Baron Services KHDD-1000C WEATHER RADAR SYSTEM User Manual

Baron Services Inc WEATHER RADAR SYSTEM

Contents

Page 143 of the Sigmet RVP8 Manual

Introduction and SpecificationsRVP8 User’s ManualOctober 20061–2Open Hardware and Software DesignCompared to previous processors that were built around proprietary DSP chips, perhaps the mostinnovative aspect of the RVP8 is that it is implemented on standard PC hardware and softwarethat can be purchased from a wide variety of sources. The Intel Pentium/PCI approach promisescontinued improvement in processor speed, bus bandwidth and the availability of low–costcompatible hardware and peripherals. The performance of an entry level RVP8 (currently dual2.4 GHz Pentium processors) is 6 times faster than the fastest RVP7 ever produced (with twoRVP7/AUX boards).Aside from the open hardware approach, the RVP8 has an open software approach as well. TheRVP8 runs in the context of the Linux operating system. The code is structured and public API’sare provided so that research customers can modify/replace existing SIGMET algorithms, orwrite their own software from scratch using the RVP8 software structure as a foundation onwhich to build.The advantage of the open hardware and software PCI approach is reduced cost and the abilityfor customers to maintain, upgrade and expand the processor in the future by purchasingstandard, low cost PC components from local sources.SoftPlane High–Speed I/O InterconnectThere are potentially many different I/O signals emanating from the backpanel of the RVP8.Most of these conform to well-known electrical and protocol standards (VGA, SCSI, 10–BaseT,RS-232 Serial, PS/2 Keyboard, etc.), and can be driven by standard commercial boards that areavailable from multiple vendors. However, there are other interface signals such as triggers andclocks that require careful timing. These precise signals cannot tolerate the PCI bus latency. Forsignals that have medium–speed requirements (~1 microsec latency) for which the PCI bus isinappropriate; and others that require a high–speed (~ 1 ns latency) connection that can only beachieved with a dedicated wire, the RVP8 Softplanet provides the solution.Physically, the Softplanet is a 16-wire digital “daisy-chain” bus that plugs into the tops of theRVP8/Rx, RVP8/Tx, and I/O boards. The wires connect to the FPGA chips on each card, and thefunction of each wire is assigned at run–time based on the connectivity needs of the overallsystem. The Softplanet allocates a dedicated wire to carry each high-speed signal; but groups ofmedium-speed signals are multiplexed onto single wires in order to conserve resources. Eventhough there are only 16 wires available, the Softplane is able to carry several high-speed signalsand hundreds of medium–speed signals, as long as the total bandwidth does not exceed about600MBits/sec.The Softplanet I/O is configured at run–time based on a file description rather than customwiring such as wirewrap. Neither the PCI backplane nor the physical Softplanet are customizedin any way. Since there is no custom wiring, a failed board can be replaced with a genericoff–the–shelf spare, and that spare will automatically resume whatever functions had beenassigned to the original board. Similarly, if the chassis itself were to fail, then simply pluggingthe boards into another generic chassis would restore complete operation. Cards and chassis canbe swapped between systems without needing to worry about custom wiring.

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