MVME5500

Motorola MVME5500 VMEbus Single Board Computer

The Motorola MVME5500 is a high-performance VMEbus single board computer designed for industrial, defense, aerospace, telecommunications, medical, test and measurement, and other embedded computing applications requiring long-term VME system support.

Built around the PowerPC MPC7457 processor, the MVME5500 combines PowerPC processing performance with DDR SDRAM, dual Gigabit Ethernet, PCI expansion, serial connectivity and a high-performance VMEbus interface. The board was designed as an upgrade path for existing Motorola VME systems while maintaining compatibility with established VMEbus architectures.

Key Features

• Manufacturer: Motorola
• Model: MVME5500
• Product Type: VMEbus Single Board Computer (SBC)
• Form Factor: 6U VME
• Processor: PowerPC MPC7457
• Processor Speed: Up to 1 GHz
• Processor Architecture: 32-bit PowerPC
• L2 Cache: 512 KB integrated
• L3 Cache: 2 MB
• System Memory: DDR SDRAM
• Memory Capacity: Up to 1 GB
• Flash Memory: Onboard Flash
• VME Interface: VME64 / VME64x compatible
• VMEbus Interface Controller: Tundra TSI148
• VMEbus Data Transfers: Supports high-performance 2eSST transfers
• Networking: 2 x Gigabit Ethernet
• Serial Interfaces: Multiple serial ports
• PCI Expansion: PMC expansion support
• Mezzanine Expansion: 2 x PMC sites
• USB: USB interface support
• Real-Time Clock: Onboard RTC
• Watchdog Timer: Supported
• System Monitoring: Onboard monitoring and control functions
• Designed for industrial and long-life embedded VME systems

PowerPC MPC7457 Processor

The Motorola MVME5500 is based on the PowerPC MPC7457 processor, with configurations operating at speeds up to 1 GHz. The processor incorporates 512 KB of L2 cache and is complemented by additional external L3 cache to support compute-intensive embedded and real-time applications.

The PowerPC architecture makes the MVME5500 particularly suitable for maintaining and upgrading legacy VME systems originally designed around earlier Motorola PowerPC-based VME processor boards.

DDR SDRAM

The MVME5500 provides onboard DDR SDRAM for improved memory bandwidth compared with earlier generations of Motorola VMEbus processor boards. Memory configuration depends on the exact MVME5500 assembly, with configurations supporting up to 1 GB of system memory.

VME64x and 2eSST Support

A major feature of the MVME5500 is its high-performance VMEbus architecture. The board supports VME64/VME64x operation and high-speed VME data transfers, including 2eSST functionality through the VMEbus interface controller.

This allows the MVME5500 to operate in established VME chassis while providing substantially improved data-transfer capability for compatible VME64x systems and peripheral boards.

Dual Gigabit Ethernet

Two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces provide high-speed network connectivity for industrial control, communications, data acquisition and distributed embedded computing applications.

PMC Expansion

The MVME5500 provides two PMC expansion sites for compatible PCI Mezzanine Cards. PMC expansion allows specialized communications, data acquisition, graphics, storage and other application-specific interfaces to be added without replacing the primary VME processor board.

Industrial and Embedded Applications

The Motorola MVME5500 is suitable for aerospace and defense systems, industrial automation, semiconductor equipment, telecommunications, medical equipment, simulation systems, test and measurement, data acquisition, transportation and other long-life embedded applications built around the VMEbus architecture.

Replacement Considerations

When replacing a Motorola MVME5500, verify the complete assembly number and hardware configuration printed on the original board. Processor speed, installed memory, firmware, operating system, PMC modules, rear I/O configuration and VMEbus requirements should be checked before substitution.

Different MVME5500 ordering configurations were produced, so the generic MVME5500 model number alone should not be used to assume the exact processor speed, memory configuration or environmental specification of a particular board.

Legacy VME System Support

The MVME5500 is commonly encountered in legacy VME systems where maintaining compatibility with existing VME peripheral cards, application software and system architecture is important. Repair or like-for-like replacement may therefore be preferable to redesigning the complete embedded system around a newer computing platform.

Replacement, Repair and Availability

Embedded CPU Boards supports the Motorola MVME5500 for sourcing, replacement, repair, testing and legacy-system lifecycle support. Availability may include new-old-stock, surplus, refurbished or professionally tested units depending on current inventory.

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