3x Intel Ethernet Controller I210-IT with wide temperature and TSN (Time-sensitive Networking)
  • 5G cellular – M.2 3042/3052 colay socket with micro-SIM card port to support 4G/5G modules
• USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type-A port for UP Core Plus only
• PCIe – 1x 2 channel PCIe switch
• SBC connectors – 2x 100-pin high-speed docking connectors
• Power Supply – 12V/5V from the main board
• Power Consumption – Approximately 36 to 40 Watts with UP Core Plus + UP Connect Plus
• Dimensions – 90 mm x 56 mm
• Temperature Range – 0°C ~ 60°C

Since UP Core Plus SBC only supports WiFI and Bluetooth, the carrier board enables both wired and 5G connectivity in that case. The X/Y dimensions of the add-on board are the same, so it just adds some height.

Adding UP Connect Plus add-on board to UP Xtreme SBC would get you a total of five Gigabit Ethernet ports, as well as support for 5G.  Note that If you’ve got the cheaper UP Xtreme Lite version of the board, it will not work as it lacks the docking connectors to insert the add-on board. The add-on board is said to be supported in Microsoft Windows 10, Android-IA 9.0 as well as Linux through Ubuntu and the Yocto project.

AAEON is selling UP Connect Plus add-on board for $84 with Intel I211-AT controllers, and $103 with I211-IT enabling a wider temperature range and TSN support. What’s odd is that the temperature range is the same for both models in the specs, so it’s quite possible the I211-IT only adds TSN to the carrier board and not an extended temperature range. The company also says they plan to sell a 5G module in the future, and you can also find the earlier UP Net Plus board with four Ethernet ports in the store.

Via LinuxGizmos

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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