Product category:
VMEbus Boards and Assemblies
News Release from: Pentek | Subject: Model 6251
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 20 February 2004
Mezzanine board puts FPGA signal
processing on VME
A novel configurable logic VIM-2 (Velocity Interface Mezzanine) module features dual FPGAs from the new high-density Xilinx Virtex-II Pro family, including Models XC2VP20 and XC2VP50.
A novel configurable logic VIM-2 (Velocity Interface Mezzanine) module features dual FPGAs from the new high-density Xilinx Virtex-II Pro family, including Models XC2VP20 and XC2VP50 The board also incorporates FPDP (front panel data port) and LVDS (low voltage differential signals) interfaces for high-speed I/O connectivity through front-panel "personality" modules
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 14 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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This flexible design allows Pentek to support new I/O solutions quickly and provides users a method to easily create custom I/O modules.
The industry-standard FPDP and LVDS interfaces connect to a multitude of industry-standard peripherals including A/D and D/A convertors, digital receivers and memory boards as well as PowerPC and C6000 processor boards.
The configurable logic FPGA and flexible high-speed I/O makes this board well suited for military and wireless real-time applications including radar, software radio, Sigint, wideband energy detection and tracking, transient data capture and recording.
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"Embedded designers can now 'turbocharge' their C6000 and PowerPC applications with Virtex-II Pro FPGAs from Xilinx simply by attaching our new Model 6251 mezzanine module", said Rodger Hosking, Vice President of Pentek.
"With 12 million gates of configurable logic, 464 dedicated hardware multipliers and 128Mbyte of SDRAM, the 6251 delivers a DSP engine of unprecedented horsepower to handle intensive, real-time tasks.
Dual 320Mbyte/s FPDP or LVDS I/O ports and direct 400Mbyte/s VIM mezzanine interfaces eliminate bottlenecks for maximum data throughput".
The Model 6251 can be equipped with two XC2VP20 or two XC2VP50 FPGA devices from the Xilinx Virtex-II Pro family.
Each device offers logic densities up to 6 million gates, 232 hardware multipliers and two built-in PowerPC microcontrollers.
The two FPGAs are interconnected with 84 programmable user I/O lines to support data, clocking and control passing between the two devices.
Each FPGA interfaces directly to a dedicated, streaming 32bit bidirectional FIFO parallel port feeding baseboard processors at up to 400Mbyte/s.
The Model 6251 can be attached to any one of seven different VIM C6000 or PowerPC processor platforms.
Each FPGA is optionally equipped with 64Mbyte of SDRAM for implementing data delay and buffering functions critical for many real-time applications such as a signal-intelligence tracking receiver or radar pulse transient capture and processing system.
In addition, 16Mbyte of Flash memory is attached to each FPGA to handle boot code and program code for the two embedded PowerPC microcontrollers.
The Model 6251 attaches to one of the two VIM-2 sites on a VIM baseboard leaving the other site available for a second VIM-2 or PMC module.
The 6251 offers multiple front-panel I/O options to handle different system needs.
These include a single 32bit LVDS, FPDP or FPDP-II I/O port connector in the first slot and an optional second I/O port connector of any type in the adjacent slot.
FPDP supports a wide range of industry standard peripherals in the same card cage, while LVDS is better suited for longer interconnections.
The custom front-panel options are achieved through interchangeable front end "personality modules" attached to the back end of the module where the FPGAs, memories and mezzanine interfaces are located.
This flexible design makes it possible for users to create custom I/O modules including A/D and D/A modules, for example.
Pentek's GateFlow FPGA resources include the GateFlow FPGA design kit supporting custom user-developed FPGA code; the GateFlow IP core library for high-performance FFTs (fast Fourier transform), digital receivers and radar pulse compression algorithms; and GateFlow factory installed IP cores so customers can take immediate advantage of FPGA technology with zero FPGA development effort.
Pentek's ReadyFlow board support library is composed of C-callable device functions that simplify board operation and setup.
Functions include mezzanine board control, DMA data transfers, data formatting, and interrupt resource management.
Pentek also offers device drivers for VxWorks and Linux.
Third-party and Pentek software development tools are available for a variety of platforms including Windows, Linux and Solaris.
Pricing for the Model 6251 configurable logic and I/O VIM-2 with Virtex-II Pro FPGAs starts at US $6595 and is immediately available with 10-12 weeks ARO.
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