4Links designs and manufactures a comprehensive range of SpaceWire test equipment. These provide unequalled insight into the operation of your SpaceWire network. Whether you are monitoring SpaceWire traffic between two devices, or creating a device model to initiate or respond to another device, 4Links offers you the right solution, so you can quickly and efficiently find and diagnose your problem. You can read our brochure here >>
By using TCP/IP over a Gigabit Ethernet network you can locally or remotely connect to the test equipment, without the need to install additional cabling or requiring special device drivers on your computer.
The design of the test equipment ensures your flight equipment is protected from possible damage. Please talk to 4Links for details of how this is achieved.
Product Selector:
Select our product for the task you need to do by hovering on the relevant area of the diagram below:
Interface
These are products that emulate a SpaceWire Node (cameras, GPS, etc). The user creates a model of their Node's funtionality and using the supplied API can communicate with other SpaceWire Nodes. The model runs on a host computer and communicates to the products over Ethernet using a C or JAVA API. Plugins for the API (like RMAP) abstract the user so they only need to develop the model and not the SpaceWire protocol. Python scripting is also supported for fast bring up and testing of systems.
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Monitors/Recorders
These products are to protocol analysis and debug. They monitor and log the data traffic in both directions on a SpaceWire link for post process and analysis. Combined with continuous monitoring for error conditions and generating real-time triggers to other test equipment, they are the perfect solution for passive monitoring and debugging of SpaceWire. The data for logging is passed over the Ethernet interface to the host computer and stored on its storage device resulting in the ability to support long data recordings over many days.
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Infrastructure
These products enable other products to interact with one another and to other 3rd party products. The Absolute Time Interface is used to relay an IRIG-B time source to the test equipment enabling consistent time-tags. Other products in this range include cables and loopback connectors.
Modelling
4Links offers a range of SpaceWire modelling solutions covering transaction initiators/responders, router switches and RMAP responders.
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Intellectual Property
4Links’ SpaceWire IP is based on a version of the CoDec (Coder/Decoder) used in its test equipment for SpaceWire. Thousands of SpaceWire ports of this test equipment have proved to be interoperable with all the SpaceWire designs to which they have been connected. The IP is also flight proven as the fundamental interconnect on a satellite.
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Cables
The 4Links commercial cable assemblies for SpaceWire provide a lower-cost and flexible alternative to flight cables, when used for simulation and functional test of systems that are interconnected by SpaceWire.
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Support
4Links offers continued software/hardware support and latest releases.
Product Table 1U
| Product | Part# FPGA MS |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SpaceWire Link Recorder | MSR-RG404/8-MS MSR-RG408-MS |
Passively monitors up to four SpaceWire links and sends timetagged data to be recorded on a PC |
| Diagnostic SpaceWire Interface | DSI-RG402/8-MS DSI-RG404/8-MS DSI-RG408-MS |
Interface from Ethernet to up to eight SpaceWire ports active at the same time, with powerful diagnostic options. Can also be used to simulate multiple subsystems |
| Absolute Time Interface | ATI-RG401/8-MS | Synchronizes a set of 4Links test equipment to an IRIG time of year reference |
| Ethernet SpaceWire Link | ESL-RG401/8-MS | Entry-level interface from Ethernet to one SpaceWire port at a time; can be used with software to test or simulate a subsystem |
| Flexible SpaceWire Router | FSR-RG408-MS | Eight-port SpaceWire routing switch, with optional packet statistics |
| SpaceWire Link Analyser |
MSA-MC408 Memory card only |
Passively monitors up to four SpaceWire links and provides statistics of all characters transferred in each direction. please contact factory for details >> |
| SpaceWire RMAP Responder | SRR-RG402/8-MS-32K SRR-RG404/8-MS-32K SRR-RG406/8-MS-32K SRR-RG402/8-MS-64K SRR-RG404/8-MS-64K |
Provides low-latency response, on up to six ports concurrently, to requests of SpaceWire’s Remote Memory Access Protocol (RMAP). please contact factory for details >> |
|
Memory cards available to add functionality and product features, please contact factory for details >> FPGA LS product no longer in production, FPGA MS 100% compatible. |
||
Product Table Portable
| Product | Part# | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SpaceWire Link Recorder | P-SLR-1 |
Single SpaceWire Link Recorder |
| Diagnostic SpaceWire Interface | P-DSI-2 | Two ports SpaceWire Interface |
| Diagnostics SpaceWire Recorder | P-DSR | Combined Single SpaceWire link Recorder and Two port SpaceWire Interface |
| SpaceWire Routing Switch | P-SRS-4 P-SRS-8 |
4 port and 8 port SpaceWire Routing Switches |
| Firmware available to add functionality and product features, please contact factory for details >> | ||
Product Naming Explained
1U Products:
- <Product>-<Package><Network><Speed><Used_Ports>/<Max_Ports>-<FPGA_Option><SMA>
- <Product> Product 3digit code
- <Package> R for Rack mounted 1U chassis
- <Network> G for Gigabit Ethernet interface
- <Speed> 4 for 400Mbps (always implemented)
- <Used_Ports> Number of implemented SpaceWire ports (02, 04,or 08)
- <Max_Ports> Maximum number of SpaceWire physical ports populated in product (always 8)
- <FPGA_Option> FPGA Size M only. FPGA LS product no longer in production, FPGA MS 100% compatible.
- <SMA> S for SMA expansion at rear of unit (always implemented)
For example DSI-RG402/8-MS:
- DSI 1U rackmount with gigabit Ethernet, 400Mbps, 2 ports used and 8 ports populated with maximum FPGA and SMA connectors at rear.
- All 1U products will have this format: <Product>-RG4<Used_Ports>/8-<FPGA_Option>S
Portable Products:
- <Package>-<Product>-<Ports>
- <Package> P for Portable
- <Product> Product 3digit code
- <Ports> number of physical ports/links implemented in product
For Example P-DSI-2:
- DSI portable product with 2 SpaceWire ports