FPGA-based 6U VPX Data Storage Board for Radar and In-Vehicle Signal Processing

This is a removable high-performance data storage board based on the 6U VPX bus architecture. The board uses one Xilinx Kintex-7 series FPGA as the main control unit, with an embedded RAID controller. It supports up to four mSATA SSDs, offering a maximum storage capacity of 8 TByte. The sustained data write bandwidth can reach 1.6 GByte/s, and the sustained read bandwidth can reach 1.7 GByte/s. The board features one SerialRapidIO x4 interface for backplane interconnection and one QSFP+ optical fiber interface for data interaction with external devices. This board separates the storage controller from the storage module, interconnecting them via high-speed connectors. It is particularly suitable for airborne and in-vehicle applications, allowing the storage module to be detached separately for data extraction on the ground or in a laboratory.

• Supports up to 4 mSATA drives, with a maximum storage capacity of 8 TByte
• Backplane supports one SGMII Gigabit Ethernet interface
• Backplane supports one RapidIO x4, and protocol standards such as Aurora, with a maximum of 6.25 Gbps/lane
• Storage media: SLC/MLC
• RAID function: RAID0
• Storage bandwidth: sustained write rate 1.6 GByte/s, sustained read rate 1.7 GByte/s

Functional Block Diagram

Technical Specifications

• Onboard 1 Xilinx Kintex-7 series FPGA: XC7K325T-2FFG900I;
• Backplane Interconnection Performance:
  1. VPX P1: 1 SRIO x4 @ 6.25 Gbps/lane;
  2. VPX P4: 1 SGMII Gigabit Ethernet port;
• Storage Performance Specifications:
  1. Storage media: SLC/MLC NandFlash, mSATA;
  2. Storage capacity: Maximum support 8 TByte;
  3. Sustained read/write rate: R 1.7 GB/s, W 1.6 GB/s;
  4. RAID function: RAID0;
• Dynamic Storage Specifications:
  1. Memory chips: 2 groups, 8 chips;
  2. Memory bandwidth: 2x 64bit @ 500MHz;
  3. Memory capacity: 2x 2 GByte;
• Other:
  1. Front panel supports 1 Gigabit Ethernet port;
  2. Front panel supports 10 LED indicators;
• Physical and Electrical Characteristics
  1. Board dimensions: 160 x 233mm;
  2. Board power supply: 2.5A max @ +12V (static 12W);
  3. Cooling method: Air cooling;
• Environmental Characteristics
  1. Operating temperature: -40°C to +85°C;
  2. Storage temperature: -55°C to +125°C;
  3. Operating humidity: 5%~95%, non-condensing;

Application Areas

• Radar signal processing;
• Real-time acquisition and playback systems;
• Airborne and in-vehicle graphics and image processing;
• Software-defined radio systems;