xTCA Can Handle Demanding Real World Applications

By Tom Roberts and Mike Katz, Mercury Computer Systems

Huge increases in telecommunications traffic, increasingly demanding applications, and the continued drive for real-time performance are putting unprecedented pressure on embedded computer systems. Other applications in test equipment, military systems, and instrumentation face similar requirements. The embedded systems must complete multiple processes and complex calculations in real-time and deliver deterministic, low-latency responses consistently and repeatedly.  Simply using the fastest processor will not do the job. A systems view is required that optimizes the interaction among processors, the network fabric, and the applications.

xTCA subsystems can meet such computing challenges by employing multicore processors and next generation serial RapidIO, a fabric that supports twice the bandwidth of current solutions and delivers new Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities. Such subsystems can handle applications as diverse as wireless basestations, telecom test and measurement, wafer lithography, satellite basestations and gateways, and silicon inspection. The applications all share a common characteristic: milliseconds can mean the difference between success and failure. 

One of today’s most demanding applications is testing next generation mobile communications. Every minute many mobile phone calls occur within the range of a given cell tower, and every user expects a QoS of five nines (99.999%) or higher. LTE telecommunication test equipment must be powerful and flexible enough to simulate new generations of handsets with a wide range of behavior, and to test the data throughput of millions of voice and data calls in real-time. Without such insight and monitoring, telecom providers cannot maintain network performance and deliver on Service Level Agreements (SLAs). 

An equally demanding application is microlithography for semiconductor manufacturing. This process uses light to transfer a geometric pattern with microscopic lines from a photo mask to a light-sensitive chemical resist on the substrate. In complex ICs, a wafer will go through the cycle up to 50 times. Each cycle must be exactly the same to ensure precision. With RapidIO-based xTCA subsystems, instantaneous, repeatable, accurate responses can be ensured, maximizing chip yields and reducing costs. 

Delivering high-bandwidth, low latency xTCA solutions requires expertise and experience in data plane integration, using combinations of general purpose processors, DSPs, and FPGAs. For example, Artiza Networks, a leader in 3G/LTE radio access network (RAN) testing, developed an LTE test system that established a new standard in testing capacity. Artiza uses a combination of dedicated Mercury MTI-203 DSP boards and MPC-102 control boards to perform the processing.

xTCA can provide the performance required to meet today’s most demanding embedded applications. It provides a suitable base for advanced systems by utilizing a wide variety of techniques, including multicore processors, the latest DSPs and FPGAs, and the RapidIO interface. The result is a modular system that can handle applications ranging from the latest wireless networks through the latest generation of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. 

Tom Roberts is a Product Marketing Manager and Mike Katz is Director of Product Management/ATCA at Mercury Computer Systems. You can reach them at troberts@mc.com and mkatz@mc.com, respectively.