RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. March 25, 2009 – General Micro Systems, Inc. (GMS), designer and manufacturer of embedded computing products for defense, aerospace and compute-intensive applications, and the leader in high-end Pentium® processors since 1986, has introduced the “Maritime” (VS275) a new VMEbus CPU that defies obsolescence by enabling seamless upgrades and complete flexibility with the addition of five different expansion modules. The supreme versatility offered by the “Maritime” enabled the U.S. Navy to use the VS275 as the common platform in three programs.
“Maritime” utilizes the GMS P70 “Nucleus” processor module, a module that supports either the ultra low-power Core 2 Duo operating at 1.5 GHz (L7400 @ 17 W) or the Core 2 Duo at 2.16 GHz (T7400 @ 34 W) with 4 MB of L2 Cache and 667 MHz FSB. The P70 module is a second-generation GMS upgrade and will be followed by the P80 module
when the next generation of Intel® processors becomes available.
“Plug-in” configurability is a premium advantage of the VS275. Custom configurations are made possible through one PMC-X and/or 16-Lane XMC compliant site with rear I/O, and an optional workstation I/O module (second VME Site). The I/O modules comprises three PMC-X sites and/or two 8-Lane XMC sites and one PMC-X site; or two SAM™ (Special Application Module) video modules – one with Dual Link DVI-I and one with dual DVI-I to the front panel – and one PMC-X site.
In place of the onboard PMC site the “Maritime” can be configured with a 2.5” SATA 500 GB HDD or 256 GB SSD with Secure Erase function which can be triggered via software or recessed front panel switch. The “Maritime” also supports one Micro SATA HDD/SDD up to 128 GB SSD and two-buffered SATA 2.0 ports for SATA 2.0 drives that can be up to 8 meters away. Other features include two Gigabit Ethernet ports with TCP/IP offloading engine and dedicated interrupt, ten USB 2.0 ports; four serial ports with RS232/422/485 options; two PATA ports, one to the rear, one for onboard HDD/SSD/CF; 16 individually programmable buffered user I/O lines, and custom I/O functions such as FireWire or octal SIO via a SAM-III™ module.
The U.S. Navy used the VS275 as the common platform in three programs: DDG-1000, Aegis and DDG-M/MCS. Three independent contractors supplying systems to the Navy were able to share cost-saving test data and information with each other. Although each program had different systems needs, the ability to use the basic VS275 – or coupling it with the WSIO PMC/XMC workstation module (providing three PMC/XMC sites) or the WSIO SAM Video workstation – put all three programs on the same basic platform. This not only provides the Navy potential savings through common training and support but also making seamless upgrades possible through 2018.
The WSIO SAM video workstation module provides two independent video modules, each one supporting dual pipe video, for a total of four display units with RGB or DVI outputs. The baseboard VS275 also has one RGB video for a system total of five video ports. Four high-end video heads provide 2560 x 1600 screen resolution @ 32 bit color, enabling ultra high-performance ATI or NVIDA® 2D/3D video graphics engines.
“We created the VS275 with the future needs of designers and end-users in mind,” said
Ben Sharfi, General Micro System’s president. “As new generations of Intel processors come to market, our customers – as well as their customers – will be ahead, since upgradeability and system flexibility are engineered in. The use of a common GMS platform not only was a great benefit to the Navy, but the concept offers our company revenue potential in excess of $200 million through the life of these programs.”
The “Maritime” supports VME-64 and is available in a standard temperature 0°C to +60°C or extended temperature -40°C to +85°C version. Support for Linux®, Windows® VISTA/XP, LynxOS, Solaris and VxWorks® operating systems is standard.
Pricing for the standard version of “Maritime” (VS275) starts at $3,200, in quantities of a 1 unit and ships 60 days ARO.
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For more information regarding “Maritime” (VS275), the WSIO workstation modules or any GMS product please contact Pat Quick; 909-980-4863 x208, [email protected] or see www.gms4sbc.com.
Reader Service Contact: Pat Quick; 909-980-4863 x208, [email protected]. General Micro Systems, 8358 Maple Place, P.O. Box 3689, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730, USA. Tel: 1-800-307-4863; 909-980-4863; Fax: 909-987-4863.
Electronic images (300dpi) of “Maritime” are available at: www.gms4sbc.com/pictures.htm. Or, you can contact Pete Yeatman, [email protected]; 239-463-1953.
About General Micro Systems
Established in 1979, GMS operates from its corporate headquarters in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. GMS has become an industry leader in the design and manufacture of computing engines for VME, CompactPCI, custom and small form factor boards and systems for the embedded real-time markets. With an extensive standard line of computing engines based on Intel® Pentium® and PowerPC® processors (IBM® and Motorola®), GMS has a 25-year reputation of bringing to market the most advanced technologies with many innovations such as mezzanine boards and CPU carriers. Although GMS’s base products center around VME and CompactPCI bus architectures, most of the company’s revenue comes from custom to semi-custom products. GMS’s large array of products – from the lowest-priced and smallest SBC to super-performing SBCs for critical applications – leverage custom ASIC design, FPGA and other base technologies to bring the highest performance at the lowest cost possible.
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