Mercury Systems Announces New OpenVPX CPU Module Based on 4th Generation Intel Core i7 Processor

Mercury Systems has expanded its family of powerful system building blocks with the new rugged Ensemble® Series 6U OpenVPX™ HDS6502 High Density Server (HDS) module based on 4th generation Intel® Core™i7 processors (formerly codenamed “Haswell”).

Skillful integration of dual quad-core Intel Core i7-4700EQ processors with native Intel Advanced Vector Extensions 2.0 and PCIe Gen 3, an OpenCL™ programmable GPU and up to 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM within a rugged OpenVPX module continues the company’s tradition of performance-driven, highly-configurable, open-standard systems that leverage the organization’s scalable system building blocks. The HDS6502 is designed for OpenCL deployment and, like all Mercury products, is configured with others to form subsystems to meet unique application-specific requirements.

“The HDS6502 is a natural and complementary evolution to our other HDS/LDS (High Density Server/Low Density Server) product solutions ideally suited to high performance, real-time embedded applications,” said Gregg Ogden, Director of Solutions and Product Marketing, Mercury Systems. “But that is only half the story: this module is also a critical building block for our existing customers, enabling them to future-proof their legacy systems through targeted upgrades. Upgrades using the HDS6502 preserve their software, optimize SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) performance, and, true to Mercury tradition, more again can be achieved with less. And this is all done while enabling full OpenCL implementation. The whole concept of open systems is broadened by through the use of OpenCL programming support across multiple platforms.”

The new HDS6502 is OpenVPX-compliant and facilitates a straightforward migration of existing Mercury modules. Initially, HDS6502 modules will support Serial RapidIO® Gen 2 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet via Mercury’s next generation, low-latency POET™ (Protocol Offload Engine Technology) with full backward compatibility with software protocols including ICS™ (interprocessor communication system) and MPI/OFED (message passing interface/open fabrics enterprise distribution). The FPGA implementation of POET underscores another important future-proofing benefit of the HDS6502; its ability to upgrade to new fabrics types. In addition, implementing POET facilitates user customization and security features.

HDS6502 modules support various types of system I/O including PCIe Gen 3 to the expansion plane, eSATA, USB 3.0, Ethernet, serial ports and several graphic interfaces making these modules very comprehensive and allowing ease of configuration and deployment without the need for extra mezzanine modules.

Low I/O latency and reduced module power consumption is gained from the single die cache coherent memory architecture between the CPU and GPU resources. This is a required characteristic of multidimensional computing applications requiring high throughput, determinism and low latency, such as SIGINT, IMINT, RADAR, EO/IR and large data/graphics rendering with seamless display integration.

“The Intel Core i7-4700EQ with Intel Advanced Vector Extension 2.0 support and an on-die Intel HD Graphics 4600 GPU enables high volume graphic rendering and simultaneous data manipulation of real-time vector-based information which is characteristic of signal and image processing-intensive applications,” said Marc Couture, Director of Product Management, Mercury Systems. “OpenCL support promotes a heterogeneous ecosystem which, packaged within a rugged module, is an ideal cornerstone for embedded system upgrades and new computing-intensive applications with stringent SWaP specifications. This is a significant adoption of commercial silicon integration, power and performance improvements applied into the defense marketplace.”

“There is a real need for highly integrated CPU-GPU solutions offering higher performance and lower power. The 4th Generation Intel Core processor family delivers – providing game-changing integration of CPU and GPU technology on Intel’s latest 22nm silicon manufacturing process,” explains Sam Cravatta, Product Line Manager, Intel Intelligent Systems Group. “The OpenCL tools support allows the GPU functionality to be productively expanded into the high performance embedded computing markets including real-time signal and image processing applications.”

HDS6502 modules will be available in the fall of 2013 for deployment in air-cooled, Air Flow-By™ and conduction-cooled systems with Serial RapidIO Gen 2 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet data fabric support. Support for InfiniBand™ and 40 Gigabit Ethernet-based modules will follow.