Concurrent Technologies announced 3U OpenVPX and 6U VXS single board computers (SBCs) based on the “Sandy Bridge” Intel Core processors and QM67 chipset. The 3U “TR 80x/39x” and 6U “VX 81x/09x” each support quad-core Core i7-2715QE or dual-core Core i5-2515E processors, and offer a configurable PCIe fabric interface with PMC/XMC connectivity, plus gigabit Ethernet, SATA, serial, and USB I/O.

Both the 3U TR 80x/39x and 6U VX 81x/09x SBCs support real-time embedded military, aerospace, and transportation systems for data acquisition, control, and video signal processing applications, says Concurrent Technologies.

Concurrent's 3U TR 80x/39x (left) and 6U VX 81x/09x
(Click on either to enlarge)

As noted, both the Concurrent boards offer the new Intel QM67 chipset, and support two of Intel's new 2nd Gen Cores: the quad-core Intel Core i7-2715QE and the dual-core Core i5-2515E. According to Concurrent, the Sandy Bridge architecture "virtually doubles graphics performance of previous architectures" while "maintaining the power consumption of the previous Intel Core processors."

Both SBCs offer a configurable PCI Express (PCIe) fabric interface supporting 1 x8, 2 x4, 1 x4 + 1 x4 at Gen 1 or Gen 2 data rates, says the company. The 3U TR 80x/39x provides an optional single XMC slot, while the 6U VX 81x/09x supplies dual PMC/XMC slots. The boards offer varying support for interfaces including gigabit Ethernet, SATA, serial, and USB (see farther below).

Both boards offer three temperature grades and several ruggedization grades:

• N-Series — 32 to 131 deg. F (0 to 55 deg. C)
• E-Series — -13 to 148 deg. F (-25 to 70 deg. C)
• K-Series — -40 to 185 deg. F (-40 to 85 deg. C)
• RCS Series — VPX-REDI Type 1 conduction-cooled VITA 47 Class CC4; -40 to 185 deg. F (-40 to 85 deg. C); TR 80x/39x also supports VPX-REDI Type 2
• RA Series (VX 81x/09x only) — Ruggedized air-cooled; -40 to 167 deg. F (-40 to 75 deg. C)

The two SBCs also share operating system support, listed as Linux, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Embedded Standard 7, and VxWorks.

TR 80x/39x (3U OpenVPX)

The TR 80x/39x offers a 3U OpenVPX backplane design, with an optional VPX switch. The SBC features an optional single XMC (Switched Mezzanine Card) interface, but when this is implemented, users are limited to the dual-core Core i5-2515E processor. The XMC site is offered via a single VPX-standard slot, supported by x8 PCIe expansion, says the company.

TR 80x/39x block diagram
(Click to enlarge)

Concurrent mates the Sandy Bridge processors with up to 8GB of ECC DDR3 SDRAM. The TR 80x/39x also ships with dual SATA 600Mbps interfaces, while a SATA 300Mbps NAND flash disk module is optional, says the company.

Dual gigabit Ethernet ports or dual 1000Base-BX channels are said to be provided, as are a serial RS232/422/485 port, dual USB 2.0 ports, and three GPIOs. The SBC provides an independent VGA port, with DisplayPort optional, says the company.

VX 81x/09x (6U VXS)

The VX 81x/09x SBC provides a 6U VXS data plane interface, and offers dual PMC/XMC sites, says Concurrent. The PMC sites support 32/64-bit, 33/66/100MHz PCI-x operation and PCI 3.3V or 5V signaling, while the XMC sites support x8 PCIe (Gen 1 or Gen 2), says the company. An optional rear transition module is also said to be available.

VX 81x/09x block diagram
(Click to enlarge)

The SBC matches its processors with up to 16GB of ECC DDR3 SDRAM, says Concurrent. The board offers dual SATA600 channels and dual SATA300 channels, as well as an optional 2.5-inch drive that occupies one of the two PMC sites. A CompactFlash interface is also said to be available.

Dual gigabit Ethernet ports and dual serial ports are said to be provided, as are six USB 2.0 ports and four GPIOs. The VX 81x/09x also offers DVI-I and DVI-D interfaces, says the company.

Stated Glen Fawcett, CEO of Concurrent Technologies, "By releasing Single Board Computers based on the second-generation Intel Core processors, Concurrent Technologies endeavors to equip our customers with high performance computer-centric solutions whilst supporting today's prevalent backplane architectures."

Background 

The OpenVPX standard used by the 3U TR 80x/39x is the latest in a line of mil/aero-focused VPX specifications maintained by the VITA (VME Industry Trade Association). The VXS architecture (Vita-41) used by the 6U VX 81x/09x is an an alternative to VPX, also known as "VITA 46."

VPX is said to offer improved connector technology compared to VITA's VMEbus standard, including support for modern bus technologies. VXS, meanwhile, is an update to VME that adds support for modern serial interconnects.

Other Linux-compatible VPX SBCs include the X-ES XPedite7170, the VPX6-185 from Curtiss Wright Controls (CWC), and the GE Fanuc VPXcel3 SBC320 M. 

Availability

No information was provided on the pricing or availability of the 3U OpenVPX TR 80x/39x and the 6U VXS VX 81x/09x, but detailed data sheets are offered at Concurrent Technologies' web pages for the products, including its VPX TR 80x/39x page and its VX 81x/09x page.

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