3U VPX and 6U VPX – GPGPU, SBC, SOSA and More

Posted by Laura B
July 19, 2022

What is VPX?

'VPX' is set of standards for connecting components of a computer, and is used by defense contractors because it provides a rugged connection for high speed processing in extreme environments. VPX PCBs are designed to be plugged into a standard chassis which in turn is mounted in a standard 19-inch rack.

VPX Form Factor

There are two VPX form factors, 3U and 6U, based on 1U increments. 1U is a rack unit of 44.5 mm - all cards must be 33.35 mm (1.313 in) shorter than the enclosure. 3U VPX dimensions are 100 mm height in a 133mm enclosure, and 6U VPX dimensions are 233mm height in a 267mm high enclosure.  Source - https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/expo/vpx/

VPX Portfolio

Here at Sarsen, we supply and support a wide range of both 3U VPX cards and 6U VPX cards, across myriad technologies including graphics and GPGPU, 100GbE switches, high density storage, rugged SBCs and Xilinx FPGA cards, as well as full VPX systems and SOSA-aligned VPX products.

SOSA Boards and Systems

Using OpenVPX as its framework, SOSA will ensure improved SWaP-C optimisation, extensive reconfiguration options and rapid technology upgrades within a wide range of applications. The fundamental objective is to give designers maximum flexibility in the initial selection of subsystems that provide sensor data collection, processing, exploitation, communication, and related functions over the full life cycle of the C4ISR system.

Rugged VPX Flexibility

For additional flexibility we can supply 3U VPX cards and 6U VPX cards with features such as FMC sites, mezzanine cards including ADC and DACs and RFSoCs and XMC/PMC slots.

The 3U VPX and 6U VPX cards we support are available in air-cooled and conduction-cooled versions making them compatible for a wide variety of applications across multiple industries. They are available on the very latest Intel® and NXP QorIQ processors, Xilinx FPGAs including UltraScale+ and Zynq SoC, and NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.

Find Out More About VPX

For more information about any of our VPX products, or to discuss how VPX might work in your application, please get in touch with one of our engineers, or send us an email.