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Asingle-board computer (SBC) is a completecomputer built on a singlecircuit board, withmicroprocessor(s),memory,input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstration or development systems, for educational systems, or for use asembedded computer controllers. Many types ofhome computers orportable computers integrate all their functions onto a singleprinted circuit board.
Unlike a desktoppersonal computer, single-board computers often do not rely onexpansion slots for peripheral functions orexpansion. Single-board computers have been built using a wide range ofmicroprocessors. Simple designs, such as those built by computer hobbyists, often usestatic RAM and low-cost32- or64-bit processors likeARM. Other types, such asblade servers, would perform similar to aserver computer, only in a more compact format.
Acomputer-on-module is a type of single-board computer made to plug into a carrier board, baseboard, orbackplane for system expansion.[2][3]
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The first true single-board computer was based on the IntelC8080A, also using Intel's firstEPROM, the C1702A. Schematics for the machine, called the "dyna-micro" were published inRadio-Electronics magazine in May 1976. Later that year, production of the system began by E&L Instruments, aDerby, Connecticut-based computer manufacturer, which branded the system as the "Mini Micro Designer 1", intending it for use as aprogrammable microcontroller for prototyping electronic products.[4][5] The MMD-1 was made famous as an examplemicrocomputer in popular 8080 instruction series of the time.[6]
Early SBCs figured heavily in the early history ofhome computers, such as theAcorn Electron and theBBC Micro, also developed by Acorn. Other typical early single-board computers like theKIM-1 were often shipped withoutenclosure, which had to be added by the owner. Other early examples are theFerguson Big Board, theAmpro Little Board,[7] and theNascom. Many home computers in the 1980s were single-board computers, with some even encouraging owners to solder upgraded components directly to pre-marked points on the board.
As the PC became more prevalent, SBCs decreased in market share due to their low extensibility. The rapid adoption ofIBM's standards for peripherals and the standardization of thePCI bus in the 1990s made motherboards and compatible components and peripherals cheap and ubiquitous, while the development of multimedia platforms such as theCD-ROM andSound Blaster cards had begun to fast outpace the rate at which users needed to replace their personal computers. These two trends disincentivized single-board computers, and instead encouraged the proliferation ofmotherboards, which typically housed theCPU and other core components, with peripheral components such as hard disk drive controllers andgraphics processors, and even some core components such asRAM modules, located ondaughterboards.
Computers began to move back towards fewer boards in the 2000s. As new standards likeUSB dramatically reduced the variety of peripheral standards motherboards were expected to support, advances inintegrated circuit manufacturing provided new chipsets which could provide the functionality of many daughterboards, particularlyI/O, in a single chip. By the end of the decade, PC motherboards offered on-board support for disk drives includingIDE,SATA,NVMe,RAID, integratedGPU,Ethernet, and traditional I/O such asserial port andparallel port,USB, and keyboard/mouse support. Plug-in "cards" retained their importance as high performance components, such as physically large and complexgraphics coprocessors, high-endRAID controllers, and specialized I/O cards such asdata acquisition andDSP boards.
The 2010s were defined by rapid and sustained growth in single-board computers, enabled largely by advances in integrated circuit production techniques that made it possible for the first time to include most or all of the core components of a motherboard on asingle integrated circuit die. One of the more well known single-board-computers of the decade was theRaspberry Pi, which was built around a customBroadcom SoC withopen-source drivers. Originally intended for education, the Raspberry Pi contained a number of features, such as optimizedLinux support and programmableGPIO pins, that were also greatly appealing tohobbyists, who used the Pi, and other comparable SBCs, for projects such ashome automation,video game emulation,media streaming, and other experimentation.[8] In industry, the rapid growth ofsmartphones and other small-scale devices encouraged hardware manufacturers to move towards more frequent use of SoCs and the reduction of motherboards in size, extensibility and complexity, while the proliferation of theInternet of Things increased demand for small, cheap components that would allow unconventional devices to access the Internet. Both of these factors dramatically increased production of single-board computers throughout the decade.
By the end of the 2010s and the early 2020s, many devices, including smartphones,tablet computers,laptops and other smart devices, are powered by single-board computers which utilize advanced SoCs (System on a Chip). While this has greatly increased performance and power efficiency, it has raised concerns that single-board computers, particularly those built around SoCs, are harder to repair and may be less friendly to attempts to monitor or modify instructions programmed into the boards by manufacturers.[9]
Single-board computers were made possible by increasing the density ofintegrated circuits. A single-board configuration reduces a system's overall cost, by reducing the number of circuit boards required, and by eliminating connectors and bus driver circuits that would otherwise be used. By putting all the functions on one board, a smaller overall system can be obtained, for example, as in notebook computers. Connectors are a frequent source of reliability problems, so a single-board system eliminates these problems.[10]
Single-board computers are now commonly defined across two distinct architectures: no slots and slot support.
Embedded SBCs are units providing all the required I/O with no provision for plug-in cards. Applications are typicallygaming (slot machines, video poker), kiosk, and machine controlautomation. Embedded SBCs are much smaller than theATX-type motherboard found in PCs, and provide an I/O mix more targeted to an industrial application, such as on-board digital and analog I/O, on-board bootableflash memory (eliminating the need for adisk drive), no video, etc.
The termsingle-board computer now generally applies to an architecture where the single-board computer is plugged into abackplane to provide for I/O cards. In the case ofPC104, the bus is not a backplane in the traditional sense but is a series of pin connectors allowing I/O boards to be stacked.
Single-board computers are most commonly used in industrial situations where they are used inrackmount format for process control orembedded within other devices to provide control and interfacing. They are used in deep-sea exploration on the ALICE deep sea probes and in outer space, on theAriane andPegasus rockets andSpace Shuttle.[11] Because of the very high levels of integration, reduced component counts and reduced connector counts, SBCs are often smaller, lighter, more power efficient and more reliable than comparable multi-board computers.[12]
The primary advantage of an ATX motherboard as compared to an SBC is cost. Motherboards are manufactured by the millions for the consumer and office markets allowing tremendouseconomies of scale. Single-board computers are a market niche and are manufactured less often and at a higher cost. Motherboards and SBCs now offer similar levels of feature integration meaning that a motherboard failure in either standard will require equivalent replacement.
Ranges of single-board computers includeRaspberry Pi,BeagleBoard,Nano Pi,Orange Pi andBanana Pi.[13][14][15][16]
One common variety of single-board computer uses standardizedcomputer form factors intended for use in abackplane enclosure. Some of these types areCompactPCI,PXI,VMEbus,VXI, andPICMG. SBCs have been built around various internal processing structures including theIntel architecture,multiprocessing architectures, and lower power processing systems likeRISC andSPARC. In the Intel PC world, the intelligence and interface/control circuitry is placed on a plug-in board that is then inserted into a passive (or active) backplane. The result is similar to having a system built with amotherboard, except that the backplane determines the slot configuration. Backplanes are available with a mix of slots (ISA, PCI,PCI-X,PCI-Express, etc.), usually totaling 20 or fewer, meaning it will fit in a 19" rackmount enclosure (17" wide chassis).
Some single-board computers have connectors that allow a stack of circuit boards, each containing expansion hardware, to be assembled without a traditional backplane. Examples of stacking SBC form factors includePC/104, PC/104-Plus,PCI-104,EPIC, and EBX; these systems are commonly available for use in embedded control systems.
Stack-type SBCs often have memory provided on plug-cards such asSIMMs andDIMMs.Hard drive circuit boards are also not counted for determining if a computer is an SBC or not for two reasons, firstly because the HDD is regarded as a single block storage unit, and secondly because the SBC may not require a hard drive at all as most can be booted from their network connections.
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