System Architecture

All TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC have compatible system architecture based around single-/multi-DSP, SRAM, host ISA-bus PC I/F, on-board shared bus (SB) architecture and expansion sites for application specific UECMX, PIOX and SIOX daughter-card modules. Host ISA-bus PC I/F as well as PIOX, SIOX and UECMX daughter-card sites are standard between different DSP platforms of TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC and allow easy migration between different DSP platforms or upgrade to a multi-DSP configuration (even with mixed DSP platforms!) at a minimum cost and with minimum software modifications.

TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC are now the industry-standard DSP platforms well suited for virtually any DSP applications, and are supported by the software development tools from the world leading DSP software brands.

On-board DSP

TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC utilize state-of-the-art 16-bit ..100MIPS fixed-point   TMS320C54x DSP, 32-bit ..2000MIPS fixed-point TMS320C62xx DSP, 32-bit ..1000MFLOPS  floating-point TMS320C67xx DSP, 32-bit ..150MFLOPS floating-point TMS320C3x and  32-bit 60MFLOPS floating-point TMS320C4x  DSP from TI.

TORNADO-3x/54x DSP Systems are single-processor on-board DSP systems only, whereas TORNADO-4x/6x product lines comprise of both single- and multi-processor on-board DSP solutions. All TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC allow multiprocessor DSP expansion via daughter-card modules.

On-board SRAM

On-board static RAM (SRAM) is either asynchronous SRAM or synchronous burst SRAM (SBSRAM, for TORNADO-6x only) and comprises of several memory banks in order to meet different customer requirements for on-board SRAM capacity. Most of TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC run at 0ws when accessing the on-board SRAM from on-board DSP.

Most of TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC use unified x32-bit SRAM chips in PLCC-68 package for the on-board SRAM banks and allow easy migration between 64K/128K/256K/512Kx32 SRAM capacity while saving significant on-board space. Also, some low-cost TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC allow installation of 8Kx8/32Kx8/64Kx8/128Kx8 SRAM DIP chips in order to deliver memory upgrade flexibility at low-cost.

On-board FLASH/EPROM

Some of TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC (TORNADO-3xLX/4x/6x) also feature stand-alone capability in order to evaluate stand-alone DSP applications. Once external power is applied via dedicated on-board external power connector, and either external or on-board reset signal is released, then the on-board DSP will start bootloading from the on-board plug-in FLASH/EPROM.

When such a TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC is plugged into host ISA-bus PC slot, the on-board FLASH/EPROM area can be accessed via host ISA-bus PC I/F, so the user can either verify contents of the on-board FLASH/EPROM or program on-board FLASH using utility software.

Shared Bus (SB) Architecture

The ultimate benefit of TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC is the on-board shared-bus (SB) architecture, which comprises of the SB masters and SB resources. The SB masters, which can access the SB resources, include the on-board DSP(s) and host ISA-bus PC memory I/F, whereas the SB resources include the on-board SRAM and parallel I/O expansion (PIOX) I/F site(s).

The SB has been optimized for high-performance on-board data processing and in-parallel high-speed data transfers between host ISA-bus PC memory I/F and SB resources without consuming virtually any DSP time.

The SB arbitration assumes that the on-board DSP(s) have the highest priority when accessing SB simultaneously with host ISA-bus PC memory I/F. All SB masters can lock SB in order to ensure safe transfer of critical shared data.

Host ISA-bus PC I/F

Host ISA-bus PC I/F of TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC comprises of:

Host ISA-bus PC I/O I/F is allocated into host PC ISA bus I/O area, and is used for on-board DSP reset control, host-to-DSP interrupt communication, access to DSP on-chip HPI port (host port I/F, for TORNADO-54x/6x only) and setting the operation mode for host ISA-bus PC memory I/F.

Host ISA-bus PC memory I/F is allocated into host PC ISA UMB-mapped memory window, and is used to access the on-board SB resources (SRAM and PIOX). Host ISA-bus PC memory I/F provides high-speed data transfers between host PC environment and on-board DSP environment. Host PC software can easily access any of the on-board SRAM/PIOX via PC UMB-mapped memory window.

Some of TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC, for example TORNADO-30, also include dual-port RAM (DPRAM) as an option for host ISA-bus PC memory I/F. DPRAM delivers 8Kx32 of shared memory communication area between DSP and host ISA-bus PC ISA-bus, and allows simultaneous access of DSP and host ISA-bus PC memory I/F to this area without any arbitration and delays. Furthermore, DPRAM offers eight shared hardware semaphores and door-bell registers for communication between DSP and host PC.

Parallel I/O Expansion (PIOX) I/F site(s)

Most of TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC feature the on-board PIOX site(s), which allow installation of a wide selection of application specific high-speed AD/DA/DIO and DSP Coprocessor PIOX daughter-card modules. Refer to PIOX I/F site specification for details.

Serial I/O Expansion (SIOX) I/F site(s)

All TORNADO-3x/54x/6x DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC feature the on-board SIOX site(s), which allow installation of a wide selection of low-cost  AD/DA/DIO and DSP Coprocessor SIOX daughter-card modules. Refer to SIOX I/F site specification for details.

Multiprocessor DSP expansion

All TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC allow multiprocessor DSP expansion in order to increase DSP performance.

Foremost, every TORNADO DSP System might be upgraded locally to extended DSP performance using PIOX and/or SIOX DSP Coprocessor daughter-card modules, which are available with one, two and four DSPs on-module. Some DSP Coprocessors also allow optional connection to AD/DA/DIO daughter-card modules for local I/O and data processing pipelining.

Furthermore, multiple TORNADO DSP Systems might be connected into a multiprocessor network with a variety of topologies using link ports. For TORNADO-4x DSP Systems link ports come standard on-board, whereas for other TORNADO DSP Systems link ports are available via optional PIOX-Link daughter-card modules.

Emulation options

TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC provide the on-board MPSD (TORNADO-3x) or JTAG (TORNADO-4x/54x/6x) emulation port for connection to external TI XDS510 or MicroLAB'  MIRAGE-510DX scan-path emulator in order to debug the on-board DSP software.

However, in order to minimize cost of development tools, all TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC provide the on-board site either for UECMX universal emulation control daughter-card module or ECC emulation controller chip. Both are low-cost replacements for external scan-path emulators and run under identical TI Code Composer Studio IDE. UECMX allows optional connection of  external MPSD/JTAG pod for emulation of any external TI TMS320 DSP.

Using TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC as universal emulators for external TMS320 DSP

Those TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC, which allow installation of UECMX emulation daughter-card module, can easily convert into universal emulator for any external TI TMS320C2xx/C3x/C4x/C5x/C54x/C6x DSP by means of connection of optional external MPSD/JTAG pod to UECMX via rear panel of PC. This converts TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC into universal evaluation and development system for all TI TMS320 DSP.

Software development tools

Software development tools for TORNADO DSP Systems include TORNADO Software Development Kit (TSDK) for host Windows applications, industry-standard C/Assembler compilers, debuggers and IDEs, multitasking/multiprocessor real-time OS tools, DSP algorithm development tools, DSP/math function libraries, and more... Please contact MicroLAB Systems for more details.

Applications

Applications for TORNADO DSP Systems for ISA-bus PC include:

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