SBC permits multi-processor PCIe-connected stacking

23rd July 2015

Sundance

Barney Scott

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Datasheet

Sundance has taken full advantage of the current generation of Xilinx Zynq SoCs, integrating dual-core ARM A9 CPUs, four lanes of PCI-Express and reprogrammable logic with Artix-7 FPGA technology, and incorporated it into the latest PC/104 form-factor, called OneBank. EMC²-Z7015 is a stackable SBC compatible with PCIe/104 OneBank PCI-Express interface and VITA57.1 FMC, controlled by a Xilinx Zynq SoC FPGA.

The ARM-9 is clocked at up to 1GHz and is supported by 1Gbyte of DDR3, SD-Card for stand-alone booting/local storage, USB2.0, HDMI, SATA and 1Gb Ethernet Interface. The EMC²-Z7015 will run standard Linux application and is supported by the free Web-Edition of the Xilinx Vivado 2015.2 tools. This tool will also provide the VHDL synthesis for FPGA programing of the freely available logic and control of the integrated VITA57.1 FMC-LPC Module carrier for extra I/O functions.

The EMC²-Z7015 is designed for embedded multi-core and critical applications, and support is provided by the latest Xilinx SDSoC development environment, which enables rapid programming of the Zynq SoC, using traditional C/C++ programs.

The EMC²-Z7015 is an SBC as default, but the real benefit is the PC/104 stackable concept that will allow multiple EMC²-Z7015 to be integrated into a multiprocessing ARM system, using PCI Express for inter-connection between each Zynq SoC.

EMC²-Z7015 also introduces two new dimensions of modularity to the PC/104 World with the introduction of a ‘cable-less-break-out’ concept. The ‘break-out’ solution removes the requirement for cabling from the PC/104 board to the external world, and is implemented using Samtec Razor Beam self-mating connector solution that breaks out the I/O to a low-cost connector board.

The same connector system is used for the SoM modules, allowing the SoM to be replaced by one with a faster or bigger area of FPGA fabric or even the next generation of Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC. The SoM modules are 40x50mm and are also available without the EMC²–Z7015 Carrier for integration into custom-unique solutions.

Location of EMC²-DP Interfaces

Flemming Christensen, Managing Director, Sundance Multiprocessor Technology, said: “The legacy of PC/104 goes back more than 20 years and historically was based on x86 CPU and shared bus solution. The stackable PCIe/104 OneBank is targeting PCI Express Serial Lanes for expansion and been tested with ten boards and Gen3, running 8GHz. This matches perfectly with the concept of current generation of SoC that has all the simple I/O features integrated and four PCI Express lanes for extra functionality, if required.”

Mark Jensen, Director of Xilinx Alliance Ecosystem added: “The EMC²-Z7015 combined with the Xilinx SDSoC development environment offers a total industrial-ready PC/104 solution for Embedded Computing for varied applications that can benefit from the flexible concept of the Zynq SoC with integrated Dual-Core ARM-9 and Artix-7 FPGA fabric. The addition of a VITA57.1 FMC-LPC makes it easy to migrate R&D efforts from Xilinx’s development ‘bread-boards’ to a fully rugged PC/104environment, be it air, land, sea or space.”

Pricing for 1+ EMC²-Z7015 with a Dual-Core ARM-9 and Artix-7 FPGA starts at $1485.00, with pricing for 100+ units below $800.00. The EMC² and its variations are typically available on a lead-time of 1-3 weeks.