Embedded Single Board Computer card comes with unique ‘Peripherals Library’

[Alexander Didebulidze <alex@compulab.co.il>]

Embedded Single Board Computer card comes with unique ‘Peripherals Library’ 

A new mezzanine CPU card from CompuLab implements a complete 32-bit
embedded RISC computer with an especially small form-factor - 131 x 86 mm.
The card supplies a customer-specified set of features instead of adding
them as dedicated components on-board.  This is achieved by integrating the
selected controllers and peripherals into an on-board FPGA device.
Developers select the desired functions from CompuLab’s Peripherals Library
thereby tailoring the card to the particular application.

Today’s embedded systems use many types of  peripherals and interface
controllers, such as DMA, LAN, I2C, SPI, UART, USB, USRT and parallel
ports. The traditional approach of SBC (Single Board Computer)
manufacturers is to put as many peripherals as possible on-board to
maximize the number of bases covered.  Nevertheless, applications typically
require only a subset of the features provided, while the others are
expensive dead-weight.  For example, a designer needs two DMA’s and four
UART’s and the particular off-the-shelf card contains four DMA’s and two
UART’s.  This kind of incompatibility is doubly harmful for the designer:
on the one hand, the missing features must be added and on the other, he
has to pay for the redundancy.  Faced with such an 'attractive' option,
many companies decide to develop embedded boards in-house.

CompuLab has formulated a new approach to embedded system design, taking
advantage of being a manufacturer of System Solution chips and having logic
models of peripherals available on site. Instead of including the
peripherals as additional components on the card, CompuLab provides them as
library functions for on-board FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).
CompuLab’s Peripherals Library contains a selection of peripheral and
controller functions. The developer selects only those functions required
and in the exact quantities needed. Selected functions are synthesized into
on-board FPGA. In this way, the board peripherals are specifically adapted
to the target application.

The CORE Module product line contains four cards utilizing the Peripherals
Library method. Each card is a powerful, single-board computer, designed
for attachment to the target application as mezzanine piggy-back. It
contains an Intel i960 32-bit RISC CPU, Flash and DRAM memories, a local
bus and an extensive set of control signals. Application-specific interface
functions, such as DMA’s, UART’s, USRT’s, USB and others are available from
CompuLab’s Peripherals Library to be synthesized into on-board FPGA.

CARD	      CPU		CLOCK	Board-specific features
	      (max)

960CORE	      i80960Hx	75 MHz
ETHRCORE   i80960Hx	66 MHz	10 Mbps Ethernet, 8-ch A/D
PCICORE	      i80960Hx	66 MHz	PCI Bus, PCI Arbiter and Clock
PXECORE      i80960Rx	100 MHz	Dual PCI bus, 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet
TINYCORE      i80960Jx	100 MHz	'credit card' form-factor

All CORE modules are functional in stand-alone mode. Target software can be
developed and evaluated on the CORE even before the rest of the system is
ready.

For 1K quantity, the CORE module price ranges from $100 to $470, depending
on card type and configuration.
960CORE, ETHRCORE, PCICORE and PXECORE cards are available in stock.
Evaluation boards and software are also available.
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CompuLab, Inquiry Center
Tel: 972-4-8320397 Fax: 972-4-8325251
e-mail: support@compulab.co.il   WEB: http://www.compulab.co.il