FarSync OEM TE1 - the T1 and E1 PCI/PCI-X card with a Linux and Windows API

Product Overview

The intelligent FarSync OEM TE1 card brings comprehensive E1 and T1 support to Linux and Windows to allow your application full access to the E1 and T1 features available on the card. Full bandwidth on unstructured T1 and E1 G.703 lines, T1 and E1 fractional (G.703/G.704), HDLC framed and transparent operation are all supported with easy software configuration.

The FarSync OEM TE1 card and software is designed to provide high performance hardware communications solutions for companies who wish to quickly develop their own communications products without incurring the cost of having to develop and approve hardware. The Developers Toolkit is included with the product.

The G.703 transparent bitstream option available with the API is suitable for video and voice such as T-DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting), DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) ETI (Ensemble Transport Interface - ETSI 300799).

The product includes support for the standard Windows SDCI API. This provides applications with direct access to the card's communications ports for bit synchronous (HDLC) framing, and transparent bitstream operation is provided. Full documentation and a sample application demonstrating both modes of operation is provided. The card installs seamlessly as a plug and play device under Windows 2000, XP or Server 2003 on both single and multiprocessor systems.

Support is included for the Linux Raw Sockets API that allows HDLC frames and transparent bitstreaming data to be sent and received. Full documentation, source code for the driver and a sample application demonstrating both modes of operation is provided. The card installs under Linux kernel series 2.4 and 2.6 on both single and multiprocessor 32 and 64 bit systems. The drivers are included as standard in the 2.4 and 2.6 kernels. Distributions by Redhat, SuSE, Slackware, Mandriva, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu and many more are supported.

Both the modern RJ48C (RJ45) connectors and the traditional twin coax are available on the card so if you are not sure what connector type is going to be required, use the FarSync OEM TE1.

Typical Applications for the FarSync OEM TE1

The FarSync OEM TE1 card is suitable for a very wide variety of applications, including for example:

• HDLC framing support for non standard or specialist protocols
• Interfacing DAB ETI (Ensemble Transport Interface - ETSI 300799) transparent bit streams to Servers
• Interfacing MPEG Video bit streams T-DMB ETI to Servers
• Transparent E1 pipe for ISDN Primary rate use
• Integration with embedded Linux and Windows based Products
• E1 card for SS7 signaling

If simple plug and go TCP/IP over PPP access is required then the FarSync WAN TE1 should be purchased, it includes support for the TCP/IP PPP and Frame Relay protocol stacks.

FarSync OEM TE1 Hardware

The card comprises an AMD processor with 1 Mbyte of on board no wait state 15ns SRAM. The whole memory space may be mapped via the PCI / PCI-X interface to the PC/Server.

Network Interfaces

The TE1 supports E1 unstructured (G.703) and Transparent operation at 2.048 Mbits/s, E1 fractional (G.703/G.704) at speeds from 64 Kbits/s to 1.984 Mbits/s, T1 unstructured (G.703) and Transparent operation at 1.544 Mbits/s, T1 fractional (G.703/G.704) at speeds from 64 Kbits/s to 1.536 Mbits/s

E1 Modes: HDLC-framed or transparent data over G.703 unframed/unstructured or G.703/G.704 framed/structured Doubleframe and CRC4 multiframe modes

T1 Modes: HDLC-framed or transparent data over G.703 unframed/unstructured or G.703/G.704 framed/structured F4 (FT), F12 (D3/D4, SF), F24 (D5, Fe, ESF) and F72 ( SLC96) modes

PC / Server PCI and PCI-X Compatibility

The FarSync OEM TE1 bus mastering card is suitable for systems with a PCI or PCI-X bus, covering single processor systems, all multiprocessor systems and processors featuring HyperThreading technology, including Pentium 4, Xeon and Xeon-MP CPUs. The card is PCI revision 2.2 compliant with support for both 3.3 and 5 volt signaling, the power for the card is taken from the 3.3 volt supply rail. The FarSync OEM TE1 card may be fitted in either 32-bit PCI bus slots or 64-bit PCI-X bus slots as this Universal PCI card will work perfectly well in both.

Windows SDCI API

The FarSync OEM T-Series cards and software provides support for an extended SDCI (Synchronous Dumb Card Interface) API. The API allows applications to exactly control the type of data sent and received in both bit synchronous (HDLC framed) data and transparent bitstream formats.  The SDCI SDK contains everything a user needs to rapidly develop and test applications for such requirements as supporting specialist synchronous protocols or transparent data requirements such as Audio, MPEG Video, T-DMB and DAB ETI.

Drivers for the FarSync OEM TE1 cards are provided for Windows XP, 2000 and Server 2003. An easy to follow sample application with support for both modes of operation is provided complete with source code to illustrate how the interface can be used, see further information on the SDCI API.

Easy installation and fast configuration are features when using the SDCI Interface on Windows, On-line help, documentation and GUI based test utilities are provided. T-Series cards are 'plug-and-play' compatible supporting Windows XP, 2000 and Server 2003. Typically 12 or more cards can be supported on a single Server; the card limit is only dependent on the PCI slots resources available in the Server.

Linux Raw Sockets API

The Linux API allows applications to send and receive HDLC format (bitsync) frames and also transparent bit streams with the raw sockets based API. The sample application demonstrates both modes of operation.

Frame sizes up to 32 Kbytes are supported in HDLC mode to allow support for a wide variety of specialist synchronous protocols. The transparent bitstream mode is suitable for transparent data requirements such as Audio, MPEG Video, T-DMB and DAB ETI.

The source for the application and drivers is included, with the Linux API manual provided in pdf format. The driver is supported under kernel version 2.4 and 2.6 for both single CPU and SMP 32 and 64 bit machines. Typically 12 or more cards can be supported on a single Server; the card limit is only dependent on the PCI slots resources available in the Server, the maximum within Linux is 32. For further information on the API see the Linux Raw Sockets API Manual (pdf).

Line Monitoring

Linux

The Farmon utility allows all data send and received on the line to be recorded.

Windows

The product is supplied with a high performance multi-channel line monitor that allows the user to record, display, store and replay line traffic with protocol decoding (see sample screen). Comments can even be inserted into the line trace to assist later analysis.

 

 

Product Packaging

The FarSync OEM TE1 product includes:

• The TE1 communications card,
• Documentation supplied on CD-ROM,
• A quick start guide,
  
• RJ48C (RJ45) 2 metre cable
• Windows and Linux driver software (source code is provided for Linux driver)
• Utility application such as a line monitor
• Developers Toolkit for the SDCI API and Raw Sockets

New versions of the software are made available from the support page as they are released.