Kontron AdvancedMC processor module AM4140 with 4/8-Core Freescale QorIQ Processor

The Kontron AdvancedMC processor module AM4140 incorporates the high-performance Freescale QorIQ P4040/80 4/8-core processor with cores based on the e500 Power Architecture. With high-speed frame handlers and multiple high-speed connections like Serial Rapid IO, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and PCI Express, the Kontron AM4140 meets highest demands in multi-threaded processing. In order to match demands on high throughput and low latency, the Kontron AM4140 provides a fast dual-channel memory of up to 8 GB ECC-RAM.

Target applications are high-speed processing in telecommunications - such as RNCs, LTE and test equipment - military communications, as well as image processing in industrial and medical environments, says Mario Anich, product manager at Kontron. The Kontron AM4140 is built according to the MicroTCA.0 standard and has been designed to meet highest demands regarding performance as well as longevity.

The Kontron AM4140 provides flexible configuration of high-speed fabrics. On AMC ports 4-7, 4x SERDES lines can be configured either as PCI Express (root complex or end point) or Serial Rapid IO ports (host or agent). Serial Rapid IO and PCI Express target applications which require close programming to the chip without extensive overhead and with minimum latencies. AMC ports 8-11 may be configured either for Serial Rapid IO, PCI Express, 10Gigabit Ethernet or 4x Gigabit Ethernet. In addition, the Kontron AM4140 supports three Gigabit Ethernet channels which can be configured to AMC port 0 plus 2x GbE at the front or 2x GbE on AMC ports 0,1 plus 1x GbE at the front.

Depending on the application, the Kontron AM4140 supports usage in systems with or without the MicroTCA Carrier Hub (MCH) in order to reduce costs and speed up system development. With availability of the processor until at least until 2018, and a through selection of components, the Kontron AM4140 supports a long lifetime in the field. The Micro SDHC card socket protects from regular flash discontinuation. The Kontron AM4140 supports different options of booting the OS, either from the Micro SDHC card, the NOR or the NAND Flash (for rugged applications).
Kontron also offers a choice of AMC systems for the Kontron AM4140. For instance the Kontron MicroTCA system OM6060 can be used as entry level platform for operating the Kontron AM4140 with point to point fabrics PCIe and SRIO in combination with the Kontron basic MCH AM4901 which provides Ethernet connectivity to all AMC slots. In this system, the Kontron AM4140 can be combined with I/O cards, DSP cards and different processor boards. For higher demands, the Kontron MicroTCA system OM6120 provides multiple connections over SRIO for up to 12 AMCs in combination with the Kontron SRIO MCH AM4904. Alternatively 10GbE can be used in combination with the Kontron enterprise class MCH AM4910. The system also allows switching PCIe fabrics in combination with Kontron SRIO MCH AM4904. It can be operated with dual MCHs.
The Kontron AdvancedMC processor board AM4140 will be available in November. It supports VxWorks 6.9, WindRiver Linux, as well as WindRiver Hypervisor.