PITTSBURGH, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Timesys® Corporation (http://www.timesys.com), provider of LinuxLink, the first commercial software development framework for building custom embedded Linux based products, today announced that LinuxLink customers can have their platform and development environment for NetLogic Microsystems’ Alchemy® Au1250® and Alchemy Au1300® ultra low-power processors up and running within days. The Timesys LinuxLink software development framework gives Au1250 and Au1300 processor users access to a competitively priced, intuitive environment for developing a wide range of Linux-based media and navigation products.

Customers who use LinuxLink to design around Linux on NetLogic Microsystems’ market-leading Au1250 and Au1300 processors benefit from the latest open source code. By providing access to hundreds of open source middleware packages, LinuxLink allows customers to accelerate their product development and makes it easy and convenient to create footprint-optimized Linux platforms with a rich set of APIs well matched to their end applications. LinuxLink’s award-winning online and desktop-hosted build tools (called Factory) facilitate the process of building and integrating the custom Linux platform. By allowing users to integrate third-party packages, custom applications and proprietary software, the desktop version of the Factory build tool offers unique flexibility compared to any other Linux build platform.

Timesys frequently updates the Linux components offered in LinuxLink to provide the best open source alignment, and the company also adds new features/packages to LinuxLink on a regular basis. As an added benefit, LinuxLink’s update serviceautomatically notifies customers of changes to any of the components used in their project.

Application developers can benefit from LinuxLink development tools, including the Eclipse-based TimeStorm IDE and commonly used debugging tools. These tools help customers ensure the quality, reliability and performance of their final product. When needed, LinuxLink customers have immediate access to a vast suite of documentation and tutorials and receive full access to technical support from expert Timesys engineers, who have extensive experience in developing, debugging and optimizing Linux platforms for a wide range of applications. When customers need additional assistance with specific development programs, they can engage with Timesys’ Professional Services team to develop the software for all, or part of, a Linux-based product.

“We are delighted that Timesys has delivered a robust Linux development environment and professional services for our Alchemy Au1250 and Alchemy Au1300 platforms,” said Mike Wodopian, vice president of marketing, Alchemy Processor products at NetLogic Microsystems. “The combination of Timesys’ product, service and expert support makes them a valuable resource for our customers who want commercial support to complement their in-house capabilities and enable faster time to market.”

“We are pleased to announce our support for NetLogic Microsystems’ Au1250 and Au1300 processors,” said Maciej Halasz, Director of Product Management at Timesys. “The LinuxLink business model is well aligned with the requirements of NetLogic Microsystems’ customers, and we look forward to helping NetLogic Microsystems’ customers bring to market compelling products in both the multi-media and navigation markets.”

Availability

LinuxLink software development framework is available now from Timesys Corporation. For a limited time, developers can obtain free trial access to LinuxLink by registering at https://linuxlink.timesys.com/register/factory and entering promotion code NETLAU1250 when completing the form. This trial access to LinuxLink allows developers to quickly configure, build and evaluate embedded Linux on the Au1250 and Au1300 ultra low-power processors.

Additional information about LinuxLink subscriptions for NetLogic Microsystems platforms can be found at http://www.timesys.com/NetLogic_Micro.

About Timesys

Timesys is the provider of LinuxLink, a high-productivity software development framework for embedded Linux applications. The LinuxLink framework includes the Linux kernel, cross-toolchain, application development IDE, an award-winning build system called Factory, a vast library of middleware packages, software stacks and libraries, documentation and expert technical support. LinuxLink enables development teams to consistently build and maintain a custom, open source embedded Linux platform through regularly updated Linux sources, proven middleware packages, and a scriptable GNU-based build environment. LinuxLink reduces the time, resources, risk and cost associated with building a product based on open source Linux. For more information, visit http://www.timesys.com.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ:XLNX) today announced the availability of the new Xilinx® Virtex®-6 and Spartan®-6 FPGA Connectivity Development Kits that provide a comprehensive, easy-to-use, and hardware validated development environment. A key component of the new kits is the Connectivity Targeted Reference Designs that contain Northwest Logic’s high-performance, scatter-gather DMA Engine IP. The Northwest Logic® DMA Engine IP, in combination with the other elements of the kits, provides high-bandwidth operation for a wide variety of PCI Express®-based applications enabling customers to quickly develop and deploy designs for a broad range of high-speed connectivity applications.

The Xilinx Connectivity Kits (www.xilinx.com/connectivity) minimize overall development time by providing a fully integrated development environment complete with FPGA boards, cables, documentation, design tools, and IP (intellectual property) cores integrated into Targeted Reference Designs. As a key member of the Xilinx Alliance Program (www.xilinx.com/alliance), Northwest Logic collaborated with Xilinx from the initial definition through final release of the connectivity Targeted Reference Designs, to ensure they provide high-bandwidth operation under real system conditions. This performance can be validated by customers using the performance monitor interface built into the Targeted Reference Design.

The Northwest Logic DMA Back-End Core provides a complete, high-performance DMA engine optimized to work with Xilinx integrated PCI Express Endpoint Block plus core and external memory interface soft IP in Virtex-6 FPGAs and hard memory interface IP available in Spartan-6 FPGAs. The Northwest Logic DMA engine includes target and register interfaces and can automatically fetch DMA descriptors or use DMA descriptors provided locally.

“Starting with a pre-validated Target Reference Design will enable our customers to meet the short design cycles time required in today’s competitive environment,” said Xilinx Sr. Director of Platform, Solutions and Services Marketing Tim Erjavec. “Because system verification and testing takes up the largest portion of FPGA design time, we’ve worked closely with Northwest Logic to ensure that users of the Connectivity Development Kits have a highly productive experience right out of the box using a fully integrated reference design.”

The collaboration between Xilinx and Northwest Logic is one example of the broad ecosystem Xilinx is building to bring industry-leading IP components to its customers as part of fully integrated and tested Xilinx Targeted Reference Designs. “By collaborating with Xilinx from the very start of the project we’ve ensured the Virtex-6 and Spartan-6 FPGA Connectivity Development kits will deliver optimal DMA-based performance in a wide variety of PCI Express applications,” said Northwest Logic President Brian Daellenbach. “At the same time we’ve minimized the system development effort required so that our mutual customers can quickly develop and deploy their unique designs.”

The Xilinx Connectivity Targeted Design Platforms provide a starting point for a broad variety off SoC (system-on-chip) applications including:

  --  Wired communications routers and switchers
  --  Wireless radio head and Baseband processing
  --  Audio Video Broadcast control switchers and routers
  --  Automotive driver assistance control applications
  --  Automotive infotainment applications
  --  Consumer set top boxes

The Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA Connectivity Kit is complete and easy-to-use, enabling designs with industry-standard high-speed serial protocols including PCI Express (version 1.1), Ethernet (GMII, SFP), and DDR3 SDRAM (using built-in hard memory controller) as well as enabling designs using other serial standards and proprietary implementations up to 3.125Gbps and multiple parallel protocols including 3.3V I/O standards.

Similarly, the Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA Connectivity Development Kit enables advanced connectivity designs with PCI Express 1.1/2.0, Ethernet (GMII, SFP, XAUI), SATA, and other proprietary high-speed serial protocols with line rates up to 6.5Gbps, as well as multiple parallel standards running at ~ 1.4Gbps with SelectIO(TM) technology.

The Spartan-6 FPGA Connectivity kit is available for order today including a full version the Northwest Logic DMA Back-End Core for $2,495. The Virtex-6 FPGA Connectivity kit will be available in January and includes an evaluation version of the Northwest Logic DMA Back-End Core for $2,995.

For information on Northwest Logic and available IP and solutions please visit www.nwlogic.com/packetdma. For more information on Xilinx Connectivity Targeted Design Platforms please visit www.xilinx.com/connectivity.

About Xilinx

Xilinx is the worldwide leader in complete programmable logic solutions. For more information, visit www.xilinx.com.

About Northwest Logic

Northwest Logic, founded in 1995 and located in Beaverton, Oregon, provides high performance, easy-to-use IP cores for ASICs and FPGAs. These IP cores include memory controller, PCIe, PCI-X, PCI and MIPI cores. For additional information, visit www.nwlogic.com.