mkelly@maxzilla.encore.com (Michael Kelly - Consultant) (06/10/91)
The following information is posted on behalf of a new company. The product they make is called the SYS030. Please do not send E-mail, you may contact them directly at: Cogent Engineering 45 Lakeside Ave., #20 Marlboro, MA 01752 (508) 624-6447 The following is description of the product(s): Conceptually, the SYS030 can be viewed as a base board with optional I/O modules attached. Physically, the SYS030 is 7" x 10", while the indiviual modules are 2.8" x 6". Three modules are mounted parallel to the SYS030 above it while three more are mounted under the SYS030. Most modules will be one module sized (2.8" x 6"), but a custom module may span two or three module spaces. Functionally the SYS030 has the following features: 25Mhz MC68EC030 - This chip is performance and pinout compatable with the MC68030, but has no MMU. For those applications that require the MMU a 68030 may be substituted for an additional cost. 16-25Mhz MC68882 - A socket on the SYS030 allows the customer to add this chip for math intensive applications. 2Mbyte DRAM - This memory is standard on the SYS030. Additional memory can be added through the MCHMEM dram module. The system allows up to 48Mbytes of memory (parity is optional on MCHMEM). Two RS-232 serial ports - A single SCC2692 provides the console I/O and one additional channel. The MCHSIO module adds 8 additional RS-232 ports for serial intensive applications. Printer port/ clock tick - An MC68230 chip provides a PC compatable parallel printer port as well as the system tick timer. Clock/calendar - An MK48T02 device provides a battery-backed clock/ calendar as well as 2000 bytes of battery-backed static ram. Boot EPROM - A single 28-pin socket holds a 64Kbyte EPROM that may be used to hold the boot code. The MCHROM module allows the user to add additional EPROM/ROM devices for non-disk applications. Six Module spaces - Up to six different modules may be added to the SYS030. The module bus provides the following features: 25 Mhz syncronous operation 32 bit data 26 bit addressing Low noise termination Interrupt request/acknowledge per module Bus request/acknowledge per module The following is a list of the modules that are currently available for the SYS030: MCHDSK - Combination floppy/SCSI controller board. Both the floppy and the SCSI interfaces come with 32Kbytes of on-board buffer. The floppy interface supports 720K and 1.44 Mbyte 3.5" drives. MCHSIO - Eight RS-232 serial ports using four SCC2692 devices with on-board interrupt vectoring. MCHNET - Thickwire or thinwire ethernet interfaces. On-board 64Kbyte buffering off-loads the cpu for most applications. Based on the SEEQ NQ8005 network interface device. The following is a list of modules that are currently in development: MCHMEM - 4 or 8 Mbytes of parity protected dram. Available Sept. 91 MCHROM - Up to 8 32-pin jedec compatable devices organized as either 8 individual byte addressed devices or as two 32-bit addressed banks. Flash eproms supported. Available Sept. 91 MCHVID - Inmos G300 based video display controller. Resolutions supported will be 1280 x 1025 x 1, 4 or 8 planes. Vram will be used for high-performance. Contact factory for availability. Note that each module is designed so that up to four of each module may be installed in the SYS030 at a time. The SYS030 was designed from the ground up as an alternative to VME based systems. The chosen operating system is Microware's OS/9. A complete port of the OS is currently available (Internet will be available Aug. 91). Prices for OS/9 are not yet set as negotiations with Microware continue. Prices for the hardware are as follows: SYS030 w/2M memory $995 MCHDSK Floppy/SCSI controller $295 MCHNET Ethernet controller $395 MCHSIO 8 port serial I/O controller $195 Prices for modules not yet released will be announced at a later date.