Mercury Computer Systems Launches High Performance, Low Power OpenVPX Products Based on 3rd Generation Intel Core Processor for Defense and Aerospace Applications

Utilizing the quad-core Intel Core i7-3615QE processor for the LDS6524 and the quad-core Intel Core i7-3612QE processor for the SBC3512, the new OpenVPX modules deliver greatly improved performance per watt, a key design metric for high-performance defense and aerospace applications.

For applications that require the absolute highest performance, the 3rd Generation Intel Core processor family supports a higher maximum clock speed at the same power dissipation compared to prior generation products. Customers that have field-tested and deployed the 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 processor-based products from Mercury can now upgrade to the new LDS6524 or SBC3512 without expensive software recoding or system-level redesign. Additionally, for applications that require the absolute lowest power, performance can be controlled with advanced software features in the Intel Core processor that greatly reduce power dissipation dynamically during run-time.

“Offering optimized building blocks and staying in lockstep with the latest technologies is critical for our customers to rapidly deploy best-of-breed defense and aerospace applications,” said Steve Patterson, Vice President of Defense Product Management, Mercury Computer Systems. “Mercury is unique in that we deliver both Intel mobile-class and Intel server-class based products and we are committed to offering the latest Intel processors as they become available. With this capability, customers can mix and match server and mobile-class processor technologies to achieve a 3-5x system performance improvement,” continued Patterson.

“The 3rd generation Intel Core processor family used in Mercury’s new OpenVPX rugged products is based on the 22 nanometer process technology and brings increased performance at the same power dissipation of the previous generation,” said Matt Langman, director of marketing, Intel Intelligent Systems Group. “Higher performance combined with the Intel AVX processing capability on the four cores meets signal processing requirements as well as the computing needs of traditional, embedded real-time applications.”

Mercury offers a variety of validated building block types so customers can configure OpenVPX systems to optimize their specific application. The new mobile-class LDS6524 can be combined with Mercury’s recently announced server-class Intel Xeon E5-2600 family-based HDS6601 to maximize the number of processors in the OpenVPX system while also configuring the right amount of I/O for the application. Mercury offers a full ecosystem of building blocks for the most demanding applications. Specialty processors such as FPGA- and GPGPU-based Mercury modules can be added to the system to enable the best technology for each stage of the signal processing chain. These modules are interconnected with industry-standard I/O, based on Mercury’s high-speed, low-latency Protocol Offload Engine Technology, enabling a software-compatible ecosystem for systems with unmatched size, weight, and power characteristics.

Customers recognize application software code preservation is important for both rapid time to market and lower life cycle cost. Since the LDS6524 and SBC3512 are software-compatible with previous product generations and are supported by Mercury’s MultiCore Plus software development environment, customers preserve their software investment. MultiCore Plus delivers high-performance data movement interfaces and processing libraries with industry-standard open interfaces. Examples include the embedded computing industry’s fastest interconnect software based on OpenMPI/OFED with direct access to POET DMA engines and the industry renowned Scientific Application Library with new AVX optimizations. Because the modules are based on open architecture, third party products such as Mentor Graphics’ VSIPL++ are also available. Additionally, customers can develop code and migrate it seamlessly from Mercury’s workstation-based Virtual Multi-Computer simulator to the OpenVPX target modules, enabling quick deployment of lab-based algorithms.

The LDS6524 and SBC3512 are available now and can be configured in air-cooled or conduction-cooled rugged versions.