United Electronics Industries - Power DNA Video

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The PowerDNA® (Distributed Networked Automation) Cube and RACKtangle I/O chassis are compact, rugged, Ethernet-based data acquisition (DAQ) interfaces, ideally suited for a wide variety of industrial, aerospace and laboratory data acquisition and control applications. Each Cube/RACKtangle chassis includes a CPU, real-time OS, Ethernet interface and slots allowing the installation of I/O boards. Cubes are available that hold 3 or 6 I/O boards while the RACKtangle allows the installation of up to 12 I/O boards. Configure your PowerDNA Cube or RACKtangle by selecting the I/O boards needed to match your application. The I/O boards for the Cube and RACKtangle are functionally identical, though mechanically slightly different. I/O boards compatible with the Cube are designated with a DNA prefix (e.g. DNA-AI-207), while RACKtangle compatible I/O boards use a DNR prefix (e.g. DNR-AI-207) With over 25 different I/O boards available we’re sure to have just what you need. We’ll even install the boards you’ve ordered and configure your chassis before we ship your order.

The Cube is the ideal solution when the application calls for maximum ruggedness in the smallest possible package. The RACKtangle chassis is designed to allow the system to be quickly and easily reconfigured or repaired. Whether you choose the Cube or RACKtangle solutions, you'll be assured of a high performance, rugged and high density, Ethernet I/O platform.

The PowerDNA Cube and RACKtangle I/O chassis are supported by all popular Windows, Linux and Real-time operating systems. Our 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. Please refer to the Cube comparision table below to help select the Cube best suited for your application.

PCIe 3.0 Spec to Be Published in November - CPUs, Boards & Components by ExtremeTech

PCI Express Architecture Difference

System builders may spend more time thinking about PCI Express (PCIe) than any other brand of consumer, but even they probably give it passing thought only when it comes to video cards. But at the Intel Developer Forum here, the PCI Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG) is reminding people that, like so much else with computers, it's a constantly evolving technology, and one that will find its next permanent form by the end of the year.

The current focus of the group, which was founded in 1992 to develop and manage the PCI standard, is PCIe 3.0. This latest incarnation of the specification builds on PCIe 2.0 (released in 2007), by offering improved data rates (8 gigatransfers per second as opposed to 5) and encoding (128- and 130-bit versus 8- and 10-bit when operating at 8 GTps), the latter of which the PCI-SIG allows 98.5 percent efficiency. PCIe 3.0 will also be backwards compatible with both PCIe 1 and PCIe 2 specs.
Architecture Raw Bit Rate Interconnect Bandwidth Bandwidth per Lane per Direction Total Bandwidth for x16 Link

Source -  PCIe 3.0 Spec to Be Published in November ExtremeTech

Also among the new features in the PCIe 3.0 architecture is Dynamic Feedback Equalization (DFE). This is a technique in electrical signaling that adapts to the time-vairant properties of the transmission medium to obtain an optimum Signal-to-Noise ration at the sample point of the receiver. Representatives of the PCI-SIG say that DFE will improve the PCIe bus signal integrity.

The development of PCIe 3.0 is expected to facilitate the development of faster Ethernet technology, InfiniBand, PCIe switches, and high-capacity storage (especially solid-state drives).

According to PCI-SIG President and Chairman Al Yanes, the PCIe 3.0 specification is expected to be published in November, following a 60-day IP review on the heels of the release of the most recent version, PCIe 3.0 Rev 0.9, on August 16. (It may be read on the PCI-SIG Web site.)

Further information from Trenton Technology: http://blog.trentontechnology.com

With silicon for PCI Express® 3.0 on the horizon from chip vendors such as Intel®, PLX Technology®, IDT® and others, it might be a good idea to review the interface differences of PCI Express 3.0, PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 1.1. Understanding these interface differences will enable successful integration of the latest PCI Express interface technology into embedded computing applications.

Does it matter that the single board computer / system host board and option card interface is PCI Express version 1.1, 2.0 or even the upcoming PCIe 3.0? Not really, because the basic SBC to option card interconnect functionality is not affected by PCIe version. The reason for this is that the PCI-SIG (Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group) did a smart thing when PCI Express 1.1 was first developed. The PCI-SIG built the basic PCIe interconnects in such a manner as to ensure both scalability and backwards compatibility between differing PCIe interfaces. This critical specification feature enables the computer's SBC / SHB, embedded motherboard or backplane hardware to operate with just about any PCI Express option card regardless of interface version. The potential for increased data throughput and performance within an embedded computing system is the primary application difference between the PCI Express 3.0, 2.0 and 1.1 interfaces.

A PCI Express 2.0 COTS board installed in an industrial computer will send its data over to the system host board (SHB) twice as fast as older PCI Express 1.1 boards. Of course, this assumes that the systems’ SHB has PCIe 2.0 interfaces. The same scenario plays out in an embedded motherboard. If the motherboard is equipped with PCIe 2.0 card slots then any PCIe 2.0 card placed into one of these slots will send it’s data to the board’s CPUs twice as fast as in a PCIe 1.1 system. This speed advantage is cumulative and can be critical in high-performance computing applications.

PCIe 3.0 features a number of interface architecture improvements, but communicates at the same interface speeds used in PCIe 2.0. PCIe 3.0 achieves twice the communication speeds of PCIe 2.0 through various architecture and protocol management improvements. PCIe 3.0 silicon will start becoming readily available in 2011. Single board computers such as the Trenton JXT6966 and JXTS6966 support a wide variety of PCI Express option card interfaces. Trenton embedded motherboards like the Trenton NTM6900 and Trenton WTM7026 feature multiple PCI Express option card slots and Trenton BPC7041 and BPC7009 backplanes are examples of PICMG 1.3 backplanes with built-in PCI Express 2.0 embedded computing hardware support.