Scalable, rack-mount MicroTCA box
ProductJuly 26, 2010
Alice Moss
Military Embedded Systems
Chris A. Ciufo
General Micro Systems, Inc.
One European vendor recently revealed that their robust 1,500 unit MicroTCA backlog demonstrates the market's keen interest in using Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) COTS boards, but in a smaller and complete rack-mount chassis.
One European vendor recently revealed that their robust 1,500 unit MicroTCA backlog demonstrates the market’s keen interest in using Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) COTS boards, but in a smaller and complete rack-mount chassis. Mercury Computer’s Ensemble 2000 MicroTCA platform is just such a chassis, incorporating six slots and a built-in system manager function bolted to the backplane to eliminate the need for a separate MCH module. Designed for stand-alone entry-level or multi-chassis systems, the standards-based unit is designed to maximize use of AMC, Ethernet, IPMI, RapidIO, and MicroTCA industry standards.
Backplane switches for GbE are built in, and other available communications fabrics include RapidIO, 10 GbE, and PCI Express. Not requiring an MCH module saves a slot, so all six slots can accept AMCs. The chassis can be stacked in a 19" rack, and Ethernet, communications fabrics, and system clock can be daisy-chained across multiple boxes. Mercury’s own AMCs include FPGA and processor cards based upon Xilinx FPGAs, TI DSPs, Freescale PowerQUICC or MPC 8641D, and Intel Penryn processors.
