New 6U SBC Incorporates Intel 9th Gen CPU, Aligns with SOSA Technical Standard

Sept. 25, 2020
Abaco's 6U SBC features the Intel Xeon E six core CPU with 64GB DDR4 with ECC and up to 256 GB SSD and provides a dual 40 GbE data plane with RDMA, plus dual 10GbE ports on the control plane.

Abaco Systems announced the SBC6511, a rugged sixth generation 6U single board computer aligned with The Open Group Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA), technical standard that integrates the newest embedded CPU and FPGA technologies for rugged compute-intensive, heavy-throughput applications and gives users a technology insertion at the data plane, expansion plane, and control plane levels. It demonstrates Abaco’s commitment to continuing innovation with the latest technology and performance standards, while aligning with relevant industry standards.

The innovative design combines the latest Intel Xeon E 9 Generation CPU (formerly known as Coffee Lake Refresh) with the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ FPGA with advanced security capabilities (ZU7EG) to yield maximum processing performance and security in a rugged, single 6U VPX slot. The FPGA is the root of trust in the new design, giving users advanced security compared to “bolt-on” systems found in other designs. Additionally, the SBC6511 utilizes Mellanox ConnectX-5, facilitating dual 40 GigE KR4 data plane fat-pipes for increased bandwidth across the system. It supports Linux, Windows, and VxWorks operating systems.

In line with Abaco’s commitment to maximizing the value of customer investments and minimizing long term cost of ownership, a full-feature variant of the SBC6511 is available to provide a robust insertion/upgrade product for users of the SBC627, delivering substantially superior performance with minimal disruption. In addition to all features of the SOSA aligned variant, the full-feature SBC6511 provides one additional XMC site, one additional DisplayPort, and four additional USB 3.1 ports through inclusion of rear P3 and P6 connections.

John Muller, chief growth officer at Abaco Systems, said: “The SBC6511 is the foundation of our new 6U SOSA aligned portfolio. It demonstrates Abaco’s commitment to listening to the market and delivering the increased CPU performance, security, and data handling new applications need, but within the same SWaP envelope engineers want. It also leverages our highly-valued partnerships to deliver a product that helps our customers to do more with less, thereby lowering overall cost of ownership.”

Technical overview
The SBC6511 features the Intel Xeon E six core CPU with 64GB DDR4 with ECC and up to 256 GB SSD.  It includes the Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ FPGA with its advanced security features, and delivers a multi-fabric architecture on the data, control, and expansion planes. The SBC6511 provides support for the latest DisplayPort 1.4 outputs capable of 4K @ 120 Hz or 5K @ 60 Hz, in line with the latest display standards. It also provides a dual 40 GbE data plane with RDMA, plus dual 10GbE ports on the control plane. Expansion is supported by multiple PCIe Gen 3 capable XMC sites. The SBC6511 is available in SOSA aligned or full-feature variants with expanded I/O and XMC expansion. It supports Linux, Windows and VxWorks operating systems plus Abaco’s AXIS software suite and Health Toolkit. UEFI, BIT, and Slim Bootloader are available on request.