07 November 2006

Faster Design & Transaction Processing In POS Terminals

Connect One has confirmed it plans to release an ARM based secure Internet Protocol (IP) communication controller chip that reduces the cost and speeds the design of new IP-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminals in the new year.

iChipSec CO2128 is slated to ship in January 2007. The chip includes many hardware enhancements that ensure high-throughput by offloading IP and network security protocols from the host processor, the company said.

“Security is paramount in financial applications,” explained Alan Singer, Connect One vice president of sales and marketing. “iChipSec CO2128 is a highly integrated and flexible system-on-a-chip that offers more value and better performance than software-based secure IP networking solutions. It enables customers to reduce time-to-market and win market share, while reducing development and ongoing costs.”

The CO2128  features an ARM7 core processor, RTOS, security and networking protocol stack to ensure efficient and secure high-speed transaction processing, the company said. For high bandwidth applications like video streaming, CO2128’s high-speed parallel interface supports 32 Mbps with UDP/IP hardware acceleration.

iChipSec can act as a router among LAN, WiFi and modem platforms, as it includes a NAT (Network Address Translation) and port forwarding functionality. This allows a payment terminal to serve as an access point or gateway for other terminals connected to it, helping to reduce infrastructure cost and enhance network security, the company explained.

CO2128 reduces the bill-of-materials to embed secure network connectivity by including a 10/100BaseT Ethernet MAC, which permits manufacturers to make savings by connecting to an Ethernet PHY chip instead of a more expensive MAC/PHY, according to the company. The CO2128 also includes USB v.2.0 full-speed host and device interfaces, enabling the use of WiFi chipsets and other USB peripherals. The 128-pin chip also includes a high-speed parallel bus that delivers over 32- Mbps throughput, allowing next-generation POS terminals to display high-quality video advertisements to the customer at the point-of-sale.

CO2128 supports a wide range of Internet protocols and communication drivers for moving data over 10/100BaseT LANs, 802.11b/g WiFi, cellular and dial-up networks.

Samples of iChipSec CO2128 will be available in January 2007.