PCI, cPCI, and PMC Interfaces for ARINC 664 / AFDX

Description

The Ballard AFDX family of products interfaces various computer platforms with Ethernet based aircraft data networks. They enable computers with PCI, cPCI, or PMC expansion slots to receive and transmit data over an Avionics Full Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) network. These products meet the demanding requirements of the AFDX and ARINC 664 Aircraft Data Networks (ADN) used on the newest Airbus and Boeing Aircraft.

Engineers and technicians use Ballard AFDX products for development, production, and maintenance of AFDX equipped products and systems. Ballard AFDX products are used as testers of end systems, as simulators of network switches and end systems. and as databus analyzers for measuring and recording network performance. Applications for the Ballard AFDX products are found in engineering laboratories, in avionics and airframe factories, on the flight-line, and in maintenance facilities.

The Ballard AFDX family consists of several different models with varying levels of functionality. The base model permits functional operation of the transmitters and receivers or capturing bus activity through a sequential monitor. More advanced models allow operation of the transmitters and receivers while concurrently monitoring. All models capture numerous network characteristics, providing a statistical record of errors and performance. User controlled filters can limit the results to only those of interest. Additionally, advanced models can also be programmed to transmit different kinds of errors for the purpose of verifying how equipment or systems respond to error conditions.

A powerful dedicated on-board processor (PowerPC®) handles the AFDX protocol, freeing the host processor for user applications. Integrity checking, redundancy management, and flow control (scheduling) are all built-in to the firmware running on the on-board processor.

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Software

The easiest way to use Ballard AFDX products in a Windows environment is with Ballard's CoPilot AFDX software, which provides interactive access to network information and data without software programming. The intuitive Windows environment enables users to quickly and easily analyze and simulate AFDX network activity.

CoPilot AFDX-CoPilot AFDX is an intuitive, graphical databus analyzer that simplifies the simulation and testing of ARINC 664 / AFDX - based avionics systems. CoPilot AFDX is part of the CoPilot Family-a comprehensive software environment that interfaces to Ballard's ARINC 429, ARINC 708/453, and MIL-STD-1553 hardware products.

The Application Program Interface (API) provides high-level functions that enable custom software applications to be developed with only a few function calls. API functions configure the hardware to handle the desired Virtual Links (VLs), sub-VLs, sampling ports, and queuing ports. Extensive scheduling capability allows the user to control the sequencing of packets transmitted on the network. The API accesses data through sampling and queuing ports either in raw form or in user-defined engineering units.

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AFDX Functional Specifications

• Redundant or independent operation
• VL support
• Sub-VL support
• Queuing and sampling ports
• No pre-determined limit to number of VLs or ports per VL
• Non-standard addressing support (MAC, IP, etc.)
• Standard MIB (Management Information Base) usage
• Configurable RSN (Redundancy Sequence Number) usage
• Packet time-tagging at 1 microsecond resolution

Transmitter

• Traffic shaping using BAG (Bandwidth Allocation Gap)
• Automatic scheduling based on VL's BAG and port rates
• Flexible custom scheduling of VLs and ports
• Asynchronous single-shot transmission of any packet
• Packet to network control (A/B/A&B)
• Configurable queuing port depth
• Actively modify transmit data
• Configurable frames (headers and payload)

Receiver

• Configurable integrity and redundancy checking
• VL and port filtering
• Default port for non-filtered AFDX packets
• Non-AFDX packet handling for host processing
• Configurable queuing port depth

Monitor

• Records packets with time-tag, header, data, and status information
• Monitor all or a selective group of packets (filtering)
• Filtering options
  • VL, port, network
  • Packets with errors
  • Undefined packets
  • Protocol
• Summary mode records header information without payload
• Continuous or fill and halt operation

Error Injection

• Timing errors
  • BAG violation
  • Inter-frame gap (4-63 byte times)
  • Packet flooding
• Logical errors
  • Frame size
  • Data alignment
  • Layers 2, 3, 4 (i.e., IP address, IP version, CRC, length, etc.)
• AFDX protocol errors
  • Multiple sources for same destination port
  • Port rate
  • Redundancy

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Product Highlights

Features	Model
	A	B
Transmit and Receive
Bus Monitor
Filtering
Concurrent with Tx/Rx
Error injection

PMC

• PMC form factor (149 mm x 74 mm)
• PCI/PCI-X interface
  • 32/64-bit
  • 33/66 MHz
  • 66-133 MHz (PCI-X)
  • 3.3V I/O
• P/N: LM-AFDX-1x (x = model)

PCI

• PCI Carrier (short) with PMC Module
• PCI/PCI-X (i31154)
  • 32/64-bit
  • 33/66 MHz
  • 66-133 MHz
  • 5V/3.3V I/O
• P/N: LP-AFDX-1x (x = model)

cPCI

• cPCI Carrier (3U) with PMC Module
• PCI bridge (i21154)
• 32/64-bit
• 33/66 MHz
• 5V/3.3V I/O
• P/N: LC-AFDX-1x (x = model)

CoPilot AFDX

• Available in Standard and Plus versions
• Can be bundled with hardware or ordered separately

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Download Brochure

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