Taking A Hard Look At Windows 10 IoT Enterprise

Aug 10, 2017

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise is the latest Microsoft embedded operating system. Three versions are available for the embedded market: CB, CBB and LTSB. We have been thoroughly evaluating the OS since the launch and looked at all versions for our Fanless mini PCs. We identified Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB as the most suitable solution for our customers and deployed it on a selected range of our Fanless PCs. This in-depth article tells you all you should know to get started.

Connected OS For Monitoring Systems

LTSB is specifically built for a connected world and is your prime monitoring partner across all markets. Utilising Windows 10 IoT technology on our Fanless PCs, you get a new generation of energy-efficient, connected gateways and process control units capable of enhancing real-time management and monitoring of industrial, surveillance and mobile systems.

For example, you can locate your fleets (trucks, taxis, ambulances, public transportation) and monitor movements, traffic, speed or on-time deliveries, with data sent in real-time to the cloud. Analysing your data will find the weakest points of your organisation and help seeing the big picture and facilitate decision making.

CCTV monitoring systems will of course benefit from IoT. You can automatically and securely transfer critical data via the cloud to a central server to be stored, monitored and viewed remotely for applications such as video surveillance, automatic number plate recognition or traffic management systems. Real-time alerts can be activated in cases of fire alarms, unauthorised access or movements with the addition of sensors or software.

fleet management, production lines, IoT mini PCs, IoT micro PCs
Big Data for monitoring, optimising and decision making.

The second reason why you should use LTSB is that it is truly an operating system for business and offers the security and stability you should be looking for. This successor to WES7 (Windows Embedded Standard 7) and WE8S (Window Embedded 8 Standard) is 100% business driven. That's why ‘consumer oriented’ features of Windows 10 such as the Cortana assistant or the Edge browser have not been implemented.

Reliability & Stability For Industrial Systems

Central to the LTSB version are the comprehensive Lock Down features, allowing designers and IT managers to have higher control of the application by limiting the ways in which an end user can interact with the device. This is very valuable as it improves your system’s reliability.

Our energy-efficient gateways and process control units with LTSB can be safely embedded into industrial and medical cabinets, for indoor and outdoor environments, with no risks of human interference (such as user misuse, malicious attacks…). The Lock Down features offer peace of mind that your end-user won’t be able to change your system’s settings.

With data sent and stored via cloud solutions, automated systems and real-time alerts can be set up to monitor activities, detect issues and optimise systems for health applications, production lines and other industrial environments.

LTSB is also very stable as it receives security updates only. Thus, you know that your OS compatibility stays identical to when it was first installed – improving the product stability and long life of your installation.

Ready to look at our Fanless gateways & process control units with Windows 10 IoT?

Which Licences: Entry, Value, High End?

LTSB operating system is available in three different licences - Entry, Value or High End - on a selected range of Fanless PCs, from the entry level Fitlet-I to the IPC3 Kaby Lake i7. You can’t choose which licence you want because it must match the processor performance of the PC. Our team have already selected the right licence as you can see on this table.

CB, CBB, LTSB, Windows 10 Pro or WES 7?

Are you confused by all the different OS options? We know our customers’ needs, that’s why we don’t offer CB or CBB on the website, alongside the OS options (LSTB, WES 7, Windows 10 Pro, Linux Mint and Ubuntu).

Basically, CBB offers similar features to Windows 10 Pro. We can get it on request for you with our PCs, but we would advise you to talk to our team first. Our experts will discuss your application and requirements and suggest the most suitable OS. Same if you would like to discuss the differences between CBB, Windows 10 Pro and LTSB for your project, just contact us and we will get started on your project.

If you’re looking at Windows Embedded Standard 7, we would strongly recommend LTSB for new project as WES 7 is End of Life and extended support (so security fixes) will end in 2020. If you are evaluating a migration from WES 7 to LTSB, start right and read this blog.