PowerPC CPU Board offer Pentium IV performance at 15 W.
Press Release Summary:
Based on 500 MHz PowerPC 7410 processor with AltiVec vector processing extensions, V194 Streamer provides functionality of Linux or VxWorks workstation on one VMEbus board. Unit offers two 1,600 x 1,200 resolution video channels, keyboard, mouse, and USB functionality. Unit also offers three 10/100BaseTx auto-negotiate Fast Ethernet interfaces, 2 USB ports, and one Ultra SCSI-160/320 interface, which supports differential-mode data transfer rates of up to 320 Mbyte/sec.
Original Press Release:
General Micro Systems Announces First Single-Board PowerPC Workstation for Linux and VxWorks
Delivers Performance Of Pentium IV Workstation At One Fourth The Power
Rancho Cucamonga, CA. March 31, 2003. General Micro Systems today announced the V194 Streamer, the industry's first PowerPC CPU board to provide the functionality of a Linux or VxWorks workstation on a single VMEbus board. Featuring two high-resolution video channels, standard keyboard, mouse, and USB functionality, and a spate of multi-channel I/O, LAN, mass storage, and expansion capabilities, the V194 delivers the performance of a Pentium 1V workstation at one fourth the power (15W vs. 70W).
The V194 is based on a 500-MHz PowerPC 7410 processor with AltiVec vector processing extensions. Featuring 32 kbytes of no-wait-state L1 cache and two Mbytes of 166-MHz L2 cache, the V194 provides up to two Gbytes of 133-MHz SDRAM main memory and 64 Mbytes of application flash. The V194 also features two high-resolution video interfaces, three Fast Ethernet ports, on-board Ultra SCSI, two USB interfaces, four high-speed serial ports, five PMC interfaces, and two Ultra DMA IDE interfaces. This combination of high performance, versatile multi-channel I/O, and integrated workstation functionality makes the V194 ideal for a wide range of high-speed telecom, defense, industrial imaging and automation systems.
"Streamer's integrated video and workstation functionality puts PowerPC-based Linux and VxWorks workstations on a par with Pentium IV systems, while consuming one fourth the power," said Ben Sharfi, president of General Micro Systems. "Now, PowerPC OEMs can run their applications and server on the same board."
The V194 provides unprecedented I/O throughput, utilizing a Galileo GT-64260 North Bridge with 18 independent DMA channels to move data between the PowerPC processor, memory, I/O devices, VMEbus and mass storage subsystems without CPU intervention. Featuring a 133-MHz Front Side Bus, Galileo utilizes dual 64-bit PCI local buses to transfer data at up to 533 Mbyte/sec, thereby alleviating traditional PCI bottlenecks and enabling the V194 to accommodate multiple high-speed I/O devices and expansion interfaces. To further enhance I/O performance, Galileo provides three integrated Ethernet ports and two 10-Mbit/sec synchronous serial channels, which can access system memory without having to traverse either PCI bus.
The V194 provides the richest I/O functionality of any VMEbus CPU board. Equipped with two video ports supporting resolutions as high as 1600 x 1200, the V194 features three 10/100BaseTx auto-negotiate Fast Ethernet interfaces, two USB ports, and an Ultra SCSI-160/320 interface, which supports differential-mode data transfer rates of up to 320 Mbyte/sec. The V194 also provides two Ultra DMA-66/100 IDE interfaces, one of which can be used to mount an on-board 2.5-inch, 20-Gbyte hard drive without occupying an additional VMEbus slot. Other standard I/O features include mouse/keyboard, 14 discrete digital I/O lines, a printer port, 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 V194 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 VMIEbus slot. All five interfaces connect directly to the V194's high-speed 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 V194 can be used with standard VME64 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.
To ensure safe and reliable operation, the V194 provides a System Health Monitor, which reports processor temperature, on-board voltages, and fan speed to the operating system. The V194 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 V194 includes VxWorks Tornado II, Linux and QNX.
The V194 Streamer equipped with a 500-MHz PowerPC 7410 processor, two Mbytes of L2 cache, and 64 Mbytes of user flash costs $4,032.00 in single-piece quantity.
For more information on the V194, please contact General Micro Systems, Inc. at 3358 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
