Hot-swappable multi-channel real-time data recording and playback instrument introduced by Pentek
Jan. 25, 2011
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J., 25 Jan. 2011. Pentek Inc. in Upper Saddle River, N.J., is introducing the model RTS 2706 multi-channel real-time data recording and playback instrument based on the company's Cobalt family of Xilinx Virtex-6 field-programmable gate array (FPGA) modules. Housed in a 4U rack-mountable enclosure, the RTS 2706 data storage instrument uses 16-bit 200 MHz A/D converters and 16-bit 800 MHz D/A converters with as many as 20 hot-swappable Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) drives configurable as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) Levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 or 50.Features include A/D channel count, digital down converter (DDC) capabilities, D/A, and digital upconverter resources for the real-time reproduction of recorded signals, storage drive capacity, and GPS time stamping and positioning in a turn-key, high-bandwidth recording and playback instrument."As an example, the RTS 2706 in a four-channel configuration, provides sustained recording rates of up to 1,600 megabytes per second," says Rodger Hosking, vice president of Pentek. "With the RTS 2706, our customers can record larger signal bandwidths for longer periods of time and choose configuration options that work best for their specific application."The RTS 2706 supports GPS time and position stamping of recorded data. The RTS 2706 allows synchronization across all channels and operates under one graphical user interface virtual instrument.
In addition to the recording and playback of data, the RTS 2706 serves as a signal processing workstation. Based on the Intel Core i7 processor and Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGAs, the instrument can perform real-time signals analysis during capture and playback so operators can validate input sources and examine signals on the fly. The multi-core Intel Core i7 is only lightly loaded during recording, so users have a powerful workstation to handle post acquisition signal analysis and processing, Pentek officials say.
The RTS 2706 uses the Windows 7 Professional operating system to handle as many as 20, one-terabyte drives in a RAID configuration, recording data in NTFS format to eliminate the need for data conversion.
The instrument's SATA drives are hot-swappable, allowing them to be removed and inserted in another system. Users can also offload data via two Gigabit Ethernet ports, six USB 2.0 ports, or two eSATA ports. For more information contact Pentek online at www.pentek.com.
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.
