An advanced approach for data and signal processing in harsh environments

RALEIGH, NC—October 16, 2000—Cetia, the leading supplier of COTS-based VMEbus hardware and software solutions for real-time systems, today announced the VxG4a series - the newest addition to its PowerPC-based family of products. Available in dual or quad processor configurations designed for a single VME 6U slot, the COTS-based VxG4a boasts two or four PowerPC 7400 processors (G4) at 400 MHz. With an optimized memory architecture and two PCI busses, the VxG4a offers the bandwidth necessary to take full advantage of the Altivec Vector unit of the G4 processors in compute intensive applications like radar and sonar. The VxG4a series comes equipped with Cetia's own proven supervision toolkit, the Powerline4, which provides all the necessary functionality to build high-end data or signal processing systems based on COTS hardware and software.

Targeted at defense, aerospace and industrial applications, the VxG4a sets a new price/performance standard for Signal Processing solutions, offering the highest level of integration. Future versions of the product will also be available using "The Ruggedizer", a Cetia proven technology to meet the requirements for harsh environments.

To take full advantage of its multi-CPU support, the VxG4a architecture implements several new concepts. Through the use of an IBM CPC710 bridge chip, called Avignon, data can be exchanged via two PCI busses. The Avignon crossbar supports an aggregated bandwidth of 2.6 gigabytes/sec for inter-node communication. The memory sub-system is optimized to support the quadG4 architecture. In addition to an L1 cache of 64KB and an L2 cache of 2MB per processor running at 1.6 GB/s each, the multiprocessor node is built around a dedicated Fast SDRAM array of 128 MB available on the PowerPC bus. This approach boosts the inter-processor communication on the board to 850 MB/s sustained and 1.064 GB/s peak. Managed by the Avignon chip, this memory is the key factor needed to accelerate Signal Processing algorithms while increasing the effective memory bandwidth. Additionally, there is a main memory of up to 1GB, organized in a fast double bank of SDRAM, which offers 1.064 GB/s peak and 530 MB/s, sustained throughput. The dual PCI bus configuration is ideal to sustain concurrent input and output throughputs: the PCI32 at 33MHz is ideal for data acquisition up to 132 MB/s, and the second PCI64 at 66MHz is specially devoted to intense inter-board communication up to 528 MB/s peak.

The Powerline4 supervision toolkit supports the standard COTS operating systems of LynxOS by LynuxWorks and VxWorks by Wind River Systems. With one operating system per CPU, the user can build versatile configurations that match the most demanding algorithms when using standard C or C++ CASE tools. In addition, PowerLine4 provides the required interfaces with multiprocessor debugging tools.

Management of the inter-processor communications is also an important issue regarding the performances of high-end architectures. Therefore, PowerLine4 features a Virtual Interface, called DDLink, to isolate the application software from any communication problems that may occur. DDLink insures maximum performances on the various communication links and enables easy mapping of the application on various hardware configurations. Full operational management of your systems configuration is also facilitated by PowerLine4, which offers a full range of diagnostic services. Finally, the management of the complex multiprocessor configurations is made easier with PowerLine4 and dramatically reduces the development cycle time while decreasing the debugging and tuning phases.

"Several customers have already chosen our VxG4a architecture for deployment in their signal processing systems," states Philippe Vincent, Cetia's Vice President of Marketing. "This success is largely due to the attention Cetia paid to its software offering. PowerLine4 makes it very easy to build and maintain operational systems. This ease-of-use combined with the price and performance of the VxG4a provides our customers with a decisive advantage over their competitors with a much quicker time-to-market."

The VxG4a is currently available in dual or quad processor configurations. Datasheets and additional information on the VxG4a can be found on the Cetia Web site at www.cetia.com.

About Cetia

Cetia is a Thomson-CSF company headquartered in Toulon, France, and Raleigh, North Carolina. Cetia is the leading developer of commercial and ruggedized VMEbus hardware and software solutions based on PowerPC and Pentium microprocessors. Cetia is ISO 9001 certified for its design, manufacturing, sales and servicing operations. The company's products are optimized for a wide variety of applications in military, aerospace, communications and industrial markets and are in active use by customers worldwide, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, GEC Marconi Hazeltine, Marconi Aerospace, Marconi Alenia, Canon, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, GTE, IBM, EADS (formerly Aeropatiale Mantra), Thomson-CSF, British Aerospace, Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola and United Defense. Cetia's parent company, Thomson-CSF, has developed a permanent presence in the United States over the last 35 years. Sixteen Thomson-CSF operational companies are located in the US, involving 2,400 employees and sales of over $800 million in 1999.

About LynuxWorks

LynuxWorks™, Inc. formerly Lynx Real-Time Systems, is a developer and supplier of Linux and real-time operating system software for reliable and high-performance embedded computing applications. LynuxWorks supports industry standards in communications, avionics, automotive, office automation and process control systems worldwide, enabling customers to leverage their investments in software and education. LynuxWorks products include the open-source BlueCat™ Linux and the scalable, Linux-compatible LynxOS® real-time operating system; software frameworks for high-availability systems; development tools and technical support worldwide.

LynuxWorks and BlueCat are trademarks and LynxOS is a registered trademark of LynuxWorks, Incorporated. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks and product names are the property of their respective holders.

LynuxWorks press contacts

Kirsten Long Director, Marketing Communications LynuxWorks, Inc. USA +1 408-979-4404	Dave Reddy Weber Shandwick USA +1 650-868-4659	Peter van der Sluijs Neesham Public Relations Europe +44 1442-879222
Hamid Mirab Managing Director EMEA LynuxWorks Ltd. United Kingdom +44 208-906-9506	Elvia Soltero Weber Shandwick USA +1 408-685-0614