Embedded computing switch for fast radar and SIGINT processing introduced by Curtiss-Wright
ASHBURN, Va., 16 Oct. 2013.Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions in Ashburn, Va., is introducing the VPX6-6802 Fabric40 switch for the compute-intensive processing elements in aerospace and defense high-performance embedded computing (HPEC) applications like signals intelligence (SIGINT), military radar processing, and radar beamforming.
The VPX6-6802 rugged, high performance 6U OpenVPX (VITA 65) switch card, which is part of the Curtiss-Wright Fabric40 family of 40-gigabit-per-second OpenVPX modules supports 10/20/40 Gigabit Ethernet and SDR/DDR/QDR/FDR-10 InfiniBand (IB) connectivity to OpenVPX systems.
Systems built using the VPX6-6802 and complementary Curtiss-Wright Fabric40 system elements double the performance of previous-generation serial RapidIO Gen-2-based systems and 4x the performance of 10 Gigabit Ethernet-based systems.
The rugged VPX6-6802 is available in air-, conduction-, and air flow-through (AFT)-cooled configurations. Designed for use with today's highest speed switched fabrics, the board provides a combined data plane and control plane high-performance switch for 6U VPX systems.
The VPX6-6802's data plane fabric supports Gigabit Ethernet and IB protocols at several port speeds, including 10G, 20G, and 40 gigabits per second. It supports as many as 20 data plane fabric ports on the backplane, with an additional 10/20/40-gigabit-per-second fabric Ethernet or IB port, and a 1000 Base-T Ethernet port available on the front panel (air-cooled configuration only).
The VPX6-6802 supports an independent control plane fabric with Gigabit Ethernet links, and as many as 22 ports to the backplane, as well as an additional 1000 Base-T port available on the front panel. Two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports are provided on the board's front panel for switch expansion or for control plane backbone connections.
Until now, system designers have been locked into using one technology fabric in their HPEC system designs, Curtiss-Wright officials say. Now, the higher-level hardware functionality built into the company's Fabric40 enabled modules makes support for interconnect fabrics agnostic.
For more information contact Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions online at www.cwcdefense.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
