CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems - 2009 Buyers Guide by kwitte

CompactPCI AdvancedTCA Systems ®

Vo lu m e 12 • N u m b e r 9 DeCember 2 0 0 8

and

www.compactpci-systems.com www.advancedtca-systems.com

The Magazine for Developers of Open Communication, Industrial, and Rugged Systems

FEATURES

2009 BUYER’S GUIDE

AdvancedMCs

Joe Pavlat interviews Keate Despain, RadiSys

SBCs

Designing CompactPCI into rugged applications

Storage

11 19 31 23 34 27 12 29 21 35 17 20 28 22

AdvancedMC and AdvancedTCA markets: What’s ahead and why?

By David Pursley, Kontron

To keep oil pipelines flowing, embedded storage systems have to be tougher

By Gary Drossel, SiliconSystems

Switches

Enabling multihost system architectures with PCI Express switches: Innovation in design through multiroot partitionable switch architecture By Matt Jones, IDT

ONLINE FEATURES www.advancedtca-systems.com The codec world widens

By Jean-Marc Valin, Octasic

AdvancedMCs Sponsor: JumpGen

Blades

Sponsors: Sun; PDSi – Pinnacle Data Systems

Connectors

Sponsor: HARTING

Enclosures

Sponsor: Schroff

Integrated Platforms MicroTCA Networking/Communications Packet Processing Sponsor: Interphase

PMCs PrPMCs SBCs Storage Switches Thermal Management VoIP

E-LETTER

E-CASTS

www.compactpci-systems/eletter DECEMBER:

Catch up on recent E-CASTS at http://ecast.opensystemsmedia.com

WEB RESOURCES

Net-centric warfare: How embedded tech collides with the digitized battlefield, Halo, and the Internet

Subscribe to the magazine or E-letter at:

Choosing solid-state solutions for single board computers: Designer’s nightmare? By Paul Dinh, Virtium Technology

JANUARY:

PICMG’s Interconnect Channel Characterization Committee: Bringing the embedded industry up to speed By Stuart Jamieson, Emerson Network Power Embedded Computing

Virtualization: Operating Systems and I/O Presented by: Freescale, LynuxWorks Speakers: Arun Subbarao, (Vice President of Engineering, LynuxWorks) Stuart Yoder, (Software Architect, Freescale) Moderated by: Jerry Gipper

© 2008 OpenSystems Media/OpenSystems Publishing ® CompactPCI, PICMG, AdvancedTCA, ATCA, MicroTCA, and their logos are registered trademarks of the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group. TM AdvancedMC and CompactTCA are trademarks of the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group. © 2008 CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems All registered brands and trademarks in CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems are property of their respective owners. Member since 1998

December 2008

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

Industry news: Read: www.compactpci-systems.com/news Submit: http://submit.opensystemsmedia.com/ New products: Search: www.compactpci-systems.com/products Submit: http://submit.opensystemsmedia.com/

Published by:

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Presented by: Curtiss-Wright, Mercury Computer Systems, AdvancedIO Systems, Tek Micro

COVER: (Clockwise) The Interphase iNAV 31K AdvancedMC Carrier Card is a flexible, high-performance addition to nextgeneration systems. • The HARTING AdvancedMC Plug replaces the gold pads on the AdvancedMC module creating a reliable two piece connector system out of the card edge interface. The Plug ensures the reliability of the card edge connection with tightly controlled tolerances and superior design. The HARTING AdvancedMC Plug connector is the ideal solution for ruggedized TCA applications and superior system operation. • Pinnacle Data Systems’ (PDSi’s) ATCA F1 Blade offers dual high-performance AMD Opteron processors, an AdvancedMC slot, and RTM interface for extended I/O.

Page

Advertiser/Ad title

21 3M Electronic Solutions Division – Open Your Eyes 39 ADLINK Technology, Inc. – Quad-Core ATCA & cPCI Solutions 44 Advantech Corporation – Advanced Blade Solutions 30 Alphi Technology Corporation – Modular Solutions for MIL-STD-1553 2 Annapolis Micro Systems, Inc. – WILDSTAR 5 MINI TAB 17 Astek Corporation – Storage Solutions MINI TAB 23 Carlo Gavazzi Computing Solutions – AdvancedTCA system 12 Concurrent Technologies, Inc. – x86 Processor Boards 13 CONEC Corporation – CONEC Embedded Series 32 Conference Concepts – Advanced/MicroTCA Summits MINI TAB 29 Continuous Computing Corporation – FlexPacket ATCA-PP50 MINI TAB 30 Continuous Computing Corporation – FlexTCA DPI System 3 Data Device Corp. (DDC) – First AMC 35 Degree Controls, Inc. – Partners in Thermal Management 45 ELMA Electronic – Cutting it close doesn’t cut it 9 Excalibur Systems, Inc. – ccVME 1553 5 GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, Inc. – Processor AdvancedMC TAB 31 HARTING Technology Group – Connectors 20 Hartmann Elektronik – CompactPCI backplanes 29 Hybricon Corp. – Let Hybricon Put Your Mind At Ease 40 Hypertronics – Protect Against Shock and Vibration 41 Interface Concept – Trust a world-wide expert TAB 11 Interphase Corporation – High Performance Packet Accelerators TAB 11 JumpGen Systems – Jumping to Next Generation Technology 14 Kaparel Corporation – For perfect system integration 25 Kaparel Corporation – At Rittal, We Handle CompactPCI System Designs MINI TAB 11 Kontron – AdvancedMC Series 33 Kontron – 3U CompactPCI MINI TAB 34 Kontron – OM9020 storage server 31 National Instruments – Introducing 1 GHz PXI Digitizers 17 Nextronics LEANPAC ATCA AMC Faceplates 50 North Atlantic Industries – More Functions. Less Space. 42 One Stop Systems Inc. – PCIe over Cable MINI TAB 27 Performance Technologies – MicroTCA Family 46 Performance Technologies – Looking for a First-Class CompactPCI Solution TAB 19 Pinnacle Data Systems – Embedded Computing Solutions 7 Positronic Industries – True Blue Power Connectors 19 Red Rock Technologies, Inc. – Mass Storage Modules 28 Schroff a Brand of Pentair Electronic Packaging – Performance TAB 31 Schroff a Brand of Pentair Electronic Packaging – Enclosures 36 Simclar Group – AdvancedTCA Platforms 24 Simon Industries – Conduction-Cooled Heat Frames TAB 19 Sun Microsystems, Inc. – Sun Netra ATCA Solutions 26 Super Talent Technologies – Reinventing Storage 22 Technobox, Inc. – Your Source for PMC Solutions 51 TEWS Technologies LLC – I/O Solutions 52 VadaTech Inc. – Build Strong 15 White Electronic Designs – DDR2 SDRAM 34 Winchester Electronics – Power Connector Solutions 18 Xalyo Systems – XS-AMC2 16 XTech – The XTech Files

December 2008

Communications Group Joe Pavlat Editorial Director jpavlat@opensystemsmedia.com Anne Fisher Managing Editor afisher@opensystemsmedia.com Curt Schwaderer Technology Editor cschwaderer@opensystemsmedia.com Terri Thorson Senior Editor (Columns) tthorson@opensystemsmedia.com

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Print ISSN 1098-7622, Online ISSN 1550-0381 CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems (USPS 019-288) is published nine times a year (Feb, March, April, May, June, July/Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov/Dec) by OpenSystems Media, 16626 E. Ave of the Fountains, Ste 203, Fountain Hills, AZ 85258 CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems is free to qualified engineers or management dealing with or considering open system technologies. For others, paid subscription rates inside the US and Canada are $63/year. For first class delivery outside the US and Canada, subscriptions are $90/year (advance payment in US funds required). Periodicals postage paid at St. Clair Shores, MI, and at additional mailing offices. Canada: Publication agreement #40048627. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: WDS, Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 615. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems 16626 E. Ave of the Fountains, Ste 203, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268.

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

FEATURE

g AdvAncedMcs

AdvancedMC and AdvancedTCA markets: What’s ahead and why? CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems Editorial Director Joe Pavlat recently spoke with Keate Despain, Senior Director of Product Marketing, RadiSys, about the AdvancedTCA/AdvancedMC market. Q. What is your high-altitude perspective on the AdvancedMC and AdvancedTCA markets? A. We continue to see the business grow, and we continue to like the growth rate at which it is expanding and the new opportunities for network elements emerging on AdvancedTCA as their hardware platform of choice. We are excited about that. That gives us an open field to go in with some of the market-leading products that we have already announced or will be announcing shortly and that will hit the market in the late 2008/early 2009 timeframe. [These] include our packet processor blade, the ATCA-7220. This is a dual Cavium blade that is capable of doing high-speed 10 gig deep packet inspection. It’s one of our key products right now for the second half of 2008. We also have our DSP-based blades. Our DSP-based blades are the densest DSP blades you can have on an AdvancedTCA offering, with up to 20, and we can deliver those either on the TI DSP family or on the Freescale family. So those are the two that are going to be readily available either now or toward the end of 2008. Then, looking towards 2009, you are going to start hearing quite a bit from RadiSys with Intel in terms of capitalizing on the new Intel microarchitecture coming out for the telecom as well as for the server market, known as the Nehalem platform. We think the solution is going to be pretty game-changing in that area.

Q. What factors make it game-changing? A. The technology [Intel] included by bringing in the memory controller hub. By bringing

that technology into the silicon itself instead of having a separate chip managing [process control], it reduces the overall latency in and out of memory, which is incredibly beneficial to telecom applications because they do a lot of memory fetches.

Q. What design decisions were made with regard to the 7220? A. We have put in a nonblocking 10 Gig Ethernet switch with high gig capability (a Broadcom-based chip) that allows the full use of both OCTEON and the multicores that come along with that to allow it to have full usage of all the cores. Some of the other competitors that we have been watching have similar solutions coming out and have actually linked the Cavium chips together to where you have to use one of the cores to manage the processes between the two chips. By putting the switch in there in a nonblocking fashion, it can move the data to all the cores instead of encumbering one of the cores to manage the control of processes. We have avoided a performance constraint. We have allowed the full performance of the Cavium processors to be utilized instead of having to put one aside to just manage the internal control processes among the chips on the board. The high gig switch is capable of doing that, instead of burdening one of the Cavium cores with that function.

Q. How much did cost play in the development of the 7220? A. Cost is always a trade-off you have to manage as you develop these boards. Because they are in the data flow and are managing the packets, I would say performance is at a much 8

December 2008

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

An interview by Joe PAvlAt

higher premium than looking at the cost per se. So getting the performance right and making sure you are maximizing the ability of the blade play to a much stronger feature set than trying to deliver the cost. Of course, as the blade ramps in volume, we allow what we call our value engineering to take over and start figuring out, where can we maximize for the cost reduction that this market requires over time. For now, it is really about performance and developing the fastest leading packet processing blade for the AdvancedTCA market. When customers come to us and say, “These are the applications and the network elements we are going to place on top of the platforms,” we then recommend, “Here is what we believe the architecture should look like, with an X blade or Y blade, that gives you the optimum configuration based on your constraints, whether that is performance, whether that is cost, or whether that is size of the solution you want to put in place.”

Q. Are we moving toward consolidation, that is, rather than separate media processing and packet processing, a blade that does both? A. Absolutely. With the way the semiconductor market is embracing and [driving for] multicore architecture you are going to be able to have more and more of that ability to do cross-functional capability on a single blade. I think there are going to be two questions: (1) Do you have legacy software? Porting or changing that software from one architecture to the next if it was not written in a way that [makes it able to be abstracted] is very challenging and costly. (2) How much performance do I need? If general-purpose is good enough, that is okay, but when you are trying to deliver data to highly dense populations such as Shanghai or New York City, you need the performance and capability that each of these specialized silicon solutions brings, and that is where the mix and match comes. I would see in the more rural areas the opportunity to possibly go across on a single architecture, but I think we are probably five to seven years away from that.

AdvancedMCs

Q. How important will the 10 gigabit per pair Ethernet standard, 10GBASE-KR, be for AdvancedTCA? A. For AdvancedTCA, the transition will be similar to the transition from 1G to 10G. It opens up a host of new applications and speeds at which AdvancedTCA platforms can deliver solutions for their respective network elements. For LTE and other high-speed, broadband applications, it will be able to deliver innovative IP services that otherwise were not possible over a 1G platform. Q. What do you think the timeframe for implementation needs to be to meet customer expectations? A. I think we will see real deployments in networks in the 2012 to 2013 timeframe. Of course, there will be early adopters who will jump to market sooner, but the base technology will not truly arrive until end of year 2009 and then take three years to work through the standard development and testing life cycles found in the telecom market.

Q. What benefits to telecom equipment manufacturers are we going to see emerging as the AdvancedTCA market continues to grow? A. One benefit is speed, the ability to get to market quickly on these application-ready platforms that have been fully validated and are ready to implement on the customers’ applications. A surprise is that as we start to break through some of the volume boundaries, we are able to start seeing the cost model decrease pretty quickly for AdvancedTCA. It has been probably two years of continually trying to get the costs down and driving for it because the volumes were not quite there yet. [However,] as the volume ramps up and starts to reach those plateaus or milestones where bigger [cost-reduction] breaks occur, it is a good opportunity for us to capitalize on as the market grows in 2009 and 2010 – with even more volume being pushed over to AdvancedTCA platforms.

Q. What has been the strongest driver in getting those volumes to ramp up? A. I think it has been the value the telecom equipment manufacturers are seeing in a common platform on which they are running multiple different network elements. They can see the economy of scale that comes across not only on their development side, but also on their procurement side. They can buy the same hardware, configured slightly differently, but pretty much the same hardware, while addressing multiple different network elements. Q. When considering rival technologies, how does one pick which horse to back? A. As we work across the market, we not only consult with our customers in terms of what they are seeing and what they like out of the various silicon vendors and the new technologies that are coming out, but we also provide a lot of insight by getting to know these architectures very deeply as we design around them. For now, from a DSP perspective, it is a two-horse race, and that is why we are working with Freescale and TI. When it comes to packet processing blades, we have certainly made a decision to have a strategic relationship with Cavium in that area, and then for the CPU blades, RadiSys has been delivering Intel architecture solutions on Intel technology for years now versus going with the other x86 provider. You have to pick your key technology, but it is really driven by what technology is applicable to the market and who is delivering it best to the market.

Q. What about the RadiSys culture is helpful when assessing new technologies? A. First and foremost, RadiSys is very customer-focused. If, as we are working with our

top customers, we see a market change happening – possibly a new technology from a new provider is coming out that is game-changing – we will move very quickly not only to work with our customers who are interested in that technology, but also to understand what are the benefits and what are the trade-offs. Then we’ll go back to our customers and explain to them what we think, what is our view, and ultimately work to satisfy our customers with these new technologies that they may be driving towards. It requires a willingness to open up and collaborate closely with our customers. We also enjoy the flexibility of being a medium-sized business in this space that is focused 100 percent on telecom and wants to deliver the AdvancedTCA solution fastest to the market. I can give you an example [of working closely with a technology partner] on our switch card. On our switch card we use Broadcom silicon 10 Gig Ethernet capable silicon. 10

December 2008

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

[Broadcom] acquired LVL7 Systems [a company with] a software solution that sits on the top of that switching silicon. And RadiSys many years ago started a relationship with LVL7 to understand that software. We have rights to that software and source code, and have made well over 600 or 700 software additions to the lines of code to make it run even better on our switch silicon. RadiSys works not only with the hardware, but also with the elemental software that takes advantage of the silicon, and we provide that as a product that is bundled together. And to cite another example of working with technology partners, we have recently announced the RadiSys Ecosystem and Demo Interoperability (REDI) Lab. This Lab builds on the efforts of standards organizations, including the Communications Platforms Trade Association (CP-TA), to deliver interoperability by pulling together completely configured application-ready platforms that customers can order from RadiSys. This includes AdvancedMC components, various chassis shelf management offerings, full size AdvancedTCA blades across multiple technologies, and software support across the operating system and middleware. We provide the environment and the testing to ensure our customers can feel confident in the technology we are proposing to them as a complete standardsbased AdvancedTCA solution.

Q. Besides the technology mentioned earlier around Cavium and DSPs, is there anything else emerging for AdvancedTCA users to watch? A. On the hardware side of things we are seeing some major changes in the marketplace around hard disk drive technology. We are excited about some of the technologies, such as the new solid-state drives, and about companies that are coming out with solutions in that space to address some of the environmental issues that are out there [with regard to] AdvancedTCA in terms of thermal and space constraints. I think on the software side of things, the market continues to move forward with using COTS vendors who can bring middleware to the market to deliver the 6-nines promise of reliability and robustness. RadiSys has a very strong relationship with a couple of the top three vendors.

RadiSys www.radisys.com keate.despain@radisys.com

AdvancedMCs

Sponsored by Sun Microsystems

www.sun.com

Sponsored by PDSi â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pinnacle Data Systems, Inc.

www.pinnacle.com

Blades

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aTCA-6900

RSC No. 38531

PDSi – Pinnacle Data Systems, Inc. ATCA-F1 Dual AMD Opteron Blade

Dual Quad-Core LV Xeon 10 Gigabit Ethernet AdvancedTCA Processor Blade • Quad-Core or Dual-Core LV Xeon processors • Intel EM64T 64-bit Extended Memory Technology • Dual channel DDR2-667 REG/ECC with 32 GB maximum capacity • Intel 5100/ICH9R chipset • Dual AMC.0 mid-size bays • Dual 10GBASE-KX4/ 1000BASE-BX Fabric interface channels

RSC No. 39364

The ATCA-F1 blade features two dual-core or quad-core AMD Opteron CPUs for high performance and low power consumption • Up to 32 GB 667 MHz memory • An AdvancedMC site and RTM interface provide I/O expansion capability (using PDSi ATCA-RT01) • Robust generalpurpose server platform for telecom, aerospace, military, and enterprise AdvancedTCA systems • NEBS Level 3 compliant • Windows and Linux compatible • Customization welcomed • Extended availability assured • Visit http://www.pinnacle.com/products2/advancedtca/bladef1/ or contact rob.ellis@pinnacle.com, or e-mail info.sales@pinnacle.com

www.adlinktech.com

Kontron

Blades

ADLINK Technology, Inc.

2009 buYer’S GuIDe

www.pinnacle.com

AT8030 – 3xCore2 Duo

RSC No. 39454

AdvancedTCA Triple Intel Core 2 Duo processor blade with AdvancedMC support and integrated switch for 10 GbE on fabric • Suitable processor node for IMS clustering applications • Three Intel Core 2 Duo processors each with dedicated memory, plus one AdvancedMC slot and an integrated Gigabit switch fully manageable via PowerQuick III processor for 10 GbE on the fabric interface • One dual-core CPU could manage a live HDTV stream, the second a stored VoD stream, while the third could process data from a web server • Single AdvancedTCA node board occupies one slot in the AdvancedTCA chassis • Each CPU can be managed independently via IPMI • Triple Intel Core 2 Duo • Dedi Dedicated SDRAM memory per CPU core • One mid-size AdvancedMC bay • PCI Express x4 and dual GbE connectivity

www.kontron.com

RadiSys Corporation Promentum MPCBL0050

PDSi - Pinnacle Data Systems, Inc. ATCA-RT01 Advanced RTM

RSC No. 39363

The ATCA-RT01 w/ Video & Storage provides high reliability SAS storage, VGA video output, and additional I/O functionality for AdvancedTCA systems using x86 processor blades from PDSi or Sun Microsystems, plus Sun’s Netra CP3260 blade • For telecom, aerospace, and military systems requiring a mix of these compute blades, the ATCA-RT01 can provide a common RTM solution • NEBS Level 3 compliant • Windows and Linux compatible • Customization welcomed • Extended availability assured • Visit http://www.pinnacle.com/products2/advancedtca/rtm/ or contact rob.ellis@pinnacle.com, or e-mail info.sales@pinnacle.com

www.pinnacle.com

Advantech Corporation

Dual-Core ATCA Blade with 2 AMC

RSC No. 35978

Two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors LV 2.0 GHz • Intel E7520 chipset supports 667 MHz FSB • Dual channel DDR2 400 MHz ECC registered SDRAM, configurable up to 16 GB • Four 1000BASE-BX ports on fabric interface, two 1000BASE-TX ports on base interface • Two PCI Express x4 (PCIe) AMC slots with style B/B+ connector • Supports optional Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) module

www.advantech.com

RSC No. 35998

Single board computer • Dual-Core Intel Xeon processor LV 5138 • Combines Intel 64 Technology+ (Intel 64) with dual-core, dual-processing capabilities for a total of four processor cores on a single platform • Also supports an AMC and hard drive on the RTM • Fifth-generation design achieves significant performance improvements for compute-intensive and database-access applications including IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS), wireless control plane, and IPTV • Supports first-generation AdvancedTCA chassis that limit front-board power to less than 200 W • Interoperates with AdvancedTCA products from RadiSys and with third-party building blocks meeting PICMG 3.0

www.radisys.com

blades Sun Microsystems, Inc. Netra CP3220 Blade

RSC No. 35568

Sun Microsystem’s AdvancedTCA Blade Server based on the AMD Opteron processor runs on the Sun Netra CT900 Server • Carrier-grade availability and maximum density for next-gen data centers • Single-socket, dual-core, quad-core-ready AMD Opteron processor • 10 GbE for breakthrough performance and lowered TCO • Support for Sun’s standards-based Advanced Rear Transition Modules • Standards-based AdvancedTCA I/O • Solaris 10 OS, Carrier Grade Linux, and Microsoft Windows 2003 Advanced Server

www.sun.com CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

December 2008

Blades

2009 buYer’S GuIDe

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Sun Microsystems, Inc. CP3250

RSC No. 37853

AdvancedTCA blade server • Next-generation AdvancedTCA blade infrastructure with the Sun Netra CP3250 AdvancedTCA Blade Server based on the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor • Runs on the Sun Netra CT900 AdvancedTCA Server with the 10 GbE networking and AdvancedRTM technology, delivers performance, operating system choice, and choice of the new Sun Intel Xeon AdvancedTCA Blade as well as blades based on the AMD Opteron processor and the UltraSPARC T1 and T2 processors

www.sun.com

Sun Microsystems, Inc. Netra CP3260 Blade

RSC No. 35569

Sun Microsystem’s AdvancedTCA Blade Server based on UltraSPARC T2 processor – 64 threads and double the performance without changing the power and cooling requirements • Six- or eight-core UltraSPARC T2 processors with eight threads per core • Chip Multithreading Technology (CMT) for massive throughput • Extreme compute density per shelf and rack within an eco-friendly footprint • Multithreaded 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) with packet classification • Sun Netra Data Plane Software enables line speed 10G network processing • Solaris 10 operating system for carrier-grade availability

www.sun.com

blades JumpGen Systems PRA-200 ATCA Node

RSC No. 38940

Single-slot AdvancedTCA blade supporting 1 or 2 Intel low-voltage Xeon Quad-Core processors and either AdvancedMC, PMC, or SATA HD expansion options • 1 or 2 low-power Intel Xeon processor L5408 (quad-core) running up to 2.13 GHz or o Intel Xeon processor L5238 (dual-core) up to 2.66 GHz or other Intel Xeon processors 5400, 5300, 5200, and 5100 Series • Intel 5100 Memory Controller Hub supporting Front Side Bus up to 1333 MHz • Up to 32 GB of ECC DDR2 memory running at 667 MHz • Up to 16 GB of SSD (useable as persistent memory) • PICMG 3.1 Dual 10 GbE AdvancedTCA Fabric Interfaces (Option 9); also functions as 1 GbE (Option 1) • Dual GbE AdvancedTCA Base Interface • AdvancedMC, PMC, XMC, or SATA HD expansion options • Front panel I/O includes 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, RS-232 Serial, and USB • RoHS-compliant

www.jumpgen.com

Kontron

AT8904 10 GbE Switch

RSC No. 39455

Switches

AdvancedTCA 10 GbE Hub board with 10 GbE AdvancedMC uplinks • Suitable platform for open modular-based broadband media servers used to support Video on Demand (VoD) from a library of movies, delivered over DSL or CableTV networks, as well as VoD short videos from online service platforms, such as YouTube, delivered to mobile phones and wireless clients • Two AdvancedMC slots to host any of the following: Processor AdvancedMC modules as main controllers; storage AdvancedMC modules as mass storage devices for Processor AdvancedMCs • Dual 10 GbE uplink AdvancedMCs to interlink the fabric

www.kontron.com

MEN Micro Elektronik GmbH

3U Managed 8-Port Ethernet Switch

RSC No. 38964

3U managed 8-port Ethernet switch with RJ-45 • 3U, 18 HP, 19 19" rack mountable • 8 Fast Ethernet ports (front) • RJ-45 connectors • Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality • Configuration via Web interface, Telnet command line interface, SNMP ver. 3 or hardware key • Service interface via D-Sub • Status LEDs for all ports, PoE and board state • Wide input range PSU (14 to 154V), EN50155 qualified • -40 ºC to +85 °C with qualified components

www.menmicro.com

Switches For more information, enter the product’s RSC number at

www.advancedtca-systems.com/rsc 20

December 2008

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

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2009 buYer’S GuIDe

PMCs PrPMCs

General Standards Corporation PMC66-18AI32SSC1M

RSC No. 39197

PMC66-18AI32SSC1M provides 32 channels of 1 MSps with individual A/D per channel • 256 K-Sample FIFO data buffer • Sampling controlled by an internal rate generator, a software trigger, or externally • Hardware sync I/O for multiboard operation through both front panel and internal ports • On-demand internal autocalibration of all channels • Completely softwareconfigurable • No field jumpers • Single-width PMC form factor with integral EMI shield

www.generalstandards.com

General Standards Corporation

PCI Express Choices: Free Drivers & Loaner Boards

RSC No. 39196

Adapters for PMC to PCI Express, both 1-lane and 4-lane • Allows a user to adapt the wide variety of PMC I/O cards to PCI Express • Thus, development efforts can proceed while the PMC cards are being re-spun for a true PCI Express form factor • Adapters are transparent to software • Final PCI Express cards can be used immediately upon arrival

www.generalstandards.com

PmCs PrPmCs

Extreme Engineering Solutions XPedite6201

RSC No. 37404

Dual Freescale 7447A/7448 PowerPC Processor PMC module with two GbE ports • Dual Freescale 7447A/7448 PowerPC processors running at up to 1.4 GHz • Up to 1 GB of DDR SDRAM • Up to 128 MB of soldered flash • Two GbE ports • PTMC configuration 5 P14 Ethernet • Bellcore 1089 surge protection • Two RS-232 serial ports • PCI-X interface • VxWorks BSP, Linux LSP, QNX Neutrino BSP, Green Hills INTEGRITY BSP

www.xes-inc.com

PDSi - Pinnacle Data Systems, Inc. XMC-E24D/PMC-E24D Dual Graphics

RSC No. 39360

The XMC-E24D and PMC-E24D are versatile, low-cost, high-performance graphics mezzanine cards featuring the ATI Radeon E2400 graphics controller • Independent DVI-I and VGA outputs support 2D and 3D graphics at resolutions up to 1600x1200 (digital) or 2048x1536 (analog) with 32-bit color • LVDS output also available • Bring modern graphics to CompactPCI and VME systems • Windows, Linux, and Solaris x86 compatible • Customization welcomed • Extended availability assured • Contact rob.ellis@pinnacle.com or e-mail info.sales@pinnacle.com

www.pinnacle.com

PDSi - Pinnacle Data Systems, Inc. XMC-GBX4 Quad Ethernet Adaptor

RSC No. 39362

The XMC-GBX4 is a high-performance, low-latency network adaptor providing four highspeed Ethernet interfaces • Intel 82571EB controller eliminates performance bottlenecks and efficiently handles packets, including jumbo frames • Provides four Gigabit copper ports with front-mounted RJ-45 connectors and full status indicators, or four rearaccessible SERDES ports • Windows, Linux, and Solaris x86 compatible • Customization welcomed • Extended availability assured • Contact rob.ellis@pinnacle.com or e-mail info.sales@pinnacle.com

www.pinnacle.com CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

December 2008

PMCs PrPMCs

2009 buYer’S GuIDe

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Data Device Corp. (DDC) BU-65569T/BX

RSC No. 38892

Single- or multichannel MIL-STD-1553 CompactPCI/PMC card, offering one to four dual redundant 1553 channels on a convection-cooled card • 32-bit/33 MHz CompactPCI card • PICMG certified • One to four dual redundant MIL-STD-1553 channels • Enhanced Mini-ACE BC/RT/MT architecture • 64K-word RAM per channel • Highly autonomous Bus Controller architecture • RT buffering options • Selective Message Monitor • Supports PCI interrupts • VxWorks software driver • Windows 95/98/2000/XP and Windows NT drivers

www.ddc-web.com

Excalibur Systems, Inc.

EXC-1553ccPMC/Px

RSC No. 34434

A multichannel (up to four) MIL-STD-1553 interface board for conductioncooled PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) compatible computers • Each dual redundant 1553 channel can operate simultaneously as a Bus Controller and up to 32 Remote Terminals and as a Triggerable Monitor and is compatible with all common variations of MIL-STD-1553 (A, B) • In addition, error injection (BC and RT modes), error detection (all modes), and cableless internal loopback are supported on each channel • Supplied with C drivers, including source code, and Merlin+ Windows software

www.mil-1553.com

JumpGen Systems PRX-100 PrPMC/XMC

RSC No. 39315

A PMC or XMC • Intel EP80579 Integrated Processor with Intel QuickAssist Technology and 2 GB of soldered ECC DDR2 memory • The PRX-100 supports 3 GbE interfaces • Intel EP80579 Integrated processor running up at 600 MHz, 1.066 GHz, or 1.2 GHz • Up to 2 GB of ECC DDR2 memory running up to 800 MHz • Up to 8 GB of SSD (also usable as persistent memory) • Dual 1 GbE interfaces through PMC (PICMG 2.15, Configuration 5) or XMC connector • Other I/O includes SATA, GPIO, 2 USB, and 2 COM through PMC or XMC connector • Front panel I/O, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet • RoHS compliant

www.jumpgen.com

Technobox, Inc. 5012

RSC No. 39351

Bridged PMC-X to PCI-X adapter • Adapts PMC or PMC-X modules to PCI or PCI-X • Intel 31154 bridge • Supports PCI (33/66 MHz) and PCI-X (66/100/133 MHz) • Rear I/O support • LEDs for key PCI bus signals and power • RoHS compliant

www.technobox.com

Technobox, Inc. 4978

RSC No. 39353

8-lane 3 Gbps SATA/SAS controller PMC with dual SFF-8470 front panel connectors • Rates up to 3 Gbps per lane • LSI SAS1068 • Onboard storage of user defined parameters, BIOS, and mirroring data • Eight sets of onboard LEDs convey device status and activity • RoHS compliant

www.technobox.com

PmCs PrPmCs

Vo I P

VoIP

Octasic, Inc. Vocallo

RSC No. 39306

Multicore media gateway solution • DSP platform for voice and video over IP applications • Supports applications such as 3G-324M, video phones, video-conferencing, and video-enabled services with capabilities such as real-time video transcoding, video transrating, and conferencing • Media API integrates H.263, MPEG-4 and H.264 codecs and several real-time video processing functions • Codecs designed to deliver quality video on error-prone, bandwidth-constrained wireless networks • Codecs include error resilience and concealment techniques, minimizing packet loss effects • The bit rate controller uses an advanced Variable Bit Rate mode, which allows more channels to be carried on a given link • Integration of voice and video allows frame rate control

www.octasic.com

For more information, enter the product’s RSC number at

www.advancedtca-systems.com/rsc 22

December 2008

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

w w w. a d v a n c e d t c a - s y s t e m s . c o m

535 Series

RSC No. 35873

Redundant IPMI system manager • CompactPCI 2.16 fabric backplane with two fabric switch slots and legacy 64-bit/33 MHz bus • RoHS and NEBS Level 3 compliant • Hot swap 400 or 600 W power supply • Front replaceable speed-controlled and monitored fan tray • 15.75" (9U) high x 12" deep enclosure rack mountable

www.gavazzi-computing.com

Carlo Gavazzi Computing Solutions 716 Series

RSC No. 34423

A series of conduction-cooled rugged ATR enclosures available in standard ARINC sizes that include 1/2 ATR short to 1-1/2 ATR long and any custom form factor required • VME, VME64x, VXS, and CompactPCI architectures in 3U and 6U • A compact-sized and lightweight line engineered for maximum flexibility, strength, and cooling in a range of harsh-environment applications • Incorporates configurable conducting walls • Can be customized for a wide range of thermal requirements

www.gavazzi-computing.com

Chomerics

CHO-SEAL Soft EMI

RSC No. 39344

Carlo Gavazzi Computing Solutions Model 646 2-slot Model 646 is a 3U, 2-slot AdvancedTCA system offering flexible power options in a tightly integrated system for maximum flexibility in a range of communications applications. The Field Replaceable Units (FRUs) of the 646 2-slot AdvancedTCA system feature dual redundant AC and DC power inputs at 600 W. The system’s thermal management provides high pressure, high flow rate axial fans used in a separated push-push configuration for cooling more than 250 W per slot. The rear thermal management has the capability to cool 30 W per slot. The system includes the Carlo Gavazzi SMM04 Shelf Manager Carrier card containing a Pigeon Point ShMM 500 module and integrated thermal management. The thermal management system includes temperature monitoring, pulse modulation fan control, air intake, and exhaust monitoring thus enabling efficient diagnostics and increased system performance. The 646 2-slot AdvancedTCA from Carlo Gavazzi Computing Solutions provides an Intelligent Platform Management Interface that is compliant with the PICMG 3.0 AdvancedTCA specification. The system does not include any chassis cabling, ensuring both high availability and reliability.

www.chomerics.com

RSC No: 35258

ELMA Electronic

2nd gen 5U AdvancedTCA Chassis

www.elma.com

Hartmann Elektronik PXI Desktop Enclosure

Kaparel AdvancedTCA Shelf

RSC No. 37868

19” rack-mount, 482.6 mm, 5U, 400 mm deep • Stainless steel construction provides excellent corrosion resistance • Available with full mesh or dual star backplane topology • Can accommodate Intel Wagontire, Pigeon Point, and VadaTech shelf managers • Slot cooling of up to 200 W (at the front) • Slot cooling of up to 30 W per RTM • 2 switch slots (horizontal with RTM) • 2 built-in fan trays • Full range of faceplates, filler/air management panels, and handles available

www.kaparel.com RSC No. 33732

CompactPCI/PXI Desktop Premium housing • 63 HP 4U, aluminum: anodized, top/bottom cover: aluminum, powder coated RAL 9005 • Inside clear chromated • Cover angle with handle • EMC support, EMC stripes • Adjustable legs • Design side panels, very rigid • 3 x fans, 80 x 80 x 25 • Front handles

www.hartmann-elektronik.de

Kaparel PicoTCA 2U Shelf

enclosures

RSC No. 38556

System platform offers dual redundant fan trays, shelf managers, and A/C power supply options • Side-to-side cooling via plug-in fan trays with dual 170 CFM fans with pulse width modulation control • The redundant push/pull configurations of the fans offer higher levels of reliability • The fans reach the back of the chassis for cooling the rear I/O slots • Dual 1200 W AC power supplies and dual shelf managers, which are all front pluggable above the card cage • DC power versions are also available • 19" rack-mount unit with rugged steel construction • 2nd gen shelf manager with bused or quasi-radial IPMB routing • Elma’s unique board mating receptacle on the card guides provides secures grounding and accurate alignment and accepts wide tolerances of the alignment pin spacing

www.gavazzi-computing.com

RSC No. 39612

Complies with PICMG MicroTCA.0 R1.0 and AMC.0 R1.0 • NEBS compliant • Hot-swap compatible • 19" rack-mount, 482.6 mm, 2U, 254 mm deep • Includes 2 hot swappable fan trays (push-pull) and exchangeable air filter • Stainless steel construction provides excellent corrosion resistance • RoHS compliant • Accommodates up to 12 AMCs and 1 MCH • AC/DC power supply, max. 450 W: Input voltage 90 VAC max. 264 VAC with PFC • Backplane with integrated JTAG connectors for debugging and testing • Support for up to 12.5 Gbps • Full range of faceplates and filler panels • Air management panels and handles available

www.kaparel.com

Kaparel MicroTCA 5U Shelf

RSC No. 39613

Complies with PICMG MicroTCA.0 R1.0 and AMC.0 R1.0 • System availability of at least 99.999% • Hot swap compatible • 19" rack-mount, 482.6 mm, 5U, 200 mm deep • Fan and filter unit (for development systems) • Stainless steel construction provides excellent corrosion resistance • Available with 14 slots • MCH and AMC and power modules plugged directly into the backplane • Compact design for variable installation • RoHS compliant • Slot cooling 20-80 W per module • Full range of faceplates and filler panels, air management panels, and handles available

www.kaparel.com

SOUTHCO CompactPCI Ejector Handle

RSC No. 37287

Microswitch protection against short circuits during modular board hot-swapping in network, telecom, and general computing applications • Ergonomically friendly design for easy operation • Ample grip and a straightforward action with low operating force to simplify the user experience

www.southco.com

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

December 2008

Sponsored by Carlo Gavazzi Computing Solutions www.gavazzi-computing.com

Very soft molded elastomer EMI shielding gasket • Typically 35 ±5 Shore A durometer hardness • Low 9 percent compression set • Superior mechanical performance, electrical conductivity, and long-term stability • Reduced assembly costs as compared with higher hardness shielding materials • Shielding effectiveness greater than 70 dB from 100 MHz through 10 GHz • Available in various product forms including compression molded sheets, die-cut parts, and custom molded shapes with available thicknesses ranging from 0.010-0.125 inch (0.25-0.18 mm)

Enclosures

Carlo Gavazzi Computing Solutions

2009 buYer’S GuIDe

Enclosures

2009 buYer’S GuIDe Nextronics

Schroff a Brand of Pentair Electronic Packaging

AdvancedTCA Chassis

RSC No. 38564

14 slots • 19-inch subrack • RoHS compliant steel construction with black finish • Custom chassis available • Front and back cable trays • Fine heat dissipation

www.leanpac.com

Schroff a Brand of Pentair Electronic Packaging AdvancedTCA Systems

RSC No. 35880

Broadest range of 2- to 16-slot AdvancedTCA systems • AC and DC options for both NEBS Telco and cost-sensitive enterprise requirements • Backplane topology options including dual star, full mesh, and triple replicated mesh with bused or radial IPMB • Proven highperformance thermal solutions for 200 W per slot and beyond • Schroff Shelf Management Architecture based on Pigeon Point ShMM-500 technology • Full range of accessory products including air baffles, front panels, test boards, and cabinets • Engineered custom configurations to meet your exact requirements

www.schroff.us

Schroff a Brand of Pentair Electronic Packaging IEA-R Handle

RSC No. 35879

Robust die-cast latch • Intuitive inject/eject operation • Industry-leading ergonomic design • Push-button activation of microswitch • Positive locking with audible feedback • ID labels for customization

www.schroff.us

December 2008

w w w. c o m p a c t p c i - s y s t e m s . c o m

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

CompactPCI Systems

RSC No. 37839

CompactPCI backplane designs that support various options for PICMG 2.16, H.110 CT, and 32/64-bit • Intelligent monitoring for temperature, fan control, and power supply status • 1U through 12U rack-mount systems with redundant hot swappable cooling solutions • Solutions with pluggable or fixed AC or DC power supplies • Optimized backplane design for lower layer count and high performance • Engineered thermal solutions using FloTherm simulations and empirical testing

www.schroff.us

enclosures Schroff a Brand of Pentair Electronic Packaging MicroTCA Enclosure

RSC No. 39214

Meets PICMG MicroTCA.0 R1.0 specification • Allows for 12x single, mid-size AdvancedMC and 2x single, full-size MCH modules • 2x MicroTCA power module slots with options for up to 12 HP per module • Backplane, dual star connection for GbE and fat pipe/extended fat pipe, direct connections for the storage interface • Active cooling via 2x rear pluggable Cooling Units (CU) for front-to-rear cooling • Each CU has a Schroff Enhanced Module Management Controller (EMMC) • Front removable air filter and upper fixed cable management

www.schroff.us

w w w. a d v a n c e d t c a - s y s t e m s . c o m

SY AMC/205

RSC No. 38767

MicroTCA development system • Supports 4 single-width and 1 double-width AdvancedMC • Supports PICMG MicroTCA.0 1.0 and PICMG AMC.0 • MicroTCA backplane provides 5 vertically mounted card slots: 1 AdvancedMC double-width full-height slot; 4 AdvancedMC single-width full-height slots; 1 MicroTCA Carrier Hub slot; 1 MicroTCA Power Input Module slot

www.gocct.com

microTCA ELMA Electronic

MicroTCA EcoBox System Platform

RSC No. 39607

Low-cost MicroTCA system platform • Desktop or rackmount • One MCH and 5 single AdvancedMC slots • Power Module (PM) uses a 300 W ATX power supply • IPMI for voltage supply and control is integrated on an active backplane • Active BP management includes 3.3 V, in-rush current control and over-current protection • Tested with various industry-standard MCHs and AdvancedMCs • Direct SATA connections • PCIe links integrated on the BP • Optimized via signal integrity studies

www.elma.com

Hybricon Corp. Rugged MicroTCA

RSC No. 38483

Full ATR long chassis with a shock-mounted MicroTCA card cage for all rugged environments • 10.5" (W) x 10.625" (H) x 19.62" (D) with front to rear airflow • MIL-STD-461 EMI containment; fully EMI gasketed • Top load MicroTCA/AMC cards • MicroTCA Card Cage supports a front 150 mm section and rear 75 mm section with air flowing through the two series front to back • AC/DC front end power supply supporting 110/220 VAC operation with 48 VDC output to DC MicroTCA Power Module • 150 mm front row, 3 full-size double-width (150 mm) slots for 150 mm AMC, 2 full-size double-width slots with conversion module to convert to (2) single-width slots • Designed to meet MIL-STD-461E; CE102, CS101, CS116, RE101, RE10 • Low smoke wiring (no PVC)

www.hybricon.com

Performance Technologies MicroTCA Family Performance Technologies’ MicroTCA™ platform family consists of highly integrated 1U platforms; each supporting up to six mid-size, single AdvancedMC™ (AMC) modules. The innovative architecture maximizes payload slot density and at the same time minimizes overhead costs by incorporating platform infrastructure functions such as the Ethernet switch, PCI Express® switch, carrier/shelf manager, and power supplies into the rear of the chassis. The chassis are the first 1U MicroTCA platforms to feature front-to-rear cooling, making them ideal for NEBS specified installations. Both PCI Express and Ethernet switching are supported to each slot, while storage is accommodated by direct SATA/SAS slot-to-slot connections between the AMC sites. The onboard platform management subsystem provides MicroTCA compliant carrier and shelf management. Performance Technologies’ MicroTCA solution set is rounded out by a line of cost-effective and highperformance AdvancedMC modules that include x86 processor modules, PowerPC® processor modules, a storage/video module, and a synchronous WAN Communications module. Integrated with the company’s NexusWare® Linux® OS and development environment, Performance Technologies’ fully deployable MicroTCA platforms and flexible AMC modules are designed to be the foundation for applications in telecommunications, wireless, aerospace and defense, and commercial applications.

RSC No: 39606

www.pt.com

VadaTech Inc. AMC341

MTC5070

RSC No. 36463

A highly integrated 1U MicroTCA platform supporting up to six mid-sized AdvancedMC modules • Designed for deployment in telecom, defense, aerospace, enterprise, and commercial applications • Integrated Ethernet switch with dual 1 GbE uplinks • Integrated PCIe switch • Integrated MicroTCA carrier and shelf managers • Front to rear, push/pull cooling • Power and cooling support up to 40 W per mid-sized, single AMC module • AC or DC power input options • Fully compliant with MicroTCA.0, AMC.0, AMC.1, AMC.2, and AMC.3

www.pt.com

RSC No. 39487

AMC dual channel DVI/VGA with HDMI video/audio • Based on ATI graphics processor chipset • Provides two separate high-performance Dual DVI or VGA channels • Support of the latest high-resolution and wide-screen displays such as QXGA (2048x1536) at 75 Hz, 2560x1600 at 60 Hz • 128 MB of memory • Analog displays (VGA) 2048x1536 • Optimized for DirectX 10 • Optional “Y” adapter cable to convert the LFH multiconnector to DVI-I connectors or VGA • HDMI with multi channel 5.1 surround audio • AMC.1 compliant • PCIe x4 or x8 lanes • Single-width, mid-height, or full-height

www.vadatech.com

VadaTech Inc. UTC001

VadaTech Inc. AMC220

RSC No. 39518

AMC packet processor for dual 10 GbE and/or TOE • AMC.1 • Single-width, mid-height (full-height option available) • Cavium OCTEON CN56xx/CN57xx multicore • MIPS64 processor • Options for 6 to 12 processor cores • Options for 600 MHz to 1 GHz speed grade • DDR2 with ECC memory • Two SFP+ socket supporting 10 GbE • PCIe x4

www.vadatech.com

For more information, enter the product’s RSC number at

www.advancedtca-systems.com/rsc CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

December 2008

www.pt.com

www.vadatech.com

RSC No. 39517

MCH for MicroTCA chassis • Single-width, full-height module per AMC.0 • 400 MHz RISC CPU with 64 MB DDR for MicroTCA Carrier Management Controller (MCMC) and Shelf Manager • IPMI 2.0 compliant • Redundant boot system to ensure fail-safe upgrades • Fail-over with dual UTC001 in system • GbE to each AdvancedMC (Managed Layer Two) • SAS/SATA to each AdvancedMC • Nonblocking PCIe x4 Gen 2 to each AdvancedMC slot with option for SRIO or 10 GbE (Layer Three managed) • Telcom/GPS clock (Stratum-3) • Fabric clock with Spread Spectrum capability • Linux 2.6 embedded OS

Sponsored by Kontron

www.kontron.com

RSC No: 36487

December 2008

w w w. c o m p a c t p c i - s y s t e m s . c o m

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

RSC No. 34760

NEI’s A-5000 and A-13000 carrier-grade AdvancedTCA platforms offer customers a standardized architecture for next-generation communications applications • These products have passed rigorous testing required by today’s telecommunication organizations • NEI AdvancedTCA systems offer scalability and greater than 5-nines (99.999%) availability • With standardized packet-switched backplane topologies, node-based switching for board commu communications and centralized management with IPMI, the NEI A-Series family is the right architecture for carrier-grade next-generation communication applications • Dual redundant power inputs for maximum uptime • NEBS Level 3 and ETSI compliant for high availability • Dual shelf managers monitor the system components such as the fans and Power Entry Modules (PEMS) to maximize uptime • Supports the latest dual-core computing blades • Scale from three to 14 compute blades in a single platform • Fabric connections of up to 10 GB each, wide range of fabric protocols are supported including PCIe, GbE, InfiniBand, and RapidIO

www.nei.com

Integrated Platforms Emerson Network Power Embedded Computing SpiderWareM3

RSC No. 39586

SpiderWareM3 platform management software reduces development cycle time and lowers OpEx by enhancing the usability of leading-edge AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA platforms • Manage, monitor, and maintain multiple AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA platforms • Remote access from any location – fault and threshold alerts • Monitor chassis and blades in real time • Facilitate rapid system integration – HPI and XML APIs • Quick platform set up • Asset management: Identify all the platform and blade assets, access FRU records, and visually represent the platform hardware • Easy-to-navigate graphical user interface • Easy-to-use single screen presentation of hardware management

www.emersonnetworkpower.com/embeddedcomputing

w w w. a d v a n c e d t c a - s y s t e m s . c o m

2009 buYer’S GuIDe

cPCI-3920

SBCs

ADLINK Technology, Inc.

RSC No. 35076

3U CompactPCI • Low power Intel Core 2 Duo and Core Duo Processor • Intel 3100 chipset • Up to 2 GB DDR2-400 Registered ECC Soldered SDRAM • Two PCI Express GbE • Supports USB 1.1/2.0 flash drive and Serial ATA storage • Includes a wide variety of I/O interfaces and is supported with hardware monitoring and a watchdog timer • The highperformance ability of the cPCI-3920 makes it suitable for telecom, data center, and Internet applications

www.adlinktech.com

Alphi Technology Corporation CPCI-6713-4 IP

RSC No. 38950

Intelligent Quad IP Carrier-32M SDRAM offering speed, flexibility and up to 192 I/Os on a single board • High-performance Floating-Point Digital Signal Processor (DSP): TMS320C6713B up to 300 MHz system clock • Quad IndustryPack sites • 8/32 MHz operation • Up to 32 MB of SDRAM • Four IP slots: Up to 192 I/Os • Compatible with most IPs on the market • 4.0 Mbit flash memory for bootstrap program

www.alphitech.com

Continuous Computing ATCA-XE50

RSC No. 35159

AdvancedTCA SBC • Two quad-core Xeon processors • Dual Quad-Core Xeon processing power • 8-way SMP processing • Single and dual processor configurations of Quad-Core Intel Low Voltage CPUs • 8 MB of L2 cache per socket, 1066/1333 MHz FSB processor bus • Supports memory-intensive applications with a potential maximum capacity of 24 GB; using 6 Mini-DIMM sockets and 32 MB Persistent Memory • Intel chipset (San Clemente) provides 2 memory channels (theoretical maximum memory bandwidth of 10.6 GBps) • Dual base interface ports: redundant 1 Gbps path for control and management data

www.ccpu.com

General Dynamics

Single Board Computers

RSC No. 35281

GD Canada designs and manufactures conduction-cooled SBCs using Intel processors • Available in 6U and 3U form factors for CompactPCI backplanes • Fully backward compatible with earlier models • Upgradeable via the change-out of processor, memory, and I/O modules • Used within GD Canada computer systems and sold as individual products

www.gdcanada.com

For more information, enter the product’s RSC number at

www.advancedtca-systems.com/rsc Kontron CP6016

RSC No. 39412

6U CompactPCI • Core 2 Duo T9400 processor, 45 nm technology • Serial ATA II RAID, greater speed 300 MBps, now with RAID 0/1/5/10 • Up to 8 GB RAM with ECC at 667 MHz • High Ethernet performance: 5x GbE ports • Trusted Platform Module (TPM)

www.kontron.com

Kontron CP6014

RSC No. 39460

CompactPCI 2.16 8HP Dual Intel Quad-Core Processor Board • Dual Intel Quad-Core Xeon LV L5408 (45 nm technology) processor board, complemented by the cost-optimized Intel 5100 MCH chipset and Intel I/O Controller Hub 9R • Targets storage, wireless infrastructure, security, voice, and the medical market segments • Upgrade and extend the life of deployed CompactPCI systems, reduce up to 10 single core boards to 1 dual quad-core board, and configure a super computer platform with up to 7 quad-core boards • Taken in conjunction with the advantages of virtualization software, the CP6014 can now address new data-intensive applications such as video recognition and medical imaging

www.kontron.com

SbCs

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

December 2008

FEATURE

g sBcs

Designing CompactPCI into rugged applications Figure 1

by DAviD Pursley

David discusses the process and challenges involved in designing highly ruggedized CompactPCI systems. Introduction

CompactPCI has emerged as the architecture of choice for rugged military and aerospace applications. Its high bandwidth, ruggedness, and familiar computing paradigm have enabled CompactPCI boards to be deployed in everything from shelters to aircraft to ground vehicles. I have taken special care to highlight the differences between designing ruggedized and nonruggedized CompactPCI systems. Throughout the article, we will use the design of a hypothetical, but very typical, COTS system in a rugged Air Transport Rack (ATR) as a vehicle for discussion.

Designing a navigation computer

When first designing a new system, engineers must determine the desired capabilities of the system (I/O, power, environmental conditions, and the like), figure out which types of software application(s) will be run, and then choose a computing architecture that best matches those needs. For the purposes of this article, we will assume we have been given the task of designing a navigation computer for a ground vehicle (Figure 1). The form factor for the computer is specified to be a 1/2 short ATR. It will be cooled by hard mounting to a cold plate, so that all system-generated heat must dissipate through the walls of the chassis and into the cold plate. Note that ATRs, despite their name, are not confined to avionic systems. They are also widely used in vetronic (ground vehicles) and navtronic (naval) applications. Because it is a ground vehicle, the environmental specifications can be derived from existing MIL specs, such as MIL-STD-810F. Although in the “real world” it seems there is always some deviation from these profiles. We’ll assume that this system needs to meet

the MIL-STD-810 environmental profiles for tracked ground vehicles in terms of shock and vibration. Also, it will need to be operational throughout the -40 ºC to +85 ºC temperature range. It is also safe to assume that 28 VDC vehicle power runs this application, which means it will require a power supply able to handle the peculiar requirements of this type of power input. Finally, we should note that there would typically be many more environmental requirements, covering everything from weight to salt fog exposure to fungal resistance. These are beyond the scope of this article, but they would factor into your choice of ATR box. Because the electronics will be sealed from the environment, these do not typically affect the selection of your single board computers.

Architecture choice

Given the target installation of a rugged ATR inside a ground combat vehicle, CompactPCI and VME are the most logical architectural candidates. Years ago, VME was the only choice available for truly

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

December 2008

SBCS rugged applications, and VME continues to have a very strong presence in technology refresh and new military applications today. But as the demands continue to change and evolve in this market, CompactPCI has become a reliable counterpart to VME. In many cases, the limitations of the VMEbus preclude it from being considered. This is especially true for mobile platforms and other small footprint applications requiring the 3U form factor. Limitations of 3U VME in terms of bus width, bandwidth, and rear I/O pins make it impossible to use for many applications. Instead, designers choose 3U CompactPCI for these applications as it supports a much higher bandwidth with plenty of rear I/O. However, this argument doesn’t apply to our system because the chosen ATR will allow five 6U slots. This suggests the CompactPCI’s derivative PICMG 2.16 or VME derivatives VITA 31 and VITA 41 would all be candidate 6U architectures. All natively support a switched or mesh fabric on the backplane. Table 1 compares these architectures. PICMG 2.16 is the obvious choice for applications requiring a significant number of rear I/O pins, but our system has modest rear I/O requirements, so any of these architectures would meet the application’s rear I/O needs. Instead, it is the improved reliability and reduction in Total Ownership Cost (TOC) that causes us to select the 6U CompactPCI/ PICMG 2.16 architecture for our system. PICMG 2.16 improves reliability in two ways over VITA 31 or VITA 41. First, the PICMG 2.16 architecture provides Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) on the boards and backplane via an I2C bus. This allows the system to be monitored so that failing boards can be identified and swapped with a replacement board. Second, PICMG 2.16 does not have a data bus shared among the cards. Therefore, no single card can go haywire and completely prevent all communication in the system. On the other hand, VITA 31 and VITA 41 include legacy VME64x

support, which means that a single bus is shared among the boards, giving the opportunity for a single board to fail the system. In the most pathological case, an electronic failure on a single board could damage all cards in the system. Combined, these PICMG 2.16 features provide the capabilities necessary for this application, including the ability to create a rugged multiblade supercomputer with reliability benefits that reduce the total lifetime cost of the deployed systems.

Choosing system components

In this case, the choice of the ATR enclosure should be fairly straightforward, given that the environmental and backplane requirements are well-defined. We need a 1/2 short ATR that supports hard mounting to a cold plate for conduction cooling. Running off 28 VDC, the ATR’s power supply must generate enough power for the CompactPCI boards. In this case, we’ll assume the power supply provides 115 W, which is a typical capacity for an ATR of this size. The type and number of CompactPCI boards is highly dependent on the application, as it is with any other system design. However, we now have the additional constraints of 115 W total board power, conduction-cooling, and the need to meet the environmental specifications. Recently the VITA standards organization made it significantly simpler to evaluate a board’s environmental specifications. VITA 47 defines a handful of environmental classes for boards to meet so that board vendors and customers can work in accordance with a single small set of environmental requirements. In our case, the boards would need to meet the VITA 47 ECC4 environmental class, which is the conduction-cooled class with the harshest temperature range, -40 ºC to +85 ºC. This simplifies our search to include boards that meet the ECC4 requirements and have a total combined power consumption of less than 115 W. We’ll also assume that the software architecture will require as much compute power as possible, which suggests the five slots should be used for four CompactPCI dual-core single board computers and one switch. The blades will use PICMG 2.16 Gigabit Ethernet communication across the backplane. Figure 2 shows two boards in which CompactPCI’s versatility lends itself well to diverse military applications. Kontron’s ITC-320 (left) is a 3U CompactPCI solution, while the Kontron CP6001 (right) is a 6U version with PICMG 2.16 connectivity. Both conductioncooled boards provide high computational power by way of dual-core CPUs.

Figure 2

These requirements can be met by using four conduction-cooled Intel Core Duo processor blades plus one conduction-cooled PICMG 2.16 Gigabit Ethernet switch. In this configuration, the blades consume 17 W and the switch consumes 28 W, for a total of 96 W, well under the 115 W constraint.

PICMG 2.16 (6U)

VITA 31 (6U)

VITA 41 (6U)

Gigabit Ethernet

Rear I/O

295

205

PCI Express, InfiniBand, StarFabric, Serial RapidIO 110

System Management

IPMI

Limited

System protected from single-board failures

Yes

Backplane fabric

Table 1 38

December 2008

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

Rugged application design vs. nonrugged design Once the boards are chosen, application development can begin. However, application development for rugged and nonrugged systems have one significant difference. Rugged systems do not typically use standard I/O connectors, whether from the front panel or the Rear Transition Module (RTM). In fact, in most cases, there is not enough room for an RTM in the ATR.

SBCS As shown in Figure 3, rugged military systems differ from “standard” CompactPCI systems because a custom backplane is used both for interboard communication and to route the I/O for the system. The I/O from the backplane connects to MIL-style connectors on the ATR box through custom cabling or the use of flex circuit interconnects. This means that a custom backplane and/or flex circuits will be needed for each rugged application. Also, the number, type, and placement of MIL-style connectors require the ATR box to be tailored to each application. Combined, this means that it may be weeks or months before the target ATR box is actually available. As a consequence, most of the application development must be done on a nonrugged system until the ATR box is available. In many cases, all development work is done on the nonrugged systems, simply because it can be difficult to properly cool a conduction-cooled ATR box. Also, standard CompactPCI boards tend to be much less expensive than conductioncooled boards, so using nonrugged boards for software development has the side benefit of reducing the cost of development systems. Some rugged board vendors, such as Kontron, fully support this model of application development by manufacturing the exact same board in both conduction-cooled and convection-cooled variants. That is, the Circuit Card Assembly (CCA) is identical for both boards, with the exception of the heat sinking – the convection-cooled board will use a finned heat sink, whereas the conduction-cooled board will use a conduction plate and wedge locks to dissipate heat to the chassis.

Using the sAMe BoArd for Both the nonrUgged developMent systeMs And the rUgged deployMent systeMs reMoves the risk AssociAted with softwAre porting.

Figure 3

Using the same board for both the nonrugged development systems and the rugged deployment systems removes the risk associated with software porting. The software can be developed and tested on less costly nonrugged systems, and then ported to the ATR box with confidence once it is available and ready for deployment.

Conclusion

Note that while this was a hypothetical example, it is an accurate, albeit simplified, representation of a typical design scenario and the design choices made throughout. CompactPCI systems have been deployed in a wide variety of military and aerospace applications, including submarines, naval ships, airborne applications, and ground vehicles. CompactPCI’s ruggedness and reliability, along with its ability to meet connectivity and rear I/O requirements, give CompactPCI the versatility that makes it so attractive to system designers. David Pursley is an Applications Engineer with Kontron. He is responsible for business development of Kontron’s MicroTCA, AdvancedTCA, CompactPCI, and ThinkIO product lines in North America and is based in Pittsburgh, PA. Previously, he held various positions as a Field Applications Engineer, Technical Marketing Engineer, and Marketing Manager. David holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering from Bucknell University and a Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Kontron www.kontron.com david.pursley@us.kontron.com CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

December 2008

FEATURE

g storAge

To keep oil pipelines flowing, embedded storage systems have to be tougher

Advanced solid-state storage is solving a number of challenges for a manufacturer of remote pipeline monitoring equipment.

by GAry Drossel

uman beings not only cannot be on hand on a daily basis to see that oil and gas pipelines in Alaska’s remote wilderness run 24/7, they cannot even get to the equipment 10 months out of the year. So a company that provides a variety of sensing equipment and monitoring services to oil and gas pipeline companies throughout Alaska requires the most reliable and rugged systems possible for remote monitoring. Designers of the CompactPCI-based oil and gas pipeline remote monitoring system chose highly reliable solid-state storage for this critical system application. System designers are turning to solid-state storage in large numbers as drop-in replacements for hard drives or traditional flash cards that were originally designed for consumer applications and cannot take the rigors of true industrial-grade system requirements.

A case study in harsh condition remote monitoring systems

Although the Alaska wilderness pipelines noted earlier can only be accessed for human inspection one or two months of the year, with millions of dollars and precious commodities at stake, the operators and owners must evaluate the pipeline status on an ongoing basis. Pipelines, due to their continuous nature over remote terrain, are naturally susceptible to disruption by geotechnical events. The oil and gas monitoring and services company needed to remotely manage its pipeline equipment throughout the year, with a field deployment of four years or longer. This required an advanced storage system that enabled the sensing equipment to reliably store monitoring data and not be susceptible to the harsh conditions. The pipeline remote monitoring solution was an integrated single board CompactPCI computing system, and though the company’s monitoring devices were among the best in the industry, their previously chosen storage system had been a painful point of failure in past deployments. Unexpected storage failures caused disruption of data and event logging, which meant that critical events were not recorded or transmitted. This threatened to affect the pipeline’s operation.

Advanced solid-state storage answers tough demands Year-round remote monitoring of the pipelines required:

 Long product life  Elimination of field failures from power anomalies  User-selectable security features to protect application data and software IP  Extended temperature ranges  High tolerances for shock and vibration By switching the storage subsystem to advanced solid-state storage technology specifically designed for embedded system applications instead of one originally designed for consumer applications, the oil and gas monitoring and services company implemented real-time detection of geological motion and the ability to pinpoint the exact location of rock or soil movements along the pipelines the company monitors. The pipelines are continuously interrogated for faults on a user-determined schedule. Even in the dead of night in a full-scale blizzard, highly reliable monitoring takes place. No one needs to travel to the data collection site except for periodic

Figure 1

inspections and repair, which can now be scheduled according to the user’s timetable and favorable weather conditions. The storage subsystem is no longer the weak link and the source for system failure.

Monitoring storage usage generates additional benefits

The remote monitoring equipment OEM gained additional benefits by selecting SiliconDrive products (Figure 1) from SiliconSystems. For example, the SiliconDrive solution enables scheduling preemptive maintenance. This approach minimizes and even alleviates unscheduled downtime by monitoring solid-state storage usage. Newly enhanced Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) creates usage reports (see Figure 2) and works by monitoring the write and erase cycles of each block along with the usage of spare blocks in the storage system to accurately calculate remaining life. Eliminating unscheduled maintenance calls saves time, money, and unnecessary system downtime. The alternative is to chance a system failure.

Figure 2 CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

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SToRAgE

Up to now, consumer flash cards did not incorporate any type of feedback mechanism and consequently had been allowed to operate until they exceeded endurance specifications and failed. Solid-state storage without a monitoring solution is analogous to driving a car without a fuel gauge – the system operates until it “runs out of gas.” Monitoring spares only is like having a light that comes on just before running out of gas. In this scenario, there may or may not be enough time “to get to a gas station” before the system fails. Advanced solidstate storage that integrates monitoring technology provides the needed fuel gauge (Figure 3). Even newer advanced solid-state storage products, such as the SiliconDrive Blade in its postage-stamp sized form factor, are providing a proven scalable platform for the next round of design innovation, just like CompactFlash did in its time. At one time OEMs eyeing smaller embedded form factors and needing high performance and high reliability really had no cost-effective choice. CompactFlash cards were available and a proven form factor, but risky in harsh environments or in heavy duty-cycle

Figure 3

applications where the card could literally wear out. The risk was even greater with SD or MMC cards, which were specifically designed for consumer applications and never intended for industrial use. Due to growing consumer and industrial customer demand for solid-state storage and constant innovation, advanced solid-state storage technology is available today in multiple small and ultra-small form factors with zero loss in performance, reliability, endurance, product life, and more. The innovation pendulum is swinging back from the industrial market to consumer applications once again in the form of embedded security. Advanced solid-state storage has long included security features that protect application data and software IP. In today’s world of mobile miniature devices, address books and confidential personal data like credit card information or medical history are at risk. Hard drives have done little besides basic encryption to address these issues. The pioneers of advanced solid-state storage continue to lead the way for new consumer innovations. As these benefits find their way into consumer markets, driving new uses and expectations, no doubt the innovation pendulum will once again reverse directions. Gary Drossel is a storage and embedded systems industry expert with nearly 20 years of experience. He joined SiliconSystems in 2004 as Director of Product Marketing and was named Vice President of Product Planning in September 2006.

SiliconSystems www.siliconsystems.com gdrossel@siliconsystems.com 44

December 2008

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

FEATURE

g switches

Enabling multihost system architectures with PCI Express switches: Innovation in design through multiroot partitionable switch architecture

Matt explains design innovations that have taken the latest generation of PCI Express (PCIe) beyond its traditional role as a chip-to-chip interconnect.

n the high-tech world, the overuse of the term “emergence” has devalued its impact and rendered it somewhat trite. Technologies and applications are deemed “emerging” with a relatively low bar in hopes that users will line up to be early adopters to garner the perceived advantage of being on the cutting edge. Those who subscribe to a classical, less diluted definition of emergence might bring up “complex systems that arise from the multiplicity of more basic interactions with the resulting system or form,” and explain that what’s being discussed, though built upon or from previously simpler stages, also has to be “sufficiently disparate from its constituent elements to be worthy of a unique or new classification.” With a nod to the classical definition, a new approach to switching architecture has emerged to solve key system problems previously preventing the adoption of PCI Express as the primary system interconnect in demanding AdvancedTCA and proprietary bladed communications, as well as in embedded and server/storage applications. Although PCIe has become the de facto standard for local and chip-tochip interconnects in these applications, its reach as the primary system interconnect for systems with distributed intelligence has been minimal. Up until now, it has run into limits when tasked with enabling multiroot system architectures and efficiently managing system resources.

by MAtt Jones

Complex though the barriers are, the solution – a multiroot partitionable PCIe switch architecture – breaks the PCIe protocol and switching tasks down to their most basic elements and leverages the simplest transactions across multiple instances to arrive at a new PCIe switching solution.

PCIe system topology and switching overview

PCIe, a standard serial interconnect that has been widely adopted for its efficiency, scalability, power, and system cost advantages over other competing standards, is built on the foundation of legacy PCI constructs to ensure compatibility with existing system software and firmware code bases. Although the previous bus-based topology of PCI and PCI-X has been replaced by point-to-point connectivity, which utilizes packet switches for distribution, the resultant topography remains, at its base, a simple tree structure with a single root complex (in most cases, a CPU or processor complex) as shown in Figure 1. The root complex is responsible for system configuration and enumeration of PCIe resources, and manages interrupts and errors for the PCIe tree. To further support simplicity and legacy constructs, a root complex and its endpoints share a single address space and communicate through memory reads and writes and interrupts. Internally, PCIe devices implement virtual PCI-to-PCI bridges and buses and logical structures that mimic the physical bridging and bus functions in legacy PCI-based systems as well as allow for support of the legacy protocols’ interrupts and messages. The Figure 1 exploded view shows logical details of virtual bridge and bus hierarchies in a PCIe implementation.

Figure 1 CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

December 2008

SwiTChES

Replicating logical PCI-based structures within PCIe devices eased the hardware and software migration between standards but left the new standard with limited extensibility, particularly to multiroot applications. The protocol remained focused on efficient interconnect for single root constructs – with a one-toone relationship between a root and an endpoint.

Challenges for PCIe as a multiroot system interconnect

To enable PCIe as the primary system interconnect for multiroot systems, the challenge is to work within or extend the standard specification to enable system architects to leverage the efficiency, scalability, and low-power advantages of PCIe and capitalize on its rich and rapidly growing and commoditizing ecosystem of processors and peripherals. This challenge is well-studied with proposed solutions to date that include working within the standard via NonTransparent Bridging (NTB) constructs and the MultiRoot I/O Virtualization (MR-IOV) extension of the standard. Both approaches have merit, but fundamentally fail as they do not utilize the current ecosystem and/or require proprietary software development.

separate virtual PCI buses. This approach allows multiple distinct root complexes to coexist on a PCIe-compliant switch. The ability to freely associate virtual PCI-to-PCI bridges to any of the established virtual buses adds more architectural flexibility. Association can take place either statically at the time of a fundamental reset to the switch or dynamically while the switch is operating. The multiroot partitionable switch architecture then allows system designers to partition an n-port physical switch into n-partitions (that is, 16 partitions for a 16-port switch) and the flexibility to assign any switch ports to any of the partitions as well as the unique capability to change the system configuration and port assignments dynamically during switch operation. Further, within a given partition, any port can be assigned as the upstream or root port with the ability to move that root port as well during switch operation. Despite the independence of the partitions, the shared control logic for the partitions within the switch remains a global resource that can be controlled via the physical switches’ System Management Bus (SMBus) or in band from any of the roots attached to any of the logical partitions. This extends the flexibility of the architecture to allow the dynamic reallocation of resources to be initiated by roots within or outside a given partition. The switch architecture supports multiroot system architectures, enables advanced applications of the functionality that increase system configurability, and optimizes system resource utilization, availability, and security.

Increased system configurability and hardware reuse

The most direct application of the architecture to aid system configurability is to replace multiple discrete physical PCIe switches with a single partitioned switch. Such a replacement shrinks the total cost of ownership by reducing power consumption, decreasing board space requirements, and lowering system interconnect costs. Additionally, the unified switch complex reduces system development costs through hardware reuse paradigms that enable a single hardware platform to serve many end markets and price/performance points.

The solution to providing multiroot support and enabling efficient system resource utilization and sharing within the PCIe specification may be much “simpler” than previously offered solutions. Revisiting the classical definition of emergence, a new approach suggests that the problems can be addressed within the current standard and ecosystem by focusing on the most basic PCIe elements, keeping the transactions simple, and rendering small switching solutions that, through multiplicity, combine to solve larger system switching problems.

Partitionable multiroot switch architecture

Leveraging the constituent logical elements of a PCIe switch – the virtual PCI-to-PCI bridges and virtual PCI bus – the multiroot partitionable switch architecture creates multiple logical switches or switch partitions within a single switching device by using physical controls (Figure 2). Each of the resulting switch partitions is logically discrete and adheres to the PCI Express Base 2.0 specification. Each independent partition represents a PCIe hierarchy whose configuration, switching operation, and reset logic are isolated from other partitions. Replication of the control and management structures associated with the virtual PCIe bus makes it possible to support multiple 48

December 2008

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

Figure 2

Figure 3

In one paradigm, a multiroot system with a fixed set of computing resources leverages the partitionable switch architecture to enable a wide array of systems through the ability to efficiently map the compute resources to a varying number and an assortment of peripheral devices or cards. An example of this flexible slot and I/O provisioning is offered in Figure 3 with a contrasting discrete switch implementation. A second paradigm utilizes the partitionable switch to augment compute resources to a fixed set of I/O and peripherals to provide an overall system performance boost by reducing the ratio of I/O peripherals to computing resources. For example, as Figure 4 shows, a multicarded application can be provisioned in the field with an additional compute card to improve performance to the eight feature or line cards.

Figure 4

Optimized resource utilization and QoS management â&#x20AC;&#x201C; dynamic resource allocation

In addition to the flexibility in static configurations noted earlier, the multiroot partitionable architecture allows dynamic reconfiguration during switch operation. This capability allows compute and I/O or peripheral elements to be nimbly managed for optimal utilization and sharing of system resources. In addition to driving down system costs by maximizing resource utilization in the form of optimal compute and I/O resource matching, the switch directly enables management of system-level Quality of Service (QoS) and guarantees of Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) for key traffic or users. Figure 5 provides a basic example of a system reconfiguration event where global system resources have been redistributed and the leftmost root has offloaded supported peripherals to ensure maximum bandwidth for high-priority traffic or users on a single root.

Figure 5

The dynamic allocation of switch resources the architecture supports also adds additional depth to the two static configuration paradigms discussed previously as system peripherals or cards added to or removed from the system through supported hot plug functionality can be redistributed dynamically without taking unaffected system elements offline.

Increased resource availability â&#x20AC;&#x201C; advanced failover support

An important extension of the dynamic resource allocation is its application to increase system resource availability and reliability through advanced failover support. With the multiroot partitionable architecture, resources associated with a failing root can be dynamically reassigned to operational roots as shown in Figure 6. The architecture allows any number of the remaining functional roots to take control of the isolated system resources to reestablish service with minimal interruption and data loss. The architectural flexibility affords system designers the ability to select any number of failover strategies from the simplest reassignment to a predetermined root or more elegant implementations that allow for assignment based on the current state of the switch and the active rootsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; current loading. The advanced support for failover in the multiroot partitioning architecture offers significantly greater resource availability and system reliability than previously offered in the PCIe switching ecosystem. Previous approaches to this problem offered relief for dual-host failover and most often did so via proprietary NTB-based algorithms. Although effective for two-root systems, this paradigm becomes overly cumbersome in multiroot systems

Figure 6

and increases the burden on system design time and cost because of the software development required to enable the proprietary NTB functionality. In the case of failover and the underlying dynamic resource allocation capabilities, the multiroot partitionable architecture utilizes standard, off-the-shelf PCIe-based processing and peripheral devices, and leverages existing system firmware and software. CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems

December 2008

SwiTChES

Conclusion

By breaking down the PCIe switch and system switching tasks to the most basic of elements and the simplest of transactions with multiple instances, IDT PCIe switches featuring the multiroot partitionable architecture solve complex system design problems that previously prohibited the adoption of PCIe as the primary interconnect standard in multiroot systems. The new architecture provides multiroot support and enables key system constructs to optimize system resources for maximized utilization, load balancing, and QoS management. Perhaps most importantly, the architecture leverages the rich and growing PCIe ecosystem with no special hardware modifications or software upgrades, keeping system costs low and development cycles short to realize true multiroot PCIe-based systems. By whatever definition we choose – the current or the classical – the new switch architecture earns the tag of emergence. No shortage of system vendors has adopted the technology, and all will seek to gain early mover advantages by applying the dynamic architecture – an architecture that leverages basic PCIe constructs in multiplicity to form a new class of solutions for system application needs.

Matt Jones is a Product Marketing Manager in the Enterprise Computing Division at IDT. During his 13 years in the semiconductor industry, he has held marketing positions in the IDT Internetworking Products Division, microprocessor products group, and corporate marketing organization. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University.

IDT www.idt.com matt.jones@idt.com

December 2008

CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems