Index Real-Time Magazine 4Q98
Editorial
By Martin Timmerman, Chief-Editor of Real-Time Magazine,
Real-Time Consult.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES - 98q4 - p. 3
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| RTOS EVALUATIONS |
RTOS Evaluation Project - Latest News
This is the first in a series of news flashes on the
RTOS
Evaluation Project, which was presented to you in the 98Q3 issue of
Real-Time Magazine. Each upcoming Real-Time Magazine issue will contain
the latest news from the RTOS Evaluations and insights in the results from
our RTOS Market Survey.
By Martin Timmerman, President & CEO, Bart Van
Beneden, Project Manager, Alexander Teetaert, Marcom Manager, Real-Time
Consult.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 6 (225KB)
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Can Windows NT 4.0 be used as an RTOS ?
When Windows NT was originally designed it was not foreseen
to be a real-time operating system. Yet many people are keen to use it
as such and some already do so. Why would they want to do this and what
are the advantages of Windows NT? This paper looks into those questions
and explains the general architecture of the operating system. It also
gives some results of performance tests that are useful for anyone who's
interested in using Windows NT in real-time systems.
By Martin Timmerman, Chief-Editor of Real-Time Magazine,
Bart Van Beneden, Project Manager, David Newman, Software Engineer, Real-Time
Consult.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 9 (411KB)
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| MICROPROCESSORS |
Trends in Embedded Microprocessor Design
Makers of embedded 32-bit processors have narrowed the
gap between embedded and desktop systems, as new applications have fostered
new classes of processors. How will this trend influence future embedded-processor
design?
By Manfred Schlett, Marketing Engineer, Hitachi Europe
GmbH.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 14 (252KB)
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| VME |
VME Breaks Performance Barrier Again! 1000 Mbytes/s Range Possible
Recent developments within the VMEbus community have
seen the bus speed doubled three times in a very short period of time.
Due to the asynchronous protocol, this increase in performance has been
achieved with full compatibility to all earlier boards.
By Adreas Lenkisch, Manager of the R & D Dept.,
Trenew Electronic GmbH.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 21 (401KB)
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VME in 2003: A Glimpse into the Future of Embedded Computing
Since its introduction in 1981, the VME standard has
maintained its leadership position in medium to high-end embedded computing
by undergoing a process of continual revision. Yet, it is possible that
new technologies could successfully challenge this leadership position.
Applications that are appropriate for VME today may be better served by
emerging technologies in the future. The best way to analyze the situation
is to ask tough questions such as: "Does VME still solve my problem? Will
markets turn to other solutions such as CompactPCI? Will VME adapt to meet
my needs in the future?" Nobody has a crystal ball, but a series of events
that occurred during the past year have laid the groundwork for VME to
improve its competitive position as we move towards the next millennium.
The roadmap that is taking shape now indicates that when we reach the year
2003, VME will have undergone significant improvements in performance and
will incorporate new features that maintain its value relative
to competing technologies.
By Eran Strod, Product and Technology Consultant, Greg
Novak, Definition, Program Management and Marketing, Motorola Computer
Group.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 27 (147KB)
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| VME & COMPACTPCI |
Why CompactPCI will replace VME
In just a year, the CompactPCI bus has risen to prominence
in the board industry worldwide, prompting users to compare it with VME
and to wonder if it could replace VME in many applications. There are two
ways to compare buses. The first is to look at the intricate details of
the bus signals, bus transceiver technology and timing diagrams. From this
point of view, VME (and VME64x) fares as an outstanding technology with
plenty of growth potential. The other way is to see what silicon components,
system and software facilities a given architecture offers to simplify
system design. From this perspective, PCI and CompactPCI offers unique
possibilities thanks mostly to the broad silicon support and "system-oriented"
concepts like Plug and Play. While the installed base of applications and
customers ensures VME many more years of existence, these powerful force
are already at work to make CompactPCI the dominant industrial OEM bus
at the end of the decade.
By Remy David, Director of Marketing and Technology,
GESPAC S.A.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 31 (335KB)
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Is CompactPCI a Replacement for VME?
CompactPCI is an adaptation of the PCI electrical layer
to Eurocard mechanicals. As such it offers the rugged mechanical and well
disciplined thermal packaging which has historically been associated with
VME. The question naturally arises as to whether CompactPCI will replace
VME. This article analyzes the two architectures and the market forces
at work in an effort to answer that question.
By Dick Somes, Technical Director, OEM Business Segment,
Compaq Computer.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 37 (205KB)
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CP1006VME – a merging technology of CompactPCI & VMEbus in a
single chassis supports Solaris 2.x and Solaris X86
This paper described a solution for application where
both busses - CompactPCI and VMEbus - need to be merged to create a system
with features to support 'old' VMEbus hardware and the newcomer CompactPCI
peripherals.
The complete system is integrated in a single 19-inches
rack-mount chassis and provides seven CompactPCI and six VME slots. Even
VME64 specification does not support hot swap, users can remover or insert
VME hardware without having to power down and reboot the CompactPCI system.
This combination can be uses for CompactPCI SPARCengine,
or standard Pentium CompactPCI single board CPU running Sun's Solaris 2.6
operating system.
By Kim Vu, Vice-President of Engineering, Solflower
Computer, Inc.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 44 (222KB)
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| COMPACTPCI |
Introduction of PICMG and CompactPCI
The original idea of some of the original members of
PICMG was: "the PCI Bus is used everywhere in the desk top industry and
should also be used in embedded computers"
By Manon Kinjet, Managing Director, PICMG Europe.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 48 (275KB)
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CompactPCI is Changing the Economics of Embedded Systems 53
By now, most designers have heard about CompactPCI (CPCI).
A new board technology that is the subject of much conversation, CompactPCI
offers features considered essential by those planning a new embedded systems
product. But far more important is how CompactPCI's promises to completely
change the economics of the industry.
By Ellen MacDermid, Campaigns Manager, Communications
Market, Sun Microsystems.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 53 (228KB)
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System Management and CompactPCI Systems
The purpose of this paper is to give the reader an overview
of hardware instrumentation extensions and standards being considered for
CompactPCI boards and systems. These extensions will provide systems manufacturers
a standardized method of deploying instrumentation, remote temperature
sensors for example, in CompactPCI based computer systems. The System Management
Subcommittee of PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group) is
performing the work described here.
By Don K. Harrison, Vice-President, James Honey, Texas
Micro.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 58 (334KB)
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Evaluating hot-swap issues in the CompactPCI bus
Industry groups originally conceived the CompactPCI bus
specification for use in embedded computing applications. But its popularity
has grown, and many now want to extend CompactPCI to telecommunications
and networks. These extended applications require the hot swapping of cards,
which was not part of the original specification. This paper discusses
the simulation effort to quantify hot-swap effects on the CompactPCI bus
and to suggest ways to adapt the bus for telecommunications and networks.
By Robert D. Cutler, Consulent, AMP.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p.64 (1102KB)
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| PCI |
Sebring Ring™ technology breaks through I/O bottlenecks while adding
fault tolerance and hot swap capability to standard PCI bus
The Sebring Ring™ is a self-healing, dual counter-rotating
ring network with twin 16-bit data paths and control protocols, which provide
PCI transparency, fault tolerance, and high data integrity. The high clock
rate of the ring data links (initially 266 MHz, but scalable to beyond
1 Gigahertz) is enabled by proprietary, patent pending, synchronization
technology that eliminates jitter and skew from the ring signals. The Sebring
Ring™ allows multiple transactions to take place concurrently and guarantees
error free completion of each. The attributes derived from this technology
result in dramatic reduction in systems cost while multiplying throughput
and enabling fault tolerance and hot swap.
This article introduces the high-end features of the
first generation Sebring Ring chip, the SRC3266.
By Steve Y. Lau, William S. Wu, Senior Computer Architect,
Sebring Systems.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 69 (865KB)
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| MEZZANINES |
Mezzanines Cards Enhance Versatility, Maximize Benefits Of CompactPCI
The flexibility and compatibility benefits of CompactPCI,
combined with complementary mezzanine buses are expanding functionality
and positioning cPCI as the leading bus platform in a wide range of embedded
applications. Many of the early mezzanine boards were developed by VME
manufacturers looking to maximize bandwidth and functionality. Today, the
premier high-end mezzanine solution is PMC (PCI Mezzanine Card), which
continues to dominate the market as the industry relies more on mezzanine
platforms to eliminate the need for customized hardware and reduce the
number (and cost) of individual I/O boards.
This article examines some of the advantages of PMC on
cPCI, as well as looks at the use of secondary bus technologies that are
also helping to bring major cost and time-to-market benefits, particularly
in real-time applications.
By Jeff Heckman, Product Manager, Artesyn Communication
Products.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 76 (87KB)
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| USB |
Combining CompactPCI & USB : A new approach to Industrial Computers
Today, Microprocess break new ground with two desktop
world standards. The innovation resides in merging the high performance
Compact Peripheral Components Interconnect bus (CompactPCI) and the Universal
Serial Bus (USB), to offer a new family of product designed for industrial
applications: the EUROpact family. EUROpact is a complete system based
on the Eurocard form factor, located in one or more industrial enclosure
or individual package, and composed of two sets: the CompactPCI bus for
the host system, and the USB bus for lots of Industrial I/Os (input-outputs).
By Luc Baticle, Technical Manager, Jean-Marc Giner,
Application Engineer, Microprocess Ingenierie.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p79 (2258KB)
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| TTP |
The Time-Triggered Communication Protocol TTP™/C
Hard real-time and composability are requirements of
increasing importance in the embedded systems market. Conventional event-triggered
communication protocols, such as CAN, are appropriate for soft real-time
systems that require flexibility and do not have substantial timeliness
and dependability requirements. If composability, hard real-time performance
and dependability are more prominent issues than flexibility, then the
Time-Triggered Protocol TTP™/C is most suitable. TTP™/C provides clock
synchronization, hard real-time message delivery with minimal jitter and
very comprehensive error detection mechanisms. In order to fully exploit
these advantages, a development environment for TTP™/C-based systems following
a two-level design approach has been developed by TTTech.
By Stefan Poledna, Managing Director, Georg Kroiss,
Joint Projects, TTTech.
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES
- 98q4 - p. 98 (250KB)
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| OTHERS |
Bookstores
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES - 98q4 - p. 25
Agenda
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES - 98q4 - p. 104
Company Directory - New Bus Technologies
NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES - 98q4 - p. 108
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NEW BUS TECHNOLOGIES - 98q4 - p. 112
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CONTENTS TABLE
EDITORIAL
RTOS EVALUATIONS
MICROPROCESSORS
VME
VME & COMPACTPCI
COMPACTPCI
PCI
MEZZANINES
USB
TTP
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