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MSP-320 Board-Level Developer’s Kit

The MSP-320 is an H.100/PCI DSP board designed to give the developer an unprecedented array of options.  For computer telephony (CT) applications, it can be used in a comprehensive hardware-software environment that includes the board, board-level software, drivers, and CT middleware, such as Commetrex’s Open Telecommunications Framework® (OTF).  MSP-320 is ideal as a platform for multiline integrated-media stream processing using the MSP Consortium-compliant M.100 Developer’s Kit.  And, in a radical departure from the norm, MSP-320 can provide the hardware foundation for use with this Board-Level Developer’s Kit to support the development and market deployment of proprietary board-level environments and media-processing software.

Prior to the MSP-320, CT system-resource boards were optimized for one media-processing task, usually voice. The board architecture and resources were limited and did not support integrated-media applications.  Since the architectures were closed, the OEM or system developer couldn’t add a media-processing resource, even if the board’s resources could support it.  Now, the MSP-320 has changed the rules by providing both the resources?up to 3,200 MIPS of DSP power?and the architecture to elegantly and efficiently support multiple-stream, multiple-media processing.

Features

• Open, board-level developer’s kit
• Windows NT based
• NT driver sample source code
• 386EX co-processor serial console code
• QNX Neutrino evaluation copy
• Ethernet driver
• Host-based shared-RAM spy
• Code-format conversion tools
• Power-on self test and loader software
• H.100 driver (MVIP-95 compliant)
• DSP serial port example code

Benefits

• Avoid 18-to-24-month hardware development effort
• Supports your proprietary environment
• Productive system development

Overview
The developer of a communications system requiring DSP-based proprietary media-processing can either make or buy the hardware platform.  The MSP-320 and its development tools provide a strong argument for not building it all yourself.  When bundled with the MSP-320 hardware, the Board-Level Developer’s Kit gives the designer all the MSP-320-specific software tools needed to continue the platform development into the board-level software phase.  The Kit includes the same software tools used by Commetrex’s development engineers to test and verify the MSP-320.  Nothing is watered down.

Windows NT based
Windows NT is today’s most popular operating system for computer telephony applications.  And thus, it’s the host PC-level software environment that Commetrex has chosen to support the PC-based tools provided in the kit.

QNX Neutrino Evaluation Copy
Commetrex selected the Neutrino modular embedded kernel to support the M.100 environment on the 386EX co-processor.  Neutrino’s support of the Intel-architecture memory management and its kernel’s performance, size, and modularity were all important factors.  A runtime copy of the Neutrino kernel is included that supports the various drivers included in the kit (Ethernet, serial ports, H.100 bus, etc.).

NT Driver Sample Source Code
The kit includes source code for an NT driver.  The driver is used by the host-resident elements of the kit to access the board, and can be used as the source-code basis of the developer’s driver.

386EX Co-processor Serial Port
The source code of the board’s serial port I/O driver is included.

Ethernet driver
Source code for the Ethernet interface is included.

Host-Based Shared-RAM Spy
The shared-RAM spy is an NT-based application that allows the developer to peek and poke the board’s shared-access DRAM.

Code-Format Conversion Tools
These utilities accept various compiler output formats and converts them into MSP-320-compatible download modules.

Power-On Self-Test & Loader
Source code necessary to perform power-on testing and cold-boot downloads is included.

H.100 Driver
Source-code for the H.100 Neutrino driver is included.

PCM Highway DSP Code
The DSPs access the PCM streams via on-chip serial ports using DMA.  Sample code is included for extracting time-slot data from the MSP-320 ’s PCM highway.

Third-Party Tools
The Board-Level Developer’s Kit includes the MSP-320 DSP-specific software necessary to get started on development.  In addition, compilers and linkers are required to support the 386 scalar and the TMS320C6201 DSPs.  Commetrex suggests using the Neutrino kernel and Watcom compiler from QNX Software Systems (http://www.qnx.com) for the 386EX and the TMS320C6201 development tools from Texas Instruments (http://www.ti.com).