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The MSP-320 is an H.100/PCI DSP-resource designed to give the developer unprecedented
options in a DSP board. 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). With the Board-Level Developer’s Kit, it can provide the
hardware foundation to support the development and market deployment of proprietary
board-level environments and media-processing software. And with this MSP
Consortium-compliant M.100 Developer’s Kit MSP-320 can be used as a platform for
multi-line integrated-media stream processing.
Prior to the MSP-320, CT system-resource boards were optimized for one media-processing
task, usually voice. The board architecture and resources did not support integrated-media
applications. Since system architectures were closed, the OEM or system developer
couldn’t add a media-processing resource, even if the board architecture supported
it. The MSP-320 now provides the system developer with a vendor-neutral, open
architecture and, with up to 3,200 MIPS of DSP power, the MSP-320 elegantly and
efficiently supports the most demanding multi-stream, multi-media applications.
- Comprehensive M.100 environment
- Open, board-level developer’s kit
- Windows NT based
- NT driver source code
- QNX Neutrino based
- Host-based shared-RAM spy
- Object-code format-conversion tools
- Power-on self test and loader software
- H.100 driver
- Avoid months of hardware development effort
- The industry’s most productive multi-stream media-processing development
The developer of a communications system requiring DSP-based media processing can either
make or buy the hardware platform. Combined with the MSP Consortium’s
M.100 software environment, the MSP-320 provides the industry’s most productive
environment for development of multi-stream media-processing software.
The MSP Consortium’s (http://www.msp.org) M.100 Media Stream Processing Environment
Specification defines a software environment that promotes the interoperability and
portability of media-processing system resources provided by various vendors. While
there are dozens of hardware system-resource platforms for the CT developer, almost all
have closed architectures. Meant to provide hardware support for in-house-developed
media-processing technologies, these architectures do not provide a consistent,
interoperable interface. In nearly every instance, the media-processing facility is
engineered as an integral part of the "board" making integration of new software
or hardware resources difficult, if not impossible.
The purpose of the Media Stream Processor (MSP) specification is to provide the CT
industry with an open definition of a media-neutral, hardware-independent media-processing
"environment". Any "board" vendor can develop and market
MSP-compliant hardware products and any media-processing vendor can develop and market
compliant software products. Specifically, the intent of the MSP specification is to
separate the system-resource hardware from the media-processing software, fostering
independent competition and development in these two computer telephony value-adding
layers.
The M.100 environment allows the developer of media processing technology to focus on the
technology rather than the environment. In an M.100 environment, media-processing
technology is divided into Media Stream Transforms (MST) and an M.100 Application.
The M.100 environment provides transparent communication between these two major
components.
An MST is a software component of an M.100 environment that processes time-critical
(isochronous) media. Typically, it executes on a DSP, but can execute on any
processor within the M.100 system. The M.100 environment controls the delivery of
data between MSTs and the execution of those MSTs. An MST is normally written
without reference to any API’s other than the M.100 API’s.
The M.100 Application interfaces the media processing technology to the external
environment. It is responsible for controlling and coordinating the MSTs to
accomplish media-processing tasks. The M.100 Application often executes on an NT
Host, but can operate on any processor with M.100 API’s installed. Typically,
the M.100 Application presents a media-processing-oriented API, such as DTMF detector, to
client applications, such as a messaging or fax application.
The M.100 environment hides the details of the hardware environment by using Stream
Servers. Stream Servers are special MSTs that access hardware components to source
or sink media-stream data. The M.100 environment provides data-format conversion to
allow MSTs with different input formats to process the same media data.
Included with the M.100 environment is a Packaging Utility. The Packaging Utility
combines MSTs from multiple vendors into a form suitable for loading and executing on
board-specific environment. The Packaging utility utilizes a standard script to
describe the MSTs. This script is portable between M.100 implementations.
Media processing technology developed with the M.100 specification is readily ported to
new M.100 environments since the packaging, execution control, memory management, data
flow, and data-flow control are consistent across all M.100 environments.
The M.100 environment for the MSP-320 supports development in “C” or
‘C60 assembler on the ‘C60 and in C or Assembler on the NT host. The
environment includes Stream Servers for PCM streams and file I/0. A set of
data-format-conversion MSTs are included.
Source code for the board’s Ethernet interface is included.
The M.100 Developer’s Kit gives the designer all the MSP-320 M.100 environment
software tools needed to develop stream-processing DSP software. The Kit
includes the same software tools used by Commetrex’s development engineers to develop
M.100 Media Stream Transforms (MSTs) and MSP Applications.
Commetrex’s developers use Windows NT on their workstations, and that is the
supported operating system for the PC-based portions of the kit (the host-resident driver
is an NT driver). MSP Applications, however, may exist on either the MSP-320’s
co-processor or on both the co-processor and the NT host.
Commetrex chose the Neutrino modular embedded kernel to support the M.100 environment on
the MSP-320’s co-processor. A runtime copy of Neutrino is included that
supports various MSP-320 DSP drivers (Ethernet, H.100, etc.) and provides an
execution environment for M.100.
The kit includes source code for the MSP-320 NT driver. The driver is used by the NT
resident elements of the kit to access the board, and can be used as the source-code basis
of the developer’s driver.
The shared-RAM spy is an NT-based application that allows the developer to peek and poke
the board’s shared-access DRAM.
These utilities accept various compiler output formats and produces MSP-320-compatible
download modules.
Source code necessary to perform board power-on testing and cold-boot downloading is
included.
Source-code for the Neutrino H.100 PCM Switch driver is included.
The Board-Level Developer’s Kit includes the MSP-320-specific software necessary to
begin development. In addition, the developer must acquire compilers and linkers
that support the MSPCX’s on-board processors: Intel’s 386EX scalar and Texas
Instrument’s TMS320C6201 DSPs.
Commetrex recommends QNX’s Neutrino embedded kernel and Watcom compiler for the
386EX scalar, and TI’s 6201 Development tools for the TMS320C6201 DSPs.
For further information on QNX Neutrino or Watcom products, visit the QNX web site at http://www.qnx.com/products/neutrino.html
and http://www.qnx.com/products/watcom/index.html.
For further information on TI’s tools for the TMS320C6201 DSPs, visit the TI web site
at http://www.ti.com/sc/docs/dsps/tools/c6000/index.htm.
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