Triple-Redundant Computing System

MEN Micro, Inc. (Ambler, PA.) unveiled the 6U FPGA-based, triple-redundant D602 CompactPCI (cPCI) single board computer (SBC). It uses lock-step architecture to provide a redundant computing system that runs the same set of operations in parallel, so the programming only views hardware components once. The 900 MHz PowerPC 750, the 512 MB main memory and the internal structure of the FPGA are triple redundant. Critical functions implemented as IP cores in the FPGA ensure that at least two of the three redundant components provide the same result. The system remains fully operational even if one of the three components fails, providing the required availability for highly critical systems.