DR6000 Recorder Product Family
Introduction
Rising Edge
Technologies develops signal capture and recording devices that focus on
providing the maximum possible performance in the minimum package size. Our
design philosophy is focused on pushing the limits of recorder design towards
smaller, faster, lower power devices. However, small form factor recorders
may not support applications with a need to record wide bandwidth analog
signals or high rate digital signals. Faster recorders require more
controllers, more storage elements and more power, all elements that increase
the size of the recorder.
The DR6000 product line
was specifically designed to support high rate, multi-channel applications.
By combining the technology from our smaller form factor recorders with
industry standard components, the DR6000 family has emerged as a robust,
flexible recording platform capable of supporting a wide variety of
applications.
Component Based Design
One of the basic design
goals realized in the DR6000 product line is flexibility. This allows the
entire product family to easily evolve to meet a wide range of customer
needs. The result is a highly modular, component based design. All of the
major components; system controller, data I/O module, storage controller,
storage media, and power supply, are designed as individual devices. The
integration of these pieces defines the recorder. This building block
approach allows the DR6000 to be readily customizable while using the best
commercial components and the existing technology found within our other
recorder products.
System Interfaces
The component based
design of the DR6000 products allows the family to support a wide range of
digital and analog signal I/O cards. By working with the end user to
understand their application, an interface can be selected from an array of
standard I/O options or a custom interface can be quickly developed to support
special applications.
The entire product
family includes standard interfaces such as 10/100 and Gigabit Ethernet and
USB. These interfaces support standard recorder features such as remote
control, data off load, NTP support, or external file archive.
The Storage Elements
The DR6000 products
employ a multi-drive, removable disk pack for storing the recorded signals.
The disk packs are equipped with a handle and latching mechanism to support
easy insertion and removal. The drive modules are designed to provide a
maximum sustainable transfer rate capable of absorbing the data rate provided
by the signal source. By varying the size and number of the disk drives, disk
packs can be designed to offer various record times. The disk packs are
removable to provide data security during transport and to provide a quick
method for extending record time during operation. Disk packs are
transportable from system to system so that recordings made on one recorder
can be replayed on another.
When configured as a dual
disk pack system, DR6000 recorders automatically maintain synchronization of the
stored signal between each disk pack. In order to maintain this synchronization
for off-load, each disk pack is automatically tagged with a pack ID and channel
ID once a recording begins. This embedded ID information is used to ensure the
disk packs are maintained as a pair for all future recording and playback
applications.
The disk packs are
designed to support traditional magnetic disk drives or solid state drives. In
order to supply the kind of mission critical operation a data recorder must
provide, the magnetic disk drives were studied to select a family of drives that
would provide the highest reliability and best performance under a range of
operational conditions.
The disk drive industry
delivers two distinct classes of drives, Personal Storage Devices (PSD’s) and
Enterprise Storage Devices (ESD’s). When viewed this way, the comparison
criteria move away from interface and focus on alternative criteria: operational
environment (temperature, stand alone vs. grouped), anticipated data access, and
reliability and performance factors.
Generally speaking, ESD’s
offer a stiffer drive case, better environmental control, and more robust
electronics to compensate for the rigorous demands of the enterprise
environment. All of these measures are designed to create drives that can
achieve a 1,000,000+ hour MTBF. PSD’s on the other hand, are
designed to be cost competitive in the consumer market. This cost driven design
approach forces the drive manufactures to compromise on the components used in a
PSD. Although fine for use as a mass market storage device, the PSD is not
designed for the less than perfect environments of a typical recording
application.
The DR6000 product uses
only enterprise class drives to provide the best combination of performance and
reliability for all of your mission critical recording needs.
Physical Design Elements
In maintaining our focus
on small form factor designs, the DR6000 products are designed around a standard
4U (7”) form factor. The entire chassis supports front panel I/O
and disk access through the use of Euro-rack (VME style) card latch/ejector
mechanisms.
Power supplies are
accessed from the rear of the unit. The basic DR6000 operates from standard
commercial AC power. An auto-sensing power supply allows the recorder to
operate with either 115/230, 47 to 63 Hz, VAC power. Alternate power supplies
are available to support other power sources.
Recorder File System and Control
The DR6000 is built
around an embedded Linux core that provides a number of useful integrated
features to assist in the operation of the recorder. The built in web server
supports remote host connections for operation and control of the recorder using
commercial web browser software. This browser interface provides full control
of recorder operations. User customizable features are also available.
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