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StreamStor® High-Speed

160 Gbps Modular Recording System

Modular and flexible solutions that don't sacrifice speed are the future of high-speed data acquisition technology. That's why Conduant developed a modular recording platform—so you can have the best of both worlds.

Cobra system illustration

Overview

By leveraging proven StreamStor® technology, Conduant provides one of the fastest, most flexible high-speed data recording platforms on the market. Cobra is engineered to be infinitely customizable, and with data rates up to 160 Gbps, its potential applications are virtually limitless—from 5G to instrumentation to electromagnetic warfare and more.

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High Speed Transfer

A StreamStor® Cobra system is capable of sustained recording and playback at up to 20 GB/s (160 Gbps), or 1 TB every 50 seconds.

We leverage the latest in data transfer and NVMe SSD storage technology to deliver the fastest possible data acquisition.

Modular

The Cobra platform utilizes the PXI Express architecture to provide a modular, flexible solution consisting of one or more high-speed optical FPGA boards and one or more NVMe SSD based storage boards. This allows Conduant to customize the Cobra system to the exact requirements of our customers.

Scalable

Because Cobra is built on a foundation of proven PXI Express technology, recording systems can easily be expanded to provide additional data transfer speed, NVMe SSD storage capacity, or both.

Extended systems can also employ an additional chassis to provide additional resources.

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Unlimited Configurations, One StreamStor®

A typical Cobra configuration will include an Intel processor based controller, one or more high speed optical FPGA boards, and one or more NVMe SSD based storage boards. The PXI Express backplane allows numerous configurations and combinations of storage and FPGA boards to match nearly any requirement. Extended systems can also employ an additional chassis to provide additional storage capacity if desired.

Our engineers will work with you directly to build a custom system to fit your needs and budget. Take advantage of over 40 years of engineering experience with a free phone or email consultation.

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  • Cobra High Speed RecorderCobra High Speed Recorder

    Cobra High Speed Recorder

    Modular & Flexible

    The Cobra High Speed Recorder is a unique solution for high speed data recording and playback at a rate of up to 20 GB/s (160 Gbps). The system utilizes the PXI Express architecture to provide a modular, flexible solution that can be customized to nearly any requirement. The main recording engine, Cobra, is a PXIe board with high speed RAM and a high performance Xilinx FPGA. This board manages the data movement to and from storage devices and also provides optical fiber channels for high speed data input or output. The Cobra board can be used alone or in concert with additional Cobra boards. A typical system configuration will include an Intel processor based controller, one or more Cobra boards, and one or more SSD based storage boards. The PXI Express backplane allows numerous configurations and combinations of storage and recorder boards to match nearly any requirement. Extended systems can also employ an additional chassis to provide additional storage capacity if desired.

    Peer-to-Peer PCI Express

    Conduant’s StreamStor® architecture provides the capability to move data on the PCI Express fabric using Peer-to-Peer techniques. This allows direct hardware data streaming from A/D or other PCI Express sources to or from the data storage without being impaired by system bottlenecks. The system can also accept data from multiple PCI Express sources simultaneously.

    Command/Control

    The Cobra High Speed Recorder can operate independently from a host computer with command/control performed over a network connection. Control can also be automated from a software application using the StreamStor® software API on a network connected computer. A cabled PCI Express option provides connectivity to a host computer for command/control and/or high-speed data access. The cabled PCI Express option provides a 64 Gbps link that can be optionally extended to support long distance links using a PCI Express fiber optic cable.

    Solid State Storage

    The standard storage devices used in the Cobra High Speed Recorder system are M.2 NVMe PCI Express solid state drives. These devices are installed with up to 4 per PXI Express slot using the DM-4M.2 Storage Unit. These drives are available in capacities up to 4 TB each, with even higher capacities expected in the future. The use of solid state drives provides consistent performance even with high levels of shock and vibration. Current standard configurations support up to 128 TB of storage in a 4U 22″ deep chassis. Check with your Conduant sales representative for the latest available storage offerings compatible with the Cobra system.

    High Speed Serial (Optical)

    The Xilinx FPGA on the Cobra board optionally includes up to 24 channels (48 fibers) of high speed optical and can be configured to support many different high speed serial protocols. The protocols possible over these interfaces include ODI (Optical Data Interface), Interlaken, Serial FPDP, and Aurora. Other interfaces can be added according to customer requirements. The optical interfaces can also be used to extend the recorder performance. For example, an ODI recorder is capable of 160 Gbps using 4 recorders and a 12 x 14.1 Gbps interface. The optical interface provides a high speed data path that is daisy chained to each recorder so that the speed capability is aggregated across the cooperating recorders. The 24 optical fibers can be tailored to customer requirements by bonding channels to create higher speed channels or used independently to record large numbers of slower channels. The Xilinx FPGA also allows Conduant the flexibility to customize an implementation for a particular protocol.

    Trigger/Sync Capability

    The Cobra hardware is connected to the PXI Express backplane instrumentation signals and also has front panel signal connectors. These signal sources can be adapted to customer requirements to provide unique capabilities required for a customer application—triggers, event marking, etc.

    Software API

    The included software development kit (SDK) includes support for .NET development environments. This includes languages such as C#, Visual Basic, and C++ CLI. The SDK also includes a complete “C” based interface to facilitate usage of nearly any programming language. This includes programming environments such as LabVIEW and MATLAB. The SDK includes support for features such as wrap mode (circular buffer) for very long duration recording, playback looping, and multiple recording (file) management. Additional features are added regularly and the software can be customized as needed.    

  • DM-4M.2-3U Storage Unit

    The Big River™ DM-4M.2-3U PXI Express storage unit provides up to 15.2 TB of NVME SSD storage in a single PXI Express slot. The DM-4M.2 has a PCI Express Gen3 x8 host interface (up to 8GB/s). With the latest NVME SSD storage, the board delivers high speed data rates for sequential writes of 7.1 GB/s and for sequential reads of 7.1 GB/s in Gen3 PXI Express based systems.

    The single slot design of the DM-4M.2 increases the availability of valuable chassis slots when compared to other solutions and allows for maximum storage flexibility. The DM-4M.2 complies with PCIe Gen3 protocol standards and uses industry standard NVME SSD storage devices. The DM-4M.2 operates under Windows 7, 8.1, and 10, and can utilize the software RAID feature of Windows to combine up to 4 devices on the board into a single addressable device.

    PXIe storage modules offered by Conduant are compatible with all major PXI Express chassis brands, including National Instruments (NI) and Keysight.

    Full list of compatible PXIe chassis models:


    Compatible National Instruments Chassis Models

    PXIe1062Q
    PXIe1065
    PXIe1066DC
    PXIe1073
    PXIe1078
    PXIe1082
    PXIe1082DC
    PXIe1085
    PXIe1086
    PXIe1086DC
    PXIe1090
    PXIe1092
    PXIe1095

    Compatible Keysight Chassis Models

    M9019A
    M9018B
    M9010A
    M9005A

  • DM-U.2 removable storage

    DM-U.2 Storage Unit

    The DM-U.2 PXI Express Storage Unit provides up to 15.2 TB of removable solid state storage (SSD) in a single PXI Express slot.  It addresses the requirements of users who need to remove and replace PXI Express storage for security or other reasons.  This includes data recording applications where recorded media must be quickly removed and replaced with fresh media between recording missions.   It also facilitates easy data removal for data security reasons when a system is left unattended.

    Each DM-U.2 connects with 4 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3 and supports data rates up to 4GB/s per unit. Performance and storage capacity can be increased by arranging multiple DM-U.2 in a software RAID configuration.

    The DM-U.2 complies with PCIe Gen3 protocol standards and uses industry standard NVM Express (NVMe) SSD storage devices.  NVMe storage devices bypass traditional storage controllers by using a direct to PCI Express connection for the best possible performance. The NVMe drives are compatible with most operating systems including Windows and Linux using standard OS provided drivers. Please contact Conduant sales for information on currently available drive models including capacities and durability.

    PXIe storage modules offered by Conduant are compatible with all major PXI Express chassis models, including National Instruments (NI) and Keysight Technologies.

    Full list of compatible PXIe chassis models:


    Compatible National Instruments Chassis Models

    PXIe1062Q
    PXIe1065
    PXIe1066DC
    PXIe1073
    PXIe1078
    PXIe1082
    PXIe1082DC
    PXIe1085
    PXIe1086
    PXIe1086DC
    PXIe1090
    PXIe1092
    PXIe1095

    Compatible Keysight Chassis Models

    M9019A
    M9018B
    M9010A
    M9005A

  • HSS-8324

    HSS-8324 PXI Express High Speed Optical FPGA Board

    The Conduant HSS-8324 Optical FPGA board provides the user with a hardware platform that is able to sustain full-duplex high-bandwidth transfers through its 8-lane Gen3 PXI Express (PXIe) interface and its 24-lane optical interface. The PXIe interface provides a theoretical maximum throughput of 8GB/s (simultaneous in and out).

    The board provides both 8GB of high-speed DDR3 SDRAM and 8MB of QDR II+ SRAM. At the center of the design is a Xilinx Kintex Ultrascale (XCKU095-FFVB1760-2-E) FPGA which interconnects all ports and other devices while supplying the additional resources that are available within the FPGA. Other models of Kintex or Virtex Ultrascale FPGAs may be available; check with your Conduant sales representative.

    With up to 48 optical fibers available, the board can be used for numerous applications that require high speed data connectivity. Each lane of optical fiber (transmit or receive) can operate independently. There are also dual Interlaken cores available in the FPGA which can be used to create dual 150 Gbps Interlaken connections (12 x 12.5 Gbps). Other optical protocols (i.e. Serial FPDP, Aurora, etc.) can also be used and a copper cabling option is available.

    At power-on, the Kintex Ultrascale FPGA is quickly configured with the user program by using the SPI x4 serial flash memory device. This provides the fast wake-up required for PCI Express. The user content can be encrypted using a key that is either permanently programmed in a non-volatile manner into the FPGA (eFUSE) or can be preserved in a volatile manner so long as the on-board battery is not removed. This feature makes this product particularly attractive for applications in which protecting the FPGA intellectual property from cloning or reverse engineering is important.

    The board includes a microcontroller for power management and an on-board I2C interface connecting the uC, FPGA, and optical transceivers.

    For users who need more FPGA resources than are available in the XCKU095-FFVB1760-2-E, the pinout has been chosen to support migration to other, pin-compatible, Virtex/Kintex Ultrascale components. These variations can be provided by request.