IDT PCI Express and RapidIO solutions selected by Curtiss-Wright Controls

SAN JOSE, USA: Integrated Device Technology Inc. (IDT) announced that Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing has selected multiple devices from IDT’s PCI Express (PCIe) and Serial RapidIO portfolios for use on its CHAMP-AV5 and CHAMP-AV8 Digital Signal Processing solutions.

By leveraging the innovative features of IDT’s PCIe and RapidIO products, the CHAMP-AV5 and CHAMP-AV8 bring the floating-point performance of the Intel Core i7 architecture to high-performance digital signal processing computing solutions tailored for defense applications such as radar, sonar, signal intelligence and image processing.

The CHAMP-AV5 multi-processing board utilizes a pair of 2.53GHz dual-core Core i7 processors in a VME64x form factor standard. The processors are connected using the IDT 89HPES32NT8BG2, a 32-lane, 8-port PCI Express Gen 2 switch designed to support multiprocessor designs through unique features including dual Direct Memory Access (DMA) functions, multiple clock domain isolation, and an unprecedented eight non-transparent bridging (NTB) functions to enable root complex isolation, failover support, and inter-processor communication between PCIe domains.

Supporting Gen2 Serial RapidIO and PCIe interfaces, the CHAMP-AV8 OpenVPX multi-processing board offers triple the bandwidth of first generation VPX products with up to 32 GB/s of fabric performance to complement the additional processing performance supplied by two quad core Intel Core i7 processors.

Key to the enablement of RapidIO with Intel PCIe based processors is the IDT Tsi721 PCIe Gen 2 to RapidIO Gen 2 protocol conversion bridge. The Tsi721 translates a 16 Gbps port of the PCIe protocol to RapidIO and vice versa. An IDT CPS-1432 provides RapidIO Gen 2 switching and connection to an offboard interface at up to 20 Gbps per port for multiprocessing expansion. An IDT 89HPES32NT8BG2 PCI Express Gen 2 switch is used for connection of the processors to an offboard expansion interface as well as an onboard XMC card connector.

“PCIe continues to expand its footprint beyond servers and into embedded system design and the feature requirements have evolved from the traditional server IO fan-out into multiprocessor systems that are deployed in harsh environmental conditions. Likewise, RapidIO is expanding beyond its traditional markets to include x86-based systems and even getting traction in server applications,” said Mario Montana, VP and GM of the Enterprise Computing Division at IDT. “IDT is the only company to be able to supply both PCI Express and RapidIO solutions. Our latest products complement each other and provide customers with solution choices that best fit their requirements.”

“Curtiss-Wright Controls is a leading designer and manufacturer of rugged deployed commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products for the Aerospace and Defense markets. We have included IDT switching and bridging solutions on multiple platforms because of their rich product features and IDT’s excellent customer support,” said Lynn Bamford, VP and GM of Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing.

“In multiprocessor environments, the use of key functionality such as NTB and DMA are essential in utilizing PCIe as an interconnect fabric. For applications that use RapidIO as the primary interconnect, the Tsi721 allows the use of x86 processors based on PCIe while still taking advantage of the compelling features of RapidIO.”