Embedded Archives - 4DSP | Embedded Systems Blog

16 Jun

4DSP Compact Embedded System Performance Boosted by UltraScale and SDAccel

We recently announced two new additions to our innovative compact embedded system (CES) product line. The CES820 and ruggedized CESCC820 both benefit from powerful new Kintex UltraScale FPGAs supplied by longtime 4DSP partner Xilinx, and they offer support for the most recent version of Xilinx’s SDAccel development environment for OpenCL™, C, and C++. While the CES820 features the same durable aluminum enclosure as the CES720, which 4DSP introduced in 2014 to much enthusiasm from our customers, it represents a step forward in performance for the CES line.

The CESCC820 goes even further by providing a conduction-cooled and more vibration-resistant chassis, as well as military-grade Meritec connectivity options. The more spacious, yet still compact enclosure offers the choice to install more than one FPGA Mezzanine card (FMC) inside as a build option. These attributes make the ruggedized model an ideal choice for a wide range of deployed embedded aerospace and defense applications where Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) are critical and more demanding IO or DSP requirements are called for.

Both CES820 versions have a quad-core, low-power Intel Atom CPU that is tightly coupled to the FPGA, making them perfect for handling the high-level programmability necessary to perform anti-jamming, compression, encryption, high-performance signal processing for such applications as communication signal analysis. The full list of features, data sheets, block diagrams, and additional photos of these systems can be found on their respective product pages: CES820 and CESCC820.

FMC modules for these systems can be selected from 4DSP’s extensive and diverse portfolio or from a third-party vendor enabling extensive functional customization using VITA 57.1-compatible FPGA mezzanine cards. The 4DSP Board Support Package (BSP) and StellarIP firmware tool and library are included with these systems. These intuitive tools allow designers to jump into development with modular reference designs that exercise the systems’ capabilities and provide high-level interfaces and driver support.

These systems support the Xilinx SDAccel FPGA development environment. The newest version of SDAccel (2015.1) offers enhancements that make the Eclipse-based integrated development environment easier to use as a result of new debug and profiling features that speed the development and deployment of OpenCL, C, and C++ kernels. This release also builds on SDAccel’s Khronos standard compliance, supporting a new OpenCL Installable Client Driver (ICD). The ICD extension allows multiple implementations of OpenCL to co-exist on the same system, giving applications developers the ability to choose between CPUs, GPUs and FPGAs in real-time. This accelerates run time and results in power savings.

Looking ahead, as an SDAccel development environment-certified Xilinx Alliance Member, 4DSP’s future FPGA-based board and system-level products will also support SDAccel as part of our continuing effort to give system designers the very best tools for efficiently achieving great results.

06 Jan

Comprehensive Support is Part of the 4DSP Advantage

Many technology products are commodity goods that adhere to standards and deliver the performance they advertise. When it comes to the high-speed data acquisition and FPGA world, however, it’s a mixed bag of performance. Most products on the market look fine from a distance, but there can be a lot of room for disappointment upon closer inspection in the absence of a unified standard. The devil, as always, is in the details.

4DSP strives to promote, deliver and support its products in a transparent fashion so that there is no confusion about their capabilities. As part of this effort, we thoroughly test each board and system we sell to eliminate surprises for the end user. We also publish performance reports in which we share the results of tests for the noise, distortion, bandwidth, and offset performance of the ADCs and DACs used on our modules. This helps to reduce risk for our clients and to demonstrate that signal integrity is our top priority.

FMC144 ADC Bandwidth

ADC Bandwidth Performance (all channels) of the FMC144

4DSP adds value to the hardware that we deliver with our Board Support Package for Windows and Linux which contains reference designs for FMC (FPGA Mezzanine Card), FPGA carrier card and system level products. These serve as a baseline with all communication layers already implemented, so customers can build upon the designs as they customize for their specific applications.

Also included in the Board Support Package is our intuitive tool flow that gives engineers of various skill levels the ability to begin working with 4DSP products immediately upon delivery. StellarIP, the flagship application, streamlines the FPGA firmware development process by offering automated code and bitstream generation functions in an intuitive graphical interface. The StellarIP concept identifies IP blocks as stars that can be combined using channels known as wormholes to form top-level designs called constellations. It enables firmware designers to remove repetitive and error-prone tasks from their workflow and to automatically create top level files and manage clock domain crossings to expedite the creation of complex designs for programmable devices.

FMC144 Firmware Workflow2 4DSP Firmware compilation chain

4DSP additionally offers a multi-function tool called the 4FM GUI for monitoring voltage and temperature, performing memory tests, measuring PCIe bandwidth, and updating FPGA firmware. Also included is the Data Analyzer application which displays real-time digitized data and spectrum analysis. It is effectively an oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer in one simple tool.

Of course, it is also possible to receive more in-depth support directly from 4DSP engineers through the technical support forum, and all 4DSP products are complemented by extensive documentation. Support documents include user manuals, application notes, getting started guides and other instructional documents targeting specific use cases. We are always adding new step-by-step descriptions of how to configure fully-functional firmware designs from 4DSPs StellarIP library for hardware such as host interfaces, memory controllers, and FMC Board Controllers. We also provide tutorials on topics such as how to reuse existing StellarIP designs in your own AXI environment.

4DSP On Time Delivery Score 2014

This commitment to ensuring that those who choose 4DSP products get what they expect every time pays off in a measurable way. We closely monitor our on-time delivery (OTD) and returned merchandise authorization (RMA) statistics while endeavoring to keep the results on target toward aggressive performance goals. 4DSP is working on an initiative to share our OTD and RMA data to openly illustrate how this drives our consistently high customer satisfaction scores.

02 Dec

4DSP Adds New FMCs for Clock Generation and Distribution

4DSP is proud to announce two new FPGA mezzanine cards (FMCs) that supersede our popular FMC408 clock and trigger distribution module, which was released in August 2013. The FMC406 and FMC407 are low-noise, clock generation and distribution cards that feature eight synchronized clock outputs and eight synchronized PPS (pulse-per-second) signals which make it possible to easily build high-speed multichannel solutions. They can either distribute an externally supplied or a locally generated clock. A synchronous trigger signal received from the FMC connector is distributed to the eight trigger outputs. Additionally, an external trigger signal can be synchronized to the output clocks and distributed on the eight trigger outputs, and it is possible to distribute the external 1PPS or a locally generated 1PPS signal for data time-stamping. 4DSP FMC406/07

The FMC406 can generate any clock frequency between 34.375 MHz and 250MHz. The maximum clock frequency can be extended to 350MHz as a build option. The FMC407, on the other hand, can generate any clock frequency between 34.375 MHZ and 4.4GHz. Both designs are based on Analog Devices‘ ADF4351 PLL synthesizer. This is combined with the Cypress Semiconductor CY29948AXI LVCMOS fan-out buffer on the FMC406 and with the Analog Devices’ ADCLK954 LVPECL fan-out buffer on the FMC407.

Many applications will require the FMC407 because the LVPECL electrical output it uses is much more common for clock interfaces. It enables higher frequencies and the signal integrity is maintained by having a 50 ohm load. The FMC406, however, offers LVCMOS which provides a limited frequency range but is DC-coupled and can be used to drive into high-impedance loads. The FMC406 was designed at the request of a 4DSP client, and we now make it available to any customer who may have similar requirements.

These cards are recommended for applications that require synchronous A/D or D/A sampling across multiple cards or systems. With a low-pin count connector and front panel I/O, both modules can be used in a conduction-cooled environment. When combined with several eight-channel FMC168 analog-to-digital conversion modules from 4DSP, these cards can provide 64 fully synchronous A /D channels that can be enclosed in a single ruggedized chassis or 3U server.

Please note that the FMC408 is still supported by 4DSP, but we recommend the FMC406 and FMC407 for new designs. Contact sales@4dsp.com for more details.

17 Oct

4DSP Expands its line of FMCs

This week, 4DSP announced the new FMC170 FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC), expanding our growing line of FMC products which leads the industry in performance and functionality. The VITA 57.1-compliant FMC170 is an A/D and D/A module for single-channel data acquisition and high-speed signal processing and recording. This daughter card provides one 10-bit A/D channel with speeds up to 5 Gsps and one 10-bit D/A channel at 5 Gsps. It delivers high-bandwidth connectivity for calculation-heavy FPGA-based applications and is very well-suited for high-performance applications in the communications, medical, and defense industries. The low-latency data path of the FMC170 enables 2.5GHz of instantaneous bandwidth in both the receive and transmit directions, making it an ideal choice for the high data throughput requirements of RADAR/SONAR and aerospace applications, among others.

Last month, we announced a trio of new cards led by the FMC144 A/D and D/A module. It provides four 16-bit A/D channels with speeds up to 370MSPS and four 16-bit D/A channels up to 2.5GSPS. This daughter card is capable of digitizing data over multiple channels required for beamforming and direction finding which makes it well-suited for multi-antenna arrays used in the telecommunications industry.

The Texas Instruments (TI) DAC38J84 D/A and ADC16DX370 A/D converters on the FMC144 can also support RADAR and such wide-bandwidth test applications as mobile testing devices and arbitrary waveform generators because of the high-speed JESD204B serial interface between the data converters and the FPGA. The FMC142 offers the same performance in a two-channel configuration, while the FMC140 module provides four channels of analog-to-digital conversion.

The FMC144 is a standard FMC module with a high-pin count (HPC) connector on the bottom of the card, but it can also be configured as a stackable module with HPC connectors on both sides. Stacked FMCs enable high-channel density and expanded functionality in a small hardware footprint with low power consumption for applications where space is limited such as in aircraft instrumentation and mobile telecom equipment.

TI has been showcasing the FMC144 in combination with the Xilinx Kintex Ultrascale FPGA KCU105 Evaluation Kit at the ongoing series of Avnet X-Fest training events being held throughout North America, Asia, Europe and Japan through January 2015. Next stop, Chicago! The FMC144 and Kintex Ultrascale combo delivers performance and bandwidth that exceed that of existing solutions while reducing power consumption. More details about all of our new FMCs can be found on their respective product pages.

http://www.4dsp.com/FMC170.php
http://www.4dsp.com/FMC144.php
http://www.4dsp.com/FMC142.php
http://www.4dsp.com/FMC140.php

30 Sep

4DSP’s FM788 Chosen by VITA as Featured Product

4DSP FM788 is VITA Editors Choice

One of 4DSP’s newest products, the FM788, is featured in the Fall 2014 issue of OpenSystems Media’s VITA Technologies as a Primetime Choices product (see page 23 of the PDF version here.) Some of the other topics covered in this issue of the magazine include reliability prediction methods, interoperability of VITA 46.11, and chassis management for VPX systems.

With eight 16-bit A/D channels running up to 250Msps, the FM788 is an FPGA-based XMC module based on Xilinx’s Virtex-7. It offers unmatched performance for such applications as beamforming, direction finding, RADAR, and satellite communications. The FM788 has the largest channel count in this frequency range and the most available onboard memory for real-time buffering of large data vectors. The four 10Gbps optical transceivers on this module can be connected directly to remote storage with no CPU involvement.

4DSP CTO Pierrick Vulliez had this to say about the FM788, “This approach of offering a way to digitize multiple analog channels, perform signal processing using the Virtex-7 and offload data to a storage system using optical connections on a single card overcomes the inherent limitations of bussed architectures.”

4DSP continues to push the envelope by providing more cutting-edge products in the FMC and FPGA form factors. We recently announced the release of the FMC144 A/D-D/A module along with two variants, the FMC140 and FMC142. With four 16-bit A/D channels with speeds up to 370MSPS and four 16-bit D/A channels up to 2.5GSPS, the FMC144 delivers high-bandwidth connectivity for calculation-heavy FPGA-based applications including beamforming and direction finding. It is very well-suited for multi-antenna arrays used in the telecommunications industry where high performance is required.

More new FMC products are planned for release before the year is out. We will share details as they become available.

26 Sep

New White Paper, Video and Improvements for StellarIP

stellar_logo

We recently announced some of the numerous updates and improvements that have been made to StellarIP this year to expand its feature set and make it more user-friendly for firmware designers. Today, we direct you to a new white paper that expands on the benefits of our FPGA firmware design tool.

4DSP is constantly working to improve StellarIP to help customers easily implement their designs and quickly get the most out of their hardware. Since its introduction in 2011, a growing number of clients have leveraged the library of proven firmware at the core of StellarIP to more efficiently achieve their design goals. This intuitive tool has also been essential for boosting productivity here at 4DSP, where our engineers have used it to create hundreds of FPGA reference designs for different platforms. These designs have, of course, been passed along to our customers.

Most notable among the improvements made in 2014 are the significant enhancements to the graphical interface, which simplifies editing. Design integrity protection has also been improved to help minimize mistakes and save time. Another key addition is support for Microsoft Windows 8.1, and StellarIP now also has the ability to automatically download updates, which allows 4DSP to deliver the latest features, improvements, and bug fixes directly to users as they become available.

Furthermore, as FPGA industry leader Xilinx prepares to switch to Vivado Design Suite for all of its future FPGA products, 4DSP has added Vivado support to StellarIP. This is important for users because it allows them to regenerate old ISE designs for Vivado for compatible FPGA cards. More improvements are in the works for StellarIP, including plans to streamline the process of firmware updates, add support for VHDL generics, and implement an automated assistant to guide users in the creation of stars (the StellarIP term for IP blocks). Be sure to install the latest version of the tool to ensure that you have timely access to upcoming features.

Selected Updates and Improvements in 2014:

• Improved graphical interface
• Improved library and design integrity protection
• Library merging
• Local library support
• Search in library view to speed up library editing
• More pre-generate checks and better error and warning messages
• Improved log output window (including Xilinx shell outputs redirected to StellarIP)
• File type registration and double-click support from Windows Explorer
• Text file editor
• More custom configuration settings
• Automatic version updates
• Help files
• Xilinx ISE and Vivado support
• Windows 8.1 support

More information, including a new tutorial video, can be found at:

http://www.4dsp.com/software_stellar.php

StellarIP can be used with 4DSP hardware or any third-party FPGA platform under licensing. It is included as part of the Board Support Package (BSP) which is provided for free with the purchase of 4DSP’s FPGA and FMC products.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions.

25 Jul

Welcome to the 4DSP Embedded Systems Blog

4DSP’s 10 year anniversary is a good time to inaugurate this new blog which will cover applications and developments in the embedded system world and what is going on at 4DSP. We will also highlight how our high-performance embedded solutions enable clients worldwide to achieve success in their businesses and research programs.

Founded in Reno, Nevada in the summer of 2004 by CTO Pierrick Vulliez, 4DSP has expanded its product portfolio from the first groundbreaking Floating Point IEEE-754 FPGA IP core and a Xilinx-based FPGA card into a wide range of FPGA Mezzanine Cards (FMC), FPGA carrier cards and system solutions in a variety of form factors. Based in Austin, Texas since 2010 with a European office in the Netherlands since 2006, the core of the business is a talented team of hardware, firmware, and software engineers dedicated to delivering cutting-edge products, turnkey solutions, and tailor-made support for the most demanding applications in the aerospace, defense, energy, and telecom industries among others.

As we look forward to the challenges and opportunities of the next decade, we continue to build our selection of high-performance FPGA boards and systems while developing new additions to a diverse selection of about 25 FMC products. 4DSP is also planning the spin off of our fiber optic sensing business which specializes in state-of-the-art data acquisition and processing systems based on technology developed in conjunction with NASA. By using optical fiber treated with Fiber Bragg gratings from partner FBGS, 4DSP’s revolutionary optical sensing instruments are capable of real-time shape, strain, and temperature sensing that increases efficiency, safety, and performance in such industries as aerospace, oil & gas, and biomedical.

Stay tuned to this space for more updates.