NAMC-Discovery

The NAMC-DISCOVERY is a development environment for AMCs used in MTCA, ATCA, or custom systems.

In standalone mode, it can be used to bring up and test AMC modules (AMC-under-test) as a separate development board. The Base PCB includes the required MTCA infrastructure including an embedded MCH (eMCH), a Power Module, and Cooling Unit, eliminating the need for any external MTCA system hardware.

As an extension to an MTCA system or PC, the NAMC-DISCOVERY can be setup in extender mode. With the use of the appropriate AddOn-Kit, the development environment provides full connectivity over a cable interface to an MTCA system or PCIe x8 slot (typically on PC or Server mainboards).

Also JTAG connections and functionality is included to simplify the testing and debugging process.

The NAMC-DISCOVERY-StarterKit provides everything to bring up and test an AMC. It features

• the Base PCB with an LCD display providing useful information about the eMCH, the AMC state, link status of the AMC-under-test, and information about current and voltage sensors
• a 120W auto-range AC/DC power supply, including a 1m power cord
• a removable low-noise fan to cool the AMC-under-test
• an USB cable to connect to the serial console of the eMCH
• a CAT5 patch cable to connect the network to AMC ports #0 or #1 of the AMC-under-test

The add-on option NAMC-DISCOVERY-AddLoopback is mandatory for performance of loopback tests on ports #0-20 of the AMC-under-test.

Depending on the development environment, the single mid-size AMC module NAMC-DISCOVERY-AddConMTCA, or the standard PCIe card NAMC-DISCOVERY-AddConPCIe is needed for system integration testing.

These add-on cards allow the AMC-under-test to be connected TO and powered by either a MTCA system or a PC, while it is still inserted in the NAMC-DISCOVERY Base PCB.

If connected to a MTCA system, the AMC-under-test is transparently linked to and managed by the MTCA system; the NAT-eMCH is disabled.

The NAMC-DISCOVERY seamlessly ties into AN Altera or XILINX IDE. It can operate as JTAG master or JTAG slave which allows to easily program any FPGA on the AMC-under-test directly from the IDE work station.

Features in Standalone Mode:

• Mandatory MTCA infrastructure (MCH, PM, CU) included on Base PCB
• No need for external MTCA system hardware
• 1000Base-T Ethernet connection to AMC Port 0 / 1 with Ethernet plugs located on baseboard
• VLAN capable
• 12V local power supply over banana plug or 4 pin AC/DC power plug
• NAT-eMCH on Base PCB for IPMI management
• MCH connected with Ethernet for external system manager and update
• MCH connected with Micro-USB for serial output and configuration
• MCH can be configured to use the AMC in unmanaged mode
• MCH controls and monitors FAN
• AMC status LEDs

Features in Extender Mode:

• Full connectivity over cable interface to external MTCA system or PC
• NAMC-Discovery-Connect-MTCA
  • Connects to MTCA system
  • Ports #0-20, TCLKA A-D, FCLKA , JTAG , I2C, Power
• NAMC-Discovery-Connect-PCIe
  • Standard PCIe-x8 Card
  • Ports #4-11, JTAG, I2C, Power
• NAMC-Discovery-Loopback
  • Cross-over connect TX and RX signals of AMC ports #0-20
  • Useful for production testing