Product category:
VMEbus Boards and Assemblies
News Release from: Aitech Defense Systems | Subject: C108 SBC
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 31 October 2007
Computers meet military needs
Aitech Defense Systems' C108 SBC reduces heat generation for increased reliability, while its pin compatibility reduces upgrade, operating and maintenance and logistics expenses.
Aitech Defense Systems has added the C108 to its C10x single-board computer (SBC) series, for use in new and legacy military embedded applications For newer applications, the rugged 6U single-slot VME single board computer (SBC) offers up to 1.4GHz of processing power via the G4+ PowerPC (PPC) MPC7448 processor
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 15 Mar 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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For legacy applications, the board features pin-to-pin backplane and I/O compatibility with previous Aitech processor boards employing the PPC MPC74xx processor family, allowing easy, cost-effective upgrades to newer technology.
The C108 provides numerous I/O capabilities for improved flexibility.
According to Aitech's Vice President of Marketing, Doug Patterson, "This exceptionally low-power, high-performance SBC reduces heat generation for increased reliability, while its pin compatibility reduces upgrade, operating and maintenance and logistics expenses for our existing customers".
Further reading
Compact PCI SBC aims for the stars
A new rad-tolerant conduction-cooled CompactPCI SBC is designed for both manned and robotic space vehicles in harsh space radiation environments.
Mission-critical embedded COTS solutions
Aitech Defense Systems has published a shortform brochure covering a full range of hardware, software and subsystems service for mission-critical COTS applications.
Flash memory boards provide military storage
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The C108 supports new and legacy systems via I/O interfaces which include a Gigabit Ethernet port, two Fast Ethernet ports, two dual-redundant MIL-STD-1533B interfaces, two USB ports, eight serial ports and 16 discrete I/O channels.
Two PMC expansion slots enable standard, quick and easy increases to the board's functionality.
For new programs, Aitech has added an onboard, optically-isolated CAN Bus 2.0B to interface with modern vehicle electronics and major functional subsystems without sacrificing one of the on-board PMC sites.
A Discovery system and memory controller on the C108 work together to perform as both the processor's memory controller and as the high-speed crossbar bridge to the PCI bus.
The C108 features two independent PCI buses to maximise PCI bus utilisation and to enable various configurations.
The first bus can operate at 33/66MHz, while the second operates at 33MHz to help separate fast and slow devices and enable each to operate at its maximum speed.
Both buses support 64bit operation and fully comply with PCI Rev 2.2.
In addition to the 1Gbyte of onboard, soldered, ECC-protected fast SDRAM, the C108 features other memory arrays such as 128Mbyte of Flash for user application storage, 32Mbyte of Boot Flash memory and up to 4Gbyte of high-density Flash for mass data storage.
The system also offers 128Kbyte of NVRAM for user/application-specific parameter storage, which does not require an external power supply during power down.
Other features include eight 32bit timers that provide high-resolution timing as well as long-interval counting and two integrated digital temperature sensors for thermal management and protection.
Two watchdog timers allow the user to set a programmable time-out interval, which will reset the board, providing an extra level of software and subsystem reliability.
An extensive firmware package with startup firmware (boot software), an AIMon monitor/debugger tool and an AIDiag diagnostic tool and BIT that can be executed during power-up or after the board has been booted is also included.
A board support package (BSP) for the new C108 is available for WindRiver VxWorks as well as Green Hill's Integrity and Integrity-178B, with other real-time operating systems (RTOSs) available upon request.
The two mechanical formats of the SBC are air-cooled per ANSI/VITA 1-1994 and conduction-cooled per IEEE1101.2.
The board's custom metal frame provides rigidity and shock resistance in addition to providing an array of stiffeners for rugged PMC boards.
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