Nuremberg, Germany - January 16, 2006. MEN Mikro Elektronik is introducing D5 - a new single-board computer in CompactPCI double Eurocard format. It is based on the PowerQUICC III family from Freescale. Combined with the Cyclone FPGA from Altera the D5 is far more flexible than any of the CompactPCI boards currently available, since special I/O functions are integrated for each individual application in the form of IP cores. In addition the board comes with 2 PMC slots for PCI-based extensions.
- 6U, 64-bit/66-MHz, system-slot or peripheral-slot or stand-alone
- PowerPC MPC8540 or MPC8560, 800MHz and higher
- Cyclone FPGA for tailor-made computer I/O
- SODIMM socket up to 2GB DDR SDRAM, optional with ECC
- Linux, VxWorks, QNX
POWERQUICC III - BOARD FOR ALL RANGES IN TELECOMMUNICATION
Equipped with the MPC8540, the D5 is a universally applicable communication computer, for telecom applications such as gateways, routers, switches or base stations, but also for applications in avionics and telematics. An alternative version with MPC8560 offers additional interfaces such as HDLC. Both models of the powerful processor need only a relatively moderate 7W to 8W (typical) and are available for an operation temperatures of between 0°C and 60°C.
The memory of D5 is expansive – up to 2GB ECC DDR SDRAM main memory and up to 1GB program memory based on NAND Flash technology. From the vast range of the functions integrated in PowerQUICC III, two Gigabit Ethernet, one Fast Ethernet and a serial interface are implemented as rear I/O connections - as is typical in telecom applications. There is only one RS232 interface at the front panel for debugging or an optional additional interface for compact flash-cards. Another COMs can be controlled directly on the board, as an option using SA-Adapters. An IDE connector for a local hard disk is also on board.
Two PMC slots are available for PCI-based extensions that offer either front I/O or rear I/O connections. The D5 has one 32/64-bit, 33/66-MHz PCI bridge to the CompactPCI bus. A 64-bit/66-MHz board in double Eurocard format, the D5 needs only one slot on the CompactPCI bus in any possible configuration.
The new single-board computer will be available as a standard board until at least the year 2015, and comes with comprehensive board-support packages for Linux, VxWorks and QNX, based on MEN’s own BIOS for PowerPC processors (MENMON).
CYCLONE FPGA FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY
Further application-specific functions can be implemented in a flexible way and individually in the FPGA on D5, and are then available as rear I/O. Typical expansion functions include graphics/touch, audio, CAN bus, digital I/O or additional USB, Ethernet and other serial connections. Depending on requirements, such IP cores can be comprised from MEN’s function library. They can be reconfigured, combined with IP cores from other manufacturers or even be developed from scratch. The FPGA contents are loaded from boot Flash before boot-up of the system and can be dynamically changed even during runtime.