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www.eecatalog.com/vme
Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS
Annual Industry GuideSolutions for VME, VPX & VXS system engineers
UAVs Drive Call for Small Form Factor Standard
EECatalog
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From LeCroy: PCI Express® Protocol Analysis and Test Tools
Vetronics Architectures Emerge to Facilitate NEOs
Critical Embedded Systems Design Challenges
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© 2012 GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc. All rights reserved. All other brands or names are property of their respective holders.
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2 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
Welcome to the 2012 Engineers’
Guide to VME, VPX & VXS
For a computer architecture that is heading into its fourth decade, VME (and its related architectures, especially VPX) remain remarkably robust. VDC Research projections indicate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.48% for VME-based single-board computers from 2010 through 2015, bringing the total VME-related market revenue forecast to $625.3 million in 2015. And vendors seemed generally optimistic at the Embedded Tech Trends forum– the newest incarnation of what was previously the VITA Bus & Boards conference– which took place January 16-17, 2011 in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
In this issue, we provide an overview of this event in “UAVs Drive Call for Small Form Factor Standards,” and throughout these pages you’ll find product information from key players in the VME and VPX markets. VITA marketing director Jerry Gipper explains how standards provide one way to stay ahead of the game in “Critical Embedded Systems Design Challenges.” In “Vetronics Architectures Emerge to Facilitate Network-Enabled Operations,” Rubin Dhillon of GE Intelligent Platforms describes how vehicle electronics(vetronics) are changing communications among virtually all battlefield assets. And Dr. Fred Blönnigen of Bustec addresses automatic test system requirements in “VXI Remote and Embedded Controller Considerations.” Finally, we talk to experts from Themis Computer and GE Intelligent Platforms about opportunities surrounding new technologies and markets in our roundtable discussion, “Board Vendors Adapt to New VME Trends and Opportunities.”
There are plenty of questions around the VME/VPX industry these days, including the impact of defense budget cuts and the viability of alternative markets, to whether customers really want a new small form factor standard, and how vendors roll that into their overall product offerings. We don’t have all the answers, but we give you the information you need to draw some of those important conclusions for your business.
We hope you enjoy this EE Catalog VME and VPX Resource Guide. As always, we’d love to hear your feedback, thoughts and comments. Send them to info@extensionmedia.com.
Cheryl Berglund CoupéEditorEECatalog.com
P.S. To subscribe to our series of Resource Catalogs for developers and other professionals, visit www.eecatalog.com
Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012www.eecatalog.com/vme
VP/Associate PublisherClair Bright cbright@extensionmedia.com(415) 255-0390 ext. 15
EditorialEditorial DirectorJohn Blyler jblyler@extensionmedia.com(503) 614-1082
EditorCheryl Coupé ccoupe@extensionmedia.com
Assistant EditorByron Adams Creative/ProductionProduction Manager Spryte Heithecker - traffic@extensionmedia.com
Graphic DesignersKeith Kelly - SeniorNicky Jacobson
Production Assistant Jenn Burkhardt
Senior Web DeveloperMariam Moattari
Advertising/Reprint SalesVP/Associate PublisherEmbedded Electronics Media GroupClair Bright cbright@extensionmedia.com(415) 255-0390 ext. 15
Sales ManagerMichael Cloward - mcloward@extensionmedia.com
Marketing/CirculationJenna Johnson
To Subscribewww.eecatalog.com/subscribe
Extension Media, LLCCorporate OfficePresident and PublisherVince Ridleyvridley@extensionmedia.com
Vice President, Sales Embedded Electronics Media GroupClair Brightcbright@extensionmedia.com
Vice President, Marketing and Product DevelopmentKaren Murraykmurray@extensionmedia.com
Vice President, Business DevelopmentMelissa Sterlingmsterling@extensionmedia.com
Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
The Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012 is published by Extension Media LLC. Extension Media makes no warranty for the use of its products and assumes no responsibility for any errors which may appear in this Catalog nor does it make a commitment to update the information contained herein. The Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS is Copyright ®2012 Extension Media LLC. No information in this Catalog may be reproduced without expressed written permission from Extension Media @ 1786 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107-2343.
All registered trademarks and trademarks included in this Catalog are held by their respective companies. Every attempt was made to include all trademarks and registered trademarks where indicated by their companies.
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4 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
ContentsBoard Vendors Adapt to New VME Trends and Opportunities
By Cheryl Coupé ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Elma Electronic – Embedded Systems Platforms
By Elma Electronic ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES)
By Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES) ................................................................................................................................................ 12
Critical Embedded Systems Design Challenges
By Jerry Gipper, VITA Director of Marketing ............................................................................................................................................ 14
UAVs Drive Call for Small Form Factor Standards
By Cheryl Coupé ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Vetronics Architectures Emerge to Facilitate Network-Enabled Operations
By Rubin Dhillon, Industry Manager for Communications and Networking Solutions, Military and Aerospace division, GE Intelligent Platforms ........................................................................................................................................................................... 22
VXI Remote and Embedded Controller Considerations
By Dr. Fred Blönnigen, Bustec ................................................................................................................................................................. 26
Online & Offline ➔ VME, VPX & VXS Resources ................................................................................................................. 29
Products and Services
Chips and Cores
Protocol Analysis Tools ICs
LeCroy Corporation
LeCroy’s PCI Express® Protocol Analysis and Test Tools ..... 30
Hardware
Backplanes
Elma Bustronic
What is OpenVPX? ................................................................ 31
SIE Computing Solutions
VPX Backplanes ..................................................................... 32
Card Rack Hardware and Accessories
Elma Electronic
VPX/VXS Handles & Panels .................................................. 33
CPU or Single Board Computers
CES - Creative Electronic Systems SA
RIOV-2478 ............................................................................. 34
Development Boards
Pentek
4 Channel 200 MHz 16-bit A/D with Virtex-7 FPGA VPX Onyx™ Board (Model 53760) ................................................ 35
Enclosures
Elma Electronic
Elma Rugged ATR Platforms ................................................. 36
SIE Computing Solutions
717 Series Air-Over Conduction Cooled ATR Enclosures ...... 37
Mupac 760 Small Form Factor Series ................................... 38
Mass Storage
Elma Electronic
VME RAIDStor ....................................................................... 39
Services
Design
Elma Electronic Inc.
VPX-300 3U VPX Reference Development Platform ............. 40
ApplicationsData Recording
Display Processing
Digital Mapping
SIGINT / Electronic Warfare
Mission Computing
Network Attached Storage
Payload Controllers
Sensor Management
Image Processing
Fire Control
Command and Control
Data Link Processing
Network Processing
BenefitsLOWER PRICE
Design-to-cost goals
Better value
SHORT LEAD TIME
prototype builds
configured rugged systems
STATE-OF-THE-ART
SMALL PROGRAMS WELCOMEUse preconfigured systems for IRAD,
prototypes, and small programs
Available 3U VPX CardsTSBCi7-300X
3U VPX Single Board Computer
with Intel CoreTM-i7 CPU
TIOC-300X 3U VPX XMC/PMC Carrier Module
TSC-300X 3U VPX 8-Port SATA/SAS RAID
Module with PMC/XMC Site
TSM-300X 3U VPX SATA/SAS
Mass Storage Drive Module
TGA 300X 3U VPX Graphics Processor
with AMD E4690 GPU
TSY-300X Series
Standard ½ ATR Footprint
Standard 3U VPX Backplane
I/O Transition Board
Forced Air Conduction Cooled Standard
Optional External FLASH Drive Receptacles
Integrated Chassis Manager
Multi-port Ethernet Switch
Web Browser Management Interface
Finned, Coldplate, or Liquid Cool Option
I2C Interface to Cards and Test Port
350 Watts
8 x 1.0” Pitch Slots Multiple Temperature Sensors
Dynamic Fan Speed Control
Variable Speed Redundant Fans
TSY-305X Series ATR Style or Footpad Mounting
Standard 3U VPX Backplane
Natural Air Convection Cooled
I/O Transition Board
28 VDC Power Supply Unit
150 Watts
5 x 1.0” Pitch Slots
VITA-74 NANOATR
Intel Atom N455 @ 1.66 GHz
1 GB @ 667 MHz DDR3
VITA-74 Nano-ATR
Electrical per VITA-46 3U VPX
Electrical per VITA-65 OpenVPX
BP Connectors per VITA-57 FMC
4 Slot + Storage
Conduction Cooled with Fins
Dimensions (W x H x D) 4.88” x 4.12” x 4.38”
4.5 lbs (average)
Conduction Cooled
Operating Temperature -40° C to + 71° C
+28 VDC (18 to 36 VDC)
MIL-STD-810G, MIL-STD-461F
NANOPAK Intel Atom N455 @ 1.66 GHz
1 GB @ 667 MHz DDR3
VITA-74 Derivative
I/O Through Front Panel Connector
Dimensions (H x W x D) 89 mm X 21 mm X 90 mm
Conduction Cooled
Operating Temperature -40° C to + 71° C
MIL-STD-810G, MIL-STD-461F
6 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
U.S. military and aerospace budget uncertainties are
driving many of the trends around VME and related tech-
nologies, with existing systems more likely to be targeted
for upgrades around performance (up) and power (down)
than replacement. Unmanned vehicles remain a bright
spot for new designs, which also continue to drive size,
weight and power (SWaP) requirements. Despite a stagnant
economy, William E. Kehret, CEO of Themis Computer and
Michael Grumbine, Systems Architect, Military/Aerospace
Group of GE Intelligent Platforms still see opportunities
around new technologies and markets.
EECatalog: How are board and system developers adapting
as military priorities shift to upgrades of existing VME
platforms and development of new smaller, lighter and
lower-cost systems?
Michael
Grumbine, GE
Intelligent
Platforms:
Today’s
technolo-
gies – particularly multicore
processors, FPGAs and
GPGPUs – have created great
opportunities for developers
to reduce the size, weight,
power and cost of systems
when upgrading from
existing VME platforms. New
multicore processor boards with high-performance pro-
cessing capability can be employed to reduce the number
of boards used in a given solution, leading to lower power,
weight and board-count solutions. In order to reduce cost
and development time, legacy VME cards that are used for
special functions and interfacing can be combined with
VXS hybrid backplanes that incorporate VME with high-
speed serial busses such as VPX or cPCI. These VXS hybrid
systems allow for more functionality to be added to the
order system, taking advantage of the performance of the
serial-bussed system.
William E. Kehret, Themis Computer:
Themis sees a burgeoning opportunity for
new, small form factor modules and sys-
tems, and a slower growth but important
market opportunity for traditional VME
ecosystems. Themis has responded by opening the tech-
nology for its new small form factor tactical platforms and
leading the efforts of the VITA 74 Standards Committee.
Dennis Smith, VP of Themis engineering chairs the
working group, which includes several relevant member
companies. This standards committee community-of-
interest extends Themis’ product-development reach,
enabling the company to bring entire new systems to
market, in record time, without compromising its tradi-
tional VME/VPX product line roadmap.
EECatalog: What processor trends are you watching for
VME and VPX systems, including the roles of FPGAs and
GPGPUs?
Grumbine, GE Intelligent Platforms: Two major trends
in processor technology are the increase in throughput
capacity and the number
of computations per watt.
Increasing the number
of computations per watt
allows more work to be done
by a processor board in the
same thermal envelope,
thus gaining more perfor-
mance without significantly
raising heat levels that
must be dissipated. Higher
computing-performance
boards allow reduction in
board count, making for a
smaller and lighter package, or allow the same size and
weight package to do more. However, just having more
computations per cycle does not mean a better product.
The processor and the technology around the processor
need to be capable of transmitting enough data to utilize
the computational capability of the processor or the addi-
tional processing capability will translate to wasted power
with little gain.
GPGPUs are a great example of processors that increase
computational capability per watt while maintaining a
reasonable board size. Their capabilities are measured in
GFLOPs (billions of f loating point instructions)per watt
per second. The parallel structure of a GPGPU’s many pro-
cessing cores provides impressive computation capability
in packages that reduce the power consumed. However,
Board Vendors Adapt to New VME Trends and OpportunitiesBy Cheryl Coupé
Military-grade VME, VPX and cPCI systems are well-suited for opportunities in the oil, gas and mining industries due to their
rugged high-reliability pedigree.
© 2012 GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc. All rights reserved. All other brands or names are property of their respective holders.
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8 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
GPGPUs are extremely data thirsty and work most effi-
ciently when processing huge amounts of data.
FPGAs, with their quick non-floating-point processing
power,can act as powerful data ingest engines to feed the
GPGPUs and implementing high-speed data transport,
such as 10Gbyte Ethernet to transport large amounts of
data, will go a long way towards efficiently using GPGPU
computing capabilities.
Kehret, Themis Computer: Security and virtualization
requirements of defense markets set a high standard for
the – of necessity – low-power processors on the market.
Further, the operating systems that must be hosted are
dominated by Microsoft, with a smattering of Lynux,
Solaris and other embedded OSes. The low-power impera-
tive has been met with multicore initiatives from Intel,
AMD and others. These are ideal environments for multi-
threaded application code, but the brutally enforced power
limits, imposed by small deployment platforms with lim-
ited battery and – for UAVs – on-board generator power,
inevitably lead to an architectural chase that employs
FPGAs, as well as the massively multicored GPGPUs finally
coming to market with low-
power chips. These latter
techniques have historically
been developed with large
Si footprints and associated
high-power requirements.
So we eagerly await new,
higher-performance parts
from the usual vendors.
Current state-of-the-art is
challenged by the high data
rates of available sensors,
which themselves have undergone significant footprint
shrinks and amazing performance enhancements.
EECatalog: With mil/aero budgets constrained for the
foreseeable future, what are your expectations for VME-
related technologies pushing into markets such as mining
and oil exploration?
Grumbine, GE Intelligent Platforms: Oil and gas
exploration and mining are booming industries now due
to growth in demand for energy. Along with increased
growth, though, these industries are seeing greater
environmental and safety regulations. Automated and
autonomous monitoring systems are needed to meet these
regulatory requirements. Military-grade VME, VPX and
cPCI systems are well-suited for opportunities in the
oil, gas and mining industries due to their rugged high-
reliability pedigree. New regulations require constant
monitoring of operations and high data-throughput com-
puting capability which VME, VPX and cPCI systems are
well-suited to support.
Kehret, Themis Computer: While market adjacencies
always look very promising when defense industry bud-
gets are under pressure, the new funding environment
actually provides new opportunities for traditional
embedded computer suppliers, by shaking up markets.
Themis believes it can “surf ” these industry re-leveling
changes. The company does do business in these adjacent,
industrial markets (energy exploration and extraction
industries) but the lack of a consistent, favorable domestic
energy policy has created a risk premium for exploration
and extraction activities that is increasingly marginal-
izing U.S. industry participation in world markets.
EECatalog: How will opportunities shake out for VPX
with respect to rugged/hardened MicroTCA?
Grumbine, GE Intelligent Platforms: VPX was purposely
designed for rugged military applications and has received
broad industry acceptance. GE Intelligent Platforms is
making significant investments in VPX technologies
because we believe it is an optimal format for our targeted
military and aerospace applications. Rugged or hardened
MicroTCA essentially takes commercial technology and
re-packages it for rugged
environments. The main idea
behind MicroTCA is the con-
cept that large volumes in the
commercial market would
make a range of AdvancedMC
modules available at very low
cost. Since MicroTCA has
not been highly successful,
there are few suppliers for
AdvancedMCs and little
volume. MicroTCA has
become a niche platform in the commercial segment and
the rugged version has become a niche within a niche. Cur-
rently, we do not see MicroTCA as a viable platform for our
military and aerospace customers.
Kehret, Themis Computer: We believe VPX and VPX-
like architectures, that have leapfrogged the unfortunate
choice of large and expensive wafer switches, will domi-
nate the former stable mates. Today’s market is very
cost conscious and it is often the quantum SWAP-cost
threshold that has driven new markets that vastly expand
the markets for embedded computing.
EECatalog: What are the biggest changes you see coming
in applications for VME and related technologies in the
next few years?
Grumbine, GE Intelligent Platforms: The biggest change
that I see coming for applications is an increase in the
intelligence of the applications that are embedded into
platforms. There is an exponential growth in the amount
of real-time data that is being processed on platform
There is an exponential growth in the amount of real-time data
that is being processed on platform applications.
10 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
applications. For example, the number of pixels in ISR
systems grew one-thousand (1000X) in the past year. That
much data is more than can be stored or transmitted and
processed remotely, efficiently and timely using current
applications. Effective utilization of the enormous amount
of data that must be processed in real time requires that
military applications become smarter about processing
data and making automated decisions. This stepping-up of
mission applications will increase the computational pro-
cessing requirements for the platforms and the electronics
that support them. VPX and Open VPX-based systems will
increasingly become the format of choice because of the
high-performance that its serial architecture brings to
clean-sheet designs.
Kehret, Themis Computer: Themis sees and partici-
pates in an incredible shrinking world of reconnaissance
and surveillance platforms. These changes have driven
packaging evolution and associated industry standards.
The SWAP-cost imperative imposed by these new deploy-
ment platforms is one of the most challenging realities in
our business. Unfortunately, there is a start-up latency
that stands between even the most agile development
organization and full-rate production. The silver lining
for clouded product-line revenues is that demand for
smaller deployment platforms grows faster than cost/
price attrition. So the above-mentioned reconnaissance
and surveillance markets are ripe for generational change,
a trend that bodes ill for traditional-system ecosystems.
3U backplanes and modules offer one last lifeboat before
applications migrate away from the ecosystem, in favor
of a smaller packaging system. Themis has positioned
its new ATR systems at the nexus of streaming video and
relatively low power. The company also drives an industry
standards committee (VITA-74) and has preconfigured
product ready for mission-critical applications, including
mission computing, payload control, real-time control,
data recording and mobile robotics.
Cheryl Berglund Coupé is Editor of EECatalog.
com. Her articles have appeared in EE Times,
Electronic Business, Microsoft Embedded Re-
view and Windows Developer’s Journal and
she has developed presentations for the Embed-
ded Systems Conference and ICSPAT. She has
held a variety of production, technical marketing and writing
positions within technology companies and agencies in the
Northwest.
VME, VPX & VXS ONLINE
Explore...➔ Directory of leading VME, VPX & VXS Solution Providers
➔ Top Stories and News
➔ White Papers
➔ Expert Opinions (Blogs)
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Sign up for the quarterly VME, VPX & VXS E-Product Alert
www.eecatalog.com/vme
www.eecatalog.com/vme 11
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
CONTACT INFORMATION
Elma Electronic – Embedded Systems PlatformsElma Electronic Inc. supplies a first class offering of VITA stan-
dards based products for standard and rugged COTS electronics
packaging and sub-systems integration: chassis, boards, back-
planes, mechanical components, and cabinets. Elma’s Embedded
Computing products and services make the company a leading sup-
plier of VME, VXS and VPX based integrated embedded boards and
sub-systems. System architecture, hardware, and software design
services enable delivery of complete solutions. For rugged require-
ments, we take COTS products, such as single board computers,
then enhance and qualify them to meet certain MIL Standards.
Our extensive chassis product offering is unparalleled in the
industry: rugged COTS 19” rackmount chassis, ATR boxes, and non-
rugged and lab appropriate chassis and enclosures. The 12R2 series is
an extrusion-based mod¬ular design, which provides a cost-effective
way to customize designs. Elma’s rugged chassis platforms meet the
EMI/RFI requirements for MIL-STD-461D, and shock and vibration
according to MIL-STD-167, MIL-STD-810F and MIL-STD-910D.
Our popular Type 32 towers and E-Frame chassis are perfect for new
board-level and system development in the lab.
Elma is capable of quickly turning projects from initial system
architecture through to specification, design, manufacturing and
test. We also work with you to manage the entire project including
EOL issues, spares inventory and lifecycle management. Elma is
truly qualified to offer the widest range of best of class products
and by teaming with our partners, we provide complete standard
or custom integrated embedded sub-system platforms to meet
your requirements.
19” and Portable VME, VXS and VPX Chassis
meet a wide range of applica¬tions
heights
shipment
dual star, mesh, or custom fabric implementations
Rugged COTS Chassis
STD-810F, MIL-STD-167 and MIL-STD-901D
is a major factor
ATR (Air Transport Rack)
reduced cost and lead time
panels, and top and bottom covers
VME, VXS, and VPX Embedded Computing Boards
Engines
-
forms (SystemPaks)
requirements
Elma Electronic44350 Grimmer BlvdFremont, CA 94538USA510-656-3400 Telephonesales@elma.comwww.elma.com
12 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
X-ES has an extensive portfolio of rugged VPX products.
Designed for both conduction- and air-cooled applications,
carriers, storage modules, power modules, backplanes, RTMs,
and platforms and enclosures.
Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES)By Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES)
Product Name Form Factor Processor Max CPU Speed Memory NVRAM Mezzanines Ethernet USB
XCalibur1541 6U VPX MPC8572E 1.5 GHz 4 GB DDR2-800
256 MB NOR16 GB NAND
2 PMC/XMC 4 1000BASE-T 3 USB 2.0
XCalibur1640 6U VPX QorIQ P3041, P4080, P5020
1.5 - 2.5 GHz 8 GB DDR3-800
512 MB NOR32 GB NAND
2 PMC/XMC 3 1000BASE-T 3 USB 2.0
XCalibur1740 6U VPX QorIQ P1011, P2020
1.2 GHz 8 GB DDR3-800
512 MB NOR32 GB NAND
2 PMC/XMC 3 1000BASE-T 3 USB 2.0
XCalibur4341 6U VPX Core i7 2.53 GHz 16 GB DDR3-1066
32 MB NOR128 GB NAND
2 PMC/XMC 5 1000BASE-BX or 1000BASE-T
3 USB 2.0
XCalibur4440 6U VPX 2nd Gen Core i7 quad-core
2.1 GHz 16 GB DDR3-1333
32 MB NOR128 GB NAND
2 PMC/XMC 5 1000BASE-BX or 1000BASE-T
5 USB 2.0
XPedite5370 3U VPX MPC8572E 1.5 GHz 4 GB DDR2-800
256 MB NOR4 GB NAND
1 PMC/XMC 2 1000BASE-T
XPedite5470 3U VPX QorIQ P3041, P4080, P5020
1.5 - 2.5 GHz 8 GB DDR3-1333
256 MB NOR16 GB NAND
1 PMC/XMC 2 1000BASE-T or 1000BASE-BX
2 USB 2.0
XPedite5570 3U VPX QorIQ P1011, P2020
1.2 GHz 4 GB DDR3-800
256 MB NOR16 GB NAND
1 PMC/XMC 2 1000BASE-T 1 USB 2.0
XPedite7170 3U VPX Core 2 Duo
1.8 GHz 4 GB DDR2-400
4 MB NOR4 GB NAND
1 PMC/XMC 1-2 1000BASE-T
0-2 USB 2.0
XPedite7172 3U VPX Core 2 Duo
1.8 GHz 4 GB DDR2-400
2 MB NOR4 GB NAND
1 PMC/XMC 2 1000BASE-T or 1000BASE-BX
2 USB 2.0
XPedite7370 3U VPX Core i7 2.53 GHz 8 GB DDR3-1066
32 MB NOR16 GB NAND
1 PMC/XMC 2 1000BASE-T or 1000BASE-BX
2 USB 2.0
XPedite7371 3U VPX Core i7 2.53 GHz 8 GB DDR3-1066
32 MB NOR16 GB NAND
1 PMC/XMC 2 1000BASE-T or 1000BASE-BX
2 USB 2.0
XPedite7470 3U VPX 2nd Gen Core i7
2.1 GHz 8 GB DDR3-1333
32 MB NOR16 GB NAND
1 PMC/XMC 2 1000BASE-T or 1000BASE-BX
2 USB 2.0
Single Board Computers
www.eecatalog.com/vme 13
Storage SolutionsX-ES provides a variety of VPX storage options for embedded
computing applications. To address the storage requirements
of deployed embedded applications, X-ES offers high density
Solid State Disk (SSD) storage solutions and removable SSD
storage options. X-ES can build removable storage options into
system-level solutions, such as the XPand4200 sub-1/2 ATR
box.
Carrier
bit AES encryption
Switches and CarriersTo facilitate system integration, X-ES provides a number of
switch and carrier options. All are available in both conduc-
tion- and air-cooled versions.
with bridging to cPCI
Gigabit Ethernet switch
Integrated Switch with XMC and Management Support
Backplanes, Power Modules, and Rear Tran-sition Modules (RTMs)Design margins for VPX backplanes are much narrower than
traditional backplane due to the number and the speed of the
signals on the backplane. To ensure that backplanes do not
represent a weakness in the system design, X-ES provides a
line of VPX backplanes. To support air-cooled applications
and development efforts, X-ES provides a line of RTMs. Power
requirements of VPX systems can be much higher than with
traditional systems. To ensure that system power require-
modules.
output, 300 W, 3U VITA 62.0 VPX power supply with
integrated MIL-STD-461E filtering and optional hold-up
capacitor
output, 300 W, 3U VITA 62.0 VPX power supply with inte-
grated MIL-STD-461E filtering, with 12V allocated as the
primary distribution rail across the backplane
System Integration and System QualificationX-ES integrates X-ES products, third-party products, our
customer’s proprietary boards, and software, based on the cus-
tomer’s needs. X-ES performs a wide variety of qualification
testing. Utilizing our in-house equipment and test engineers,
we perform environmental testing and environmental pre-
screening. We also perform EMI pre-screening utilizing our
in-house equipment. We also perform environmental and
EMI testing by working with independent test facilities. X-ES
delivers integrated and qualified subsystems and complete
systems ready for deployment.
Product Name
Form Factor Chassis Type Dimensions Chassis Cooling
Supported Modules
# of Slots
ADP 3U VPX Development 11.5”D x 5.5”W x 16.5”H Air Conduction 10
XPand1000 3U VPX Development 8.3”D x 4.2”W x 8.5”H Air Conduction 2
XPand1010 6U VPX Development 13.6”D x 4.2”W x 8.5”H Air Conduction 2
XPand1200 3U VPX Development 11.5”D x 5.5”W x 8.5”H Air Conduction 10
XPand1300 3U VPX Development 11.5”D x 5.5”W x 16.5”H Air Air 15
XPand3200 3U VPX ATR 8.75”D x 4.88”W x 5.62”H Conduction Conduction 6
XPand4200 3U VPX ATR 13.5”D x 4.88”W x 6”H Air Conduction 6
XPand5200 3U VPX ATR 10.30”D x 4.88”W x 5.65”H Natural Convection or Conduction
Conduction 4
Platforms and Enclosures
Extreme Engineering Solutions, Inc.3225 Deming Way, Suite 120 Middleton, WI 53562608-833-1155 Telephone608-827-6171 Faxsales@xes-inc.comwww.xes-inc.com
CONTACT INFORMATION
14 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
VITA technologies such as VMEbus, VPX, PMC, FMC, VXS and
many others are a favorite choice in what are termed “Critical
Embedded Systems.” These are systems that are life-critical or
safety-critical and whose failure or malfunction may result
in death or serious injury to people, loss or severe damage to
equipment or severe environmental harm. VITA technologies
are further defined to be used in high performance, distributed
computing systems that manage high bandwidth I/O, involve
real-time processing and are environmentally constrained to
space, weight and power (SWaP). This definition clearly sepa-
rates VITA technology from that used in personal computing
or data center servers.
The focus of VITA technologies on the needs of critical
embedded systems means that most applications of the tech-
nology are in military/aerospace, communications, industrial
and medical application markets. Applications within these
markets that are life or safety critical benefit from the extra
care that suppliers of VITA technologies put into their prod-
ucts. The performance bandwidth and packaging options
defined in specifications such as VMEbus and VPX have
attractive options for different requirements of demanding
applications.
There are many challenges that designers face when developing
critical embedded systems. As computing elements are added
to new applications with each generation of product develop-
ment, the issues become increasingly complex.
Fragmentation of marketsThe very nature of embedded computing is forcing an ever-
expanding fragmentation of the requirements. There is a
for suppliers to reach economies of scale that help to drive cost
reductions enjoyed by high unit volume consumer devices.
Some designers try to fit low-cost desktop technology into
critical embedded systems only to find that the support costs
far outweigh the material costs. Using a Windows and Intel
Architecture solution is not always the best choice for critical
applications. Evaluating commercially available real-time
operating systems and other processor families is important
when developing a critical embedded system because they can
have features that are better suited to meet requirements. For
instance: better security, event response times or processing
elements.
Fortunately, some technology is ubiquitous and tends to
evolve its usage model so that you can gain some cost savings
without sacrificing performance and reliability. Examples of
these are also not always a perfect fit, they have evolved over
the years to make them suitable options in many cases. The
respective ecosystems have roadmaps for the technology that
make them suitable for the long product life cycles required by
most critical embedded systems.
More “Standards” than everThe fragmentation of the markets is leading to a rise in the
number of standards that help to define next generations of
technologies used in embedded computing. The next wave of
standards is generally defined by the ecosystems that have
the technology needs. One or two major contributors often
team up to turn a proprietary specification into the next
standard. The incentive is to help drive up the consumption
and thus lower costs. The number of working groups that are
defining the next generations of standards is increasing each
year. VITA alone has over 30 active working groups gathering
the “Voice of the Customer” inputs and converting the inputs
into robust specifications. These working groups are working
on everything from small form factor systems to backplane
interconnect strategies to reliability guidelines. Standards
driven through established organizations such as VITA ensure
a well-developed and vetted specification.
Critical Embedded Systems Design ChallengesBy Jerry Gipper, VITA Director of Marketing
© 2012 GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc. All rights reserved. All other brands or names are property of their respective holders.
GE Intelligent Platforms
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16 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
SWaP is CriticalSize, weight and power are three limitations that nearly every
critical embedded system is bounded to by some degree. All
three become increasingly critical as devices become more
mobile and integrated. SWaP applies across all levels of tech-
nology from chips to boards to systems. Finding the right
combination and making the associated trade offs is very
challenging. Every application has its own guidelines and
restrictions driving important design decisions. Standards
that have made considerations for options help in the decision
process. For example, the usage of the VPX family of specifica-
tion is guided through the OpenVPX architectural framework
that defines the operability levels of the numerous combina-
tions of products that are available from the product suppliers.
Need for SpeedMany new applications arise because the performance levels
are going off the charts with processing and interconnect
capability and there does not appear to be any end to the need
for speed anytime in the near future. Give an engineer more
computing performance, and they will find a way to need even
more.
Fortunately, there are small armies of engineers working
on innovation to improve performance at all levels. Most
important for a critical embedded system is interconnecting
performance. In addition, most exciting and promising here is
the work with optical interconnects. While still not practical
for many applications, optical interconnects are making great
inroads in performance and cost. The new VPX fiber optic inter-
connect specification (VITA 66) that defines a family of blind
mate fiber optic interconnects for use with VPX backplanes
and plug-in modules is one of the first backplane standards
to emerge. The endgame is nowhere in clear sight, and you can
expect a lot of new innovation as suppliers find ways to make
optical interconnects practical and cost-effective. VITA has
established the VITA Architectures for Optical study group to
help push along efforts to create necessary standards.
CustomizationDespite all the efforts to develop standards, there is also a
the components and systems to solve the root problems of
the design process, but the levels of customization must not
interfere with the time-to-market and cost models of the final
product. Finding technologies that let you customize quickly
and effectively are necessary. The use of FPGAs and system
integration with board level modules is one of the most proven
ways to address the requirement for fast and relatively easy
customization. Most board suppliers offer custom products
and design services to some degree, some more than others.
Even higher levels of customization at the board level will
happen in the future.
SummaryDesigning critical embedded computing systems is no easy
task. The challenges become more daunting with each passing
generation of technology. Using standards and products based
on the standards is one way to stay ahead of the game because
you can reduce risk by leveraging the knowledge based on the
developers of the standards and the related products. Visit
VITA at www.vita.com to learn how VITA technologies can
help you with your next project.
Jerry Gipper has held a variety of positions in
systems engineering, sales, product marketing,
business development and strategic planning. His
technology and marketing experience spans embed-
ded computing technologies from VMEbus, PMC,
CompactPCI, AdvancedTCA, various embedded
motherboard technologies, embedded microprocessors and SOCs,
Embedded Windows, Linux and real-time operating systems.
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18 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
VITA’s long-standing Bus & Boards conference, which hasn’t
taken place for several years, was reincarnated in Cocoa Beach,
Florida on January 16-17, 2012 as the Embedded Tech Trends
conference. Billed as a business and technology forum rather
than a trade show, the event revolved around presentations
on a variety of VME and VPX-related technologies, updates by
several VITA groups, as well as media briefings and networking.
Discussion focused on the need for smaller, lighter, faster
systems – especially growing demands for unmanned ground
and aerial vehicles (UAVs) – that are driving development of
new small form factor (SFF) standards and modular systems.
Questions around which – if any – of these new standards will
succeed still abound, however. Vendors indicate that customers
typically come at a design challenge with a focus on processor,
operating system, application requirements and yes, general
size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements – but not neces-
sarily a specific modular form factor. In many presentations,
vendors talked about their full system solutions approach that
is more often customized than not. (While the use of COTS
technologies is still important, it’s not clear if that really means
commercial – or custom – off-the-shelf.) It’s possible that the
focus on modularity and new form factor standards doesn’t
appropriately address customer or vendor needs. For instance,if
one or more of the new SFF standards takes off, vendors may be
hard-pressed to fold that new product line into their portfolios,
on top of efforts to follow new processor announcements in an
already wide range of board standards and form factors.
But all that remains to be seen. What follows are impressions
from the event’s presentations and vendor discussions.
VITA OverviewVITA director of marketing Jerry Gipper opened the event with
an overview of VITA activities, technologies and state of the
market. Overall, VITA membership has stayed fairly consistent
since 2005, with membership at 126 companies then and now,
and with a high of 141 member companies in September 2010.
Gipper noted the impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
on membership, and that most of the same players were still in
attendance, just wearing new hats.
Research from IMS Research and VDC Research indicate steady – if
not overwhelming – growth. IMS Research last reported on this
market in August 2010 (a new report is due out soon), but showed
VME revenue for single board computers at $493 million in 2010,
down from $496.3 million in 2008, but up from $456.4 million in
2009. Military and aerospace applications continue to dominate
the market with about 37% of total VME revenue; communications
followed at about 25% of the market, with industrial automation
(9%), medical (7%), transportation (6%) and other sectors (16%)
making up the balance. Overall, x86 architectures comprised just
over 51% of revenue, while Power architectures captured just under
40% and other architectures made up the balance.
VDC Research provided data that was current as of late 2011
(from the VDC study “2011 Embedded Hardware and Systems
Service, Track 2: Embedded Boards Supplier Analysis, Volume
1: Slot Single Board Computers and CPU Blades”). In 2011, VDC
showed that VME and its variants comprised 24% of the slot SBC
and CPU blade market, with revenue of $392.6 million. That share
is projected to remain the same through 2014, although overall
market growth will bring VME-related revenue to $544.5 million
during that time. VDC believes that newer technologies such as
VXS and VPX are driving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
of 12.48% from 2010 through 2015, and expects that VPX will
be the dominate VME-based architecture by 2014, moving from
18% of the VME market in 2011 to 34% in 2014.
VITA Goes Small SwaP requirements continue to drive new VITA standards, and
much of the discussion during the conference revolved around
advancements in 3U VPX and new smaller form factors. Pro-
ponents of new SFF standards presented updates on VITA 59
and VITA 74. Sponsors of VITA 73 (PCI Systems) and VITA 75
(Curtiss Wright) were not in attendance.
VITA 59ANSI-VITA 59 ESMexpress®
COM defines a Rugged System-
On-Module Express (RSE) that
is sponsored by MEN Mikro
Elektronik GmbH as well as
Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense
Systems, Pentair, Samtec and LiP-
PERT Embedded Computers. (See
photo.) MEN Mikro CTO Manfred Schmitz presented the new
standard that is designed to make COM Express viable in rugged
environments and mobile applications. Schmitz described it as
the only rugged COM standard that supports conductive cooling,
electromagnetic shielding and mechanical protection, as well as
standard pin-outs to support easy replacement and long-term
UAVs Drive Call for Small Form Factor StandardsEmbedded Tech Trends 2012 Focuses on SWaP, Interoperability and System-Level Solutions
By Cheryl Coupé
MEN Mikro XM51 module.
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20 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
availability, with size and mounting compliant to PICMG COM.0
module that is compliant with the standard in process, and
Schmitz described several applications for it, including railway
equipment. (More information is available at http://www.men.
de/news/press-releases,126888,In-Top-Form-ESMexpress-Com-
puter--On--Module-with-PowerPC-QorIQ.html#y.)
VITA 74VITA 74 is sponsored by Themis
Computer, along with Samtec,
Molex and Xembedded. In a
presentation, Themis VP of engi-
neering Dennis Smith focused on
the growing market for military
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),
-
lion market with a forecasted CAGR
of 12% from 2013-2018. While small tactical platforms such as UAVs
have adopted architectures such as PC/104, there is also extensive
fragmentation and a need to adopt VPX features – without the high
cost. Themis’s approach is based on the Nano ETX express standard,
which is the size of a credit card with a COM Express interface. It
new fabrics that include PCI Express, SATA and Gigabit Ethernet. In
the conference’s only hospitality-suite-slash-product-demo event,
Themis showed its Nano-Pak sealed module and five-slot VITA-74
NanoATR system. (See photo and http://www.themis.com/themis/
product/tacticalsystems/vita74 for more information.) Themis is
actively working to build an ecosystem around VITA 74: mechanical
models and drawings are available for download and tooling for
frame and module extrusions has been set up. In the meantime,
Themis states that it is finding applications for VITA 74 within the
U.S. Army’s Victory group and also sees interest in energy services
and transportation applications.
VPX in ActionThe VPX Marketing Alliance is one of four marketing groups
now active within VITA (the others are focused on FMC, VXS
and the reliability community), and all of which are working to
meet VITA’s mission of promoting open standards for critical
embedded computing. Valerie Andrew of Elma Electronic is
the new chair of the VPX Marketing Alliance, which covers the
base standard VITA 46, as well as VITA 48 (VPX-REDI), VITA
channel), VITA 60 (interchangeable connectors), VITA 66 (fiber
optic connectivity) and VITA 67 (analog/RF connectivity), as
well as the new small form factors. Andrew introduced several
sessions related to VPX and OpenVPX.
Challenges of Interoperability with OpenVPXDavid Hinkle of Elma Electronic dispelled the notion that VPX
is not multi-vendor interoperable, describing Elma’s OpenVPX
systems that are built with products from industry leaders
such as Emerson, GE Intelligent
Platforms, Concurrent Technologies
and Interface Concept. OpenVPX
defines systems using an established
nomenclature that provides a foun-
dation for interoperability. OpenVPX
profiles define a topology of data
connectivity to the backplane from
the modules with slot profiles (which
pins connect to what), and define
what protocols a module is specified
to use when communicating over the connections defined in the
slot profiles with module profiles. Each slot profile has a unique
slot profile names to understand all the elements and define
how it will be used. A few things to keep in mind: Since VPX
preceded OpenVPX, it should not be surprising there are many
vendors whose products only comply to VPX, but many vendors
are adding OpenVPX-compliant boards to their offerings that
indicate the module and slot profiles they are compliant with.
Finally Hinkle says: don’t assume that just because a module is
not OpenVPX that it can’t be used in an OpenVPX design.
OpenVPX Successfully Deployed Paul Monticciollo, Mercury CTO, stated what became a common
theme at the conference: that military and aerospace customers
are looking to vendors for system-level solutions that are based on
open board standards in order to control program costs and accel-
erate time to deployment. Monticciollo described two Mercury
applications for Open VPX: the Gorgon Stare and Patriot Missile
Defense programs, both advanced processing systems that were
rapidly implemented using open hardware and software standards.
Pentek’s Roger Hosking continued this theme, and stated that
the benefits of Open VPX outweigh perceived competitive
threats, with vendor interoperability becoming the basis for suc-
cessful sales strategies. He sees new embedded designs shifting
from VME to Open VPX as a natural roadmap extension, and
believes that Open VPX has more momentum than other new
small form factor standards in the works.
VITA Technology ChallengesA panel of experts responded to questions from moderator John
McHale of Military Embedded Systems. Panelists were Man-
fred Schmitz, MEN Mikro Elektronik GmbH;Ken Grob, Elma
Electronic Inc.; Peter Cavill, GE Intelligent Platforms; and Paul
Monticciollo, Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. What follows are
excerpts from these discussions.
On roadmaps from processor suppliers:Intel and Freescale are
mainstream, but it can
be tough for board and
system suppliers to keep
up with Intel’s design
cycle of a new product
Themis Nano-Pak sealed module and five-slot VITA-74 NanoATR cube.
3U VPX Mini ATR in a rugged OpenVPX platform from Elma Electronic
www.eecatalog.com/vme 21
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
architecture every 12 months. ARM is beginning to show up in
some military applications, but these are emerging opportunities
that are fragmented in terms of suppliers. And while there is a
huge amount of software driven by the consumer smartphone
and tablet markets, that presents even more of a mismatch with
mil/aero due to volume of markets and long-term support.
The impact of defense spending cuts on COTS: GE’s Cavill expects business to move away from ground vehicles
to smaller systems such as UAVs, while Mercury’s Monticciollo
expects to see an emphasis on putting systems together that are
effective in gathering information. Elma’s Grob will be watching
the emerging SFF arena, even though that presents challenges
in folding new products into full portfolios that already encom-
pass VME, CompactPCI and other technologies.
Use of VME technologies in other industries:Grob notes that the cost differential in systems specified for
rugged military versus rugged industrial might be 2:1 and won-
ders if there might be a move towards more centric requirements
for standards, while Schmitz of MEN Mikro indicates that usage
of mil/aero standards in other verticals is dependent on quantity.
The impact of compliance to Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) conversion:There were grimaces across the panel on this topic, with frus-
tration evident on how to maintain reliability and mitigate tin
whisker shorts. However, manufacturers recognize that the
boat has sailed and they’re collecting data on processes and
developing more reliable assembly techniques. The impact may
depend on demands from the customer’s customer, which can
result in poor yield or unmanufacturability, not to mention
wasted time spent negotiating around these issues.
On trends in offshore manufacturing:Overall, panelists are seeing some components coming from
low-cost regions, but most are building systems onshore, in the
U.S. or Europe.
On what COTS means today:This discussion generated quite a few laughs. Monticciollo stated
that customers always need some sort of customization since the
environmentals are different for every product. He believes that
COTS standards can get them to 80-90% of the solution; the issue
is how much it’s going to cost for that last 10%. Schmitz responded
wryly that COTS is a custom product for which the customer isn’t
willing to pay non-recurring engineering (NRE) charges. Cavill
-
ally composed of custom products that have multiple customers.
Future vision of embedded boards:Cavill believes that the VPX portion of VME will continue to grow,
see complete functions on modules as silicon integration continues,
and is seeing a move to complete application-ready systems. Schmitz
also sees MEN Mikro changing from a board manufacturer to a
system manufacturer, especially as systems become smaller. These
themes were echoed by Grob, who also sees a move to systems and
VPX. Monticciollo noted that today’s system solution also includes
the analog portion and that software has become more important
for differentiation, especially as silicon becomes more integrated,
providing fewer opportunities to differentiate in hardware.
On microTCA’s impact on VPX:None of the panelists saw an impact from MicroTCA.
Other SessionsAdditional presentations included VITA Working Group updates
(which can be found at www.vita.com), an overview of the VITA
Reliability Community, a review of the FMC market by Patrick
Mechin of TechwaY,and an explanation of the issues around
debugging PCI Express (PCIe) in critical embedded systems by
John Wiedemeier of LeCroy.
While the consensus at
Embedded Tech Trends
seemed to be that copper is
still meeting most needs, Will
Ouyang of Samtec generated
interest with his overview
on new optical interconnects
that will be required to match
CPU performance increases.
Challenges come down to
bandwidth, distance and density, which Samtec is addressing
with new active optical cable (AOC) products generated from the
June 2011 acquisitions of AlpenIO (now Samtec Optical Group)
and Aspen Technologies (now Samtec Microelectronics). The cable
assemblies are available as a PCI Express x4 AOC, which is PCIe Gen
3-speed capable at 100 meters, and QSFP+ AOC that is compliant
100 meters. Weight and size comparisons were impressive: at one
meter, the PCI Express cable is 63% smaller in diameter and 90%
lighter than copper (61% lighter including total assembly); the
QSFP+ assembly at one meter is 68% smaller in diameter and 88%
lighter than copper.
Next Embedded Tech TrendsPlans are already in the works for the second annual Embedded
Tech Trends conference, which will bring the event back to the
take place in early 2013 on the Queen Mary. Watch www.vita.com
for details.
Cheryl Berglund Coupé is editor of EECatalog.com.
Her articles have appeared in EE Times, Electronic
Business, Microsoft Embedded Review and Win-
dows Developer’s Journal and she has developed
presentations for the Embedded Systems Conference
and ICSPAT. She has held a variety of production,
technical marketing and writing positions within technology com-
panies and agencies in the Northwest.
Samtec optical engines
22 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
Introduction
multi-national forces who are required to deploy anywhere in
the world faster than ever before. Communications of voice,
video and data have become critical to the successful opera-
tion of these forces. This has led to the implementation of
Network-Enabled Operations (NEO) as a force multiplier,
and has resulted in everything from forward operating
bases to vehicular electronics systems architecture adopting
common, IP-based network architecture. Vehicle electronics,
often combined as Vetronics, are changing communications
among virtually all battlefield assets.
Emergence of the NEO ParadigmThe core basics of conflicts, command control, communica-
tion and intelligence (C4I) have not changed since ancient
days and now, perhaps more than ever,
the use of information superiority and
military communications as a force-mul-
tiplier is seen as a competitive edge. We
can add real-time high-definition video
streams or intelligent blue-force tracking,
360-degree situational awareness and
real-time language translation to the list
of game changing military technologies.
Military forces see the development of a
superior communications network as pri-
ority number one, even above developing
superior weapons, thus marking a major
shift in military thinking towards a new
NEO mindset. The essential premise of
NEO is that technology now enables each
warfighter and military asset to become a
battlefield sensor. The data thus gathered
can then be shared in real time over a
high-speed network.
The implementation of NEO is influencing
military technology in profound ways.
The network architecture has become all-
pervasive, and almost every battlefield
asset is adopting a network-based design.
The fundamental principles of NEO are as
follows:
1. A robustly networked military force
improves information sharing.
2. Information sharing enhances the
quality of the information, as well as
shared situational awareness.
Vetronics Architectures Emerge to Facilitate Network-Enabled OperationsBy Rubin Dhillon, Industry Manager for Communications and Networking Solutions, Military and Aerospace division, GE Intelligent Platforms
www.eecatalog.com/vme 23
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
3. Shared situational awareness enables collaboration and
self-synchronization, and also enhances sustainability
and speed of control.
4. The end result of these benefits is increased mission
effectiveness.
The networking principle behind NEO is based on the
same basic architectures as the Internet or other large
networks you might find in the enterprise world. A net-
work diagram of the U.S. DoD’s Global Information Grid
(GIG) that connects warfighters, policy makers and sup-
port personnel looks very similar to a diagram of a large
corporate network that connects company personnel,
management, customers and suppliers to a single secure
network. It is modular, scalable and open, which has led
to the large-scale adoption of embedded computing and
common off-the-shelf systems.
New Vetronics Architectures Driving NEO to the Tactical EdgeAs network-enabled operations begin to deploy, a need is
emerging to see the battlefield network reach all the way
to the tactical edge. The US Army envisions a warfighter
wearing computers and communications equipment or
perhaps using a standard smartphone. These warfighters
are connected to a communications hub that gives them
real-time connectivity to the battlefield network, and
that hub has taken the form of a modern armored mili-
tary vehicle. Since the military vehicle has become not
only a network node but essentially a complex “network
appliance,” the design and architecture of the vehicle is
transforming. The vehicle’s nervous system of electronics
has become a network. Even the systems themselves–the
computer, communications and weapons systems–are
becoming networks within a network.
A scalable, distributed network will likely result in
decreased deployment times for new vehicles and new
Figure 1 Example VPX System, GE’s MAGIC1 (3U System)
24 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
technologies. Also,in these budget-constrained times,
the combination of reduced size, weight, power and cost
(SWaP-C) along with an open, multivendor mix of system
components could significantly reduce the cost of design
and deployment.
Implementation ChallengesWith the adoption of Network-Enabled Operations and
the priority placed on network communications, a fighting
force must literally setup a whole communications infra-
structure with wired and wireless broadband links and
data centers for every theater they enter. Along with
their traditional radios, warfighters are carrying routers,
switches, blade servers, cellular base stations, network
gateways and a number of other network equipment into
battle. All this equipment must be transported and pow-
ered; so it is no surprise that now as never before, SWaP
issues are at the fore of concerns for military users and
prime contractors alike.
Another significant concern is the harsh environment in
which military vehicles are designed to operate. Vetronics
systems are subject to significant shock and vibration,
temperature extremes, dust, sand, dirt and moisture. Such
systems are therefore ruggedized, which adds to their size
and weight. These systems are also passively cooled, which
places limits on the power and performance of the elec-
tronics within them.
These challenges can be exemplified by a common NEO
requirement such as the capture and transport of video for
C4I applications and 360-degree situational awareness.
The demand for video capabilities in military vehicles is
expected to continue to grow both in numbers of deployed
platforms as well as range of functionality, especially
real-time, high-definition video. As such, platform
communications must be able to distribute video feeds
encapsulated in IP and transported over Ethernet both
to the operators (whether on the platform itself or at a
remote location) as well as to specialized video processing
systems. These processing systems require very high-
performance computing with high-speed communications
links. Given the SWaP and environment challenges, the
standard systems one would use in the commercial enter-
prise world would not work. This is where COTS embedded
platform solutions come into play.
COTS Embedded Technology SolutionsThe COTS embedded industry has been working to address
the challenge of delivering high-performance computing
and networking technologies to meet challenging SWaP
and environmental requirements such as those for a
video processing system within a military vehicle with a
modular, open,network-enabled architecture.
The embedded industry has developed a range of modular,
open-architecture platform standards designed spe-
cifically for rugged and harsh military applications like
Figure 2 GE’s NETernity GBX460 10 GiGE SwitchGE’s GBX460 (http://defense.ge-ip.com/products/3569) is a highdensityOpenVPX 10GigE data-plane switch that has becomepopular with system architects building platforms for vehicularnetworks. The GBX460 canbe either unmanaged for simple network con-figurations withfast start-ups or as a fully managed, layer 2/3+ switch for morecomplex networks with security requirements such as separatingclassified and unclassified data streams.
www.eecatalog.com/vme 25
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
vetronics. Some of these standards, such as the bus-based
cPCI and VME architectures, have been used to develop
a range of vetronics systems in the past. With the intro-
duction of NEO, however, new standards have emerged
that incorporate switched fabric architectures. These are
essentially networks in a box. The VPX standards defined
by VMEbus International Trade Association (VITA) give
us a modular,open-architecture base platform that is per-
fect for the design of a video processing system.
Most of today’s vetronics systems incorporate various
video transport methodologies, both analog and digital.
But as platforms increasingly adopt design architectures
optimized for NEO, these video streams will be encap-
sulated in IP and transported over Gigabit Ethernet and
10GigE I/O interfaces.
Finally, the system requires a powerful Ethernet switch.
Since the Ethernet switch is essentially the nervous
system of any platform deployed in NEO applications,
system architects need to pay careful attention to the
specification and selection of this vital component. There
are three primary areas of concern when selecting an Eth-
ernet switch:
1. Number of ports
2. Bandwidth
3. Management/Protocols and Security
Any Ethernet switch must have enough ports to intercon-
nect all the compute and I/O components and handle the
input and output of video streams. The vetronics diagram
above depicts the complexity of such a network-enabled
system-of-systems and demonstrates the large number
of Ethernet ports required. The number of required ports
can quickly add up when you consider the number of
input/output streams and the number of blades installed
in a system. To provide fault-tolerance and redundancy,
systems are also designed with redundant links to each
installed blade. A system with six installed compute and
I/O components would require 12 ports to connect them.
Embedded Ethernet switches for military applications are
typically offered with 10MB, 100mb and Gigabit Ethernet
links. Today, with the increase in video transport over IP,
we are seeing the need for multiple 10GigE links.
The nature of an open, distributed network architecture
means that there are multiple network assets, often from
multiple vendors and they must all talk to each other. Pro-
tocols and management standards have been implemented
to enable interoperability, and most managed switches
have adopted the standards. Some vendors, however, may
interpret the standards differently than others, leading
to interoperability problems. In many cases, the military
may choose to modify a standard protocol to implement
security features to optimize for mobile ad-hoc environ-
ments or to bridge legacy non-Ethernet enabled devices to
the network. It is therefore important to choose a switch
solution with a protocol suite that is f lexible and can be
optimized and customized for target environments.
ConclusionAs armed forces push towards an “IP everywhere” reality,
Ethernet will reach further and further out to the edge
of the battlefield. While GigE networking still dominates
in the military and aerospace arena, 10GbE is becoming
increasingly necessary with the deployment of platforms
transporting and processing real-time voice, video and
data. As such, robust, high-density 10GbE network switch
transport with the f lexibility to adapt and connect to
legacy or non-standard Vetronics systems will become
increasingly important in order to meet the growing data
throughput rates of NEO networks. GE has developed a
range of such solutions designed specifically to connect
and secure the network enabled warfighters of today’s
battlefield.
Rubin Dhillon is the Industry Manager for
Communications and Networking solutions in
the Military and Aerospace division of GE In-
telligent Platforms. Rubin holds a Bachelor of
Business degree from the Victorian University
of Technology in Melbourne, Australia and has
more than 18 years’ experience in embedded communications
technologies for the commercial, telecommunications and mili-
tary markets.
26 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
A VXI test and measurement system consists of a chassis,
instruments and a controller computer that may be in the
chassis with the instruments or remotely connected. In these
systems, low first-word latency is often an important consid-
eration. Many modules from different vendors use single-word
communications for one reason or another. To enable any sort
of transfer speed, the VXI controller – also known as a slot-0
controller – needs direct memory access without going through
The only solution would be a memory-mapped interface or an
with first-word latencies of 700 nsec to 2 μsec (depending on
important factor in all large test systems, especially in military
systems, is longevity.
This highlights a key trade off of
embedded versus remote con-
trollers for VXI systems: on one
hand, you could use an embedded
solution and never touch this
system; on the other hand,you
have future growth and change in
mind and will need the increased
performance and capabilities of
new PC hardware. For the latter
case, the only viable solution
today is to select a state-of-the-
art remote controller interface
and use an external computer. As
in the short-lived and very fast-
changing world of PC processors
and corresponding operating
systems,you most likely will not
be able to even find your operating system of the time of concep-
tion of your system; even less the processor architecture initially
chosen. The remote controller option generally delivers cost sav-
ings, which is also of increasing importance in light of shrinking
budgets and cost-reduction efforts.
Cost and Performance Trade offs Regarding the cost issue, it is worth noting that there is a trade
off between cost and performance. The embedded VXI controller,
essentially a specialized computer that fits into the VXI chassis,
offers the highest performance and commands the highest
price. It is also important to point out that the performance
parameters we are concerned with here are those related to
exchanging information between the controller and the instru-
ments in the VXI chassis and not processor speed, memory or
other parameters of the controller computer itself. Indeed, one
can usually find a more amply provisioned PC in the general
marketplace than in the embedded world. This is due not only
to the longer design and product lifecycles of embedded VXI
controller computers, but also to the fact that the data transfer
performance, along with system size, is usually more important
than PC processor speed, memory, etc. for a controller solution.
Express(PCIe) connection to the host computer offers perfor-
mance so close to an embedded controller that it is essentially the
same for many applications. Data transfer occurs at PCI Express
-
dard and a VXI 4.0-compatible
PCIe remote VXI controller. The
cost of using such a controller
is indeed higher than that of
controller, but not nearly as
high as using an embedded con-
troller. For the vast majority of
applications, the deciding factor
between embedded versus
remote VXI controller becomes
system size and shape. Is it
important to have the PC inside
the VXI chassis to reduce system
footprint? Does the system
need to be self-contained and
transportable within the VXI
chassis? If the answer to ques-
tions such as these is “no,” then
the remote controller benefit of
reduced cost, as well as being able to upgrade to faster generations
of controller computer, can be realized.
Throughput and LatencyData throughput refers to the rate at which data is transferred
Latency refers to the delay before the first word or byte of data
is received for such a transfer. As mentioned earlier, most remote
have much higher latency than an embedded VXI controller. The
throughput is lower with these busses compared to an embedded
for many applications. Latency, however, can be a major show
stopper. If a system needs to perform real-time, two-way commu-
VXI Remote and Embedded Controller ConsiderationsBy Dr. Fred Blönnigen, Bustec
Unlike the current incarnations of USB and Ethernet, a PCI Express (PCIe) connection
to the host computer offers performance so close to an
embedded controller that it is essentially the same for many
applications.
www.eecatalog.com/vme 27
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
nication such as in a simulation or close-loop control application,
latency on the order of 100 microseconds – not uncommon for
operations must be performed as quickly as possible, this also is
a case for which high latency is often unacceptable. Digital I/O is
a prime example of this. Military and production automated test
systems often have digital I/O or other single-word operations
that must be completed as rapidly as possible.
Cabling and Multi-Chassis ConfigurationMany test systems with VXI instruments require multiple VXI
chassis. A VXI controller solution may support multi-chassis
systems in a star configuration, daisy-chained configuration or
both/either. For a PCIe controller to support a star configuration,
the host PC must be equipped with a PCIe interface card with
multiple ports and/or multiple PCIe cards. This approach works
well for systems with only two or three chassis, all of which are
located close to the host PC. For systems with more chassis or
chassis distributed over a longer distance, the cost and number
of PCIe slots becomes prohibitive because more PCIe cards are
needed, along with longer cables. For these systems a daisy-
chained configuration is preferred. Some remote VXI controllers
support daisy-chaining and some do not.
Hot-Plug SupportNot all PCIe VXI controllers support PCIe hot-plug. The practical
implication of this is that without hot-plug support, users may be
forced to power up their VXI chassis before the host PC and refrain
from powering down any of the VXI chassis while the host PC is
running. Violating these conditions may result in a system crash
or unstable configuration. This is unacceptable for some applica-
tions, as accepted procedures and training have evolved around
operating the test system according to certain conventions. The
cost of rewriting and retraining can be prohibitive. If the controller
supports PCI Express hot-plug functionality, system operators can
power up the host PC independently from any and all of the VXI
chassis. They can also power off any of the VXI chassis and add or
remove VXI modules without having to shut down the host PC.
LXI-Compatible Trigger BusMost modern test systems are built with components from dif-
ferent standards such as VXI, PXI, PXIe and LXI. With LXI rapidly
gaining market share, this new instrumentation bus has modules
in most new systems build today. One of the major features of
LXI is the LVDS trigger and timing interface. Therefore,it can be
an advantage to have an implementation for this optional trigger
interface built into the VXI controller. An important consideration
is whether this trigger bus is compatible to the LXI trigger bus as
specified in the LXI Standard rev. 1.3. It is also important to ensure
that the trigger bus not only enables forwarding or receiving any
of the eight VXIbus TTL trigger lines or the CLK10 to/from other
VXIbus mainframes in a multi-chassis system, but also connects to
LXI-compatible devices in hybrid test systems. The interface should
ideally be based on an 8-channel multipoint LVDS (M-LVDS) sig-
naling system that allows all devices on the bus to be configured
as sources and/or receivers of trigger signals. Devices sharing an
LXI trigger bus can be connected in a daisy-chain configuration
through separate input and output connectors or in a star configu-
ration utilizing readily available star hubs.
Example ApplicationRecently, Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract for a large auto-
matic test system (ATS) program called eCASS. The systems they are
integrating include VXI chassis so that they can use the best instru-
ments for performance and compatibility including VXI and other
platforms. They had several requirements for VXI controllers, which
are listed further below. They decided on a remote VXI controller
approach,providing a direct connection from a host PC to a VXIbus
chassis using the high-speed PCI Express serial bus (see Figure 1).
The following are some of the requirements for the system:
1. True 64-bit VISA application support.
2. Multi-chassis system: With its multi-port host interface and
daisy-chaining capabilities, the selected PCI Express Slot-0
solution supports multi-chassis systems using only one PCI
Express slot in the host computer.
3. Test time: The extremely low first-word latency of down to 700
nsec and the high throughput shortens the test time considerably.
4. Optimized modern processor support: The hardware and soft-
ware of the slot-0 offers enhanced support for state-of-the-art
nature of the PCI Express bus, PCI Express bridges with
independent routing capabilities and state-of-the-art kernel
driver design; it supports non-blocking, concurrent access
with full multi-threading and multi-core support.
the LXI-compatible LVDS trigger interface on the front-panel
enables the user to forward or receive any of the eight VXIbus
TTL trigger lines or the CLK10 to/from other VXIbus main-
frames in a multi-chassis system and also to connect to LXI
compatible devices in his hybrid test system.
28 Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE
6. Hot-plug/hot power-cycle capability: One more very impor-
tant point is the hot-plug functionality. The possibility of a
computer crash if one of the mainframes loses power or if it is
switched off by accident is unacceptable.
These six reasons, plus the possibility to update the systems to
VXI specification 4.0,drove the decision to select this new and
state-of-the-art VXI controller. It should be mentioned that
this system will already use revision 4.0-compatible chassis; so
using a revision 4.0-compatible slot-0 is only a logical choice.
For more information, please visit www.bustec.com.
Dr. Fred Blönnigen ( fred@bustec.com ) has a Ph.D. in physics. After he
earned his Ph.D. in France, he worked at the University of Berkeley in
California as a nuclear and elementary particle physicist. Back in Eu-
rope, he worked for a large American dataacquisition and test company
for several years. In 1997, he founded Bustec in Ireland and opened a
branch in 2000 in the USA. He is still working as CEO of Bustec.
Figure 1 – The ProDAQ 3030 from Bustec is a remote VXI controller that connects to a PCIe card in the host computer, delivering 400 MB/s throughput and less than 700 nsec latency. Model shown includes con-nectors for LXI triggering.
Figure 2 – A PCIe remote VXI controller requires a card in a PCIe slot of the host PC. The ProDAQ 3261 from Bustec includes two PCIe cable connec-tors for supporting both star and daisy-chain configurations and enables use of a desktop or server computer just like an embedded controller.
www.eecatalog.com/vme 29
EECatalog INDUSTRY RESOURCES
Online & Offline ➔ VME, VPX & VXS ResourcesOnline
http://eecatalog.com/vmeYour guide to the most essential news,
blogs, videos and other essential content
www.vita.comVITA is the international standards
organization for VME and related
technologies and is the first stop for
information.
www.vdcresearch.comVDC Research provides custom and
standard research reports on embedded
markets and technologies.
EventsAerospace & Defense Manufacturing Summit 2012
February 2012 - Florida, USA
http://www.aerospacedefensesummit.com/
AeroCon February 14-16, 2012 – Aneheim
May 2-3, 2012 – Charlotte
http://www.aeroconshows.com
Embedded World Conference
February 28 to March 1, 2012 - Nürnberg, Germany
http://www.embedded-world.de/en/
ESC Conference
March 26-29, 2012 - San Jose, CA
http://www.ubmdesign.com/esc/conference
MILCOM 2012
October 29 – November 1, 2012 - Orlando, FL
http://www.milcom.org/
CONTACT INFORMATION
Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
LeCroy Corporation
◆ Zero Time Search provides a fast way to search large traces for specific protocol terms.
◆ Config space can be displayed in its entirety so that driver registers can be verified.
◆ Test Arcs in the exerciser let PCie 3.0 devices to be tested at any speed and link width.
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ Analyzer Lanes supported: X1,x2,x4,x8,x16 Speeds: 2.5GT/s, 5GT/s and 8GTs Probes/Interposers: active and passive PCIe slot, VPX,
XMC, AMC, expresscard, expressmodule, minicard, MidBus, multi-lead, CompactPCI Serial and others.
Form factor: Card, Chassis◆ Exerciser Lanes supported: X1,x2,x4,x8,x16 Speeds: 2.5GT/s, 5GT/s, 8GT/s Emulation: root complex and endpoint emulation◆ Protocol Test Card Speeds: 2.5GT/s and 5GT/s operation Tests: Add-in-card test BIOS Platform Test Single Root IO Virtualization Test
APPLICATION AREAS
Mezzanine Boards, Add-in Cards, Host Carrier Systems, System Boards, Chips
LeCroy’s PCI Express® Protocol Analysis and Test Tools
Compatible Operating Systems: Windows 7/XP/Vista
Specification Compliance: PCI Express Standards: 1.1, 2.0, and 3.0
Whether you are a test engineer or firmware developer, LeCroy’s Protocol Analyzers will help you quickly iden-tify, troubleshoot and solve all your protocol problems. LeCroy works closely with industry standards groups such as the PCI-SIG®, PICMG, VITA and the Intel Embedded Communication Alliance to help developers rapidly bring to market high performance and reliable PCI Express pro-tocol test solutions.
LeCroy’s products include a wide range of probe con-nections to support VPX, XMC, AMC, ATCA, microTCA, Express Card, MiniCard, ExpressModule, HP Blade Server Modules, CompactPCI Serial, PCIe external cable, MidBus connectors and flexible mult-lead probes for PCIe® 1.0a, 1.1(“Gen1” at 2.5GT/s) , PCIe 2.0(“Gen 2” at 5 GT/s) and PCIe 3.0(“Gen 3” at 8 GT/s).
The high performance SummitTM T3-16 Protocol Analyzer features the new PCIe extensions for NVMExpress 1.0B(SSD devices), SR-IOV, MR-IOV, and in-band logic analysis.
LeCroy offers a complete range of protocol test solutions, including analyzers, exercisers, protocol test cards, and physical layer testing tools that are certified by the PCI-SIG for ensuring compliance and compatibility with PCI Express specifications.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
◆ One button protocol error check. Lists all protocol errors found in a trace. Great starting point for beginning a debug session.
◆ Flow control screen that quickly shows credit balances for root complex and endpoint performance bottlenecks. Easily find out why your add-in card is underperforming on its benchmarks.
◆ LTSSM state view screen that accurately shows power state transitions with hyperlinks to drill down to more detail. Helps identify issues when endpoints go into and out of low power states.
◆ Full power management state tracking with LeCroy’s Interposer technology. Prevents loosing the trace when the system goes into electrical idle.
◆ LeCroy’s Data View shows only the necessary protocol handshaking ack/naks so you don’t have to be a protocol expert to understand if root complexes and endpoints are communicating properly.
◆ Real Time Statistics puts the analyzer into a monitoring mode showing rates for any user term chosen. Good for showing performance and bus utilization of the DUT.
LeCroy Corporation3385 Scott Blvd.Santa Clara, CA, 95054USA1 800 909-7211 Toll Free1 408 727-6622 Faxpsgsales@lecroy.comhttp://www.lecroy.com
Protocol A
nalysis ToolsP
roto
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sis
Tool
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s
CONTACT INFORMATION
Elma Bustronic
What is OpenVPX?VME bus Variant: VPX
Compatible Architecture: VPX, VPX-REDI
OpenVPX has opened up new definitions for VPX back-planes and systems. This includes defined Module Profiles, Slot Profiles, backplane & chassis configurations, sec-ondary expansion fabrics and control planes, and higher speed fabric options.
The VPX Modules and Slots across the backplanes have been given definitions so that similar Modules will work within certain Slot configurations. The backplane Configu-rations have been defined to show the collection of Slot profiles it entails, including information on the data rate, routing topology, and fabric used. Now, the integrator can determine that a daughter card Module from “X” company can be used in the same backplane slot as “Y” company’s, when both Module Profiles specify the same Slot Profile.
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ The backplane slot profile table describes the height, type of slot (centralized, distributed or hybrid), the pitch, RTM connector, the corresponding payload and switch cards that plug in, and the control and dataplane data rates.
BackplanesB
ackp
lane
s
CONTACT INFORMATION
Elma Bustronic44350 Grimmer BlvdFremont, CA 94538USA510-490-7388 Telephonesales@bustronic.comwww.bustronic.com
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Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
CONTACT INFORMATION
SIE Computing Solutions
SIE Computing Solutions10 Mupac DriveBrockton, MA 02301USA800.926.8722 Toll Free508.588.6110 Telephone508.588.0498 Faxwww.sie-cs.com
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ J1: 10 fat pipes/high-speed differential channels◆ J2: 16 fat pipes/high-speed differential channels◆ J2: 20 single-ended signals
AVAILABILITY
Now
APPLICATION AREAS
Military/Aerospace, Industrial, Transportation
VPX Backplanes
VITA 46/48/65 Backplanes
SIE Computing Solutions VPX backplanes are designed to the latest VITA 46, 48, 65 and OPEN VPX standards. The 5-slot I/O PLUS(TM) 3U VPX Full Mesh Backplane is designed for a wide array of VPX applications. The highly configurable backplane offers high-bandwidth in a compact size and provides greater I/O flexibility through I/O PLUS(TM), an innovative use of configurable I/O daughter cards to accommodate an array of VPX applications.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
◆ 5 slot full mesh◆ 2 dedicated I/O daughter card slots◆ Over 200 watts per slot◆ 28 layer board
BackplanesB
ackp
lane
s
CONTACT INFORMATION
CONTACT INFORMATION
Elma Electronic
Elma Electronic44350 Grimmer BlvdFremont, CA 94538USA510-656-3400 Telephonesales@elma.comwww.elma.com
VPX/VXS Handles & PanelsVMEbus Variant: VPX and VXS
Elma offers highly ergonomic latching handles for the higher insertion forces of VPX and VXS systems. Elma’s VPX handles and panel solutions come in 1.0”, 0.85”, and 0.80” widths for the various card sizes of the architecture. The VPX specification calls for the handle to be slightly offset from typical IEEE handle/panel placement. The handles feature Elma’s two-step latching process and are highly ergonomic. Elma also offers long versions of its IEEE VPX handles for increased leverage.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
◆ Designed for VME, VPX, and VXS systems◆ Highly ergonomic in IEEE or low-profile styles◆ Two-step latching process. Pushbutton activates
optional microswitch telling board ready to plug/unplug◆ Panels feature various widths for VPX board pitch
(.80”, .85” and 1.0”). 3U, 6U, and custom heights◆ Panels are front anodized for scratch-resistance and
back alodined for electrical continuity.
Card R
ack Hardw
are and AccessoriesC
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Elma offers highly ergonomic latching handles for the higher insertion forces of VPX and VXS
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From LeCroy: PCI Express® Protocol Analysis and Test Tools
Vetronics Architectures Emerge to Facilitate NEOs
Critical Embedded Systems Design Challenges
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CONTACT INFORMATION
CES - Creative Electronic Systems SA
CES - Creative Electronic Systems SA38 avenue Eugene LanceGrand-Lancy, 1212Switzerland+41.22.884.51.00 Telephone+41.22.794.74.30 Faxces@ces.chhttp://www,ces.ch
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ 3U OpenVPX™ (VITA 65) single board computer with a Freescale QorIQ™ P4080 processor
◆ Onboard interconnect with Crosspoint switch for programmable payload profile configuration (PCIe x4 Gen2, SRIO x4, GbE, 10GbE)
◆ Ultra-high-speed advanced memory subsystem (Dual 1, 2 or 4 GBytes DDR3, as well as NAND, NOR and NVRAM)
◆ One onboard XMC site (VITA 42.2, 42.3, 42.6)◆ Integrated advanced board management controller
and rear I/O transition module for additional interfaces
RIOV-2478VME bus Variant: OpenVPX
Compatible Operating Systems: VxWorks, VxWorks 653, Linux
Compatible Architecture: 3U OpenVPX, XMC
The RIOV-2478 is a conduction-cooled Freescale QorIQ™ P4 3U OpenVPX™ SBC for demanding airborne applications.
The RIOV-2478 combines a multi-core processor with modern interconnect high-speed links and an onboard Crosspoint switch. It features a QorIQ™ P4080 processor designed for combined data and control plane pro-cessing. The eight-core processor design is well suited for applications, which are highly compute-intensive, I/O intensive or both. The Crosspoint switch permits flex-ibility of the payload profile configuration in accordance to OpenVPX™, therefore allowing support of PCIe, SRIO, GbE and 10GbE over VPX and XMC. An Advanced Board Management Controller is also integrated, providing high-speed system status monitoring, logging and dynamic reload functions in real-time.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Pentek
PentekOne Park WayUpper Saddle River, NJ 07458USA201-818-5900 Telephone201-818-5904 Faxsales@pentek.comwww.pentek.com
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ Sample clock synchronization to an external system reference
◆ LVPECL clock/sync bus for multiboard synchronization◆ Advanced reconfigurability features◆ Optional user-configurable gigabit serial interface◆ Optional LVDS connections to the Virtex-7 FPGA for
custom I/O
APPLICATION AREAS
UAV, Radar, Software Radio, Communications
4 Channel 200 MHz 16-bit A/D with Virtex-7 FPGA VPX Onyx™ Board (Model 53760)VME bus Variant: VPX
Compatible Operating Systems: Windows, Linux, VxWorks
Compatible Architecture: XMC, cPCI, PCIe, Rugged
Model 53760 is a member of the Onyx™ family of high performance 3U VPX boards based on the Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGA. A multichannel, high-speed data converter, it is suitable for connection to HF or IF ports of a communica-tions or radar system. Its built-in data capture features offer an ideal turnkey solution as well as a platform for developing and deploying custom FPGA processing IP.
The 53760 includes four A/Ds and four banks of memory. It features built-in support for PCI Express Gen. 3 over the 3U VPX backplane.
As the central feature of the board architecture, the FPGA has access to all data and control paths, enabling factory-installed functions including data multiplexing, channel selection, data packing, gating, triggering and memory control. The Onyx Architecture organizes the FPGA as a container for data processing applications where each function exists as an intellectual property (IP) module.
Each member of the Onyx family is delivered with fac-tory-installed applications ideally matched to the board’s analog interfaces. The 53760 factory-installed functions include four A/D acquisition IP modules for simplifying data capture and data tranfer. IP modules for DDR3 SDRAM memories, a controller for all data clocking and synchronization functions, a test signal generator, and a PCIe interface complete the factory-installed functions and enable the 53760 to operate as a complete turnkey solution without the need to develop any FPGA IP. Users can install their own custom IP for data processing.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
◆ Complete radar and software radio interface solution◆ Supports Xilinx Virtex-7 VXT FPGAs◆ Supports gigabit serial fabrics including PCI Express,
Serial RapidIO and Xilinx Aurora◆ Four 200 MHz 16-bit A/Ds◆ 4 GB of DDR3 SDRAM
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Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
CONTACT INFORMATION
EnclosuresEncl
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Elma Rugged ATR PlatformsSupported Architectures: : VME, VXS, and VPX; CompactPCI and MicroTCA
Elma’s families of rugged ATR (Air Transport Rack) platforms provide an extensive selection of Convection, Conduction, and Liquid Cooled configurations. Avail-able in 1/2, 3/4, 1 and 1 1/2 ATR formats, per ARINC 404A and MIL-Stds, they can be ordered from our standard line or built to order with custom I/O and power options.
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ Convection, conduction and liquid cooled ATR platforms
◆ Superior design construction meets rugged environ-mental requirements such as MIL STDs 167, 810E, and 901D
◆ Backplanes from 2 to 21 slots for COTS architec-tures VME, VPX, VXS, cPCI, mTCA; custom designs available
◆ Operating temperature range of -40˚C to +70˚C
Elma Electronic
CONTACT INFORMATION
Elma Electronic44350 Grimmer BlvdFremont, CA 94538USA510-656-3400 Telephonesales@elma.comwww.elma.com
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CONTACT INFORMATION
SIE Computing Solutions
SIE Computing Solutions10 Mupac DriveBrockton, MA 02301USA800-926-8722 Toll Free508-588-6110 Telephone508-588-0498 Faxjtierney@sie-cs.comwww.sie-cs.com
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ Storage Temp (-40°C to +85°C MIL-STD-810F)◆ EMC (MIL-STD-461D)◆ Input Power (28VDC, 115VAC/ 400Hz. 1Ø, 115VAC/
400Hz. 3Ø- MIL-STD-704A Thru 704E, MIL-STD-1275A)
◆ Wiring (Low Toxicity -MIL-C-24643)◆ Vibration (15 to 2,000Hz At 0.1g2/ Hz. (RMS~12g)
MIL-STD-810F Method 514.5) & Shock (20g for 11ms MIL-STD-810F Method 516.5)
AVAILABILITY
Now
717 Series Air-Over Conduction Cooled ATR EnclosuresCompatible Architecture: VME, VME64x, VXS, VPX and CPCI architectures
The 717 Series is available in standard ARINC sizes that include 1/2 ATR Short to 1-1/2 ATR Long and any custom form factor. From bus standards to application-specific custom designs, the 717 Series provides an expansive offering of ATRs for platforms such as the VME, VME64x, VXS, VPX and CPCI architectures. The 717 Series is a member of SIE’s conduction-cooled line of ATRs. Designed specifically for rugged deployment and to direct air over the thermal conducting walls, its cooling can be configured to meet application require-ments by either drawing air through the walls and out a rear exhaust plenum or forcing air down the walls and directing it away from the equipment. When configured for unpressurized environments, the 717 Series can be configured with a high-altitude cooling scheme to permit ultimate performance at altitudes up to 50,000 feet. When used in conjunction with SIE’s System Performance Monitoring” technology, the 717 Series ATR can be con-figured to activate internal heaters in cold start-ups or control the performance outputs of the optional external cooling fan to maintain an optimal thermal environment for the circuit card assemblies. In addition, the 717 Series is sealed from the environment and meets MIL standards for up to 95% RH (humidity), 5% for 48 hours (salt fog), no fungal growth, 13.5g acceleration, and thermal shock performance. The 717 Series can be configured with an optional avionics trays for isolation from shock and vibration environments common to airborne, vehtronics and shipboard applications.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
◆ Dip-brazed construction◆ Expansive range of ARINC sizes◆ Modular power supply /AC or DC filtered inputs◆ Cold start heaters & high altitude fan offering◆ Configurable I/O panel
EnclosuresEncl
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Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
CONTACT INFORMATION
SIE Computing Solutions
SIE Computing Solutions10 Mupac DriveBrockton, MA 02301USA800-926-8722 Toll Free508-588-6110 Telephone508-588-0498 Faxjtierney@sie-cs.comwww.sie-cs.com
◆ Standard I/O includes dual DVI display: one DVI-I (DVI-D+VGA) and one DVI-D; GbE Ethernet Port, 8 x USB 2.0, 2 x RS-232, 2 x SATA 3Gb/s with RAID 0, 1 support; 1 x 6-pin header for KB/MS along with Realtek ALC888 HD supported Audio
◆ Enhanced configurability via a Mini PCIe Expansion Slot that can be configured by SIE for video capture, DOM, wireless and many other functions
AVAILABILITY
Now
APPLICATION AREAS
Harsh industrial and military environments requiring small form factors and where extreme temperatures, air particulates, liquids and vibration prevent the use of standard commercial computers.
Mupac 760 Small Form Factor Series
Designed to deliver mission-critical computing perfor-mance in a fully portable enclosure - ideal for rugged small spaces.
Building on SIE Computing Solution’s 40-year history of design excellence in rugged electronic and embedded systems, the Mupac Small Form Factor product line is designed for mission-and performance-critical com-munications and intelligence. Mupac Small Form Factor compute platforms allow data processing in the field in a fully transportable, highly rugged computing module that improves speed and efficiency by completing pro-cessing in the machine, at the distributed level, before delivering data upstream. SIE Computing Solutions’ Small Form Factor line provides a complete distributed computing module – exceptionally powerful and fully portable in everything from a UAV to a backpack. Mupac Small Form Factor compute modules enable the most modern technology to work in harsh conditions at a level of distributed computing never before possible. In addi-tion to standard offerings, the Mupac Small Form Factor line can also be customized for a wide variety of unique specifications, providing high-end compute-class per-formance for harsh industrial and military environments where extreme temperatures, air particulates, liquids and vibration prevent the use of standard commercial computers.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
◆ Extremely rugged◆ Easily customized◆ Dip-brazed construction◆ Modular power supply◆ Rated to operate in temperatures ranging from -40 to
+85 degrees Celsius
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ Two standard dimensions: 3.25” h x 6.5” w x 8.5” d or 5.25” h x 6.5” w x 8.5” d
◆ Available in an IP67 NEMA Rated Version and IP50 NEMA Rated Version
◆ Quickly deployable with Intel® Core™ i3/i5/i7 multi-core processors and up to 4 GB RAM
EnclosuresEncl
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Elma Electronic
Elma Electronic44350 S. Grimmer Blvd.Fremont, CA 94538USA215-956-1200 Telephone215-956-1201 Faxsales@elma.comwww.elma.com
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ Form Factor: 6U by 4HP (single slot)◆ Processor Core: MPC7448◆ Two Gigabit Ethernet ports out the backplane◆ Disks: Two 2½” SATA flash drives◆ Power: +5V @ 3.0 A
VME RAIDStor
Elma’s VME RAIDStor brings conduction cooled net-work attached storage (NAS) with RAID capability into a single 6U slot. Suitable for a multitude of applications, the module provides as much as a quarter terabyte of solid-state flash per slot. Within a typical 19” chassis, network access is available for up to 18 slots in dual star networks; here, the VME RAIDStor is a client/server model for highly reliable storage access in today’s net-work centric applications.
The VME RAIDStor is designed to use a multi-tasking kernel providing network services via TCP/IP. Network Attached Storage is supported through NFS. Logical drives are available to clients via NFS export.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
◆ A much smaller footprint than conventional box level RAID storage
◆ Extended temperature range from –40° C to +85° C◆ Configurable to RAID levels 0, 1 and 5◆ Automatic data re-sync with no impact to the top
level application◆ Heartbeat support for seamless fail over
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Engineers’ Guide to VME, VPX & VXS 2012
CONTACT INFORMATION
CONTACT INFORMATION
Elma Electronic Inc.
Elma Electronic44350 Grimmer BlvdFremont, CA 94538USA510-656-3400 Telephonesales@elma.comwww.elma.com
◆ OpenVPX™ backplane profile has two separate star sections established via a data & control plane switch, handling PCIe and GigE links
◆ The front end FPGA cluster performs incoming digital signal processing in advance of higher level back end operations
VPX-300 3U VPX Reference Development PlatformArchitectures Supported: VPX, OpenVPX
The VPX-300 is a pre-configured development platform for next gen designs needing high band width computing performance, such as radar signal and image processing, and high speed data communications.
Designed around a Virtex-6 front end processor, the system supports multi-processor capability via two clus-ters for front end and back end processing. The NVIDIA GPU provides dramatic increase in computing perfor-mance. The VPX-300 Reference Platform provides the architecture to perform very high end processing.
The COTS 3U VPX platform includes: Intel SBC, FPGA with FMC, NVIDIA GPU, GigE & PCIe Switch, and storage. The system can be tailored for specific configurations.
TECHNICAL SPECS
◆ Combining data and control plane topology, the architecture supports multi-processor capability via two clusters for front-end and back-end processing
DesignD
esig
n
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