STAR-Ultra PCIe

The STAR-Ultra PCIe is a SpaceFibre Multi-Lane interface and link analyser, designed to aid test and development of SpaceFibre equipment. It can transmit and receive SpaceFibre traffic from a host PC at data rates in excess of 10 Gbit/s, and it can record and display SpaceFibre traffic transmitted and received on one SpaceFibre port.

The STAR-Ultra PCIe is controlled by a host PC, connected by an eight-lane Gen 3 PCIe interface, and has two quad-lane SpaceFibre interfaces. Each lane can operate at a data signalling rate of up to 7.5 Gbit/s, resulting in a maximum link speed of 30 Gbit/s.

To transmit and receive SpaceFibre traffic, our software stack named STAR-System is used. This provides high-speed drivers, applications, APIs, examples and thorough documentation.

Separate link analysis software is used to capture and display SpaceFibre traffic. When a pre-defined trigger event is detected, SpaceFibre traffic is recorded to hardware memory. Once capture is complete, the traffic is uploaded to a host PC where it is interpreted and shown in multiple software views. Each view displays traffic in different levels of detail, allowing it to be inspected at network, packet, frame and word levels.

Product Features

  • Two SpaceFibre multi-lane interfaces

    • SpaceFibre lane data signalling rate is configurable (1, 1.25, 2, 2.5, 3.125, 5, 6 and 7.5 Gbit/s)
    • Each SpaceFibre interface has eight virtual channels
    • Single, dual, triple or quad lane configuration supported
    • Hot redundancy support allows rapid switching to redundant lane in the event of a lane failure
    • Lanes can be configured as uni-directional for asymmetric links
    • QSFP connectors (multiple adaptors and cable assemblies available on request)
  • Transmit and receive SpaceFibre traffic

    • Eight-lane Gen 3 PCIe interface to host PC allows software to transmit and receive SpaceFibre packets at high-speed (in excess of 10 Gbit/s on a typical PC)
    • Transmit and receive broadcasts from host PC
  • Capture and display SpaceFibre traffic transmitted and received on SpaceFibre port 1

    • Record over 11 million traffic items (more intended following software updates)
    • Capture SpaceFibre traffic to memory when specific symbols, words or errors are detected
    • View captured SpaceFibre traffic in word, frame, packet and network level software views
    • Remote Memory Access Protocol (RMAP) analysis displays the fields of packets conforming to the RMAP standard
    • Search captured traffic for specific SpaceFibre words or for packets containing a particular data sequence
    • Enable filtering for efficient memory usage
    • Export captured traffic to CSV file for custom software to interpret
  • Contains 2 x SpaceFibre EGSE ports and 1 x eight-lane Gen 3 PCIe interface on a 16-lane connector

  • Software and accessories included:

    • Windows drivers (Windows 11 and 10)
    • Linux drivers (6.x, 5.x, 4.x and 3.x kernels)
    • STAR-Ultra PCIe software: Controller, Statistics and Link Analyser applications
    • STAR-System: Includes GUI applications and C, C++ and Python APIs with examples, for transmitting and receiving packets and broadcasts
    • User manuals
    • 1 year’s technical support and maintenance

Technical Specs

  • Part Number

    163

  • Size
    • Half-length PCIe board with x16 connector. Both low-profile and full-height brackets provided.

    • 174 x 68.9 x 32.5 mm

  • Power
    • Supplied via PCIe connector

  • SpaceFibre Ports
    • Compliant to ECSS-E-ST-50-11C

    • Number of SpaceFibre Ports: 2

    • Number of Virtual Channels: 8

    • Single, dual, triple or quad lane configuration

    • Configurable lane data signalling rate: 1, 1.25, 2, 2.5, 3.125, 5, 6 and 7.5 Gbit/s

    • Hot and cold lane redundancy support

    • Asymmetric link support via configurable uni-directional lanes.

    • Connectors: QSFP+

  • EMC
    • The STAR-Ultra PCIe board is sold as a component for inclusion in a computer unit. EMC certification is the responsibility of the user.