Processor module puts Celeron to embedded use

The EPC-6315-400 is the latest addition to the Processor PMC product line from Radisys.

The EPC-6315-400 is the latest addition to the Processor PMC product line from Radisys.

Based on the Intel ULV Celeron processor, the new EPC-6315-400 is an ultra-dense central processing unit targeted at high density applications such as industrial controllers, vision recognition systems and test and measurement equipment that demand very low power, and mid-range processor performance.

Historically, single-board computer designs included the processor, supporting chipset and memory, and all I/O on a single board.

This approach required a complete board redesign to account for any processor change, such as increasing speed, upgrading to a new processor or any change in the I/O.

Radisys has broken this paradigm by modularising the CPU complex of an embedded design.

The EPC-6315 family of products incorporates easily replaceable and upgradeable mezzanine cards, while all I/O functions remain on the main board.

This allows OEMs to properly scale the processing power and memory size to the application without redesigning the complex I/O - thus preserving the significant investment in high speed I/O for a much longer time.

"We're building on the success of our previous PrPMC products with the EPC-6315-400.

Availability of the EPC-6315-400 expands the Radisys offering into thermally challenging applications with the ULV Celeron", said Fred Yentz, Vice President with Radisys.

"In addition, all the Radisys PrPMC products are hardware and software compatible.

This compatibility enables OEMs to scale their end products based on the processing power of the PrPMC with no re-engineering and minimum time to market.

The EPC-6315 family offers a full spectrum of processing performance packed into a small, industry standard form factor.

The EPC-6315-400 features up to 512Mbyte of memory with ECC, a 10/100BaseT Ethernet port with a RJ-45 connector on the front panel and a Compact Flash socket with front panel access.

The large memory capacity of the EPC-6315-400 facilitates memory intensive applications like vision recognition systems while the ECC protection of the memory enables applications requiring absolute data integrity like test and measurement.

The front-panel access 10/100 Ethernet port offers high-bandwidth connectivity while the Compact Flash allows the EPC-6315-400 to be a completely self-provisioning processing unit.

Based on the Radisys 82600 Chipset, the EPC-6315-400 offers maximum flexibility by automatically detecting the insertion slot and adapting its personality to become either a monarch or non-monarch device on the PCIbus.

For example, when installed in a monarch PrPMC socket, the EPC-6315-400 enumerates the PCIbus and services interrupts from this bus.

When installed on a non-monarch socket, the EPC-6315-400 accepts enumeration from the bus and generates PCIbus interrupts as required by the application.

Many of the emerging deeply embedded applications demand mid-range processor performance, very large physical memory, and very low power in a configuration that supports high-density deployments.

To support these applications, the EPC-6315-400 features the ultra-low-voltage Intel Celeron processor.

For data processing intensive applications, such as vision recognition systems, the EPC-6315-400 leverages the capabilities of the Radisys 82600 chipset to support up to 512Mbyte of SDRAM with ECC in a PMC form factor.

High-bandwidth I/O is an important requirement to allow OEMs to take advantage of the performance and time-to-market advantages of a standard product like the EPC-6315-400.

To maximise I/O bandwidth the EPC-6315-400 supports a 10/100BaseT Ethernet port as well as 32bit/66MHz PCIbus connectivity.

To maximise overall system performance, the EPC-6315-400 addresses the need for efficient data transfers over the PCIbus by leveraging the high-speed DMA transfer capability of the Radisys 82600 chipset.

This DMA transfer capability offers a 10X PCIbus data transfer rate increase over other chipset solutions.

To support a wide range of applications and system environments, the EPC-6315-400 is compatible with all the popular embedded operating systems including Linux, VxWorks and Microware OS-9.

The EPC-6315-400 is also compliant with the requirements of FCC Class B and CISPR B for deployment worldwide.

The EPC-6315-400 will be available in the second quarter of 2003.

Pricing for a typical configuration with 256Mbyte memory in OEM quantities is $900.

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