MicroTCA and the role of the FPGA

Maybe I missed an earlier post, but RTC magazine posted an article dated August that was new to me. A developer from AdvancedIO Systems Inc. in Vancouver describes working with the Xilinx Virtex-5 on a MicroTCA card for use in 10-Gbit/sec networking. Technically speaking, the card in question is an Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) module, which means it could be employed in full-size ATCA as well as MicroTCA. The question is, which market has legs.

Rob Kraft of AdvancedIO comes up with the interesting phrase “service station” to describe the role of the FPGA in packet processing before data reaches the interface. These tasks include load balancing, deep packet inspection at line rates, and packet filtering. Come to think of it, these were just the type of datapath tasks that were once suggested for the dedicated network processor. Any wonder that the FPGA has all but obsoleted the NPU?

Kraft lists the reasons for considering MicroTCA as an alternative to both existing architectures like VME and cPCI, as well as to ATCA itself. Its 2U form factor, its smaller size, and its ability to scale to 1 Tbit/sec speeds would make an AMC market for MicroTCA interesting for embedded network.

I sure hope Kraft is right. My concern is based on the stall that has happened in all TCA markets since the recession hit. At the recent Intel Developer Forum, I ran into an individual who has worked with the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group for many years on TCA. He said that ATCA is hammered by the fact that telco equipment vendors have narrowed down to Ericsson, Nokia-Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Cisco, and almost no one else.

“Well, what about that great military-aerospace market for MicroTCA?” I asked. “Not moving, particularly with military lead times,” he answered. It appears even the PicoTCA touted for wireless femto base stations is sluggish in a year like this one.

I hope that the AdvancedIO article spurs some new interest in AMC cards for MicroTCA, and that this form factor doesn’t become an interesting concept with small market share. FPGAs are ready for the service-station task, if anyone is there to use the freeway.