PMC675 ABACO VMIC Intellignet Dual 100BaseFX Ethernet PMC Card
Incorporating state-of-the-art technology, the PMC675, which replaces the PMC665, sets a new standard for high performance data exchange. Two 100BaseFX Ethernet controllers are com-bined with a local RISC processor (PPC @400 MHz w/DDR memory) and PCI bridge system. The result is a very high performance, extremely flexible solution to a variety of data transfer requirements. Designed using standard protocols (100 Mbit Ethernet and PCI/PMC), the PMC675 is intrinsically economical, both in terms of direct unit cost and ability to utilize commodity LAN hubs and switches.
Application Specific Intelligence
Users can add application specific functionality to the onboard firmware, migrating appropriate control into the PMC675.
Local Intelligence
The onboard RISC processor allows the PMC675 to be utilized in a wide range of applications. The most common use of this is “dual rail” access, where the choice of physical access is automatically switched by the PMC675 “fail-over” firmware. In the PMC675’s simplest mode, all control can be kept in the system host with the PMC675 providing dual Ethernet access. Other options include “embedded TCP/IP” providing TCP/IP capabilities to the host board processor.
Failover Firmware
Many applications have requirements for fault tolerance in the network connections. Some have traditionally used FDDI, which had dual physical connections as part of the basic specification. Since FDDI has become end-of-life, both existing and new applications need a replacement. A Abaco Systems IEC (Intelligent Ethernet Controller) with Failover (FOB) firmware is one solution, designed specifically as an evolutionary step that can be rapidly integrated into existing network systems.
Running on one of the Abaco Systems Intelligent Dual Ethernet cards (either copper or fiber media), there is an ACTIVE port (on which Ethernet activity takes place) and a BACKUP port (which maintains the Ethernet controller in a suspended state). In the event of a failure of the ACTIVE port, the FOB firmware suspends this controller and activates the BACKUP controller. As all characteristics of the connection (e.g. MAC address) are maintained, no other machine on the LAN will be aware of this transfer. Transition occurs when a failure on the link is detected, either from physical indication or watchdog timeout. When responding to link errors the failover is very fast (<50 ms).
Integration with existing operating systems is easy because the FOB firmware allows the IEC to appear as a single Ethernet device, which is consistent with the current standards. This is a critical issue as the network system is complex and generally not easy to modify. By having the IEC as a simple network controller, integration falls into a well defined, existing category.
Failover compatible drivers are available for the following: VxWorks®, HP-UX®, Linux®, LynxOS®, QNX®, Solaris® and Windows®.
Contact us for additional configuration of the PMC675
PMC675-FWFOB
PMC675LC-FWFOB
PMC675ST-FWFOB