Home›Embedded & Connected Systems›PCIe Expansion & Interconnect›OpenVPX PCIe Fabrics

Software

Dolphin PCIe Fabric software

OpenVPX PCIe Fabrics

Deploy Dolphin eXpressWare across supported Curtiss-Wright OpenVPX systems for low-latency data sharing, remote I/O and multi-node PCIe fabrics.

Topology

2-node / up to 8-node

Hardware

Supported Curtiss-Wright VPX

External link

PXH820 / PXH822 XMC

Software

Licensed eXpressWare

SISCIIPoPCIeDevice sharingPIO / DMAMulticastShared NVMe

Selection guidance: This is a licensed software-and-supported-hardware solution, not a universal OpenVPX implementation. Confirm the Curtiss-Wright SBC or switch model, operating system, topology and eXpressWare license for each node. Other platforms require project qualification by Dolphin.

Discuss your requirements ← Back to PCIe Expansion & Interconnect

System Capabilities

eXpressWare exposes PCIe fabric services to supported OpenVPX nodes without requiring an Ethernet data plane for the primary interconnect.

Shared-memory transfers

Move data through PIO or DMA operations using the SISCI programming interface.

IP over PCIe

Use a conventional IP interface for faster application migration on supported systems.

Shared device access

Assign or share supported PCIe and NVMe resources across participating SBCs.

Fabric events

Exchange interrupts and multicast data between supported nodes.

Supported Platform Structure

The published solution is centred on qualified Curtiss-Wright OpenVPX hardware and Dolphin PCIe/XMC interfaces.

Two-node NTB

Back-to-back communication between supported SBCs using a compliant onboard PCIe switch NTB function.

Multi-node VPX switch

Supported VPX3-663 configurations connect as many as eight SBC or I/O nodes inside one chassis.

PXH820 XMC networking

NTB XMC connectivity links VPX systems to other chassis, servers or supported PCIe fabrics.

PXH822 transparent expansion

Transparent XMC connectivity links compatible external I/O expansion to the VPX system.

Cross-platform APIs

Use SISCI, IPoPCIe and supported device-access functions across qualified operating systems.

COTS-to-rugged migration

Develop on supported COTS Dolphin hardware and deploy to a qualified rugged VPX target.

Specifications

Select the exact supported hardware, operating system and current eXpressWare release for the intended topology.

Dolphin eXpressWare OpenVPX support matrix
Parameter	Unit	Value / Description
SUPPORTED ARCHITECTURES
Back-to-back	nodes	Two supported SBCs using a compliant Broadcom PCIe switch NTB function.
Switched fabric	nodes	Up to eight supported nodes with the Curtiss-Wright VPX3-663 PCIe 3.0 / 10GbE hybrid switch.
External networking	—	PXH820 XMC connects supported VPX systems to another chassis or a server-side PXH830.
External transparent I/O	—	PXH822 XMC connects supported external I/O expansion; published optical reach is up to 100 m.
SOFTWARE & LICENSING
Services	—	SISCI PIO/DMA, IPoPCIe, device sharing, interrupts, multicast and concurrent shared-NVMe workflows on supported configurations.
License	per system	Perpetual eXpressWare license for each participating supported SBC; published ordering code MCH013LIC.
Qualification	—	Support is model, OS and topology specific; other SBCs may be added through project qualification.

Applications

OpenVPX PCIe fabrics target rugged systems that need deterministic, high-throughput data exchange between processing and I/O nodes.

Sensor processing

Move acquisition data from I/O nodes to CPU, FPGA or GPU processing resources.

Mission computing

Build low-latency multi-SBC fabrics inside qualified rugged VPX platforms.

Shared NVMe

Coordinate supported storage resources between participating nodes.

Multi-chassis systems

Extend the PCIe fabric between qualified VPX chassis or external servers.

COTS development

Prototype application software on supported commercial Dolphin platforms before rugged deployment.

Distributed I/O

Access supported PCIe devices from multiple processing nodes through the selected architecture.

Dolphin engineering reference

Technical reading for this system decision

Open the original Dolphin or Dolphin-partner document directly. Confirm current model and software compatibility separately for the selected configuration.

PCIe fabrics on VPX — Part 1Architecture and bottleneck analysis for PCIe communication on VPX hardware.Open PDF ↗ PCIe fabrics on VPX — Part 2Latency and peer-to-peer implementation considerations for VPX fabrics.Open PDF ↗

System design guidance

Recommended System Architectures

See how this product family fits into transparent expansion, multi-host fabrics and managed-resource systems.

System topologyLow-Latency PCIe NetworkingView topology, component roles and design constraints →System topologyPCIe Reflective MemoryView topology, component roles and design constraints →System topologyShared PCIe Device AccessView topology, component roles and design constraints →