Standardization. COTS. Interoperability. Configurable.
These often-used terms describe on-going efforts to define flexible and open critical embedded computing architectures. One such example is VITA-backed VPX. The goal of VPX is to leverage the latest switch fabric technologies in common-sized blades across multiple vendors and multiple modules.
VPX solutions have several design features in common. These include:
- 3U and 6U formats
- 7-row high speed connector rated up to 6.25 Gbps
- Choice of high speed serial fabrics
- PMC and XMC mezzanines
- Hybrid backplanes to accommodate VME64, VXS and VPX boards
The VPX ecosystem continues to expand. A common driving factor is the continuous advancement of FPGA technologies. The latest FPGAs feature multiple high-speed fabric interfaces, higher-data rates, expanding I/O interfaces and multi-core MCUs.
X-ES XPedite2570 3U VPX Fiber-Optic I/O Module
The XPedite2570 is a high-performance, reconfigurable, conduction- or air-cooled, 3U VPX, FPGA processing module based on the Xilinx Kintex® UltraScale™ family of FPGAs.
With multiple high-speed fabric interfaces, x8 PCI Express Gen3, 12 high-speed fiber-optic transceivers, and 8 GB of DDR4-2400 SDRAM in two channels, the XPedite2570 is ideal for customizable, high-bandwidth, signal-processing applications.
The XPedite2570 incorporates 12 high-data-rate, protocol-independent fiber-optic receivers based on FireFly™ Micro Flyover System™. The fiber-optic receivers utilize 50/125 μm multi-mode fiber with MT connectors, which can easily be connected to the backplane (VITA 66). The fiber-optic receivers are qualified over the full -40°C to +85°C industrial temperature range for reliable performance in extreme environments.
Abaco VP868 6U VPX FPGA Card
The Abaco VP868 6U FPGA Card is a high performance 6U VPX plug-in module with advanced digital signal processing capabilities. At the heart of the VP868 is a Zynq dual ARM-9 device for processing offload and board management.
The VP868 includes flexible I/O with two VITA 57.4 compliant FMC+ sites. The module is ideal for applications requiring both high performance processing and I/O with the ability to scale from the lab to deployed rugged environments.
The Abaco solution also supports a VPX RTM designed to connect high-speed SERDES channels from the payload module to Samtec FireFly™ optical engines. Each optical engine routes 12 RX channels and 12 TX channels to industry-standard MTP connectors in a rear bezel.
Samtec FireFly™ Micro Flyover System™
The FireFly™ Micro Flyover System™ is the first interconnect system that gives a designer the flexibility of using micro footprint optical and copper interconnects interchangeably with the same connector system.
The FireFly™ system enables chip-to-chip, board-to-board, on-board and system-to-system connectivity at data rates up to 28 Gbps. FireFly™ is based on a high performance interconnect system which allows the use of low-cost copper cables or high performance active optical engines.
For more information, please visit www.samtec.com/firefly or e-mail our technical experts at FireFly@smatec.com.
