The Advantech ADAM-4500 is a fully functional stand-alone controller for industrial automation and control. It provides an ideal environment for controlling PC hardware with a minimal amount of development effort. Built-in ROM-DOS lets users run standard PC programs or new programs produced by PC language development tools. ROM-DOS is an MS-DOS equivalent operating system allowing you to run all standard PC software.

The ADAM-4500 has two communication ports (COM 1 and COM2). These provide easy communication between the controller and other devices in your applications. COM1 can be configured for RS-232 or RS-485 communication via a jumper setting, while COM2 is dedicated as an RS-485 port. This design allows the controller to be used in a variety of applications For example, a user can download an application into the ADAM-4500's on-board Flash memory while the ADAM-4500 is connected to an RS-485 network, then let it control all the modules in the network.

The real-time clock in the controller ensures an accurate time recording while the system operates. The watchdog timer is designed to automatically reset the CPU when the system fails.

The Advantech ADAM-4500 module provides 170 KB ROM for user application downloading and 234 KB RAM for application operation. Its built-in ROM-DOS is an MS-DOS Equivalent operating system, which provides all of the basic functions of MS-DOS except BIOS. Application programs written in high level languages such as C or C++ can run under ROM-DOS. Application programs should be converted into 80188 compatible code before being downloaded into the ADAM-4500. The download utility is included with the ADAM-4500.