ADLINK AmITX-AL-I Embedded Motherboard Deployment and SEMA Management Guide

ADLINK AmITX-AL-I Thin Mini ITX Embedded Motherboard Deployment and SEMA Management Guide

In the fields of digital signage, self-service terminals, medical equipment, and industrial automation, the Thin Mini ITX board type is an ideal choice for space constrained applications due to its compact 170mm × 170mm size, machine thickness below 25mm, and standardized installation hole positions. The AmITX-AL-I launched by ADLINK is a low-power Thin Mini ITX embedded motherboard based on Intel ®  Atom ™  X7/x5-E3900 series Pentium ®  N4200 and Celeron ®  N3350 SoC（Braswell）， Integrated with Intel ®  Gen9 LP graphics core, supporting three independent display outputs and 4K video hardware encoding and decoding. This board is equipped with a variety of I/O interfaces, including dual gigabit Ethernet ports, 6 serial ports, 4 USB 3.0 ports, PCIe x1, and Mini PCIe/mSATA expansion slots. It also features ADLINK's unique SEMA (Smart Embedded Management Agent) onboard management controller, which enables hardware monitoring, watchdog, dual BIOS, and remote management. This article will provide a detailed deployment and debugging reference for system integration engineers from the aspects of hardware architecture, interface definition, jumper configuration, installation points, SEMA functions, BIOS tuning, and system resource allocation.

Product positioning and technical specifications overview

AmITX-AL-I follows the Thin Mini ITX specification (170mm × 170mm), is compatible with Micro ATX and standard ATX chassis, and uses 12V DC power supply (screw type DC in or 4-pin internal ATX power interface). SoC processors can be selected in quad core or dual core models, with a TDP range of 6.5W~12W, and support for fanless passive cooling (requiring reasonable chassis air ducts). The key specifications are as follows:

Processor: Intel Braswell SoC（Atom x7‑E3950 / x5‑E3940 / x5‑E3930 / Pentium N4200 / Celeron N3350），2MB L2  Cache, integrated with Intel ®  Gen9 LP graphics card;

Memory: Dual SODIMM slots, supporting DDR3L 1600/1866 MHz non ECC memory, maximum 16GB;

Display: 1 x HDMI (mutually exclusive with DP), 1 x DisplayPort (optional dual DP), optional dual channel 18/24 bit LVDS or eDP, supporting independent display of three screens;

Network: Dual Intel ®  I211AT Gigabit Ethernet Controller (optional i210 supports wide temperature range);

Storage: 2 x SATA 6Gb/s (shared between SATA1 and mSATA, choose one); 1 x mSATA slot; Optional microSD;

Expansion: 1 x PCIe x1 slot, 2 x Mini PCIe (one supports PCIe+USB, the other supports mSATA);

I/O interfaces: 4 x USB 3.0 (rear), 2 x USB 2.0 pin sockets (onboard), 1 x USB 2.0 (front panel); 6 × COM (COM1/2 supports RS-232/422/485 and comes with 0V/5V/12V power supply selection); PS/2 KB/MS； Parallel mouth; HD Audio；

Management functions: The SEMA onboard controller (BMC) provides voltage/current monitoring, watchdog, dual BIOS fault recovery, temperature monitoring, fan speed regulation, runtime statistics, reset source recording, etc;

Environment: Standard operating temperature range of 0-60 ℃; Atom SKU optional -40 ℃~85 ℃ extreme wide temperature version (customization required).

This board supports Windows 10 Enterprise 64 bit and mainstream Linux distributions.

Detailed explanation of board layout and connectors

1. Rear I/O

DC power input: screw type 2-pin interface (12V ± 5%, maximum 10A).

DisplayPort (DP): Supports DP 1.2, up to 4096 × 2160@24Hz (Optional dual DP instead of HDMI).

HDMI：1.4b， Up to 3840 x 2160@30Hz (Mutually exclusive in the same position as DP).

Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports (LAN1/LAN2): RJ-45, built-in speed/link LED.

USB 3.0 ports (4, USB1-4): Blue Type-A.

Audio interface: Line out (green)+Mic in (pink), ALC888S codec.

2. Onboard internal connectors (Component Side)

SODIMM: Two angled plug-in memory slots.

SATA (SATA1/SATA2): 7P L-type, supporting 6Gb/s; SATA1 is shared with mSATA (selected by jumper).

SATA power supply (ST-PWR): 5-pin power interface, providing 12V/5V/3.3V.

USB 2.0 Pin (CN17): Dual port, supports wake-up (SB5V).

PS/2 (CN19): 6-pin pin arrangement, requires optional Y-wire.

Serial ports (CN29~CN34): COM1~COM6, 2 × 5 pin rows (2.0mm pitch). COM1/COM2 supports RS-232/422/485 mode switching and power supply selection.

LVDS interface (CN13): 30 pin FFC (1mm pitch), supports single/dual channel 18/24 bit, maximum 1920 × 1200@60Hz .

LVDS auxiliary interface (CN14): backlight control (PWM), backlight enable, backlight power supply (5V/12V optional).

Audio Pin (CN16): Share signal with rear audio, 2 × 16 pin 2.0mm pitch.

Front panel pin arrangement (CN27): 2 × 12 pin 2.0mm pitch, providing USB 2.0, audio input/output PWRBTN、 Reset HDD LED、SUS LED。

Feature Connector (CN28): 2 × 14 pin 2.0mm pitch, providing signals such as Case Open, I ² C, SMBus, 10 GPIO, SUS_S3/S4/S5, PWR_OK, etc.

SPI Pin (CN40): Used for BIOS Flash programming.

Fan interface (CPU: CN36, SYS: CN37): 4-pin PWM speed regulation, controlled by SEMA.

ATX power interface (ATX_PWR1): 4-pin internal power supply (choose one from DC in).

DB-40 Debugging Interface (CN8): 40 pin FPC, used in conjunction with debugging modules to implement POST code, SPI programming, LPC bus monitoring, etc.