NEW QUAD POWERPC DSP BOARD FROM DY 4 SYSTEMS, SUPPORTS NEXT-GENERATION SWITCH FABRIC AND GREATLY ENHANCED I/O BANDWIDTH

NEW QUAD POWERPC DSP BOARD FROM DY 4 SYSTEMS, SUPPORTS NEXT-GENERATION SWITCH FABRIC AND GREATLY ENHANCED I/O BANDWIDTH

Kanata, Ontario, April 22, 2002-Dy 4 Systems, a division of Force Computers, a Solectron company and a leading designer and manufacturer of COTS VME and CompactPCI products for harsh environments, has released the CHAMP-AV II quad 500MHz PowerPC 7410 board with Dy 4s unique new QuadFlow non-blocking architecture. QuadFlow architecture provides for exceptionally high, total node-to-node data flow of up to 2GBytes/sec. combined with the power of the AltiVec® digital signal processing (DSP) enhancements of the 7410 to offer the highest performance of any VMEbus DSP product.

This new board is available in both air- and conduction-cooled versions and is targeted for complex defense and aerospace DSP applications that demand the use of large numbers of processors and a high-performance switch-fabric interconnect, such as sonar, radar and signal intelligence applications.

Ian Stalker, Dy 4 DSP product manager said, The CHAMP-AV II embodies Dy 4s vision to build hardware platforms that simplify software development. The QuadFlow

-more-
architecture is both faster and less restrictive, enabling software developers to focus on algorithms rather than on optimizing systems for lower bandwidth boards."

The CHAMP-AV II, Dy 4s second-generation DSP board, employs an independent-node architecture. Each of the four 500MHz processors has 2MBytes L2 cache and its own bank of SDRAM, each up to 256MBytes ensuring that memory-intensive applications will not suffer performance degradation compared with alternative shared memory architectures. The CHAMP-AV II provides each processing node with dual 66MHz, 64-bit PCI connections to adjacent nodes, resulting in peak bandwidth of 1056MBytes/sec into each node, and up to 2GBytes/sec peak aggregate bandwidth.

Instead of using PCI busses to relay interrupt messages, the nodes incorporate a separate hardware interface to accelerate inter-processor messaging. This significantly reduces system latency, since interrupts are routed independently of data traffic on the PCI busses. In addition, the CHAMP-AV II supports a synchronized time base across multiple boards for time stamping of data and messages in complex data processing applications.

The CHAMP-AV II has two PMC sites that support 64-bit/66MHz transfers, with a peak rate of 528MBytes/sec. Each PMC interface is mapped to all four processor nodes enabling the transfer of data between any node and any PMC interface. Both PMC sites support high-speed Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) I/O connections between the PMC site and the backplane connectors, so that the latest generation of high-performance digital interfaces can be employed. These include Dy 4s new StarLink switch-fabric PMC or the PMC-643 Fibre Channel module. PMC I/O is available on both the front panel and the P2/P0 backplane connectors. When coupled with two StarLink PMCs, the CHAMP-AV II can provide up to 3.2GBytes/sec. of I/O bandwidth between the PMCs and the I/O connectors, enabling the switching functions to be integrated onto the card.

-more-
Steve Blackman, director of marketing and business development at Wind River Systems, Aerospace and Defense Business Unit said, The CHAMP-AV II is an excellent platform for customers using Tornado II VxWorks and/or VSPWorks in radar/sonar/and signal analysis applications. The technology is a great fit with VxWorks and VSPworks since multiple CHAMP-AV II cards can be connected together with
Dy 4s StarLink switch-fabric. The environment simplifies the writing of applications for distributed computing systems and provides a truly deterministic solution for hard real-time applications that can be easily scaled with the addition of multiple boards and multiple virtual processors."

Software support for the CHAMP-AV II includes Wind River Systems Tornado II / VxWorks and VSPWorks. Customers can choose Dy 4s IXLibs-AV library of fully optimized DSP functions designed for the boards AltiVec instruction unit. VSI/Pro VSIPL libraries are also available from MPI Software Technology.

Pricing for the CHAMP-AV II starts at $17,900. Delivery is 12 weeks ARO. All monetary amounts are stated in U.S. dollars.

Detailed information is available at www.dy4.com or by making a literature request to Dy 4 Systems Inc.,
333 Palladium Dr, M/S 212, Kanata, ON K2V 1A6, Canada. T: 613.599.9199 x298; F: 613.599.7777;
E: sales@dy4.com.
-30-

READER SERVICE INQUIRIES: Please send all reader service inquiries to Duncan Young, Dy 4 Systems, 333 Palladium Drive, M/S 212, Kanata, Ontario K2V 1A6, Canada.

ABOUT Dy 4: Dy 4 Systems designs leading edge Commercial-Off-The-Shelf embedded solutions. Based on open systems architectures, Dy 4s boards, software and systems are deployed in mission-critical, high-reliability applications. Coupled with best in class products, Dy 4 also provides complete lifecycle management, program management and tailored customer support services. DY 4 is a division of Force Computers, a Solectron company.

ABOUT FORCE COMPUTERS: Founded 1981, Force Computers (www.forcecomputers.com) is a leading designer and worldwide supplier of open-standards-based and custom board- and system-level embedded computing solutions. These solutions address the telecommunications, data communications, medical, industrial control and defense and aerospace markets. Force systems offer capabilities for Ultra Availability, remote system management and platform management as well as feature telecom protocol software, telecom controllers and chassis compatible with NEBS Level 3 and ETSI building practices for 1U to 15U standard servers and custom integrated solutions. For boards, the company develops and manufactures leading-edge designs across a breadth of high-performance processors, high-bandwidth input/output interfaces and robust digital signal processors. Through the Dy 4 Systems division, Force leverages its expertise in hardening COTS products for ruggedized embedded applications. Certified ISO 9001, the company practices Total Quality Management principles in all phases of its global operations. Along with parent company, Solectron Corp., Force is the 1997 winner of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for manufacturing. Forces company headquarters is located in Fremont, California. Forces Europe and Asia-Pacific headquarters are located in Munich, Germany, and Tokyo, Japan, respectively.