BittWare e4 is 1U PCIe FPGA board enclosure | 48 total ports 16x 25 GbE and 32x 10GbE | two e4 fit to 1U slot
The e4 chassis by LDA Technologies is a unique solution that transforms any FPGA-based PCIe card into a high-end networking device.
Plug any BittWare Intel or Xilinx UltraScale/UltraScale+ FPGA-based PCIe board into the e4, and the system pulls the I/O from the FPGA card out to 48 high-speed networking ports on the device’s front panel.
With a depth of just 12”, the compact e4 allows two boards to fit back-to-back, effectively doubling the number of FPGAs per 1U chassis.
The LDA e4 chassis supports all of BittWare’s Xilinx UltraScale/UltraScale+ or Intel FPGA-based PCIe boards, with 48 front-panel I/O ports and up to 16x 25GbE ports, 32x 10GbE ports. Also included are:
- Independent cross-point switch fabrics
- BittWare BittWorks II software and BMC for remote programming and board monitoring
- Built-in FPGA tools and operating system for programming on-the-fly
- Advanced redundant power supply
- Precision clock source
Independent cross point switch fabrics simplify configuration:
- Data can flow from port-to-port without entering the FPGA
- Copy data to the FPGA without interrupting the data flow
- Independent switch fabrics for 25G and 10G
The e4 system is equipped with a range of CPU options:
- Management is built-in as separate device
- COM Express Type 10 or Type 6 built-in; requires no software
- Connected to the board via PCIe lane x1 and USB
- USB access to the BittWare tools for board managment
The e4 system allows easy access to BittWare’s software tools and Board Management Controller (BMC):
- Remotely program the FPGA over USB, erase it, and program the flash
- Monitor board power and temperature and re-program the onboard clocks
- Set points to shut the board down when it gets too hot or draws too much power
- Access JTAG over USB (if supported by the board)
- Remote access to all software tools and BMC features
Built-in software tools allow remote operation:
- Vivado tools and Ubuntu 16.4 pre-installed
- Windows supported
- FPGA board is configured on the fly; the system freezes the last known good configuration
Have precise control over your system with advanced power features:
- Turn off PCIe separately—uncoupled from system
- Precision power monitoring of the FPGA board: program thresholds and connect them to system fans
- Load-shared redundant power supplies on the e4 base board
A 100 MHz on-board clock can be used as PCIe reference clock or as a very high precision internal clock:
- 100 MHz oven-controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO)
- 5 or 10 parts per billion accuracy
- Clock multiplexer
- Timestamping support
Unlike a standard server, the e4 can boot quickly, getting the FPGA image loaded once power is up:
- 1 sec boot time
- Configuration is stored on the base board and does not require COM Express
The e4 is small enough to fit two devices in one rack:
Additional interfaces connect directly to the Linux machine that are ideal for a networking device:
- Micro USB, display board, OOB port, USB, and Ethernet
- Allow access to command line, firmware upgrades, GUI port monitoring
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