RSC# 2 @www.compactpci-systems.com/rsc RSC# 2 @www.compactpci-systems.com/rsc RSC# 3 @www.compactpci-systems.com/rsc CompactPCI ® ® and AdvancedTCA Systems The Magazine for Developers of Open Communication, Industrial, and Rugged Systems www.compactpci-systems.com VOLUME 9 • NUMBER 5 www.advancedtca-systems.com JUNE 2005 COLUMNS FEATURES 8 Editor’s Foreword GUEST: Military Application Uptime. Downtime. By Joe Pavlat 18 CompactPCI in the military: Playing to its strengths 10 Software Corner By David Compston, Radstone Embedded Computing Q&A: Realizing standards-based telecom systems By Curt Schwaderer SPECIAL: High-end Embedded Computing 14 Technology in Europe 22 Beam-forming to scientific modeling: High-density Strong business compute platforms offer multiprocessor solutions By Hermann Strass By Ian Stalker, Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing 59 New Products By Chad Lumsden 24 Processing challenges of shrinking high-end embedded computing systems to fit into small unmanned air vehicles By Bob Kahane, Mercury Computer Systems EVENTS 30 Carrier Grade Linux: SUPERCOMM The cornerstone of telecoms’ COTS strategy June 6-9, 2005 By Glenn Seiler, MontaVista Software Chicago, IL www.supercomm2005.com 36 PCI Express enables high-end embedded computing applications By Jim Ison, One Stop Systems E-LETTER June: www.compactpci-systems.com/eletter APPLICATION: Monitoring and Control Carrier Grade Linux 3.0: 42 Using remote upgrades to increase revenue and Building out and looking forward By Bill Weinberg, OSDL decrease costs in wireless base stations By David Gamba, Xilinx July: www.compactpci-systems.com/eletter Market Study: AdvancedTCA Market Slowly Builds Momentum PRODUCT GUIDE: SBC By In-Stat/MDR PowerPC, Pentium III, Pentium M, Xeon 48 Just what is a blade, anyway? COVER By J. Eric Gulliksen, Venture Development Corporation J. Eric Gulliksen, Venture Development Corporation (VDC) offers a blade definition based on the structure of the interconnect architecture, page 48. WEB RESOURCES Published by: Subscribe to the magazine or E-letter at: www.opensystems-publishing.com/subscriptions © 2005 OpenSystems Publishing Industry news: ® CompactPCI, PICMG, AdvancedTCA, ATCA, and their logos are registered trademarks of the Read: www.compactpci-systems.com/news PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group. ® CompactTCA is a trademark of the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group. Submit: www.opensystems-publishing.com/news/submit © 2005 CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems Submit new products at: www.opensystems-publishing.com/vendors/submissions/np 4 / CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems / June 2005 PERF TECH RSC# 5 @www.compactpci-systems.com/rsc CompactPCI ® ® and AdvancedTCA Systems A N OPENS YSTEMS PUBLICATION Communications Group ■ CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems ■ CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Resource Guide ■ CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA E-letter Editorial Director Joe Pavlat [email protected] Associate Editor Anne Fisher [email protected] Senior Editor (columns) Terri Thorson [email protected] Technology Editor Curt Schwaderer [email protected] European Representative Hermann Strass [email protected] Art Director Steph Sweet Senior Web Developer Konrad Witte Graphic Specialist David Diomede Circulation/Office Manager Phyllis Thompson [email protected] OpenSystems Publishing Editorial/Production office: 13253 La Montana, Ste. 207, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268 Tel: 480-967-5581 ■ Fax: 480-837-6466 Website: www.opensystems-publishing.com Publishers John Black, Michael Hopper, Wayne Kristoff Vice President Editorial Rosemary Kristoff Embedded and Test & Analysis Group Editorial Director Jerry Gipper Editorial Director Don Dingee Senior Technical Editor Mark David Barrera Technical Editor Chad Lumsden Special Projects Editor Bob Stasonis European Representative Hermann Strass Military & Aerospace Group Group Editorial Director Chris Ciufo Managing Editor Bonnie Crutcher Assistant Editor Eli Shapiro Senior Editor (columns) Terri Thorson European Representative Hermann Strass European Representative Stefan Baginski ISSN #1098-7622 ONLINE ISSN #1550-0381 Publication Agreement Number: 40048627 Canada return address: WDS, Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 615 CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems is published nine times a year by OpenSystems Pub lish ing LLC., 30233 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores, MI 48082. Subscrip tions are free, upon request in writing, to persons dealing with or consid er- ing CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems. For others inside the US and Canada, sub scriptions are $45/year. For 1st class delivery outside the US and Canada, subscriptions are $90/year (advance payment in US funds required). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems 13253 La Montana, Ste 207, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268 RSC# 6 @www.compactpci-systems.com/rsc 6 / CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems / June 2005 RSC# 7 @www.compactpci-systems.com/rsc EDITOR’SEDITOR’S FOREWORDFOREWORD By Joe Pavlat Editorial Director Uptime. Downtime. CCompactPCIompactPCI & AddvavanncedTCAcedTCA For decades, designers and customers of embedded computer or about 5 minutes of downtime a year) or 6-nines (99.9999% systems have attempted to establish reliability by estimating uptime, or about 30 seconds of downtime a year) are often used as Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF). This is almost always a measures of availability. Availability requires a somewhat differ- calculation, usually based on the failure rates of individual com- ent mindset when compared to MTBF thinking. Highly available ponents as established by tables like MIL-HDBK-217. These systems are generally architected in very different ways from tra- types of methods provide an estimate of how long a system ditional systems. They usually have multiple, redundant resources should operate before failure: such as processors, power supplies, and storage. Specialized hard- ware and software combine to detect failures and switch out bad ■ If the components were used within their design margins resources and subsequently switch in good ones. Downtimes are ■ If the components used were good often measured in seconds or minutes, not hours or days. Of course ■ If the circuit assemblies were properly manufactured it is almost always desirable to replace failed resources with good ones for continued redundancy, and features like hot swap and A lot of ifs. Most MTBF calculators are largely silent about things system management help repair personnel keep the still-running like software, which is usually the most failure prone element of system ready for the next failure. The term 24x7 is being replaced any modern, complex embedded computer. And new failure mech- in the communications world by 3600 by forever, which is a better anisms are beginning to appear. One good example is the increas- measure of real world requirements. Downtimes need to be mea- ing susceptibility of very small geometry integrated circuits to logic sured in minutes at most, not days. faults and failures due to radiation sources such as solar neutrons that practically cannot be shielded against (see the October, 2004 Designers of military electronics should be interested in high avail- CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems Editor’s Foreword). And, ability architectures. Traditional military systems have achieved MTBF is just a statistical estimate. A system with a 30,000-hour a level of reliability by robust packaging and careful component calculated MTBF may fail after a few hours of operation. MTBF’s selection, but usually have simple single-resource architectures sister calculation, Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) also assumes that without the capability of failure tolerance and automatic repair. the right replacement part or assembly is available and is good, and Additional forces are in play that should cause military electron- that the individual performing the repair or replacement is skilled in ics designers to take a few chapters from the telecommunications the process. All in all, a lot of big fat ifs and guess-timates. So, are equipment design handbook and start to think about availability MTBF and MTTR calculations useful? Almost certainly. Are they instead of just MTBF. For example, today many necessary com- enough? Increasingly, the answer is no. ponents are of commercial grade, including almost all silicon. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. One good aspect of this trend Is there a better way? is that complex silicon gets cheaper every year, permitting the The telecommunications industry has, for years, used availability duplication of many functions for redundancy. Also, today’s net- in addition to MTBF as a better measure of a system’s overall reli- centric warfare environment is largely about information tech- ability and robustness. Numbers like 5-nines (99.999% uptime, nology and communications. Many of the lessons about making those types of systems highly available have already been learned in the telecom world, including different methodologies for soft- ware robustness than those used in the military systems. Sure, environmental extremes and operating temperature requirements will often make some military electronics systems specialized, but the underlying architectures and components developed for the much larger communications marketplace should be consid- ered wherever possible. Keeping modern military electronics systems operating 3600 by forever will be absolutely necessary in the future as