Kontron announces its first Intel Core i7 processor-based VPX blade for data, signal processing
Posted by Courtney Howard
POWAY, Calif., 9 Jan. 2010. Kontron introduces the Kontron VX6060, a VPX computing blade for parallel data and signal processing applications, following Intel's announcement of its Core i7 processor at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The VX6060 marks the first VPX blade from Kontron to be powered by the latest Intel Core i7.
With two independently implemented Intel Core i7 processing nodes linked to an Ethernet and PCIe infrastructure, the Kontron VPX blade VX6060 is a building block for intensive parallel computing workloads where a cluster of Kontron VX6060s can be used in full mesh VPX or switched OpenVPX environments, says a company representative.
Each processing node takes advantage of Intel's high-performance embedded processor with integrated memory controller and Intel HD graphics -– the Intel Core i7 processor -– coupled with the integrated Intel Platform Controller Hub (PCH) QM57 with numerous Gigabit Ethernet, SATA, USB 2.0, and PCIe channels.
"Our Kontron VX6060 is the ultimate computing tool MAG HPEC users have been waiting for, allowing them to finally walk away from 10 years of PowerPC Altivec dominance in radar, sonar, and imaging applications," declares Dirk Finstel, CTO of Kontron AG. "Combined with the power of 6U VPX backplane infrastructure, a new range of outstanding HPEC applications are now becoming possible using only standard technology (Linux or RTOS on x86 and TCP/IP) for which the future is already laid out. With two dual-core high performance embedded processors, the Kontron VX6060 is the right answer for rugged embedded computing where the power envelope and dissipation constraints at extreme temperatures of computers designed for harsh environments still prohibit the use of quad-core silicon."
Target applications include radar, sonar, imaging systems, airborne fighters, and UAV radar which will use clusters of the Kontron VPX blade VX6060.
Available in forced-air-cooled and conduction-cooled versions, the Kontron VX6060 comes with PowerMP, a collection of off-the-shelf software featuring complex computer cluster health management and a stress test tool. PowerMP software is in use in UAVs, radars, and sonars throughout the world, where it is used in previous generations of Kontron VME and CompactPCI computing nodes.
Kontron's new 6U VPX board comes with EFI BIOS and supports Linux and VxWorks 6.
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