Elma Delivers A Full Mesh Backplane and VXS Extender

Jan. 26, 2006

Elma was showing off its VXS prowess. Its VXS Extender card lets developers test boards in a live system while providing access to both sides of the board. The VXS Processor Mesh backplane eliminates the need for a fabric switch...

William G. Wong

Elma was showing off its VXS prowess. Its VXS Extender card (see Fig. 1) lets developers test boards in a live system while providing access to both sides of the board. The VXS Processor Mesh (see Fig. 2) backplane eliminates the need for a fabric switch.

The VXS Extender is interesting because the board-under-test plugs into an extender board at an angle, whereas extenders for most other bus systems have the latter extending straight out from the extender board. This angle is required because of the kinds of connectors required for the high-speed VXS fabric requirements. Elma uses a flexible cable, allowing the use of conventional VXS connectors and thereby lowering the price of the extender. There is also a built-in ampmeter with a digital indicator on the front panel. Prices start at $3000.

The VXS Processor Mesh 12-slot hybrid backplane supports 3 legacy VME64x slots and 9 VITA 46 slots. The VITA 46 segment provides two 4-slot mesh clusters for linking processor blades. Elma also had a rugged VITA 46 ATR chassis using the 12-slot full mesh backplane. Pricing for the chassis and backplane starts at $5000. The chassis supports 120-VAC and 28-VDC power supplies.

William G. Wong | Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF

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