VMEbus Single Board Computer with "Multi-Mezzanine" Support

Publication date on this website: Wednesday, May 09, 2001
Company: Men Mikro Elektronik
Category: Press Releases : Boards

Summary:
- 1-slot PowerPC 8240/8245 Master/Slave
- with 3 M-Module slots or
- 3 PCMIP slots or
- 2 PMC slots

Full Text:
What is more flexible than a computer board with mezzanines?

A Computer Board with Different Types of Mezzanines!

MEN is introducing the A12 VMEbus board, a single-board computer in double Eurocard format which not only supports M-Modules and/or PCMIPs-MEN's own mezzanine standards-, but which also gives you the option of integrating the whole range of PMC functions.

Complete Computer in One VMEbus Slot
The A12 is a complete single-board computer for embedded and intelligent I/O applications. The core of the CPU board is the PowerPC XPC8245 including an FPU and MMU, with a clock frequency of 350MHz and up to 500 MIPS. It has an onboard PCI bus.
Being situated in the lower price range, the A12 needs only one slot in the VMEbus system and can also be operated without bus connection. The A12 has master and slave functionality and is therefore excellently suited for multiprocessing on the VMEbus. The VMEbus interface developed by MEN comes with slot-1 autodetection and is optimized both for single-transfer I/O cycles and for burst access. The A12 attains 7MB/s with master access (single cycle). 1MB of fast, synchronous, dual-ported SRAM allows a whopping 15MB/s with slave access (burst).
Being a complete computer, the A12 offers up to 256MB of DRAM memory through an SO-DIMM slot, 2MB onboard Flash and a slot for user-friendly ATA-compatible CompactFlash. Two 100-Mbit Ethernet interfaces can be used both for standard networking functions and for busless multiprocessing or for fieldbus connection. One serial interface is available at the front panel as RS232 or RS485 via RJ45, and another three UARTs can be flexibly configured as RS232, RS422/485 or TTY, with or without optical isolation. In addition, the board offers all common computer interfaces such as USB, IDE, mouse and keyboard connections as well as several TTL lines. A real-time clock, watchdog, temperature monitor, hex switch, and user LEDs make the A12 complete.
Software support comprises VxWorks, OS-9 and Linux.

Unlimited I/O Options
Single-board computers gain flexibility through mezzanine slots. Modular combination of I/O functions allows you to set up tailor-made control systems, which eventually are customized solutions based on standard components. The A12 presents itself as an even more universal board, combining as many as three mezzanine worlds on one CPU board. M-Modules, PCMIPs and PMCs-the three most important ANSI standards with worldwide acceptance-provide an unlimited spectrum of I/O options.
As a model with 3 M-Module slots, the A12 is especially suited for industrial control set-ups with diverse process I/O, drive control and instrumentation functions. The A12 model with 3 PCMIP slots offers a multitude of expansion options for the A12's computing functions, e. g. through graphics and additional mass storage and serial interfaces. Another model with 2 PMC slots makes the A12 a suitable platform for complex data and telecommunications applications.

Contact:
Barbara Schmitz, Marketing
Phone +49-911-99 33 5-21
Fax +49-911- 99 33 5-99
E-mail: barbara.schmitz@men.de