DSP Card Pairs Dual Core PowerPC And Virtex FPGAs

The Phoenix VPF2 COTS DSP-processing card integrates a Freescale dual-core MPC8641D processor, two Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGAs, and a VXS-based serial interconnect fabric on a 6U VME64/VITA 41 card. Providing the muscle, the dual-core processor runs at speeds up to 1.25 GHz with 2 GB of memory. Operating system support includes VxWorks and Linux. The processor provides two Gigabit Ethernet ports, serial I/O, dual DDR/DDR2 memory controllers, VME interface, and independent x8 PCI Express links to the Virtex FPGAs and the XMC/PMC site. Ethernet options support both RJ-45 and optical interfaces or backplane I/O. For development, the TransComm data-streaming communications toolkit promises to simplify the connection of VPF2 FPGA-centric systems together. Shipping by the fourth quarter, the VPF2 will be available in a number of environmental build options ranging from air-cooled commercial to rugged conduction-cooled. VMETRO INC., Houston, TX. (281) 584-0728.