The SI-66AK2xxDSP from Sheldon Instruments is a C programmable ARM plus Digital Signal Processor (DSP) card designed for low power environments that require intensive computing in a cost sensitive solution.
Keystone II devices supported on the SI-66AK2xxDSP card:
66AK2H14 (4 ARM + 8 DSP CorePacs)
66AK2H12 (4 ARM + 8 DSP CorePacs)
66AK2H06 (2 ARM + 4 DSP CorePacs)
66AK2L06 (2 ARM + 4 DSP CorePacs)
The 66AK2xDSP-PCIe is a Small Form Factor (SFF) family of Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) cards featuring the powerful Keystone II 66AK2xx ARM plus DSPs from Texas Instruments. The TI 66AK2xx devices are multicore ARM + DSP System on Chip (SoC), conveniently programmed using the C language. There are separate ARM and DSP subsections, with the ARM subsection consisting of two to four A15 cores clocked at 1.4GHz for a maximum of 192,000 MIPS, and with the DSP subsection consisting of four to eight C667x CorePacs clocked at 1.2GHz for a maximum of 352 GMAC performance. All of this is attained at a mere 14 watts of power consumption while most processors of this caliber are in the 60W range.
The ARM subsection features 32K Bytes of L1 per core and 4M Bytes of shared L2 on internal memory. Each CorePac of the DSP subsection features 32K Bytes L1P, 32K Bytes L1D, and 1M Bytes of L2. Each level of cache can be programmed in blocks as SRAM or cache. The 66AK2xx chip also features a memory controller that arbitrates 6M Bytes of shared SRAM memory between all cores of both subsections, along two external 64-bit DDR3 memory interfaces at 1600MHz.
High Speed Serial Interfaces: GbE, PCIe, & SRIO
There are multiple high speed interfaces, with each capable of moving large amounts of data. The Gigabit Ethernet interface can take advantage of the on-chip Network Co-processor to offload most of the packet processing, thereby enabling full bandwidth utilization and freeing up the ARM+DSPs to perform the computations for which they were designed. A PCIe x2 Gen 2.0 interface provides connectivity to a system backplane or Thunderbolt cable, and the flexible SRIO 2.1 x4 5Gbps interface can be connected to either an optional FPGA or other external peripherals. Separately, the 66AK2H14 also features a 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch subsystem.
Hardware Expansion with FPGA & FMC
The optional Altera Cyclone V FPGA includes SI’s proprietary IP layer that transparently translates SRIO so the FPGA may be used as an extra processing resource, as well as an expansion bridge to either an FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC), or a legacy style parallel expansion bus – ideal for those who prefer to leverage a wide array of 3rd party FMC modules, their own custom hardware or simply update legacy designs with minimal effort.
Options
Upgrade options for the SI-66AK2xxDSP include various core and memory configurations, nonvolatile storage, and either commercial or expanded temperature ranges. A full line of software development tools are available from Sheldon Instruments and TI for Windows and Linux platforms.
The SI-66AKH2xDSP is available with extensive development tools from Sheldon Instruments and TI for both the host PC side as well as the DSP side.
Host Side Tools
For the host PC side, Sheldon Instruments provides Windows/Linux 32/64 bit drivers, along with comprehensive sample application projects, with easy to use API libraries and related source code. The sample projects will be supplied as a command line utility, with a companion Qt GUI version. Its functionality includes:
DSP Side Tools
For the DSP side, TI tools include Code Composer Studio Integrated Development Environment (CCS), and the Multicore Software Development Kit (MCSDK) that includes the Board Support Package (BSP), Chip Support Library (CSL), Network Development Kit (NDK), and Sys/Bios. Sheldon Instruments provides various TI CCS projects for the DSP, both compiled versions for quick loading with the host side sample program, along with complete projects and related source code. These DSP projects include:
Keystone II 66AKH2x Processor Resources
For more detailed software documentation, check out the SI-C667x Keystone I Wiki Homepage.
There is important information for developers available from Texas Instrument’s website.
Processor for SI-66AK2xxDSP
| TI Keystone II 66AK2xx Family | ||
| Number of Cores | 66AK2H06 and 66AK2L06 | 2 ARM + 4 DSP |
| 66AK2H12 and 66AK2H14 | 4 ARM + 8 DSP | |
| DSP Subsection (each C667x CorePac) | Clocking | 1.2GHz |
| GMACS/GFLOPS | 38.4/19.2 | |
| L1 Program Cache/SRAM | 32KB | |
| L1 Data Cache/SRAM | 32KB | |
| L2 Cache/SRAM | 1MB | |
| ARM Subsection (each Cortex A15 core) | Clocking | 1.4GHz |
| MIPS | 9800 | |
| L1 Instruction and Data Cache/SRAM | 32KB | |
| Shared L2 Cache/SRAM | 4MB | |
| Shared | L2 Cache/SRAM | 6MB |
External Memory
| DDR3 Memory | ||
| Port A | Size | 2GB (256M x 64) |
| Speed | 1600Mhz | |
| Port B (66AK2Hxx only) | Size | 2GB (256M x 64) |
| Speed | 1600Mhz | |
| Storage / Nonvolatile Memory | |
| SPI | up to 64Mbit (8Mbx8) Flash |
| microSD flash card | |
| I2C | up to 2KB EEPROM (inside Tiva uC) |
Optional Altera Cyclone 5 GX FPGA
| Resource | C3 | C4 | C5 | C7 | C9 |
| Logic Elements (LE) (K) | 31.5 | 50 | 77 | 149.5 | 301 |
| ALM | 11900 | 18868 | 29080 | 56480 | 113560 |
| Register | 47600 | 75472 | 116320 | 225920 | 454240 |
| M10K | 1190 | 2500 | 4460 | 6860 | 12200 |
| MLAB | 159 | 295 | 424 | 836 | 1717 |
| Variable-preicision DSP Block | 51 | 70 | 150 | 156 | 342 |
| 18 x 18 Multiplier | 102 | 140 | 300 | 312 | 684 |
| PLL | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| SRIO Lanes @ 3.125Gbps | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Other Altera, Xilinx or Lattice devices also available on special request.
High Performance Serial Interfaces
| Interface | Lanes | Speed |
| PCI Express Gen2 | Desktop PCIe: 2 | 5 Gbps |
| PCIe-104: 1 or 2 | ||
| Thunderbolt: 2 | ||
| SRIO rev2.1 (66AK2Hxx only) | 4 | 5 Gbps |
| Gigabit Ethernet | 1 | 10/100/1000 Mbps |
| 10 Gigabit Ethernet (66AK2H14 only) | 1 | 10 Gbps |
| Hyperlink (66AK2Hxx only) | 4 | 12.5 Gbps |
Port Connectors
| Port | Count | Connector Style |
| PCIe Gen 2 | 1 | Desktop PCIe: Edge connector (Endpoint) |
| PCIe-104: 3 segment Samtec QMS (Root Complex or Endpoint) | ||
| Ethernet | 2 | RJ45s with integrated magnetics and LED indicators |
| microSD | 1 | Standard socket for microSD/SPI flash |
| JTAG | 1 | Keyed 14 pin (2×7) header; compatible with all third party emulators and debuggers |
| Optional Hyperlink (66AK2Hxx only) | 1 | Desktop PCIe: Optional mini-SAS HD+ 4i socket connector (Molex part number 76867-001; Mating cable is Molex 1110670200) |
| PCIe-104: Optional Searay connector to stack another SI-DSP carrier also equipped with a Hyperlink port | ||
| Optional Buffered UART | 1 | 6 pin header |
| microUSB (Tiva uC) | 1 | microAB for card configuration |
| Optional Peripheral Expansion | |
| SRIO x1 lane Expansion (66AK2Hxx only) | Single segment QMS connector |
| FMC/Parallel Expansion (available with FPGA only) | FMC connector |
Mechanical Properties
| Physical Dimensions/Electrical Requirements/Temperature | |
| Form Factor Dimensions | Desktop PCIe (3/4 size): 9″/23cm(L) x 4.9″/12.5cm(W) |
| PCIe-104: 4.55″/11.6cm(L) x 3.775″/9.59cm(W) | |
| Weight | 0.31lbs/140 grams |
| Supply Voltages | 3.3V @ 0.75A and +12V @ 1.5A |
| Power | 20 Watts typical; up to 28W with optional FPGA |
| Temperature | Commercial grade 0-85C. Consult factory for availability of industrial and military temperature grades |
PCIe Form Factor Cards
| Product | Description | Price (US dollars) |
| SI-66AK2H14DSP-PCIe | 66AK2H14 – 4 ARM + 8 DSP CorePacs | Call |
| SI-66AK2H12DSP-PCIe | 66AK2H12 – 4 ARM + 8 DSP CorePacs | Call |
| SI-66AK2H06DSP-PCIe | 66AK2H06 – 2 ARM + 4 DSP CorePacs | Call |
| SI-66AK2L06DSP-PCIe | 66AK2L06 – 2 ARM + 4 DSP CorePacs | Call |
PCIe-104 Form Factor Cards
| Product | Description | Price (US dollars) |
| SI-66AK2H14DSP-PCIe | 66AK2H14 – 4 ARM + 8 DSP CorePacs | Call |
| SI-66AK2H12DSP-PCIe | 66AK2H12 – 4 ARM + 8 DSP CorePacs | Call |
| SI-66AK2H06DSP-PCIe | 66AK2H06 – 2 ARM + 4 DSP CorePacs | Call |
| SI-66AK2L06DSP-PCIe | 66AK2L06 – 2 ARM + 4 DSP CorePacs | Call |
FPGA Options
| Product | Description | Price (US dollars) |
| -C3 | x2 SRIO @ 3.125Gbps – 31k Gates | Call |
| -C4 | x4 SRIO @ 3.125Gbps – 50k Gates | Call |
| -C5 | x4 SRIO @ 3.125Gbps – 77k Gates | Call |
| -C7 | x4 SRIO @ 3.125Gbps – 149k Gates | Call |
| -C9 | x4 SRIO @ 3.125Gbps – 301k Gates | Call |