CP5-GLAM

Based on the PCI Express and USB standards, ExpressCards and PCI Express Mini Cards became very popular also for industrial applications. The CP5-GLAM is a carrier board for a single 54/34mm ExpressCard and two PCI Express Mini Cards, and can in addition be equipped with two USB Silicon State Drive (SSD) modules.
The CP5-GLAM is a 3U/4HP CompactPCI® peripheral board. In addition to an USB controller it provides PCI Express based circuitry, as required for attachment of both, PCI Express Mini Cards, and the ExpressCard.

The front panel ExpressCard slot stands for flexible system configuration. The push-push mechanics accommodates either an ExpressCard/54 (54mm x 75mm) or an ExpressCard/34 (34mm x 75mm) module. ExpressCard technology is designed to allow users to install and remove modules from the CP5-GLAM at any time, without having to switch off their systems.
The on-board PCI Express Mini Card sockets on the CP5-GLAM are especially useful for wireless applications such as WiFi (WLAN), GSM, WiMax, and in addition for the Intel® Turbo Memory modules. Up to 6 antenna connectors (SMA/RP style) in the front panel allow for MIMO (RF multiple-input multiple-output) card employment. Typically, wireless Mini Cards provide U.FL style antenna receptacles. A double ended U.FL plug coaxial cable assembly will be required for each Mini Card receptacle as interconnection to its associated front panel SMA connector.
In addition, the CP5-GLAM is equipped with two on-board sockets for USB Flash disk modules such as the Intel® Z-U130. Similar to an USB stick, Solid State Drive (SSD) modules are mass storage devices based on NAND flash memory, while providing error correction management, performance and endurance parameters suitable for rugged industrial applications. The CompactPCI backplane is based on the (parallel) PCI bus. The ExpressCard however, as well as its pendant PCI Express Mini Card, requires a (serial) PCI Express l/F. In addition, both card types may use an USB channel, as I/F alternative. Hence, the CP5-GLAM as a carrier for up to three cards (2 x PCI Express Mini Card, 1 x ExpressCard) must provide three PCIe lanes, and three USB ports. Another two USB ports are required for the USB SSD (Solid State Drive) modules.

The PCI Express circuitry on the CP5-GLAM is comprised of two main components, a PCI to PCI Express reverse bridge, and a PCI Express packet switch to expand a single PCIe lane to the required three PCIe lanes, completed by a PCIe clock generator.

The on-board PCI to USB 2.0 host controller (root hub) provides five downstream facing USB ports, which are shared by two OHCI and one EHCI controller cores.

The CompactPCI interface of the CP5-GLAM J1 connector is wired to a PCI to PCI bridge, in order to separate the local PCI bus, with its two local PCI devices, from the external CPCI backplane, which specifies only a single PCI load for any CompactPCI card.
In addition to the CompactPCI supply voltages +5V and +3.3V, the CP5-GLAM is equipped with switching regulators for 1.5V and 1.0V. A power sequencing controller is in charge of ramping up/down the power rails to the particular ICs. A front panel bicolor LED indicator reflects the current status (red = ramp up/down, green = power up finished). Another power controller IC is dedicated solely to the ExpressCard slot, for hot plug support.

The CP5-GLAM operates as a 32-bit PCI device at 33MHz on the CompactPCI backplane, resulting in a maximum (theoretic) data transfer rate of 132MByte/s. Obviously this throughput cannot be sufficient to establish simultaneously a PCI Express link (2 x 2.5GBit/s), and an USB high speed controller (480Mbit/s), at full data rate. For ExpressCards or Mini Cards with high throughput such as an SATA or Gigabit Ethernet controller, or Turbo Memory, some degradation in speed must be accepted, especially if all card sockets are in use. However, most data transfers are block or package transfers, with a short burst, and longer intervals w/o data, so that many applications will not suffer noticeable from the PCI bottleneck.