Conduant's 'Big River NTX16' in the Sarsen Spotlight

This week we're sharing all our trade secrets about the Big River NTX16 PCI Express Recorder from Conduant Corp!

Conduant Corp. designs and manufactures real-time, long-duration digital recording and playback disk systems. But unlike traditional general purpose disk storage, Conduant’s products ensure reliable, guaranteed and sustained performance in increments of 800 MB/s. Now thats something you don't see every day.....

The key to Conduant’s technology is the innovative way data is recorded; directly from a third party source, bypassing the bottlenecks that can occur in traditional recording systems.

The Big River™ NTX16 recording system provides up to 800 MB/s recording and playback performance in a 3U rack mount chassis. The system can operate independently from a host computer with command and control performed over a network connection. Control can be automated from a software application using the StreamStor® software API from a network connected computer.

A cabled PCI Express interface provides high speed connectivity to a host computer for command and control or data access, and can be used to connect to nearly any computing architecture, such as PCI Express, XMC, VME, VPX, VXS, AMC or other mezzanine / backplane environments.

Solutions are even available for connection to notebook computers!

Features include:

• Peer-to-peer PCI Express recording and playback capability
• Performance independent of host load
• Standalone capable operation with network command/control
• Sustained recording and playback at up to 800 MB/s
• Rear PCI Express cabling
• 3U chassis at only 21” deep
• Scalable data storage capacities up to 48TB
• Solid-state or magnetic disk drive media
• Cabled PCI Express (x8) for full speed data access

For even more information on the digital recording and playback systems from Conduant please get in touch with us here at Sarsen. There are 9 different ways... pick any one. But we'll have to whisper it.....!!

Green Month Feature - Monitoring Polar Ice Caps with VersaLogic

Believe it or not, with the weather we’ve been having, scientists believe that the world is heating up much faster than previously thought. My driveway might disagree though.

Much of the scientific evidence comes from data collected by measuring the thickness, density and composition of the polar ice caps. And the evidence has been checked and double checked – the ice is definitely melting. This will eventually cause a serious rise in sea level.

Getting true measurements is a real challenge, as the ice isn't uniform. Cracks and ridges, as well as varying depths and density, can make accurate data collection difficult.

The GeoSwath wide swath sonar system, from Kongsberg GeoAcoustics (UK), is fitted to the Gavia autonomous vehicle, and shot through a hole melted through the ice to complete a series of short out-and-back data collection missions.

The GeoSwath features the VersaLogic Cobra EBX board, which controls the sonar ‘transmit and receive’ electronics, and generates a 3D digital terrain map of the ice by collecting bathymetry and side scan data of the Arctic ice sub-sheet. The data collected is used to significantly improve the understanding of the ice, and helps to improve the accuracy of parameters used in climate change modelling.

For more information on the VersaLogic range of embedded EBX computers, including the new Copperhead Core i7 board, please contact Sarsen Technology on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email.



PS - The Sarsen Team have been battling the ice and snow ourselves – our own scientific measuring (a tape measure in the garden at home in our wellies) showed an impressive 7” of snow – more than we’ve had in Wiltshire for quite a while!

Spotlight On… The First Exhibition of the Year!

It’s still only January, but we're not letting the snow hold us back - we are already gearing up for our first event of the year!

Sarsen Technology will be at the Low Latency Summit with BittWare, showcasing the latest Altera Stratix V FPGA hardware for financial trading.

Held at the America Square Conference Centre on 19th Feb 2013, the Low Latency Summit focuses on the evolution of high performance technology underpinning profitable automated trading strategies, with a focus on real life experience from the European marketplace.

This is the only event for the financial markets to examine these kinds of technologies, and align them to the trading process. Alongside the conference program, an 'exhibits' area will allow real-life solutions to be demonstrated.

BittWare recently announced special pricing on their S5-PCIe-HQ PCIe COTS board, specifically for use with Altera's Software Development Kit (SDK) for OpenCL. The Altera SDK for OpenCL enables FPGAs to work in concert with the host processor to accelerate parallel computation, at a fraction of the power compared to hardware alternatives.

Come and meet the BittWare and Sarsen Technology teams on Stand 105 to learn more about the very latest Altera Stratix V FPGA hardware and software technology including the OpenCL tools designed for low-latency financial trading applications.

Full details of the event can be found on the www.low-latency.com web site.

We look forward to seeing you there!!

Sarsen Spotlight Shines on the UEI Guardian Series

United Electronic Industries (UEI) is a leader in the PC/Ethernet data acquisition and control, Data Logger/Recorder and Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) and Modbus TCP markets.

They currently offer over 50 different I/O boards for their Cube and RACKtangle chassis. The RACK/Cube versions of the boards are electrically identical and use the same printed circuit board, components and software.

The 'Guardian' series boards provide a host of powerful diagnostics, and have been extremely popular in simulator applications as well as other projects requiring high system up time and maintainability.

The Guardian series boards are designed to help you quickly and easily diagnose and correct short circuits, open circuits, over-voltage conditions and many other possible failure conditions. These features are also very useful when used in conjunction with Power On Self Test (POST).

Some of the benefits of the Guardian Series

• Built-in monitoring of output voltage and current detects shorts/opens
• PWM output and soft-start mode
• Built-in A/D converter allows actual input voltage to be measured
• Output current readback
• Output voltage readback

The PowerDNA Cube and RACKtangle I/O chassis and I/O layers are supported by all popular Windows, Linux and Real-time operating systems. The UEIDAQ Framework provides a simple and universal API and supports all common programming languages. The Cube is also fully supported by an extensive array of application packages including LabVIEW, MATLAB, DASYLab and more.

With so many I/O options available there are virtually limitless possibilities for deployment to suit your unique application. UEI also guarantees that the hardware you purchase today will be still be available 10 years from now, giving you complete peace of mind that your solution will be supported for the duration of it's life, and possibly beyond!

For more information on UEI and the Guardian series, please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or email us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Sarsen Gearing Up for UEI Visit Next Week!

On a scale from 1 to Rebecca Black, how excited are you that it's Friday??

We are especially excited, as we have Rick Van Nostrand from United Electronic Industries over next week and we're taking him to see some of our most interesting customers.

UEI is a versatile product line, with application possibilities ranging from automotive testing to power plant monitoring, all the way through to ULV control and vehicle simulators. This means we get to speak to a wide variety of companies, and get involved in some truly diverse projects!

With some brand new opportunities to discuss, and new people to meet, next week is going to be a busy one. If you have an application that you think would benefit from learning a little more about the UEI range of data acquisition and logging products please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email.

Have a great weekend!

Saving Water with Trunkminder and VersaLogic

Despite the recent floods, water conservation has never been so important, and with around 3bn litres of water being leaked every day by our water companies, early detection of pipeline failures is imperative.

Syrinix Ltd, based in Norwich, has developed the Trunkminder, a fully automated data acquisition system designed to continuously monitor water pipelines, in order to detect leaks before they become a major problem.

Trunkminder uses an array of sensors attached to pipelines to provide instant alerts if a leak occurs, and to gather data which provides real-time information on what is happening in the pipe. Working at a significantly higher level of sensitivity than traditional pressure/flow-based devices, alerts can identify the site of a leak to within one metre.

The VersaLogic Tomcat provides the Trunkminder with a CPU boasting 800 MHz performance and very low power draw, due to its use of the highly integrated Vortex86DX chip. With no moving parts, full industrial temperature rating and soldered-on RAM, all on the compact PC/104 form factor, it is ideal for operation in applications like the Trunkminder, where size and weight are critical factors.

With a 5 year+ production life guarantee, and a standard 2 year warranty, the VersaLogic Tomcat is an ideal choice for applications needing exceptional reliability and long term availability.

For more information on the VersaLogic range of embedded SBCs please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sarsen puts the Spotlight on...... Robbie Burns!

NAME – Robbie Burns

ROLE – Sales Account Manager

TIME SERVED – 2 years

LinkedIn Profile

Twitter - @Robbie_Sarsen

Robbie Burns is part of the Sales Team here at Sarsen Technology, and is responsible for looking after some of our largest customers. He tends to work remotely, spending a lot of time on the road meeting with existing and potential customers, so it’s always a treat for us when he makes it into the office.

Robbie joined the team in 2011, coming from a semiconductor based sales role with an international distributor. After initially training as an electronic engineer at the start of his career he then made the lucrative move into sales.

Alongside his engineering and sales skills Robbie has also worked in personal growth and development field utilising NLP, hypnosis and other techniques to enable positive life enhancing change. Strictly Non Hippy.

Robbie's Hobbies
When he’s not at work Robbie has his hands full with his one dog, 2 cats, a goldfish and 6 children. When he does have a spare minute he likes to clear his head with a walk along the beautiful coastline near his home in Somerset. As a West-Country resident, he’s a cider drinker, and is a frequent visitor to the local cider farm. He is also planning on brewing his own beer – Robbie, just so you know, you have plenty of willing taste-testers here!

Robbie’s Favourite things -
Favourite music – Electric Blues
Favourite colour – Blue
Favourite food – Lamb Rogan Josh
Favourite movie – Blade Runner
Favourite book – 1984
Favourite flavour crisps – Salt & Vinegar
Favourite Smell – Bacon sandwich

Robbie's knowledge about the embedded hardware and technologies available from Sarsen is extensive, and he is always looking for new ways to build on this knowledge base. If you have any questions about a new project, or would like to know more about Robbie, please give us a call or drop us an email - we look forward to hearing from you!

Embedded Enviro-Tech - the way forward?

In recent years, scientists have been carefully examining the ways that people affect the environment.

Huge advances have been made in the technology we use for environmental monitoring, in particular the electronic devices used to monitor, control and conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement.

When it comes to harnessing renewable energy, increased operating efficiency is achieved when embedded computing platforms are tasked with monitoring and controlling assets such as wind turbines, solar panels and transmission grids.

Trenton Systems Inc supports Smart Grid applications with its range of embedded motherboards, SBCs and backplanes.

Mark Lovett of Trenton Systems has written a White Paper titled 'Embedded Computing Enables Smart Grid Technology'.
It's full of great info about how this technology area is helping shape the future of power generation and management.

Check it out here!

Have a great weekend, check back on Tuesday for our new Spotlight section. First up, Robbie Burns!!

Happy New Year from Sarsen Technology!

Happy New Year!

If you’ve been away over Christmas, welcome back. If not, did you miss us?

The Sarsen Team have enjoyed a few days off over the holiday period, but we’re back in the office now, and looking forward to all the exciting things we have coming up this quarter. We have visitors coming from across the pond, from United Electronic Industries and BittWare, and lots of new technology to tell you all about.

Look out for our new blog feature; ‘Under the Spotlight’, every Tuesday, when we shine a light on a Sarsen sector, be it one of our manufacturers, a specific technology, or even a member of staff!

Also new to the blog this quarter is our monthly market focus. January is ‘Green’ month, where we’ll be bringing you information on renewable energy, utilities management and environmental technology available from Sarsen.

As always, if there is anything you would like more information about please get in touch with one of the team on +44 1672 511166 or email us.

Happy New Year and best wishes for an exciting and prosperous 2013.