CPU Board uses Galileo North Bridge and 2eSST signaling.
Press Release Summary:
Atlantis V191 Mark II PowerPC VMEbus board uses Galileo GT-64260 North Bridge, which links PowerPC processor with memory, VLO, and mass storage subsystems. This allows processor to deliver sustained data rates up to 533 Mbyte/sec. Board has 500 MHz processor, up to 2 MB of 166 MHz L2 cache, 1 GB of 133 MHz SDRAM main memory, 64 MB of application flash, 3 fast Ethernet ports, 2 USB interfaces, 4 high-speed serial ports, and various mass storage options.
Original Press Release:
General Micro Systems First To Offer VMEbus PowerPC CPU Board with Galileo Bridge and 2eSST
General Micro Systems First To Offer VMEbus PowerPC CPU Board with Galileo Bridge and 2eSST
Low-Power Board Combines High-Performance I/O With Sustained VMEbus Data Transfers Of Up To 533 Mbyte/sec
Rancho Cucamonga, CA. March 15, 2002. General Micro Systems today announced the Atlantis V191 Mark II, the industry's fastest, most versatile VMEbus PowerPC CPU board. The V191 is the first PowerPC VMEbus board to utilize the Galileo North Bridge, which gives it unprecedented I/O throughput and flexibility. It is also the first PowerPC VMEbus board to employ 2eSST signaling (transfers data on both edges of each VMEbus clock), which enables it to move data at 10x the speed of competitive VMEbus boards. This superior I/O and system bus throughput, together with the V191's ultra-low power consumption (12W), makes the V191 ideal for a wide range of defense / aerospace and automation applications.
"High cost and limited I/O throughput have hampered wide use of the PowerPC in defense/military and automation applications," said Ben Sharfi, president of General Micro Systems. "But the Galileo North Bridge levels the playing field, enabling the V191 to offer a cadre of high-performance memory, I/O and mass storage options at a price point that's comparable to Pentium systems. More importantly, the V191 consumes less than half the power consumption of comparable Pentium systems, which is essential for many defense/aerospace and automation applications. PowerPC software support has also improved substantially, with operating systems like Linux providing GUI and server functionality Windows-like on a platform offers superior efficiency and reliability, as well as the traditional Real Time OS like WindRiver VxWorks"
The V191 features a 500-MHz PowerPC processor, up to two Mbytes of 166-MHz L2 cache, one Gbyte of 133-MHz SDRAM main memory, and 64 Mbytes of application flash. Consuming just 12W of power, the V191 also features three fast Ethernet ports, two USB interfaces, four high-speed serial ports, five 66-MHz/64-bit PMC interfaces, and a variety of integrated rotating and non-rotating mass storage options.
The V191 can be used with standard VME64 and high-speed VME320 backplanes, implements the full VITA VMEbus extensions, supports 16-, 32-, and 64-bit VMEbus transfers, and can act as a master or slave with full Slot One system control functionality. The V191 is also available with a choice of PCI-to-VMEbus bridge devices, including the Tundra Universe II and GMS' own OmniVME. When equipped with the Universe II and used with standard VMEbus backplanes, the V191 supports VMEbus data transfer rates of up to 40 Mbyte/sec. When equipped with an OmniVME bridge and used with a high-performance VME320 backplane, the V191 can deliver a sustained data rate of up to 533 Mbyte/sec. Equally important, these high-speed data transfers can occur concurrent with standard 16-, 32-, and 64-bit transfers, enabling the V191 to coexist with legacy VMEbus cards on the same backplane.
The key to the V191's superior I/O throughput is the Galileo GT-64260 North Bridge, which links the PowerPC processor with the V191's memory, VLO, and mass storage subsystems. To boost CPU memory access performance, Galileo provides a 133-MHz Front Side Bus, a 30% improvement over competitive bridges. To enhance I/O performance, and offload the host CPU, Galileo provides two independent 64-bit, 66-MHz, 533-Mbyte/sec PCI local buses (competitive bridges provide one 32-bit local bus), which enables the V191 to accommodate more high-speed I/O devices and take full advantage of its high-speed backplane and PMC mezzanine interfaces. Galileo also provides three integrated Ethernet and two 10-Mbit/sec synchronous serial channels (which can access system memory directly without having to traverse the PCI local bus), and 18 independent DMA channels, which facilitate data transfers from memory and other I/O devices (including the VMEbus) without CPU intervention.
The V191's high-performance bridge technology enables it to provide the richest I/O functionality of any VMEbus CPU board. Equipped with three 10/100BaseTx auto-negotiate Fast Ethernet interfaces, the V191 features two USB ports and four serial I/O channels, two of which are fully synchronous and able to perform serial transfers at speeds of up to 10Mbits/s using HDLC and BISYNC protocols. To support custom I/O expansion, and provide access to ultra high-performance graphics, mass storage, and WAN interface options, the V191 also supports up to five 64-bit, 66-MHz PMC slots. Two of the slots are provided on the baseboard. An additional three PMC slots can be added through an expansion card, which requires a second VME slot. All five interfaces connect directly to the V191's dual 64-bit, 66-MHz PCI local buses, making them ideal for high-speed networking applications like Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre channel. The five PMC interfaces also provide rear panel access, greatly enhancing I/O flexibility.
The V191 also provides the most versatile mass storage facilities of any VME CPU board, including single-slot options for both rotating and non-rotating media. The V191 provides two Ultra DMA-66/100 IDE interfaces, and can be equipped with an on-board 2.5-inch hard drive that supports capacities in excess of 20 Gbytes. The V191 also provides a 1-Gbyte IDE flash drive, 512 Mbytes of optional Compact Flash (or a 1-Gbyte IBM Micro Drive), which can be configured as a bootable drive, and 64 Mbytes of high-speed 32-bit wide flash memory, which enables the CPU to execute user application code directly without waiting for downloads from slower media like serial flash and hard drives.
The V191's Ethernet 1, USB1, and COM-1 ports are all available via the front panel. The COM-2, COM-3, and COM-4 ports, second and third Ethernet port, second USB port, and IDE interface are routed to the rear panel. The V191 is also available with an 80-mm rear panel transition I/O module, which facilitates a direct connection to IDE hard drives, CDROM, Compact Flash devices, and other I/O devices using standard cabling. The transition module also provides a PIM (PMC Interface Module) interface for custom I/O configurations.
To ensure safe and reliable operation, the VI91 provides a System Health Monitor, which reports processor temperature, on-board voltages, and fan speed to the operating system. The V191 also provides 100% Power-On-Self-Test (POST) diagnostics, which use two binary LED displays on the front panel to indicate the status of more than 50 tests each time power is applied to the board.
Software support for the V191 includes VxWorks Tornado II and Mission Critical Linux with Real-Time extensions.
The V191 Mark II equipped with a 500-MHz PowerPC 7410 processor, two Mbytes of L2 cache, and 64 Mbytes of user flash costs $2,995 in single-piece quantity. For more information on the V191, please contact General Micro Systems, Inc. at 8358 Maple Place, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730. Phone: (909) 980-4863. Fax: (909) 987-4863. E-mail: sales@gms4vme.com. World Wide Web site: general-micro-systems.com
