Fast FPGA RAID (FFRAID) Data Recorder
Based on MLE’s Fast FPGA RAID (FFRAID) this High-Speed FFRAID Data Recorder enables loss-less and gapless data recording from multiple data sources to an FPGA-accelerated RAID of NVMe SSDs at speeds of 100/200/400 Gbps. MLE’s FFRAID implements a channel-based architecture, supports data-in-motion pre- and post-processing and is highly scalable with regards to bandwidth and recording capacity. Multiple systems can further be cascaded via high-accuracy IEEE time-synchronization for faster or deeper recording.
Key Features
- Loss-less, gapless recording at 100/200/400 Gbps
- Up to 16x U.2 bays
- Support Self-encryption TCG OPAL SSDs
- Cascading of multiple systems with time-synchronization
- Start-Pause-Stop Data Recording
- Pre-trigger Data Recording in circular buffers
- Adaptable signal front-ends
- Read/write compatible with Linux Software-RAID
- 2x GbE, 1x COM, 1x VGA, 1x IPMI, 1x USB Type C, 2x USB3
Applications
- Autonomous Vehicle Path Record & Replay
- Automotive / Medical / Industrial Test Equipment
- High-speed Radar / Lidar / Camera Data Acquisition & Storage
- Very Deep Network Packet Capture of Ethernet or IPv4 or TCP/UDP Data
Channel-Based Architecture
MLE’s Fast FPGA RAID System implements a channel-based architecture where each data source/sink can be associated with a dedicated RAID engine and a dedicated storage space. Each channel can have 10/25/50/100 Gbps, or combinations thereof.
Adaptable signal front-ends support many different I/O standards in a “mix & match” fashion.
This channel-based architecture along with the combination of FPGA NVMe Recording Stack plus a well-tuned PCIe setup, delivers a best-in-class price/performance ratio for high-speed data acquisition, recording and replay. MLE’s multi-core NVMe Host Controller Subsystem supports dedicated NVMe queues per SSD in a PCIe Peer-to-Peer communication.
The FFRAID System also supports high-performance and high-endurance NVMe U.2/U.3 SSDs with self-encryption TCG OPAL security function!
Acceleration by AMD Alveo Acceleration Cards
Scalability
MLE’s Fast FPGA RAID supports a wide range of NVMe SSDs and can be scaled from M.2 SSDs for small and light-weight embedded systems up to large 19” racks using high-performance U.2 or U.3 SSDs. Scalability also includes selecting from different SSD capacities and Drive-Writes-per-Day (DWPD) models. Here a table of possible recording times in minutes:
| Recording Speed (Gbps) | ||||||||
| Storage (TiB) | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 | 300 | 350 | 400 | |
| 5 | 7.2 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2 | 1.8 | |
| 10 | 14.3 | 9.5 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.6 | |
| 15 | 21.5 | 14.3 | 10.7 | 8.6 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 5.4 | |
| 20 | 28.6 | 19.1 | 14.3 | 11.5 | 9.5 | 8.2 | 7.2 | |
| 25 | 35.8 | 23.9 | 17.9 | 14.3 | 11.9 | 10.2 | 8.9 | |
| 30 | 42.9 | 28.6 | 21.5 | 17.2 | 14.3 | 12.3 | 10.7 | |
| 35 | 50.1 | 33.4 | 25.1 | 20.0 | 16.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | |
| 40 | 57.3 | 38.2 | 28.6 | 22.9 | 19.1 | 16.4 | 14.3 | |
| 45 | 64.4 | 42.9 | 32.2 | 25.8 | 21.5 | 18.4 | 16.1 | |
| 50 | 71.6 | 47.7 | 35.8 | 28.6 | 23.9 | 20.5 | 17.9 | |
| Recording Time in Minute(s) | ||||||||
Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder Use Cases
Besides record/replay of raw data we support data-in-motion pre- and post-processing that enables you to add your custom algorithms for indexing and metadata generation, on-the-fly data decimation, or running in “spy-mode” as a transparent data proxy.
- Ingress data from the high-speed sensors are transferred and recorded at-speed and as-is onto the Fast FPGA RAID.
- Communication from a high-speed data source can be transported to a data sink while this data is also recorded at-speed.
- Unwanted pieces of the ingress data is removed on-the-fly prior to storage. This can, for example, be a selection of certain regions-of-interest (ROI).
- Ingress data can be analyzed on-the-fly to generate indexing information for later search, for example. This metadata is then recorded along with the ingress data. Metadata can, for example, be: Hardware timestamps, regions-of-interest, search indexes.
Ordering Information
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Model Name
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Part Number
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Description
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|---|---|---|
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PCIe Gen4, 100 Gbps, AMD Alveo U55C High Performance Compute Cards, 3U, 16 U.2 bays supporting self-encryption TCG OPAL SSDs, 20 kg
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Documentation
- FPGA Based 400GBit/s Data Recorder – Insight into Different Pitfalls and Design Choices
- Linux ZynqMP PS-PCIe Root Port Driver (A software-only, non-accelerated alternative described by the Xilinx Wiki)
- Example designs on GitHub from Opsero (for PS-based NVMe supporting various FPGA and MPSoC evaluation boards)
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder support file systems?
No, the MLE Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder is so-called Block Storage. So, no file systems are not supported. For each data transfer the user application logic selects a start and maximum end address, and then data is written to flash in a linear fashion. This achieves best performance and avoids write amplifications.
Does the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder support drive partitions?
Partitions are not explicitly supported. However, the user application logic can use the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder to read the SSD’s partition table and then set up transfers with start and maximum end address to be aligned to partitions.
Does the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder support NVMe namespaces?
Only one single namespace is supported per SSD.
How many SSDs can be connected to the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder?
The standard for the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder is 4/8/16 SSDs. The number of SSDs can be adjusted to your application within certain limits, for example: the accumulated sustained write speed should be faster than the incoming data stream, or too many SSDs can cause latency issues. However, we can customize the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder for your application to support more complex PCIe topologies. Please ask us for more details.
How many NVMe IO Queues does the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder support and what is the depth of the NVMe IO Queue?
The Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder currently supports one single IO Queue per SSD. This IO Queue can have up to 128 entries, each with up to 128 KiB data. I.e. you can have up to 16 MiB of “data in flight” per SSD. If needed, we can change the depth and size of this IO Queue. However, given the needs of streaming applications increasing the number of IO Queues may not be advantageous.
Does the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder support PCIe Peer-to-Peer?
Yes, this is supported. Peer-to-Peer transfers can be very attractive as it frees up the host CPU. Team MLE can customize the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder for your application to support many more complex PCIe topologies, including multiple direct-attached SSDs, multiple SSDs connected via a 3rd party PCIe switch chip, including PCIe Peer-to-Peer. Please ask us for more details.
How many parallel streams can be processed?
Currently, the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder handles 16 independent data streams. To save resources, the number of streams can be reduced without losing the overall performance by widening the data paths.
Does the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder support m.2 PCIe connectivity?
Yes. Because the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder is agnostic to the formfactor of your SSD m.2, u.3/u.3, EDSFF and so on are supported, as long as your SSD “speaks the NVMe protocol” and not SATA nor SAS.
What are the best SSDs to use and from which vendor?
While, again, the Fast FPGA RAID Data Recorder is compatible to work with any NVMe SSD, there are a couple of other aspects to keep in mind when selecting an NVMe SSD: Noise, vibration, harshness, temperature throttling, local RAM buffers, SLC, MLC, TLC, QLC, 3D-XPoint, etc. To enable our customers to deliver dependable performance solutions, we have worked with a set of 3rd party SSD vendors and would be happy to give you technical guidance in your project. Please inquire.