According to a government decree, Russia’s critical information infrastructure must transition to using Russian-made hardware and software systems by January 1, 2030. This month, the state certified a programmable controller based on the Russian-made MCST Elbrus 2S3 processor used in single-board computers Russian Raspberry Pi Alternative.
The hardware involved is an Elbrus programmable logic controller (PLC), which is based on the MCST Elbrus-2S3 developed by Ros electronics. The PLC is registered and included in the registry of software and hardware systems maintained by the Russian Ministry of Digital Development. This certification allows these devices to be used in critical information infrastructure to create automated process control systems.
In fact, these controllers are already used in “nuclear industry facilities” and are being tested in the oil and gas industry. The registration helps comply with Russia’s policy of transitioning critical infrastructure to domestic systems by 2030.
As the name suggests, the Elbrus 2C3 is a SoC with two common cores. The processor is quite simple, with a CPU clocked at up to 2GHz, a basic GPU, a multimedia engine that supports video codecs, a dual-channel DDR4-3200 controller, supports up to 8GB of memory, supports up to 480GB of storage and PCIe 3.0 channels. A dual-core CPU should be enough for a variety of controllers, but it’s certainly not enough for demanding workloads.
Originally, MCST produced the Elbrus 2C3 processor at TSMC, using the latter’s 16nm process technology, but now Taiwan banned from exporting advanced processors to Russia and Belaruswe can only wonder where the wafers will be made now and in the next few years.
The ELPLC-Logic software included with the controller was also developed by Ros electronics subsidiary INEUM. It is included in the registry and supports convenient programming of “PLC-Elbrus” controllers using the IEC-61131-3 standard language.
“Our controllers have a wide range of applications and are on par with foreign counterparts in terms of functionality,” said Igor Lobanov, deputy general manager of production at INEUM. “The inclusion of ‘PLC-Elbrus’ in the register of the Ministry of Digital Development opens up new opportunities for its use in state and private projects, promoting import substitution and the advancement of domestic production.”