PMC Modules Interface I/O to Virtex-5 FPGAs

Performance in mission-critical applications is never purely a measure of computing power. Unless data can be brought off and onto the CPU at a reasonable rate, the added compute muscle is useless. Acromag offers a set of new PMC-VSX modules featuring a DSP-optimized Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA that is reconfigurable for high-performance I/O processing and user-developed algorithmic computation. For fast data transfer in and out of the FPGA, the PMC-VSX from Acromag provides large banks of DDR2 DRAM and dual-port SRAM for high-speed DMA transfer to the PCI bus. A PCI-X interface ensures plenty of bandwidth to rapidly move data. An assortment of plug-in I/O extension modules offers flexibility to interface various analog and digital I/O signal types.

The PMC base card provides 64 LVDS I/O channels accessible via P4 rear connectors. Inserting optional front-connecting AXM I/O extension modules augments I/O processing capabilities with an efficient interface for 16-bit 105 MHz A/D conversion, CMOS digital I/O, RS-485 differential signals, or extra LVDS I/O lines. Typical uses include video, imaging, radar/sonar, electronic warfare, signal intelligence and communication processing.

This PMC module employs Xilinx’s VSX95T Virtex-5 FPGA with 95,000 logic cells and 640 dedicated 18 x 25 DSP48E slices. The DSP48E slice simplifies implementation of high-performance filters and complex math functions. These performance-tuned DSP engines perform up to 352 GMACs at 550 MHz for execution of the most compute-intensive algorithms. Boards start at $6,750 with extended temperature (-40° to 85°C) and conduction-cooled models available.

Acromag
Wixom, MI.
(248) 295-0310.
[www.acromag.com].

AMC Processing Module Features Four TigerSHARC DSPs

Compute-density remains a major watchword in today’s military system designs. Feeding such needs is BittWare’s B2-AMC, a Serial RapidIO (SRIO) endpoint solution based on Altera’s Serial RapidIO IP Megacore targeting a high-performance Stratix II FPGA. Combining the logic density of Altera’s Stratix II FPGAs with the performance of Analog Devices TigerSHARC, and the benefits of AdvancedMC and SRIO, the B2-AMC supports universal baseband processing for any wireless application including Software Defined Radio. The card features a 4x fat pipe running at 3.125 GHz, which can be shared via ATLANTiS amongst the four TigerSHARCs and/or FPGA processing blocks. Eight bi-directional TigerSHARC link ports, running at 4 Gbits/s each, are connected to ATLANTiS providing a tremendous amount of I/O bandwidth and a highly efficient means of dealing with the I/O.

A full-height, single-wide AMC, the B2-AMC, is suitable for use in AdvancedTCA, MicroTCA, or custom systems and is completely hot-swappable. The B2-AMC provides 14.4 GFLOPS and 57.5 GOPS of processing power. The Stratix II FPGA implements BittWare’s ATLANTiS framework and the fat pipe interface, seamlessly integrating the DSP processing power with Serial RapidIO, or any other switch fabric (PCI Express, GigE, or XAUI (10 GigE)). Pricing with OEM quantities starts at $4,995.

BittWare
Concord, NH.
(603) 226-0404.
[www.bittware.com].

AMC Processor Provides 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 CPU

The Processor AMC form factor—particularly combined with MicroTCA—has begun capturing some of the military market’s mindshare. Serving those needs, Concurrent Technologies provides its AM 110/10x, an AMC that supports either the 2.16 GHz or 1.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor to provide high-performance processing, and the Intel 3100 chipset to support up to 8 Gbytes of DDR2 ECC SDRAM. The AM 110/10x is designed for use in a variety of applications including projects within the defense, security and industrial markets. For embedded types of applications there is an option for an onboard application flash disk (up to 8 Gbytes). Accordingly, the AM 110/10x supports a variety of industry standard operating systems.

To enhance overall memory and I/O performance, the AM 110/10x utilizes the Intel 3100 chipset, which combines server-class memory and I/O controller functions into a single component. The Intel 3100 chipset interfaces to up to 8 Gbytes DDR2-400 ECC memory, via two registered SODIMMs, with a peak memory bandwidth of 3.2 Gbytes/s. The AM 110/10x is designed in compliance to AMC.0 (including full hot swap and IPMI capabilities), AMC.1 Type 8 (PCI Express x8), AMC.2 Type E2 (2x Gbit Ethernet) and AMC.3 Type S2 (4x Serial ATA150 ports). The module also features two USB 2.0 ports and an RS-232 port. There is a further Gbit Ethernet port, USB 2.0 port and RS-232 port accessible via the front panel. An optional onboard USB flash disk is available in a range of capacities up to 8 Gbytes.

Concurrent Technologies
Woburn, MA.
(781) 933 5900.
[www.gocct.com].

XMC Blends Virtex-5 SXT FPGA and RapidIO

Demanding, high-performance signal and image processing applications, including radar, sonar and signal intelligence, have been hungry to take advantage of the computing power of the Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA. Along just those lines, Curtiss-Wright offers an XMC module (VITA 42) compute engine based on the Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA. Called the XMC-442, it is the company’s first module to feature the Virtex-5 SXT. The new XMC-442 mezzanine module combines the flexibility of a Xilinx Virtex-5 SXT (SX50T/SX95T) FPGA, the high bandwidth of serial switched fabrics such as PCI Express and Serial RapidIO (SRIO), and rich I/O options.

The XMC-442 works with Curtiss-Wright’s CHAMP-FX2 and other Power Architecture-based signal processing engines to enable system designers to integrate tightly coupled FPGA/FPGA or FPGA/PowerPC solutions. The XMC-442 is designed to operate in rugged environments and is available in both air- and conduction-cooled formats. Innovative cooling techniques are employed to handle high-performance FPGA implementations. This XMC daughter card is optimized for deployment on a Curtiss-Wright CHAMP-FX2 FPGA VPX engine, but may also be used on CHAMP-AV6, SVME-184, or VPX6-185 single board computers.

Curtiss-Wright Controls
Embedded Computing
Leesburg, VA.
(703) 779-7800.
[www.cwcembedded.com].

Dual-Core AMC Breaks Cost/Performance Barrier

As the U.S. Military builds out the infrastructure for its Net-Centric future, cost-effective, deployable embedded computing is becoming a critical piece of the puzzle. Emerson’s PrAMC-7210, an Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC), provides up to twice the processing capability compared to previous generation modules, for a volume price of under $2,000.

The PrAMC-7210 is designed to provide the best price/performance ratio for a wide range of demanding, low-power embedded applications such as network-centric warfare, digital security surveillance and so on. The PrAMC-7210 is a full-size AMC based on the Intel Core 2 Duo processor core and Intel 3100 server-class chipset. With up to 4 Gbyte double data rate (DDR2) SDRAM with error checking and correcting (ECC) running at 400 MHz and onboard flash disk, the PrAMC-7210 is designed for high performance as well as reliable operation and storage.

One x8 lane PCI Express link supports auto-negotiation to lower lane-widths and port bifurcation. Combined with two Gigabit Ethernet links, these standard interfaces enable developers to interface to a wide variety of high-performance modules as required by their applications. Two SATA links enable high-speed serial communication with hard disks drives for flexible storage configurations. The first PrAMC-7210 modules are priced starting under $2,000 for volume orders.

Emerson Network Power
Tempe, AZ.
(800) 759-1107.
[www.emersonnetworkpower.com].

PMC/XMC Serves Up 1.5 GHz PowerQUICC III

Back when PrPMCs first emerged several years ago most were pretty simple, containing only a processor, main memory and a PCI interface. But today’s crop of PrPMCs integrates some of the fastest CPUs available, and a whole lot more. An example is Extreme Engineering Solutions’ XPedite5200, a high-performance PMC/XMC communications controller and the first PrPMC to use the 1.5 GHz MPC8548E PowerQUICC III. The processor’s integrated 64-bit 133 MHz PCI-X, DDR-2-533 SDRAM, PCI Express/Serial RapidIO and four Gbit Ethernet interfaces make the XPedite5200 an optimal solution for communications processing.

The processor also includes a 512 Mbyte L2 cache and double precision floating point unit as well as two serial controllers and two I2C controllers. Memory provided on the board is up to 2 Gbytes of DDR-2-533 SDRAM and up to 256 Mbytes of NOR flash, up to 2 Gbytes of NAND flash and up to 2 Kbytes of serial EEPROM. The XPedite5200 has two front-panel Gbit Ethernet interfaces and supports two more via the P14 backplane connector. When used as a VITA 42 XMC module, either the x8 PCI Express or x4 Serial RapidIO interfaces can be used, in parallel to or in substitution for the PCI-X interface. Pricing starts at $4,100 in low quantities for a module with 1 Gbyte of DDR-2 SDRAM and 128 Mbytes of NOR flash.

Extreme Engineering Solutions
Middleton, WI.
(608) 833-1155.
[www.xes-inc.com].

Rugged XMC Offers Choice of Three FPGAs

In demanding signal processing applications, many customers are turning to FPGA technology because of the flexibility and performance it brings. The XMCV5, an XMC mezzanine card from GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, is designed for a wide spectrum of digital signal processing (DSP) applications in ground mobile, airborne fixed and rotary wing and naval applications including radar, sonar, signals intelligence (SIGINT) and image processing.

The card lets developers choose from a selection of three Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGAs. The XMCV5 gives customers the flexibility to strike the right balance between hardware-oriented FPGA-based computing and software-based application code running on either PowerPC- or Intel-based platforms as part of a solution based on a range of rugged single board computers, carrier cards, multiprocessors and sensor I/O products. Available in five ruggedization levels—allowing for deployment in the harshest environments—the XMCV5 is the first rugged XMC to harness the power and flexibility of all three Virtex-5 FPGA families with build options for the Virtex-5 FX100T, SX95T and Virtex-5 LX110T. The XMCV5 is available in a range of configurations for rugged air-cooled systems as well as in conduction-cooled form factors.

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms
Charlottesville, VA.
(800) 368-2738.
[www.gefanuc.com].

XMC Board Sports Virtex5 FPGA, Four ADCs

FPGAs play a crucial role is applications such as WiMax front ends, radar, electronic warfare and high-speed data recording and playback. Along those lines, Innovative Integration’s new X5-210M product is an XMC I/O module featuring four 14-bit 210 Msamples/s A/Ds with a Virtex5 FPGA computing core, DRAM and SRAM memory, and eight lane PCI Express host interface. Xilinx Virtex5 LX110T (SX95T when available) with 512 Mbyte DDR2 DRAM and 4 Mbyte QDR-II memory provide a very high-performance DSP core for demanding applications such as emerging wireless standards. The close integration of the analog I/O, memory and host interface with the FPGA enables real-time signal processing at extremely high rates exceeding 300 GMACs per second.

The X5 XMC modules couple Innovative’s Velocia architecture with a high-performance, eight-lane PCI Express interface that provides over 1 Gbyte/s sustained transfer rates to the host. Module functionality can be fully customized using VHDL and MATLAB using the FrameWork Logic toolset, which includes full source code for user FPGA logic device, manuals, documentation and instructions for simulation under ModelSim and recompilation under Xilinx ISE. The X5-210M quantity one pricing is $9,995.

Innovative Integration
Simi Valley, CA.
(805) 578-4261.
[www.innovative-dsp.com].

Complete Core2 Duo SBC Rides AMC

Gone are the days when a computing system required several boards. Now a complete, high-performance SBC functionality is possible in a mezzanine form factor like AdvancedMC (AMC). Along those lines, Kontron offers its AM5010, a highly integrated CPU board implemented as a double-width, mid-size AdvancedMC processor module. The design is based on the Intel Core2 Duo LV 1.5 GHz processor with 4 Mbyte L2 cache providing 667 MHz front side bus (FSB) speed combined with the Intel 3100 server-class chipset. The Intel 3100 chipset is a space-saving, two-in-one solution that incorporates both the Intel Memory Controller (E7320/E7520) and the Intel I/O Hub Controller (6300ESB) in a single package.

The Kontron AM5010 includes up to 4 Gbytes registered Double Data Rate (DDR2) memory with Error Checking and Correcting (ECC) running at 400 MHz, provides up to 8 Gbytes of flash memory via an USB 2.0 NAND flash controller and offers further the capability for an onboard 2.5-inch SATA HDD. Supporting the PICMG sub-specifications AMC.1/.2/.3, the Kontron AM5010 ensures a comprehensive set of interconnecting capabilities. A x4 PCI Express lane (supporting 4 x1 PCI Express as well) according to AMC.1 guarantees high throughput for I/O intensive applications. The dual Gigabit Ethernet supports the AMC.2 specification and utilizes a x4 lane PCI Express interface to ensure maximum packet performance.

Kontron America
Poway, CA.
(888)-294-4558.
[www.kontron.com].

FPGAs Enable Custom PMC and XMC Solutions

Standard mechanical form factors are one thing, but many military applications need their own unique processing configuration. Feeding such needs, MEN Micro now offers its FPGA-based Universal Submodule (USMT) concept on two additional mezzanine cards: the P699 XMC and the P598 conduction-cooled PMC (ccPMC). All products based on MEN Micro’s USM concept use one or more IP cores in an FPGA to help designers easily and quickly turn individual I/O requirements into production-ready products reducing design time and costs.

The use of Cyclone FPGAs on the two new cards enables exceptional I/O combinations in a very small space for moderate volumes and at a low cost. The corresponding line drivers are implemented on the individually designed USM submodule that plugs into the main XMC or ccPMC. Because they function independently of other electronic components, the IP cores provide trouble-free, long-term operation over the temperature range of -40° to +85°C (-40° to +185°F). A USM development package includes a main PMC with a USM submodule, test hardware and an FPGA package with a Nios CPU, memory control, connection to the PMC, Avalon/Wishbone bridges and detailed documentation. Pricing for a USM development kit starts at $2,993.

MEN Micro
Ambler, PA.
(215) 542-9575.
[www.men.de].

Single-Wide AMC Boasts Dual-Core PowerPC

Advanced Mezzanine Cards provide the modularity needed in many demanding military communications systems. A single-wide AMC from Mercury Computer Systems, the MPC-102 is a control and signal processing AMC that provides a dual-core e600 Freescale 8641D PowerPC processor at up to 1.3 GHz with up to 2 Gbytes of DDR2 memory, SATA, RapidIO or PCI-E, and Gbit Ethernet connectivity. The dense processing capability of the dual-core 8641D, with a high core frequency, 1 Mbyte of L2 cache per core, and integrated on-chip I/O subsystem with RapidIO, is provided in a flexible AMC form factor supporting 10 Gbit/s raw I/O bandwidth through the RapidIO interface.

The module is AMC.0-compliant and designed to meet AMC.4. The SATA interface supports a HDD in the neighboring AMC bay, making this an ideal host or control node. The architecture and AltiVec vector processing units of the e600 core are compatible with Mercury’s industry-leading Scientific Algorithm Library, supporting use of the MPC-102 in dense floating-point processing applications such as radar, sonar and image inspection.

Mercury Computer Systems
Chelmsford, MA.
(978) 256-1300.
[www.mc.com].

Software Radio PMC Offers Beamforming, Power Meter

Real-time software radio, beamforming, signal-intelligence and radar systems all have something in common. They’re all hungry for an integrated solution—and that solution does conversion, processing and beamforming all the better. Pentek does exactly that with its Model 7152, a quad 200 MHz, 16-bit A/D digitizer with a 32-channel digital down converter (DDC) configured in a PMC format. The 7152 features 32 power meters that continuously measure the individual average power output of each of the 32 DDC channels. In addition, 32 threshold detectors automatically send an interrupt to the processor if the average power level of any DDC falls below or exceeds a programmable threshold.

The built-in power meters and threshold detectors offload these tasks from a downstream processor and present average power measurements for each channel in easy-to-read registers. A second set of new features makes the module ideal for beamforming applications. By adjusting the phase offset and weighting of the individual channels, followed by summation, the antenna can be “steered,” rotating the azimuth angle to enhance receptivity in a particular direction. The 7152 PMC module is also available in a variety of additional form factors. The 7152 PMC module is priced at $14,500 for the hardware.

Pentek
Upper Saddle River, NJ.
(201) 818-5900.
[www.pentek.com].