DTI Custom Publication, 2011

DIVERSIFIED TECHNOLOGY
Providing a Cohesive Approach to Embedded Computing and Power Solutions

Diversified Technology, Inc.
476 Highland Colony Parkway
Ridgeland, MS 39157
(800) 443-2667
Inside This Issue
marketing@dtims.com
www.dtims.com Virtualization 101 ....................................................04
VMWare for AdvancedTCA
Ken Martin
President High Availability ......................................................09
Steve Craven
ES3 Software and DTI’s AdvancedTCA Switch
Vice President, Program Management

Donald Germany
Inverter Stacking......................................................15
Vice President, Systems Engineering Stacking Options for the Gale Series of Grid-Tie Inverters

Gary Smith
Vice President, Operations On-Board Vehicle Power Systems ........................18
30kW 120/208VAC Three Phase
Keith Varner 50Hz, 60Hz, or 400Hz Selectable
Vice President, Engineering

About Diversified Technology, Inc. Vehicle Ready ..........................................................20
Diversified Technology, Inc. (DTI), an Ergon Certification Tests and Standards for DTI’s VPS-10K
Company, was founded in 1971 and has a
history of design experience with PICMG
standards. DTI has been prolific in
introducing technology and standard off-the-
CompactPCI Serial ..................................................24
shelf products based on PCI/ISA, COM Ex- A Next Generation Architecture Brings Modern I/O to CompactPCI
press, CompactPCI, AdvancedTCA and other
standardized form factors. In addition to
COTS solutions, DTI is also a leader in the
custom development of advanced computing
boards and embedded systems for unique,
Message from the President ..................................03
application-specific designs. DTI single board
and system products are pointed toward Product Roadmap ....................................................22
mission critical applications such as telecom-
munications, factory automation, networking,
ruggedized military, high-end gaming and
Employee Spotlight ................................................22
medical control operations.
A Commitment to Quality........................................27
As a pioneer in passive backplane, PC
compatible single board computers and
blades, Diversified Technology is a leader in
providing building blocks based upon the
latest industry processors and interconnect- No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted,
ing fabrics. In addition to these computing in any form or by any means, electronics, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise,
products, DTI has also evolved into commer- without the prior permission of Diversified Technology, Inc.
cializing technology through research and This publication is available free of charge to qualified subscribers, by emailing marketing@dtims.com
development in power conversion such as To be removed from our mailing list, send a removal request via email to marketing@dtims.com
Tactical Power applications and grid-tied
Other product and/or company names mentioned in this publication may be trademarks or
inverters for Small Wind Turbines. registered trademarks of their respective companies and are the sole property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2011 Diversified Technology, Inc. - All Rights Reserved

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Message from the President
Ken Martin, President of Diversified Technology, Inc.

As we at Diversified Technology complete our fortieth year in operation, I think back on many of the customers
and programs we have been fortunate enough to serve with our products and service offerings. Our work has
ranged from PCI and ISA based single board computers used as industrial controls at a canning plant to working
directly with the dedicated men and women of our armed forces in providing them with rugged computing and
mobile power systems. All of our customer relationships have molded us throughout these forty years — not only
in what we design and manufacture as a product, but also in how we conduct our daily business with these
customers and keep their success as our main focus.

This publication is part of how we conduct that daily business. It is distributed to our growing list of existing and
potential customers in order to help educate you on a number of items we have learned through our years of
development work. We don't want to just sell you a product with the assumption you can resolve, if needed, any
possible operating intricacies on your own. DTI has a goal of 100% customer satisfaction which requires a
substantial effort on our part to provide full support with the products we sell. We hope these articles from our
team members provide some of that valued support.

Ken Martin

Page 3

Virtualization 101
VMWare for AdvancedTCA
Virtualization is firmly entrenched in the modern day computer Virtualization and Reliability
landscape. Due to its popularity, “virtually” every OS and A hidden benefit of virtualization is that it can allow for the
software vendor is offering virtualization solutions or products creation of a more reliable computing infrastructure. Before
that are compatible or complement the virtualization platform virtualization, physical servers were usually purchased with
architectures. extra capacity. Because of this available capacity and with the
constant pressure to reduce costs, multiple functions would be
Within the virtualization space, Intel and AMD have carved out combined on the same hardware and OS installation. This can
their places and offer technologies that enable performance gains create unpredictable operation and unforeseen interactions. We
for virtual environments. Although there are solutions for have all had computers that work properly at first, but over time
various hardware architectures, such as SPARC or PowerPC, the as more programs are installed, they become slower and begin
focus here will be on offerings for the x86 architecture to have unexplained problems. This is partially due to the fact
processors primarily from Intel and AMD. Newer processor that it’s impossible to verify and validate the endless
families include hardware accelerations to allow for higher combinations of different software interactions.
performance when running virtualization. For AMD processors,
look for AMD Virtualization Technology (AMD-V) support. With virtualization, since physical hardware can be shared, you
For Intel processors, look for Intel Virtualization Technology for can install software in its own OS and maintain the fresh
x86 (VT-x) and Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O out-of-the-box functionality. Instead of having one big OS
(VT-d). For Intel networking products, look for Intel running multiple applications, you can have multiple single
Virtualization Technology for Connectivity (VT-c) support. purpose OS’s running minimal applications. There will be some
The virtualization offerings mentioned here are primarily for overhead in having duplicate OS installs, but the benefit is
Server and Enterprise class installations. These are more suited reliable and predictable functionality.
to the server nature and usage model of ATCA platforms and
systems. Many vendors have free and trial versions of their Hypervisor
software to allow you to test drive their products. Most notable Virtualization software begins at the lowest level with the
are VMware’s ESX, ESXi, and vSphere offerings. Another hypervisor also called the virtual machine monitor (VMM). This
popular choice is Microsoft’s Hyper-V included with Windows software can run directly on the hardware in a native or “bare
Server 2008. metal” installation, or can run as an application within a host
OS. Industry trends seem to be favoring the “bare metal” type
of hypervisor installation. The advantages here are small and
fast code that has full and direct control of the hardware. This
software abstracts the underlying hardware and usually provides
for network accessible control and configuration. The hypervi-
sor can allocate the system’s CPU, memory, I/O, and storage to
run guest operating systems. Connecting multiple machines
running hypervisors, allows them to be centrally controlled and
administrated with Virtual Machine Manager.

Virtual Machines
In virtualization, a virtual machine is a set of files that contains
a hard drive image and information about the hardware required
to run the OS. Within the VM definitions about the number of
CPU’s, memory size, and storage capacity are specified. VM’s
Figure 1: VMWare Infrastructure usually are also given connection to 1 or more physical network

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connections. A VM can also be given direct access to physical Virtual Machine Manager product that provides a graphical rep-
hardware such as Optical Drives or USB ports. A VM can resentation of the virtualization environment.
access a hard drive directly if needed for performance reasons.
A huge advantage is that resource amounts can be increased or A Virtual Machine Manager such as VMware’s vCenterServer,
decreased as needs change. Similar to adding components to a is a service that runs on a dedicated machine or as a virtual
physical computer, resources can be modified for the virtual ma- machine on one of the hosts. It will also require a database
chine. Some can even be added on the fly without bringing the server that is usually on another machine or VM but can reside
OS down. on the same server as the VM Manager. The database is needed
to store information about all the VM Hosts in the system as
Guest OS Virtualization Tools well as performance and monitoring information. The database
Don’t forget the tools. After you install an operating system into serves as a cache that allows for faster Host and VM control by
a virtual machine, it will run but the performance may be the VM Manager. The VM Manger only has to send informa-
sluggish. Look for Guest OS tools from your Virtualization tion requests to the Hosts periodically and not for every
vendor. This is usually a driver package or setup program that command or inquiry.
you run from inside the guest OS. It will install virtualization
aware drivers and configuration utilities to improve the The VM Manager allows display and configuration of the CPU,
performance of your mouse, keyboard, and video. They will memory, storage, networking, and every other parameter needed
also include utility functions such as time synchronization and to fine tune the virtual machines. The VM Manager includes
graceful shutdown. maps of the connectivity, performance graphs, and error
logging. Alarms can be set to send email notification when
Cloning and Templates specified limits are tripped, such as disk full, high CPU
Two other benefits of virtualization not easily possible with utilization, or host failure. The VM Manager can centrally
physical servers, is the ability to clone or make templates of OS locate licensing control and provide set VM access rights to
installations. Cloning allows you to make a copy of a VM. If a allow for departmental administration. Some vendors are also
server is needed for testing purposes or with similar functional- including open API support so third party vendor can include
ity to a running server you can clone an existing server to additional modules such as backup utilities or extended
create an identical copy. This can also be used for backup graphing or monitoring.
purposes or to save a copy before a software update is
performed. A cloned VM can also be sent via network or Resource and Performance Monitoring
removable media to another location. Resource and performance Monitoring becomes possible once
Templates are similar to clones, except they usually using have your virtualization environment is created. The VM Manage-
missing information that must be supplied when they are ment Server will allow for resource information collection and
deployed. For example you can template a fully installed OS, monitoring. Each host can be registered with the management
but remove configuration information like network addresses, server allowing it to see how memory, CPU, and storage are
registration keys, or GUID’s. When needed, a new VM can be allocated. The Management Server can also collect perform-
deployed from template. Just supply the needed configuration, ance data at the host and virtual machine levels. This informa-
and have a new system up and running in the fraction of the time tion can then be used to move resources to provide optimal
that it would take to perform full software installation. configurations. For example, you create a VM based on the
user’s initial requirements, and give it 4 CPU’s and 4GB of
Management and Control memory. The VM is placed into service, and you notice that it’s
Management and control of the virtualization environment is really only using about 600MB of memory and the processors
where all the magic happens. Most vendors support a command are only about 25% utilized. Using this information, you can
line management interface. This can be used to directly control change the VM’s memory from 4GB to 1GB, and scale back
a host or to allow for scripting to perform the same action on from 4 CPUs to 2 CPUs. This will give the VM plenty of
multiple hosts. Scripting can also be used to simplify a repeat- resources to operate properly, and frees the resources to be used
able task, such as deploy another Linux VM for repeat for other VM’s. This isn’t possible with physical servers as they
customers. However, command line control can be very are usually preconfigured, and if you guess wrong when
cryptic and tedious. Thus most vendors have a centralized purchasing the server, it’s not possible to reclaim the unused

Page 5

resources. This allows for more efficient use of your hardware, Dynamic Resource Management
and lowers your operating expense because you can run your By combining Migration with a VM Manger, dynamic resource
application on fewer computers. management becomes possible. In VMware this is handled by
their Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) feature. DRS runs
Networking on their VM Manager vCenterServer and provides programma-
Networking is an integral part of modern data computing thus is ble VM migration. It can be invoked when starting a VM to
also important in virtualization. Networking configuration is determine which host to start on for even distribution. It can
needed to connect the virtual machine to the physical network. also be used for load balancing to move a VM from a host with
Additional network configuration may be required for manage- high utilization to one with more available CPU cycles, thus
ment service console connection, or networked storage such as keeping VM’s balanced and performing optimally. DRS can
NFS or iSCSI. A network connection is also required for virtual dynamically determine if a VM is “Live Migration” capable,
machine migration. Virtualized network connections can be and if not, power the VM down, migrate, then power the VM
made aware of certain network protocols such as VLAN tagging up on the new resource. It can also be programmed to only
to provide network segmentation. Physical NIC’s in a host can provide notification of the desired actions, so that they can me
support other protocols for NIC teaming (802.3AD), VLAN migrated by the network personnel.
trunking (802.1Q), and information acquisition such as the Cisco
Data Protocol (CDP). Multiple physical NIC’s can be combined High Availability
to support high-availability features such as NIC failover in the High Availability can be enabled in combination with Dynamic
event of a network failure or load balancing for increased Resource Management. High Availability is achieved when a
network throughput. system is constructed with multiple blades yielding unused
capacity. In the event of a host failure, the high availability
Storage service will restart the VM on a new host. Special care should
Shared storage is critical enabling many of the key virtualization be used when constructing virtualization system supporting high
features. Since multiple VM’s can share a centralize storage, availability. Additional Hosts with available resources will be
it’s important to have a fast and reliable storage solution. Shared required to run all the VM’s stranded from a host failure. The
storage options include Fibre Channel SAN, iSCSI, NAS, and VM Manager will contain resource utilization tools to determine
NFS. An important feature enabled with virtualization is the the necessary additional CPU and memory needed for a single
concept of thin provisioning. If an OS is thick provisioned, a host failure. It’s important to monitor this fail-over metric over
40GB OS install consumes 40GB of space on the storage time, for supporting more VM’s may require additional
device. But with thin provisioning and since the entire OS is capacity to protect against a host failure.
contained within a file image, the file size is only as large as the
Fault Tolerance
number of real files, and then grows dynamically as files with
Fault Tolerance (FT) is one of the newer and more complicated
the VM are increased or created. This means that many more
virtualization features. FT involves running mirror copies of a
VM’s can share a storage media and allow the free space of each
VM on multiple hosts. The VM copies run in locked step with
VM to be used communally. As VM storage requirement grow,
each other. As the active VM executes, memory and CPU
more storage space can be purchased and added to the available
contents are updated on the mirror copy via a network
storage pool.
connection. A heartbeat signal is used to provide an alert in the
event of a host failure. When a failure occurs, the mirror copy
Migration
VM is activated and resumes program execution, and a new VM
Migration in virtualization refers to moving a virtual machine
mirror copy is created on another functioning host.
from one resource to another. Migration can be used to change
the physical host that a VM is running on, the storage that a VM Physical to Virtual Server Migration
is using, or both. Migration is simply a copy operation if the Physical to Virtual (P2V) Migration is a nice additional feature
VM isn’t running. However, most vendors now support “Live to virtualization and is usually provided as a software service
Migration” which is moving the VM while it is still running and tool or utility to complement the system. P2V Migration is the
is possible once hardware compatibility conditions are met. The act of converting the storage data from a physical running
copy is performed on the fly and the Virtual Machine only computer into a VM file image. This conversion allows
experiences a brief pause when the switch over is complete. converting physical machines into virtual machine. This is

Page 6


accomplished with software running on both the VM Manager connections, providing fault tolerant connectivity for
and the computer that is being converted. The utilities scan the virtualization. The chassis switches connect the Hosts to a
machine to be converted and replace drivers and configurations storage blade usually via iSCSI over 10G Ethernet. This shared
for the physical hardware with their virtual equivalents. When storage allows a VM running on one Host to be moved to
the conversion is complete, a VM image is created that can be another host to balance performance or in the event of a host
ran as a VM on a host. failure. The chassis switch also provides external connectivity
using the Base or Extended fabric. The switch also allows for
Patch Management VLAN’s to partition the traffic for security.
Patch Management is an additional feature that can be handled
by a Virtual Machine Manager. Managing and applying patches Virtualization is here to stay, and ATCA provides a spec driven
to operating system is a common part of IT personnel’s job infrastructure to allow the creation of virtualization solutions.
function. This can grow as more VM’s are brought into service, ATCA and virtualization allow for endless possible solution
and determining which patches have been made to which VM’s combinations. Diversified Technology has a wide range of
can become a big task. VM Managers are starting to support board and chassis solutions, as well as industry partners to
Patch Management systems to solve this. The VM Manager in provide a total virtualization solution.
combination with the OS can be programmed to apply patches
to the specified system, during off hour operation, and even AdvancedTCA Virtualization Network Connectivity
reboot the VM’s if required. This can greatly simplify keeping Dual-Star PICMG 3.0 Option 9
the system up to date with the latest security releases.

Backup
As expected good backup programs and procedures are required
with virtualized machines as they are with physical machines.
However virtualization makes a new form of backup possible.
Since an entire OS is contained within an image files, this file
can be backed up directly thus getting its entire contents.
Alternatively, traditional backup programs can also be made
from within the running OS, getting backups at a file level.
Some vendors even include what’s called snap shot support.
This is a method of saving a copy of a VM image, then record-
ing a running list of changes. This can be used for rolling back
a previous snap shot image in the event of a problem like a failed
software update. It can also be used for experimenting with
software changes and have the ability to easily roll back to a
working version.

Virtualization and AdvancedTCA
The Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA)
provides infrastructure is well suited for virtualization installa-
tions. 2, 5, and 6 slot chassis allow for a minimal compact
virtualization solutions. These can even be mounted in ruggedi- Article Written by:
zed cases for shipment and mobile deployments. On the larger
side, 14 slot chassis allow for more processing boards or for
redundant and fault tolerant options.

In a typical Dual-Star PICMG® 3.0 Option 9 configuration,
each Host Blade provides dual 10G and dual 1G Ethernet Patrick Welzien
connectivity in the backplane. These can serve as redundant Senior Software Engineering Manager

Page 7

The MRS-6 System is a tactical communications and computa- - Homeland Security
tional platform for rugged deployments that implements a single - Navtronics and Avionics
high availability system architecture across all hardware and
- Ruggedized Computing
software layers.
- Command and Control System
This enables typical equipment manufacturers to efficiently - R&D Projects/Development
execute a wide variety of applications that require high speed - Military/Battlefield Communications
communication and computationally dense systems, such as - Mobile Command Center Applications
advanced methods of dispersion analysis, high-end vision inter-
- Radar Data Monitoring
pretation/ identification, aural detection and identification, RF
spectrum analysis, locational detection, cryptanalysis, virtual - SATCOM
threat identification and dispersion, and probability analysis. The - Emergency First Responders
MRS-6 can also be used in WiMAX, IMS Applications,
Virtualization, IPTV, Radio
Network Controlling, Data- MRS-6 System
center/ Network Operations,
• Targa-6 Rackmount Chassis
Security & Traffic Handling,
Computational Clustering, • (3) ATC6239 AdvancedTCA
Transcoding and encoding Compliant, Dual Hex-Core
processes in rugged environ- Processor Blades
ments.
• (2) ATS1936 AdvancedTCA
Compliant 10G Ethernet
The MRS-6 represents cost
Switch Blades
savings, and reduced total
cost of ownership can be • (1) AdvancedTCA Compliant
realized on multiple levels Storage Blade
ranging from more efficient
• 6U Roto Rolling Shock Rack
design, harmonized logistics,
Case - 20" Deep
and less training to cost savings
due to volume deployment and • ATA 300 Category 1 Airline
respective lower unit pricing effects transport container
for high end computer systems.
• Water resistant


High Availability
ES3 Software and DTI’s AdvancedTCA Switch

Rapid Spanning Tree (RSTP)
R
AdvancedTCA The most common design at the access layer connected to hosts
is to use layer 2 switching only on the chassis switch with
uplinks to another device most likely a Layer 3 switch that
Today’s network connectivity standards demand devices be able provides the IP gateway to the hosts. The AdvancedTCA
to react to hardware failures quickly and with little loss of data. chassis provides 2 slots for switches with connections from both
Diversified Technology’s ES3 software has a robust protocol switches to all host slots. The 2 switch blades should also be
suite that provides for high availability to the hosts within the connected together to provide for a redundant layer 2 path for the
AdvancedTCA chassis while offering flexible design choices to hosts to reach their IP gateway in case of an uplink failure. In
the network administrator. this case, the Rapid Spanning Tree protocol must be used to
prevent broadcast storms due to loops in the network topology.
The protocols that will be discussed in this article can broken The following diagram illustrates a basic design utilizing RSTP
down into 2 categories which are Layer2 (Switching) or Layer to provide a loop free topology with redundant paths between
3 (Routing). The Layer 2 protocols covered will be 802.1W the ATS1936 and uplink switches (SW-A and SW-B).
Rapid Spanning Tree (RSTP), 802.3ad Port-Channels (LAG),
and the ES3 proprietary Layer 2 Failover (L2FO). The layer 3 In Figure 1, SW-A will be configured with the lowest RSTP
protocols are Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), priority and thus become root with SW-B the second lowest
OSPF and RIP. priority and will become root should SW-A fail. Given default
path costs for interfaces, port 0/1 on 1936-B will be in the
“discarding” state as it sees the highest path cost to
root. An interface in discarding state will only pass
spanning-tree BPDU packets and drop all other
traffic. The role for port 0/1 is “alternate” which
indicates that this port will provide an alternate path
to root should interface failure occur on the current
root path. This enables RSTP to react to link failures
very quickly providing a redundant path to the
upstream switch usually within 1-3 seconds after an
uplink failure.

During normal operations, the path from the Slot 9
host to the gateway switch SW-A would be through
port 0/18. If 0/18 where to fail, RSTP would change
the 1936-B port 0/1 state from discarding to
forwarding and MAC address tables would be
cleared and re-populated with new path information.
Packets destined for gateway SW-A would then be
forwarded through the new path to 1936-B and then
on to SW-B and SW-A.

Figure 1: RSTP Operation

Page 9

802.3AD Port-Channels (LAG)
Port-Channels or Link Aggregation Groups
(LAG) effectively bundle many links into one
virtual link. Traffic across the LAG is load
balanced across the individual links depend-
ing on the selected algorithm. The algorithms
available are variations of source and destina-
tion MAC or IP address. One of the most im-
portant features of a LAG is the appearance to
the spanning-tree protocol as one link. This
means that the failure or addition of any links
to the LAG will not affect spanning-tree and
cause a re-convergence of the protocol tem-
porarily interrupting traffic flow. Figure 2
illustrates a common design utilizing not only
LAGs but RSTP as well to provide for multi-
ple forms of redundancy.

The protocol used to facilitate a LAG is
802.3AD Link Aggregation Control Protocol
(LACP). The primary function of LACP is
the negotiation of LAG groups with the con-
necting device. LACP ensures that interfaces
Figure 2: Port-Channel Example
between devices are configured identically
and are capable of supporting LACP. It then
dynamically groups similarly configured ports based on hard- Layer 2 Failover (L2FO)
ware, administrative and port parameter constraints. The Diversified Technology has developed a new feature that takes
grouped links show up in the switch configuration and show advantage of the IPMP or NIC Bonding behaviors on server
commands as a single virtual interface or “port-channel”. LACP NICs to provide fast failover times while monitoring the
continues to exchange protocol keep-alive packets with the upstream path to the next hop switch. This is accomplished by
remote device to ensure that all interfaces are still capable of the use of line protocol monitoring (referred to as a “track” on
participating in the LAG. Another advantage to using LAGs is the DTI switch) of a specified interface and tying this monitor to
the increased bandwidth between devices. With the optimal load the link state of the switch host port or ports. If the line proto-
balancing algorithm selected, the effective bandwidth of the col of the tracked link goes down, the track status will also
LAG is a product of the number of interfaces and the interface change to down. Any host interface that is tied to this track (CLI
bandwidth. configurable) will also have its’ line protocol status forced down.
The host IPMP(IP Multipathing) NIC monitor on this link will
In Figure 2, the RSTP state of the port-channel interface (3/2) on force the failover to the secondary NIC connected to a separate
1936-B is discarding due to the loop in the topology. This is the switch creating a new path to the primary host IP address.
same expected behavior as seen the RSTP example only with a
port-channel interface. Unlike the previous example though, the The use of L2FO can eliminate the need for the connection
failure of any single interface in one of the port-channel groups between the chassis switches. This in turn will not cause RSTP
will not cause interruption to data traffic due to spanning-tree to block ports and eliminate loss of data traffic during link
convergence. The use of port-channels also enables the trans- failures due to protocol re-convergence. Not only does this
parent addition of interfaces if future bandwidth needs increase. provide quick failover if the uplink is lost but also protects
against a loss of the entire switch.

Page 10


The time-to-failover (TTF) of this feature is less the 500 The tracking of a route prefix allows routing protocols to also
milliseconds from tracked interface link state failure to forced have an influence on host NIC selection. The neighbor keep-
shutdown of the configured host ports. This does not take into alive mechanisms inherent in routing protocols are more sensi-
account the host protocol (IPMP or NIC bonding) operations tive to interface problems such as unidirectional link and high
during failover. These operations include detection of down NIC packet loss that are not detected by simple line-protocol state
link state and the sending of a gratuitous ARP from the standby monitoring. Port-channel or LAG tracking can use either link
NIC to re-propagate the MAC and ARP tables of the upstream state of the LAG interface or monitor the number of links
devices with the new interface information. currently active in the LAG. The “minimum links” feature sets
the required number of interfaces that need to be active in the
Two other features of L2FO are the ability to track route pre- LAG for the track to be considered in an up state.
fixes in the route table and also track the state of port-channels.

Figure 3: Layer 2 Failover Example

Routing – OSPF, RIP, & VRRP The primary advantage of this design is the simplification of the
ES3 software contains fully standards compliant versions of spanning-tree configuration which now only spans a few devices
OSPF, OSPFv3, RIP, and VRRP. In the past, access devices instead of many network layers and has no blocked ports. The
where most commonly layer 2 devices only but with host IP gateways will be configured on the chassis switches
advancements in routing performance in recent years it is not instead of the uplink devices as shown in previous examples. To
uncommon to see routing to the host access layer. provide IP gateway redundancy for the hosts on the ATCA
chassis, the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) is used
Figure 4 is an example of a possible configuration using ES3’s to guard against interface and switch failure. Also, IPMP or NIC
layer 3 protocols in a high availability configuration. bonding is used on the hosts to provide automatic failover to the
secondary NIC should the primary switch fail.

Page 11

Figure 4: Routing Example

ATS1936 Switch
With DTI’s third generation of Ethernet-
based ATCA switch, ATS1936, the focus
is on offering flexibility through 10G
capabilities and multiple AMC sites. The
market has come to rely on DTI as the
Leader in AdvancedTCA switching,
requiring a continuous drive to provide
the performance increases required in
today’s bandwidth-intensive applications;
such as LTE/4G and other Next-Gen
wireless and wireline infrastructure
requirements, 3G Infrastructure, WiMAX,
IMS Applications, Virtualization, IPTV,
Radio Network Controlling, Data-center/
Network Operations, Security and Traffic
Handling, Computational Clustering,
Transcoding and encoding processes.

Targa-6 Modular Platform www.dtims.com/atca


OSPF will be configured to form adjacencies on both uplink ports
(0/18) and between 1936-A and 1936-B. A separate VLAN can be ES3 Software Support
configured between the two chassis switches that will only carry
OSPF and routed traffic but contain no host ports. All other VLAN Diversified Technology, Inc. announces the release of
interfaces will be configured as passive in OSPF with network ES3 (Enhanced Switch Software Suite) for
statements added for each host subnet. All VLANs will be carried AdvancedTCA and CompactPCI Switch Blades.
across the LAG trunk interfaces to enable routed traffic to reach the
ATCA chassis from either uplink and then be forwarded to host ports
on either switch. It is important to configure a LAG between the Features Included with ES3
chassis switches to prevent an individual link failure from isolating
hosts between switches. VRRP Object Tracking
VRRP object tracking is an extension of VRRP that allows
Some of the more common OSPF functions that are supported by customers to define more robust failover conditions for VRRP
ES3 include but are not limited to: including link failures and route reachability
• Stub, NSSA, and Totally Stubby areas
• Redistribution of connected, static and RIP routes L2 Failover with LAG Support
• Virtual links L2 failover is similar to VRRP object tracking but instead of
• Filtering of redistributed routes working at the protocol level works at the interface level.
• Adjustable reference bandwidth Customers can achieve sub 50ms failover times in the cases of
• Area summarization (Area Range) link failures, route failures, and switch failures
• Default Information Originate
• Neighbor Authentication Significantly Updated Multicast Module
• Manual costing per interface The multicast module has been revamped to support an updated
• Passive Interface set of multicast RFCs and includes significant new features
such as MLD support, simultaneous IGMP snooping and
RIP can be substituted for OSPF in the Figure 4 example but has multicast routing, a IGMP querier, and SSM support
limited provisions for route metrics in larger networks. Some of the
more common RIP functions that are supported by ES3 are: Multiple Serviceability Enhancements Including
• Redistribution of connected, static, and OSPF routes Utilization Statistics, Persistent Loggings, and
• Filtering of redistributed routes Packet Traces
• Configurable split horizon options
• Configurable distance for RIP routes sFlow Support
• Default-information originate
Improved Security
ES3 provides multiple network redundancy protocols both at the
routing and switching level. This flexibility gives numerous design IPv6 Management and IPv6 Support in QoS Module
options when integrating the switch into the application platform.
All of these protocols are IEEE standards compliant which ensures Significant more User Control over Protocol Options
compatibility with multivendor solutions connecting to the ATCA such as LAG Hash Algorithm
chassis.
Updated LLDP and CDP Interoperability
Article Written by:
STP Enhancements Including Root Guard

iSCSI Flow Acceleration

John Ray
Network Engineer

Page 13

GRID INTERACTIVE INVERTERS
Gale-12 Gale-6
Wind Turbine Wind Turbine
Synchronous Synchronous
Inverter Inverter

12kW Grid-Tie Inverter 6kW Grid-Tie Inverter

The Gale Series of Inverters
Diversified Technology, Inc.’s Gale Series of wind turbine inverters are variable input
voltage and frequency, high power inverters developed specifically to serve the wind
power market. When combined with a tower-mount wind turbine, Gale Series inverters
take the variable electric power generated and create pure sine, clean filtered power
that can be sold to the utility.

Managed by DTI's Green Power Technology, the Gale Series inverters allow a wide
input voltage range with energy-saving low speed power mode to allow for smooth
operation even at minimal turbine revolutions, and many other features
designed to meet the specific needs of the wind power market. DTI’s Soft
Grid Technology allows the inverter to continue to produce
the maximum amount of power even during
wind gusts that would otherwise cause
over voltage on the grid. This is useful in rural locations during light local
d

loading conditions. This maximizes profits for the operator while preventing
in

annoying system resets.
m/w
s.co

The Gale Series of Grid-Tie Inverters
tim

are fully-compliant with UL 1741
w.d

The Gale Series of Grid-Tie Inverters was designed
ww

specifically for the Small Wind Power Market

1-800-443-2667 | sales@dtims.com


Inverter Stacking
Stacking Options for the Gale Series of Grid-Tie Inverters

Diversified Technology, Inc. manufactures two sizes of Our competitors try to overcome the standby losses to the grid
inverters at its manufacturing facility in Ridgeland, MS. The in the isolation transformer with complicated smart relays. To
Gale-6 is rated for 6kW maximum and the Gale-12 is rated for further improve efficiency with our configuration, the power
12kW maximum. But what do you do if you have a larger tur- curve on the second Gale inverter can be adjusted so that it does
bine/generator set? The Gale Series of inverters can be stacked not export power and put a load on the isolation transformer until
together in parallel essentially creating a much larger inverter. the input power exceeds about 75% of capacity of the
There is no limit to how many inverters can be stacked together primary inverter. This will keep the losses in the isolation
in this way from the inverter’s point of view; however the util- transformer to a minimum.
ity may impose a limit based on their capability to
absorb the exported power.

Figure 1: Inverter Stacking with One Turbine

Gale-12
DTI’s Wind Turbine Inverter with
up to 12kW of Power Output

Because Gale inverters are transformerless, they inject a large
varying DC offset back onto their input. For single inverters
this is the lowest cost and most efficient design. However, when
stacking inverters with a common input, an isolation transformer
(which blocks DC) is required to keep the inverters from
disturbing each other. Unlike our competitors, because our
inverters contain an integrated rectifier, this isolation transformer
can be installed on the input side of the inverter instead of the
grid side. This means that power will only be lost in the
transformer when the wind is blowing. Another problem with
installing the transformer on the grid side is that it defeats the
Figure 2: Inverter Stacking with Multiple Turbines
ground fault detection in the inverter, an important safety
feature.

Page 15

Some customers will connect several generator-inverter pairs Stacking For 3-Phase Output
together at one breaker panel. The Gale inverter does not have Gale inverters are single phase output. The 208Vac version can
trouble with this at all. The isolation transformer is not needed be connected to two lines of a 3-phase grid. This unbalances
since the inverter inputs are not connected together. the 3-phase lines somewhat but any 3-phase transformers or
appliances connected to the lines will tend to rebalance the lines.
Some turbines require a speed controller that may provide DTI’s soft-grid technology will also help to keep the lines
automatic braking, battery charging, or a dump load. The balanced by backing off only as much power as is needed to
controller keeps the input voltage from exceeding the maximum keep the voltages in tolerance. There is a special case when
for the Gale inverter and the generator. These controllers multiples of three Gale inverters can be stacked to provide
usually include the AC to DC rectifier and supply variable DC 3-phase power output. This stacking can be done with either
to the inverter. The Gale-DC units accept variable DC input one very large turbine or many small ones. Each inverter will
instead of variable three-phase AC. The Gale-DC inverters are still operate independently, but again DTI’s soft grid technology
identical to the AC input versions except that the input will keep the lines in tolerance.
rectifier has been by-passed so there are no losses from sending
the input power through a second rectifier.

Gale-DC inverters should not be stacked with one turbine
because the same DC offset is present on the input as with the
AC versions. If you need to stack inverters when using a turbine
controller, then do it just like with the AC input inverters with an
isolation transformer and the input connected to variable AC.

Figure 4: 3-Phase with One Turbine

Figure 3: Stacking with a 3rd Party Controller

Figure 5: 3-Phase with Three Turbines

Page 16


Generator Stacking
Sometimes customers ask us about stacking small turbines
together and using one inverter. The Gale inverter has no trou-
ble with this, but it is not an easy arrangement to get to work. At
the very least, with nothing else to synchronize them, the fastest
turbine will tend to “motor” the slowest. However, in most cases
the AC generators will never start because they are out of phase.
However, if each small turbine is given its own rectifier then the
common DC can be fed to a Gale-DC inverter. This will work
best if all of the small turbines are the same model and receive
the same amount of wind.

Figure 7: Neighborhood Wind Example 1

Figure 6: Stacking Small Turbines

Neighborhood wind (house stacking)
One inverter (or several stacked inverters) can be shared
between multiple houses, with several investors dividing the
profits. The most straight forward implementation would be to
connect the Gale inverter behind its own power meter, then split
up the profits paid by the utility company. However this requires
making special connection arrangements with the utility
company. It is also possible to connect the inverter to one of the
houses and monitor the inverter’s output, then use the utility’s
kWh rate to determine how much money to distribute to the
other investors. This gets more complicated if the rate changes
at different times of day, however 3rd party power meters are
available that can do these calculations.
Article Written by:

Figure 8: Neighborhood Wind Example 2

David Jensen
Systems/Compliance Engineer

Page 17

On-Board Vehicle Power Systems
30kW 120/208VAC Three Phase
50Hz, 60Hz, or 400Hz Selectable
Diversified Technology, Inc. developed its first OBVP system On-the-move operations already established for a vehicle can
targeting a HMMWV installed 10kW inverter. The initial provide free power to on board systems while the vehicle is in
development efforts focused on providing a power source route to its next objective.
(vehicle mounted) for the Sentinel Radar System. Over the
development phase, enhancements were added to the product Why is This Important?
that included a vehicle monitoring and speed control system for Today’s operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq make it nearly
stationary operation where power demands changed based on impossible and very hazardous to haul a generator and its fuel to
mission criteria. These features ensured the health of the host forward bases. Mobile power offers immediate relief for the
vehicle was always monitored and the system only consumed warfighter as well as local Afghani or Iraqi citizens as it relates
the minimum amount of fuel while in operation. On the move to communications, medical equipment requirements, and food
power capabilities were also designed into the system where it storage in areas affected by war. The best public relation work
can provide 7kW continuous, 10kW intermittent power, American soldiers can provide is assistance in these areas for
120/208VAC three phase at 50 Hz, 60 Hz or 400 Hz selectable the local population by providing immediate AC power.
from the same inverter. This system is rugged as well as water
proof. Today that 10kW system is being evaluated on several U.S. combat forces are realizing that the same power
government platforms for integration into deployable systems requirements are needed in the sea borne elements (Combatant
to increase the capabilities of our warfighter. The 10kW OBVP Craft) such as fast attack, special operations, and littoral ships
system is production ready, EMI tested and offered and boats. On the homefront, first responders to emergency
commercially or through GSA. situations or natural disasters have instant access to electricity
critical to mobilization efforts and sustaining control centers.
The next evolution for DTI’s On-Board Vehicle Power solution
is the 30kW system. Primary deployment goals for this system
are to be as light and small as possible with minimum time
required for system integration. The system is designed to
operating when the host vehicle is in motion, stationary or from
the vehicle’s batteries for low power requirements. Low voltage
battery monitoring capabilities ensure the system does not drain
the batteries lower than voltage levels necessary for starting the
host vehicle. The system will provide 4-wire three phase
208VAC with true sine wave conditioned power
(Total Harmonic Distortion < 5%).

The 30 kW unit can be integrated on a single vehicle and can
provide power to the remote Forward Operating Base simply by
use of the mission designated vehicle as inverter host. The Previous Options
power inverter system is designed for minimum space claim. It Currently, power requirements at this level are addressed by a
does not reduce cargo space already reserved for mission trailer towed tactical quiet generator (TQG). There are other
requirements therefore removing the need of a secondary vehi- programs and development efforts underway with the intent of
cle whose sole intent is to provide a tactical quiet generator. This providing 30kW systems mounted on HMMWVs, but most are
system offers fast set-up time for mobile mission venues. still in the developmental stage and require massive vehicle
integration to implement this capability. Additional weight is a

Page 18


problem, especially on vehicles with full armor kits installed. The product will also include a vehicle speed control system that
This reduces the vehicle’s hauling capabilities by limiting will adjust the engine RPM to ensure the PMG is providing the
operational effectiveness of these vehicles. The DTI solution is correct amount of power for the applied load. It also ensures
based on minimum weight and size to resolve those issues. that the engine RPM is not operating too high in order to
conserve fuel.
DTI Solution
The DTI solution starts with a permanent magnet generator The system has been developed in a manner to offer a user
(PMG) This provides the input power for the inverter as well as friendly system for both the user and maintainer. The unit offers
the hotel power required by the vehicle. The PMG is not an on dash interface board and brackets for ease of vehicle
required for inverter operation when installations are required installation. The OBVP engages with a simple “flip of the
for Navy or shipboard applications. The DC source voltage may switch”. Installation can be accomplished via bracket accessory
originate from the high voltage DC bus available for that eliminating need for host vehicle configuration modification.
particular application. Although this development is focused on
tactical wheeled vehicles, the installation and operation of the Benefits
power electronics may be mounted on a number of host vehicle • No requirement to balance the loads during single phase
platforms. operation
• Provides power on the move
The output voltage specification for this system is 120VAC • Waterproof construction
single phase or 208VAC three phase. This system design • Minimizes logistics space requirements aboard aircraft
targets 25kW continuous and 30kW intermittent (208VAC). or watercraft during transportation
Frequency capabilities are selectable for 50Hz, 60Hz or 400Hz • Provides instant power to teams, patrols, convoys during
operation, eliminating the need to have a different unit for dif- unexpected delays
ferent frequency applications. • Removes separate fuel logistics for short term power
requirements
Power quality will be in compliance with MIL-STD-1332B, AC • Provides on the move power for vehicle shelter
utility Class 2A (50/60/400Hz). Deviation factor of < 2% per requirements.
MIL-STD-705C, 601.5 phase – phase and phase – neutral. • Monitors the host vehicle without changing the host
Phase sequencing per MIL-STD-705C, 507.1. Regulation will vehicle’s primary wiring configuration
be in compliance to MIL-STD-1332B, AC Utility Class 2A for • Easy to operate and maintain. Solid state electronics that
all frequencies. are not affected by storage durations
The DTI solution is designed to handle both resistive and • Green goal of reduced fuel consumption thru eliminating
inductive loads without interruption of power or activation of need of transport vehicles for TQG; ability to operate on
protective features per MIL-STD-705C, 619.1d. fuel the host vehicle is consuming while mobile

Environmental considerations are designed into the system Summary
covering such aspects as hot operation, shake & vibration, rain, The system is currently in the prototype development stage as of
submersion, etc. as defined by MIL-STD-810. DTI has the the date of this white paper. Sub systems, including the PMG,
advantage of using lessons learned during the 10kW system are currently being integrated onto a HMMWV test platform.
development as it relates to packaging the design to ensure The next development stage is to monitor the prototype
operation of the inverter is well within conformance of rigid subsystems on a vehicle and test the system based on
military specifications. operational specifications outlined within this document.
Implementing lessons learned during the 10kW development
Safeties and interlocks designed within the system include program, environmental specifications, reduced size and weight
over/under voltage, low fuel, high vehicle temperature, low of the system will be realized.
vehicle oil pressure, over-current, override for non-safety
interlocks and parking brake/neutral mode selection For more information on OBVP, visit:
(for stationary operation). http://www.dtims.com/obvp

Page 19

Vehicle Ready
Certification Tests and Standards for DTI’s VPS-10K
MIL-STD-810F
The Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Environmental Engineering Considerations and Test Methods

• Shock and Vibration, method 514.5, Category 4 - 1.5 meters, inverter was operating for the entire time of the
Truck/trailer-restrained cargo, composite wheeled vehicle immersion. This exceeds the requirements of method 512.4
vibration exposure. that specifies a depth of 1 meter and an operational check
• High Temperature, method 501.4, procedure II (operation), after the completion of the immersion test.
climatic category hot. • Low Temperature, method 502.4, procedure II, operation,
• Immersion, method 512.4, procedure 1 (immersion), depth of basic cold (C1), inverter tested at -36OC.

MIL-STD-1332B
Military Standard, Definitions of Tactical, Prime, Precise, and Utility Terminologies for Classification of the DOD Mobile
Electric Power Engine Generator Set Family, conducted by the methods in MIL-STD-705B

• Phase Balance Test (line to neutral), method 508.1d • Frequency and Voltage Response (Long Term),
• Phase Balance Test (line to line), method 508.1d method 608.2a
• Regulator Range Test, method 511.1 • Voltage Dip and Rise for Low Power Factor Loads,
• Voltage Waveform, Sinusoidal Shape, method 601.1 method 619.1d
• Voltage Waveform Deviation Factor (line to neutral), • Voltage Dip and Rise for Rated Load, method 619.2c
method 601.4b • Voltage Unbalance with Unbalanced Loads, (line to neutral),
• Frequency and Voltage Regulation, Stability and Transient method 620.1b
Response (Short Term), method 608.1b • Voltage Unbalanced with Unbalanced Loads, (line to line),
method 620.2B

MIL-STD-461E
Requirements for the Control of Electromagnetic Interference Characteristics of Subsystems and Equipment. The following
tests were conducted by Aegis Laboratories in Lake Forest, CA accredited by the American Association for Lab Accreditation

• RE102 Radiated Emissions, Electric Field, 10kHz to 18GHz • CS114 Conducted Susceptibility, Bulk Cable Injection,
• CE102 Conducted Emissions, Power Leads, 10kHz to 200MHz
10kHz to 10MHz • CS115 Conducted Susceptibility, Bulk Cable Injection,
• RS103 Radiated Susceptibility, Electric Field, Impulse Excitation
2MHz to 18GHZ (50V/m) • CS116 Conducted Susceptibility, (Bulk Cable Injection
• CS101 Conducted Susceptibility, Power Leads, Method), Damped Sinusoidal Transients, 10kHz to 200MHz
30Hz to 150kHz

UL 458
Power Converters/Inverters and Power Converter/Inverter
Systems for Land Vehicles and Marine Crafts. (In-house testing)
• Dielectric Withstand Test, paragraph 38
• Leakage Current Test, paragraph 32
• Output Short Circuit, paragraph 47.2
• Grounding Continuity performed as pre-test for
MIL-STD-461E

Page 20

TACTICAL POWER
For Mobile Support On-Board Vehicle Power (OBVP)

OBVP offers Electronic Power that is:

Solid State Electronics (No Moving Parts)
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Physically Lighter with Small Dimensions
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

More Efficient and More Reliable
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Easier to Operate and Maintain
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

- DTI’s VPS10K is Now Being Deployed - Host Vehicle Monitoring
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Designed to meet MIL-STD-810F
Environmental Specifications
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The VPS10K System has successfully passed
and complied with MIL-STD-461E
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Provides power to on-board systems as well as
exportable power for off-vehicle requirements
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Capable of achieving power levels without
utilization of a trailer towed generator approach
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Allows for installation that does not affect
standard vehicle configuration
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Will operate under water
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fills in operational gaps where generator power
is required but not available
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Provides the soldier with more options in
accomplishing objectives
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

OBVP focuses on flexibility, mobility,
portability and durability

www.dtims.com/obvp

Product Roadmap/Strategy
by Doug Mays, Product Strategist
Too many design and manufacturing organizations drive their product development via the engineering department. At Diversified
Technology we strive for market-driven solutions. This requires a product development cycle that includes heavy input not only from
engineering, but from sales, marketing, and the field team – those closest to the customer and who interact daily with the market. It also
requires consultations with customers and prospects to help best determine the market need for certain product requirements and feature
sets.

To that end, Diversified Technology’s current projects are being developed for key markets and applications that have been identified as
“best fit” opportunities. Through the coming year we will be releasing new products across our AdvancedTCA (new CPU and Switch
products), CompactPCI (new CPU and Switch products), Alternative Energy (higher power inverters), and Mobile Power (30kW OBVP
unit) lines. These products will be the result of many man hours of research and discussions, and they will provide our customers with
aggressive advancements in their core applications.

So as you’ve read through this publication, I hope you've keep us in mind for your future product needs. I enjoy hearing from our
customers and prospects as it relates to their application needs for products and features, so if you would like to discuss any of our
product lines, I would welcome hearing from you and learning about your organization’s needs.

Feel free to contact me via email: dmays@dtims.com

The Employees are DTI’s Most Important Asset
Employee Spotlight - Paul Boykin

Paul serves as Process Engineering Manager, supporting other DTI employees in doing their jobs
effectively and efficiently. Currently, this includes new product introduction in manufacturing
(PCB design review and AOI, AXI, and Selective Soldering programming), major equipment
purchases, process improvement projects, and database/web application development for DTI's
various processes.

Paul joined DTI as an SMT engineer in January 1996 after graduating from Mississippi State
University. Over the years, he has served as SMT supervisor and Repair Lab Manager, as well.

Paul, his wife, Gina, and their daughters Lauren, 9, and Claire, 6, are members of Colonial Heights
Baptist Church in Ridgeland, MS, where Paul serves as a deacon and LifeGroup teacher.

Page 22

COMPACTPCI SOLUTIONS
www.dtims.com/cpci

CPB4912 and CPB4912V
DTI Unveils 2 CompactPCI Blades based
on the Intel Core i7 Processor and supporting
up to 8GB of DDR3-800/1066 Memory

DTI Offers Full System Design and Integration Capabilities with Your Program Requirements.

Call NOW
for Immediate Deployment
1-800-443-2667

The CSB4624 from Diversified Technology, Inc. is a PICMG
2.16 compliant CompactPCI managed Ethernet switch. This
6U board has full IPv6 support, twenty-four 1GbE link ports
and three 10GbE connections. (5) RTM Options

CompactPCI Serial
A Next-Gen Architecture Brings Modern I/O to CompactPCI

Two CompactPCI® (CPCI) specifications have been adopted The boards connect in serial point-to-point links, allowing for a
by the PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturing Group Star Topology within a CompactPCI Chassis consisting of 9
(PICMG) since 2009 and are making their way into the market- boards (1 System, 8 Peripherals), via PCI Express. The same
place: PICMG 2.30 (CompactPCI PlusIO) and CPCI-S.0 chassis also allows for Full Mesh connectivity of 10G Ethernet
(CompactPCI Serial). Both specifications define new rear I/O links. Therefore, in a CompactPCI Serial application consist-
for both system and peripheral slots in 6U and 3U board sizes. ing of 9 boards or less and that does not require robust network
management, the need for Layer 2/3 Switch blades is removed.
CompactPCI PlusIO was adopted in 2009, but has been slow to CompactPCI Serial defines new, denser backplane connectors
unseat PICMG 2.16 (a 2001 specification that defined packet to provide higher data transfer rates. Contrary to current cPCI
switching in CompactPCI) as the basis for the majority of CPCI specifications, the plug connector resides on the board while the
application deployments. Will CompactPCI Serial see swift receptacle is on the backplane, in order to prevent twisted pins
adoption? What are the benefits of transitioning an application on the backplane. The system slot populates six connectors, P1
to CPCI-S.0? What obstacles will stand in its way? through P6, while peripheral slots only require P1. P2 through
P6 are optional depending on the application and I/O desired.
CompactPCI Serial offers a robustness of backplane I/O in both Of note is that in CompactPCI Serial, 6U boards and their
System and Peripheral slots: associated RTMs can be plugged directly into one another
without the need for a mid-plane or transfer connector.
System Slot Peripheral Slot
While mechanically CompactPCI Serial is identically
8x PCI Express Links 1x PCI Express Link compliant to the PICMG 2.0 CompactPCI specification (barring
• 7 x4 links • Up to 16 lanes
a change in backplane connectors), the topology difference
• 1 x16 link
creates an incompatibility in bus architectures. Therefore, a
8x SATA/SAS 1x SATA PICMG 2.0 system migrating to CompactPCI Serial will require
• SGPIO bus for • SGPIO bus for not only new boards but new backplanes and application
hot swapping hot swapping architectures/topologies as well. Hybrid backplanes that can
support PICMG 2.0 (CompactPCI), PICMG 2.30 (CompactPCI
8x USB 2.0 1x USB 2.0 PlusIO) and CPCI-S.0 (CompactPCI Serial) are possible and
8x USB 3.0 1x USB 3.0 may provide legacy functionality within specific applications.
8x 10GBase-T Ethernet Up to 8x 10GBase-T Ethernet
This is where CompactPCI PlusIO (PICMG 2.30) fits in – to
Optional Hot Swap Geographical addressing
ease the transition from PICMG 2.0/2.16 to CompactPCI Serial.
by one dedicated I2C Bus CompactPCI PlusIO requires a new, UHM J2 connector that
allows for newer, high speed interfaces while remaining
Optional IPMI support compatible with J2 backplane connectors in existing
by one dedicated I2C Bus applications. PICMG 2.30 is intended as a stop-gap migration
path to CompactPCI Serial, and its rear serial I/O connectivity
forms a bridge from legacy PICMG 2.0 systems to future
CompactPCI Serial deployments.

Page 24


This diagram shows basic CompactPCI Serial connectivity in a nine-slot chassis:

The benefits of CompactPCI Serial are clear: robust rear I/O interest from more conservative organizations with existing
capabilities, PCI Express as a serialized fabric through the fat PICMG 2.16 applications, due in part to the costs associated
pipes region, and 10G Ethernet as a packet switched communi- with migration to a CompactPCI Serial platform. There is also
cations bus through a system all create a comprehensive and risk aversion among designers and manufacturers of Compact-
modern processing, communications and I/O platform for the PCI products like DTI:
CompactPCI ecosystem. To be sure, there will be early adoption
of the CompactPCI Serial architecture by organizations that 1.WHERE PICMG 2.30 is a bridge to CompactPCI Serial, and
would be characterized as “Early Adopters” – those who 2.WHERE PICMG 2.16 is the ubiquitous existing standard of
understand the risks but are willing to devote the resources CPCI deployments, and
necessary to take advantage of the offerings in CompactPCI 3.WHERE CompactPCI Serial requires a complete re-design of
Serial to solve existing problems and offer an innovative an application, and
product based on CompactPCI. 4.WHERE P2 – P6 on 6U boards is “user-defined” in terms of
I/O, and
Crossing the adoption chasm to mainstream and widespread 5.WHERE any application can have any configuration of boards
CPCI-S.0 deployments may take some time, however. Current of varying standards with a hybrid backplane –
CompactPCI Serial offerings are limited and there is only minor

Page 25

It becomes nearly impossible to predict any sort of “standard” It is nearly certain that CompactPCI Serial will see some
I/O routing or usage model of I/O availability for prospective adoption and market growth. The high-speed I/O and serial bus
buyers of the product as well as to develop a standard backplane architecture allows for vast improvements over existing appli-
offering. It seems that in early adoption phases, nearly every cation deployments, and it will be very tantalizing for organiza-
backplane will be custom to the user. tions that can adequately and innovatively use this availability
of throughput to offer disruptive solutions to the marketplace.
Therefore a situation exists where it may be difficult to put
together a solution of interoperable hosts and peripheral boards Will CompactPCI Serial be able to cross the “Technology
from varying vendors. There is also a question of whether Adoption Chasm” and unseat PICMG 2.16 as the de facto
processors available on CompactPCI will be able to adequately architecture of CompactPCI deployments? Perhaps. But it will
handle the throughput of the available high-speed busses. There be a long road, and it will take organizations that are willing to
is already a limitation seen in another PICMG standard, invest the time and resources necessary to validate the standard
AdvancedTCA, where NPUs are becoming more common and to their conservative industry peers. Those more conservative
necessary in applications in order to handle the amount of data organizations may, however, be left struggling to compete.
flow. All of these issues create detriments to adoption of the
CompactPCI Serial standard. Article Written by:

To that end, the best solution for organizations that plan on
migrating to the CompactPCI Serial standard is to jump into it
head-first. Middling with a hybrid solution will prove frustrat-
ing, costly, and risky. This is not easy for more conservative
organizations to do. There are business cases to develop, ROI
calculations to be made, testing parameters and cases to be
written, and most importantly a complete upgrade of an Doug Mays
application. Product Strategist

GO AHEAD
AND JUMP IN Simplify with COTS
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A Commitment to Quality

Diversified Technology, Inc. - ISO 9001:2008 Compliant

Quality Policy
It is our goal to provide quality products and services that result in highly satisfied customers.
All employees share this responsibility. By training our employees, complying with industry
standards, partnering with suppliers, monitoring business objectives and always looking for
ways to improve, we ensure this goal is met.

Our Customer Focus
DTI believes a satisfied customer is a repeat customer, so the focus is placed on delivering a complete product on time, every time. Our
tradition of supporting customers at every level is based on a technical staff dedicated to providing quick and complete solutions to
customer issues, while the service department is committed to fast turn times on any RMA repairs that may occur. Using a formal
program to monitor and analyze all customer satisfaction results, Diversified's management ensures that all customer needs are met.

Our Programs
Using industry recognized programs, DTI reaffirms its commitment to the ISO 9001 registration it has maintained since 1996. The
Supplier Management program practiced here at DTI emphasizes relationship building, early involvement of suppliers in our design
cycle, and periodic auditing of suppliers to ensure the highest quality parts and materials are provided to customers. Our formal
Continuous Improvement Program cultivates projects that will reap both short and long term rewards for the customer and is complimented
by our Reliability Program that tests products beyond their normal use, promoting their longevity in the application field.

Our Employees
Diversified Technology, a designer and manufacturer of high end technology products, recognizes a business' success depends largely
on the quality of its people. DTI's employees are its greatest assets, which is why the greatest investment is placed on them through
continuous training and technical demonstrations. DTI believes that the growth of a company is largely promoted by the growth of its
employees.

Our Tools
DTI continues to invest in the latest technology innovations to advance the effectiveness of our employees and to promote quality
end-user products. Equipment acquisitions and upgrades such as Automated 3-D Solder Paste Inspection, Automated Optical Inspection
(AOI), Automated X-RAY Inspection (AXI), and In-Circuit Test (ICT) are just some examples of our effort to maintain a first-in-class
manufacturing facility. DTI has also cultivated internal software development teams to create database driven utilities to improve the
efficiency of production and service for our products by allowing real time quality data analysis and quick response to customer requests.

Our Mission
DTI has been in business for over thirty-six years providing high quality computer solutions to the embedded marketplace. As we move
forward, our mission is to provide a complete solution that still maintains the quality standard associated with our company.

Page 27

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