Kontron is sampling a 6U CompactPCI processor board based on the Intel Core i7 processor. The CP6002 boards come in three versions, including one ruggedized model, and offer up to 8GB of soldered DDR3 RAM, six RAID-enabled SATA interfaces, one or two XMC/PMC slots, one or two gigabit Ethernet ports, and six USB 2.0 ports.

Offering a combination of high performance, low power consumption, and low heat dissipation, the Kontron CP6002 is suitable for communications, military, aerospace, medical, and industrial and monitoring systems, says Kontron.

The CP6002 is offered in three versions, with either one (CP6002-R1) or two XMCs/PMC slots (CP6002-R1-MC and CP6002-R2-MC), in addition to other differences noted below. For example, the CP6002-R2-MC offers a ruggedized design and extended temperature resistance.

Kontron CP6002
(Click to enlarge)

Customers can choose between a 2.53GHz Intel Core i7-610E or the 2GHz Intel Core i7-620LE processors, both long-term-availability members of the Core i7 processor family introduced by Intel earlier this year.

The CP6002 makes use of the Core i7's hyper-threading technology (HTT) to speed up multiprocessing tasks, and leverages the Intel Turbo Boost technology to accelerate single-threaded task processing, says Kontron. These technologies are said to enable a virtual clock speed of up to 3.33GHz without exceeding the defined thermal design power (TDP), says the company.

Up to 8GB of soldered DDR3 1066MHz ECC memory is provided, along with a CompactFlash socket for rugged, industrial-grade flash modules containing up to 32GB of NAND flash. (According to Kontron, 64GB modules are also in the works.)

CP6002 block diagram
(Click to enlarge)

The CP6002 offers six SATA interfaces with RAID support, as well as one front- and two rear-facing high-resolution graphics interfaces (VGA/DP/HDMI), and up to two PMC/XMC slots, says Kontron. Six USB 2.0 ports are said to be available, including two front-facing ports.

In addition, two COM ports are available. These include a RS-232 port with an RJ-45 connector on the front panel and routed to rear I/O, as well as a RS-422 port on the rear I/O panel, says the company.

As noted, the Kontron CP6002 is offered in three versions, distinguished primarily by having one (CP6002-R1) or two (CP6002-R1-MC and CP6002-R2-MC) XMC/PMC slots. The Kontron R1 version also provides an onboard 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), and supplies two gigabit Ethernet ports, one VGA (CRT) port, one COM port, and two USB ports on the front panel, says the company.

CP6002 I/O summary; a far more detailed spec list may be found in the link at the end of the story
(Source: Kontron)
(Click to enlarge)

The R1-MC and R2-MC versions each offer one gigabit Ethernet port, and one DisplayPort, with an option of instead adding another RS232 port, says Kontron. In addition, they are said to provide two USB ports on the front panel.

The ruggedized CP6002-R2-MC

The R1 and R1-MC versions are both intended for standard air-cooled environments, whereas the R2-MC model is designed to withstand high shock and vibration, as defined in VITA 47 EAC3 and EAC6 standards, says Kontron. The ruggedized R2-MC also supports an extended operating temperature range of -40 to 158 deg. F (-40 to 70 deg. C), and supports two conduction-cooled XMCs/PMCs.

Meanwhile, an R3 version is said to be available on request, and is fully conduction cooled, meeting the VITA 47's ECC4 requirements. Presumably, it is otherwise identical to the R2 version.

All the CP6002 models support a configurable 64-bit/66 MHz PCI or PCI-X, hot swap CompactPCI interface, says Kontron. As a result, the CompactPCI interface is said to be enabled when installed in the system slot, but is isolated from CompactPCI when installed in a peripheral slot.

Safety and security features include optional Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 technology, as well as two redundant firmware hubs for failover, says Kontron. Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) technology is also said to be supported.

The CP6002 supports Linux (Red Hat), Microsoft Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows XP Embedded, Windows Server 2003 or 2008, or VxWorks 6.8, says Kontron. Integrated support packages are said to support all onboard hardware devices, as well as specific features like hot swap ability, IPMI, power, and thermal management.

Stated Reiner Grubmeyer, product manager for 6U CompactPCI at Kontron, "The highly-integrated Intel Core i7 architecture on 6U CompactPCI allows for overall performance increase of 30 to 60 percent and nearly three times the graphics performance compared to previous processor platforms."

Availability

Samples of the Kontron CP6002 are available now, and full production is scheduled for the third quarter, says Kontron. More information, including a highly detailed datasheet and spec list, may be found here.

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