EE Journal Feature Article - The x86 Moat: Can Intel Defend the Data Center?

A Data Centre is a dedicated space for housing computer systems and associated components,

including telecoms and storage systems. Data centres stem from the days of the huge computer rooms of the early ages of the computing industry. This arrangement was largely unaffected by the steady reduction in size of the computer as the functionality requirements increased to such an extent that the systems still required the same amount of space. 

During the 1990s, the challenge was deploying enough processing power to meet the rapidly growing web audience. Considering Intel's market share for this industry today, x86-based servers didn't actually exist until the late 90s. But within a decade x86 processors were in the majority of servers being deployed in data centres.


Kevin Morris has written a really interesting article for EE Journal, looking at the role of FPGAs and their potential impact on the EDA industry.


May 31, 2016
The x86 Moat - Can Intel Defend the Data Center?
By Kevin Morris

Read the full article 

Excerpt:

Intel’s data center fortress is defended by the x86 moat.

The single factor that most locks Intel’s hardware into the sockets that sit on the blades that slip into the racks that line the rows of just about every data center on the planet is the x86 moat. Just about every piece of software in the universe was written and optimised for the x86 architecture. There are billions and billions of lines of code out there working every day that have been debugged and tested and proven to work reliably (well, as reliably as software gets, anyway) on Intel’s architecture.

Before any attacker can hope to displace the incumbent supplier, they have to convince the customer that changing processor architectures is really not that big a deal.

Well-designed fortresses are very good at protecting against the expected. For the fortress to be truly at risk - for Intel’s position in the data center to be realistically challenged in a meaningful way - we would need to see a sea change - an event that profoundly alters the nature of the game - a discontinuity.

FPGA-based acceleration is that discontinuity.

If the creation of heterogeneous processors with von Neumann machines sharing the workload with FPGA-based accelerators can improve energy efficiency in the data center by orders of magnitude, we have a compelling event worth an incredible amount of money - and trouble.

End of excerpt


FPGA Hardware
Sarsen Technology supplies and supports a wide range of hardware based on both Xilinx and Altera FPGAs, and can also supply a full range of software development tools and software drivers to get your FPGA system to market on-time and on-budget - www.sarsen.net
For more information please contact Sarsen Technology on +44 1672 511166, or send us an email: info@sarsen.net

3rd DAVIng Event - Learn, Discuss, Eat, Repeat!

Last week Nigel and Christos made the short hop across the continent to spend a couple of days with the DAVE Embedded Systems team in Porcia, Italy.

Following the success of last year's DAVing event the distribution network once again got together to meet and take part in a number of active training sessions as well as share their thoughts and ideas on how they can help DAVE Embedded Systems develop the business over the next 12 months. Sarsen Technology participated alongside Cynetis Embedded, Smart Embedded Systems DAVE Embedded Systems Germany and Digimax S.r.l.

As we know, all work and no play makes one very dull, so although the event was packed with training and interactive discussions there was still a little time for some sightseeing. Pordenone is a town about 15 minutes from the DAVE Embedded Systems offices, and the team enjoyed a tour of the town followed by a beautiful meal at La Ferrata.

Thanks to Eleonora and everyone at DAVE Embedded Systems for organising such an informative and motivating event! We're looking forward to working on some exciting new projects with you all this year.

X-ES Now Offering NXP QorIQ ARM Processor-Based Boards with Up to Eight ARM Cortex®-A53 64-bit Cores

Once again, our friends at Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES) are at the cutting edge when it comes to new technology releases.

The latest announcement from the X-ES team is the introduction of their first NXP QorIQ ARM-based boards: the XPedite6401 XMC/PrPMC mezzanine module and the forthcoming XPedite6370 3U VPX Single Board Computer (SBC).

Read full press release

Introducing the NXP QorIQ ARM Processor

The NXP QorIQ ARM processors, built on the revolutionary Layerscape architecture, provide next-generation processing performance and an array of I/O, including multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports, multiple PCI Express ports, USB, and SATA.

The LS10xx and LS20xx processor families on X-ES ARM-based single board computers and processor mezzanines are available in two, four, and eight-core configurations for scalable processing power and minimal power consumption, offering the most advantageous blend of performance.

XPedite6401
The XPedite6401 XMC/PrPMC is the first ARM-based processor module from X-ES. It features the latest NXP QorIQ 64-bit multicore ARM processor, targeting the LS1043A quad-core ARM A53 processor. The board has been designed with a focus on long life cycle support and future compatibility with the recently announced NXP LS1088A octal-core A53 and LS1046A quad-core A72 processors. The XPedite6401 will provide a scalable processing solution to meet a range of project needs and thermal requirements.



Coming Soon - XPedite6370
The XPedite6370 is a 3U VPX-REDI single board computer based on the NXP (formerly Freescale) QorIQ LS2088A processor. The LS2088A offers eight ARM® Cortex®-A72 CPUs, running at up to 2.0 GHz and integrates a 128-bit NEON™-based SIMD engine for each core. Wind River VxWorks, Linux, and Green Hills INTEGRITY Board Support Packages (BSPs) are available.

For more information please contact Sarsen Technology on 01672 511166, or send us an email - info@sarsen.net

WEAF Technology Showcase - April 2016

The West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF) is a membership trade association that supports the interests of the aerospace and defence industry in the South West of England. WEAF collaborates with partners like UKTI to provide critical support services such as export and marketing opportunities at major international trade exhibitions, like Farnborough and Paris. It also enjoys close links with the MOD.

The WEAF Technology Showcase events are a rare opportunity to get to know who the innovators are, what they are doing and to identify opportunities for your own organisation. If you are seeking the answers to one or more of these questions the Technology Showcase could be for you.

Tony represented Sarsen Technology at the lastest Technology Showcase, held at Renishaw Plc.  It was a great opportunity to learn about new technological developments in the sector, understand how other companies have maximised the benefit of their innovation, and allowed us to showcase selected product lines to developers and engineers who may not have been aware of them before.

Our display included the TRC2008 2U chassis from Trenton Systems, a selection of x86 boards from VersaLogic including the new Bengal 'Bay Trail' based module, and the Lumineq and BORA working model from DAVE Embedded Systems.

Check out the photos from the day below.

For more information on any of the products on display, or if you'd like to know more about WEAF please contact Tony Seal - tony.seal@sarsen.net or give us a call - 01672 511166.

BittWare Announces OpenPOWER CAPI DevKit for Xilinx FPGA-Enabled Accelerator Cards

FPGA platform supplier provides CAPI enabled FPGA accelerator cards for POWER8 processors.

April 2016

BittWare, an industry-leading board supplier for over 25 years, announced today an OpenPOWER CAPI Developer’s Kit for its Xilinx FPGA-enabled accelerator cards. Providing a fast, efficient way to connect the Xilinx All Programmable FPGA to a CAPI-enabled IBM POWER8 system, the developer’s kit includes the FPGA accelerator card, IBM Power Service Layer (PSL) IP to provide the connection to the POWER8 chip, CAPI host support library, and an example CAPI design.

The FPGA accelerator card included in the kit is BittWare’s XUSP3S, which is a ¾-length PCIe board featuring the Xilinx Virtex® UltraScale™ VU095, four QSFPs for 4x 100GbE, and flexible memory configurations with up to 64 GBytes of memory and support for Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC).

Most FPGA accelerators use PCIe to connect to the host processor unit. IBM has developed CAPI (Coherent Accelerator Processor Interface) as an alternative that takes some of the overhead and complexity out of the I/O subsystem by providing a direct interface between the host and the FPGA. Developers can run their specific FPGA solutions as a peer to the IBM POWER8 cores, enabling higher system performance with less programming complexity.

“BittWare is pleased to work with Xilinx and IBM to offer CAPI enabled FPGA acceleration platforms for POWER processors,” said Ron Huizen, VP of Systems and Solutions at BittWare. “Our XUSP3S board is a compelling option for data center applications, and with the addition of CAPI will now allow our customers to develop their applications even more quickly and efficiently.”

“CAPI on POWER8 systems provides a high-performance solution for implementing customer-specific, computation-heavy algorithms on an FPGA,” said Sumit Gupta, VP, High Performance Computing & Data Analytics at IBM. “The IBM solution enables higher system performance with a much smaller programming investment, allowing hybrid computing to be successful across a much broader range of applications. BittWare’s CAPI support brings this innovation to an even wider range of customers.”

“The demand for FPGA acceleration in data centers is increasing, and with that the need for innovative, high performance accelerator solutions,” said Curtis Pulley, data center business manager at Xilinx. “The CAPI-enabled Xilinx FPGA-based offerings from BittWare are a great addition to the OpenPOWER ecosystem and extend our efforts to deliver industry-leading solutions for IBM POWER systems.”

Availability
BittWare’s OpenPOWER CAPI Developer’s Kit will be available in early Q2 2016. Contact Sarsen Technology for details.



About OpenPOWER

BittWare is a member of the OpenPOWER Foundation, an open development community based on the POWER microprocessor architecture. The Foundation includes a growing roster of technology organizations working collaboratively to build advanced server, networking, storage, and acceleration technology as well as industry-leading open source software aimed at delivering more choice, control, and flexibility to developers of next-generation, hyperscale, and cloud data centers. The group makes POWER hardware and software available to open development for the first time, as well as making POWER intellectual property licensable to others, greatly expanding the ecosystem of innovators on the platform.

To learn more about OpenPOWER and to view the complete list of current members, go to www.openpowerfoundation.org.

About BittWare, Inc.

For over 25 years, BittWare has designed and deployed high-end network processing, signal processing, and high performance computing platforms that significantly reduce technology risk and time-to revenue for our OEM customers. Our products utilize the latest FPGA technologies on industry-standard COTS form factors, including PCIe, and are available either as boards or in systems. We also provide a great deal of value-add with IP, software, support, and services. When customer requirements make it difficult to use industry-standard boards, BittWare can provide modified solutions and/or licensed designs. For more information on BittWare and its innovative FPGA platform solutions, visit www.bittware.com/xilinx.

Learn more: Find your solution... Built on BittWare.

NMI FPGA Network: Safety, Certification & Security Event - 19th May 2016

Date:	May 19 @ 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Event:	FPGA Network: Safety, Certification & Security
Venue:	Room A166 and Room A161, Lindop Building, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane Campus - College Lane, Hatfield AL10 9AB

Programmable devices are one of the most important platforms for electronic system design. In the last few years FPGA devices have become increasingly sophisticated and capable, allowing them to sit at the heart of a wide range of product and system designs. This trend is set to continue into even greater volume markets as performance improves even more.

Because of their extensive market appeal the emphasis on safety, security and regulation through certification for FPGA based designs has become more important than ever. This event will explore technology issues implementing FPGA based systems where safety and security are prime considerations and when standards based certification must be met.

NMI’s network meetups assemble a melting pot of engineers from different sectors to share experience and latest experience. The aim is to educate and enthral and to return to the work place with ideas, solutions and knowledge. The content of the meeting will be geared for a technical audience with ample time for discussion and networking.

Confirmed speakers include:

Would you like to speak? There a few open slots and NMI invites you to propose a topic.
It’s a great way to connect with the industry and to show case the cool stuff your company does.

For more information please contact Pete Davy – 07979 706 357.


About NMI

www.nmi.org

NMI is the Champion for the UK Electronic Systems & Technology Industry. Their mission is to help make the UK a leading location for electronic systems and technology businesses.They aim to support their members’ short-term priorities and the industry’s long-term needs. NMI's work covers innovation, operational excellence, investment, the skills agenda, advocacy and representation.

DO-178C Compliant Drivers for Rugged XMC and VPX Graphics Cards

DO-178B, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification was developed by the commercial avionics industry to create software guidelines for avionics software developers. Although ‘officially’ just that, a guideline, it quickly became a formal standard for developing avionics software systems.

Since its establishment there have been a number of iterations of the guideline. The first version of the document, DO-178, covered the basic avionics software lifecycle. Version two - DO-178A - added avionics software criticality level details and put emphasis on software component testing to measure and maintain quality. DO-178B expanded the avionics software quality requirements with continuous quality monitoring and testing in real-world conditions. At a relatively short 100 pages, DO-178B became the 'go-to' standard for a wide range of developers, making it quite broad in nature and requiring in-depth understanding of intent.

But it wasn't just necessary for flight products. DO-178B had a number of additional benefits, including higher reliability and consistency, greater re-usability, verifiable software quality, much lower lifecycle and maintenance costs, faster hardware integration and greater portability.

DO-178B was created to match the stringent development practices and technologies of its day, but it makes very little allowance for the latest development technologies, including formal methods, Model-Based Development (MBD), and the use of object-oriented technologies.

The DO-178C standard recognises this and was specifically written to help bring the certification of avionics software in line with these 21st-century technologies. DO-178C retains the core information from DO-178B, and updates it where necessary to consider the need for developers to begin testing, or verifying, early in the process. The single most significant aspect of DO-178C is the addition of three technology-specific legs under the “core document” inherited from DO-178B.

Tech Source provides rugged XMC and VPX graphics cards that are available with DO-178C compliant drivers for use in safety critial environments.

The Condor 4000 XMC Series products are leading edge XMC form factor, rugged graphics/video cards for use in applications that require very high-end rugged graphics and computational power.

Based on AMD’s Embedded Radeon™ E8860 discrete GPU, the Condor 4000 XMC Series products offer the highest level graphical and GPGPU performance available for the embedded and rugged market. Its built-in video decoder enables dual HD decoding of H.264, VC-1. MPEG4 and MPEG2 compressed video stream.

Based on AMD’s Radeon™ E8860 GPU, the Condor 4000 3U VPX Series offers ultra high graphics and GPGPU performance for defense (military), avionics and other rugged markets. The 3U VPX form factor allows for operation at full power (45W) because the 3U VPX form factor allows for improved cooling.  This board comes complete with VPX-REDI covers. 

 For more information please contact Sarsen Technology on +44 1672 511166 or send us an email.