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Dy 4 Offers Multi-Processor Software for DSP Applications

Posted on: Monday, 18 August 2003, 06:00 CDT

Dy 4 Systems, a division of Force Computers, a Solectron company, and a leading designer and manufacturer of COTS VME and CompactPCI (cPCI) products for harsh environments, today announced the availability of its Inter-Processor Communications (IPC) software library for building high-performance multi-processor applications employing switched interconnect technology.

The IPC library is designed to provide the functionality needed by developers of large multi-processor DSP systems such as radar, sonar and signal intelligence. IPC meets the challenge of providing a high-level, hardware-abstracted Application Programming Interface (API), while also providing the high-performance and low latency that is crucial for real-time signal processing applications.

"IPC is a key component of our switched interconnect strategy," said Lynn Patterson, vice president, product marketing and development. "It provides our customers with a software interface that will remain consistent over future generations of processor and switched interconnect technologies."

IPC provides prioritized, queue-driven flow-controlled message passing for command and control as well as block transfers for high-volume time-perishable data. A POSIX compliant interface is provided with standard open, close, read, write, and ioctl functions. An extended interface provides control over additional features. IPC connections are based on a named end point convention, with dynamic determination of routing paths during runtime. IPCs connection management is distributed. The lack of reliance on a central database means the system software has no single point of failure, so developers can build more reliable systems with graceful failure mechanisms. IPC provides a single API for task-to-task communications where tasks can be resident on the same processor and board, or on boards connected via switched interconnect. The software hides the underlying hardware differences and selects the optimum transport for each connection. The unified API greatly eases the design of building scalable software, as senders and receivers can be moved around the system without source code changes or redesign of routing control.

The hardware abstraction provided by IPC allows software developed using IPC to port easily to future architectures and alternative switched interconnect technology such as PCI Express AS or RapidIO(TM).

There are data transport features in IPC that address common scenarios in signal processing algorithms where frequently, a single data matrix is divided between processors and reconstructed during the processing stages. For corner turn operations, IPC supports multiple senders writing to a single receiver and strided data movements to facilitate operation on large matrices that have been partitioned. When supported by the operating system, IPC can perform copyless message retrieval to eliminate the time wasted by making local copies of incoming messages.

IPC software is currently supported on Dy 4's CHAMP-AV II Quad PowerPC DSP card with StarFabric interconnect. Dy 4 plans to include support for its single board computer products. The software is supported for use with the VxWorks real-time operating system from Wind River. An RTOS free version is in development.

The IPC library is operating at beta sites now. Production versions will be available in September. The IPC library is priced at US $4,500.

Detailed information may be found by visiting www.dy4.com or by making a literature request to Dy 4 Systems Inc., 333 Palladium Dr., Kanata, ON K2V 1A6, Canada. T: 613.599.9199 x 5168; F: 613.599.7777; E: sales@dy4.com.

READER SERVICE INQUIRIES: Please send all reader service inquiries to Ian Stalker, Dy 4 Systems, 333 Palladium Dr., Kanata, Ontario K2V 1A6, Canada.

About Dy 4: Dy 4 Systems designs leading-edge Commercial-Off-The-Shelf embedded solutions. Based on open systems architectures, Dy 4's boards, software and systems are deployed in mission-critical, high-reliability applications. Coupled with best-in-class products, Dy 4 also provides complete life-cycle management, program management and tailored customer support services. Dy 4 is a division of Force Computers, a Solectron company.

About Force Computers: Founded in 1981, Force Computers (www.forcecomputers.com) is a leading designer and worldwide supplier of open-standards-based and custom board- and system-level embedded computing solutions. These solutions address telecommunications, data communications, medical, industrial control and defense and aerospace markets. Force systems offer capabilities for Ultra Availability(TM), remote system management and platform management as well as feature telecom protocol software, telecom controllers and chassis compatible with NEBS Level 3 and ETSI building practices for 1U to 15U standard servers and custom integrated solutions. For boards, the company develops and manufactures leading-edge designs across a breadth of high-performance processors, high-bandwidth input/output interfaces and robust digital signal processors. Through the Dy 4 Systems division, Force leverages its expertise in hardening COTS products for ruggedized embedded applications. Certified ISO 9001, the company practices Total Quality Management principles in all phases of its global operations. Force's company headquarters is located in Fremont, Calif. Force's Europe and Asia-Pacific headquarters are located in Munich, Germany, and Tokyo, Japan, respectively.

Note: All brands are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Specifications subject to change without notice. Contact Force for current information.

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