The Blackrock Processor; Audio Processor (Dsp); Single Board Computer (Sbc); Console Networks - Solid State Logic C100 HDS Installation Manual

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He Lackrock
The Blackrock processor is 2U high and 430mm deep (excluding connectors). The unit is based on an industry-standard
19" industrial PC chassis and includes dual power supplies. Behind the removable front panel are two swappable SATA
hard-drives – these function as one redundant RAID array. Systems that include processor redundancy are supplied with
two identical Blackrock chassis.
Each Blackrock unit features two separate control processors: The digital signal processor (DSP) and the single board
computer (SbC) – see below.
a P
uDio roceSSor
The operation of the console control surface and the audio signal processing functions are both managed by a dedicated
proprietary PCIe processor card – the DSP card. Audio fibre connections from remote I/O racks are made to this card.
DSP processor resource can be specified in 32-channel steps from 64 to 256 full-function channels at 48kHz. DSP resource
is always available to channel strips so does not have to be assigned during project setup.
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ingLe oarD omPuter
In addition to the DSP processing engine Blackrock units are equipped with an industry-standard single-board PC. This PC
runs SSL's proprietary embedded Linux operating system; so there are no 3rd party licensing requirements. The SBC
stores console configurations, operator projects and functions as the host SAMBA file server for the internal RAID storage
array. The SBC also provides SNMP remote monitoring data and allows for service diagnostic capability when connected
to an external PC via a standard TCP/IP network.
c n
onSoLe etWorkS
A C100HDS/Blackrock system will require two separate Ethernet networks:
The SSL Network – This network links the Blackrock's DSP and SBC internal processors to the console. The SSL
Network will also be extended to include any optional remote peripherals (such as the GPIO relay box or a MORSE
resource sharing system) or to add a 2nd (redundant) Blackrock. The Blackrock chassis includes a network hub to simplify
the creation of a basic SSL Network, however, most systems will require an additional external hub to be provided.
The TCP/IP Network – A second connection is required to communicate with the client's remote PC. This is a
standard Ethernet (internet) network and can be used for file transfer, software updates and monitoring functions.
Although both networks conform to the Ethernet standard the data transfer settings are different so It is important to keep
the networks separate at all times.
F i/o P
ibre ortS
Connection to all I/O units is via fibre-optic cabling – four ports are fitted as standard. A second 4-port card can be added
at the specification stage to provide the maximum of 8 ports.
Standard I/O cards provide 64-channel MADI audio links. RIO, Alpha-Link Live, SDI– MADI and MORSE units all transfer
audio using the MADI standard.
Each 4-port card can also be configured to function as two redundant pairs to simplify the provision of link redundancy.
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LackLigHt LinkS For
Where higher I/O channel capacity is required, the lower 4-port interface card can be upgraded to the SSL blacklight
data standard. Blacklight links provide 256 audio channels per fibre and operate as two main-plus-redundant pairs. A 4-
port I/O card will therefore provide two Blacklight audio links. Note that Blacklight links can only be used with the RIO
stageboxes.
Refer to page 2-9 for fibre cable specifications.
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C100 HDS Installation Manual
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roceSSor
(DSP)
(Sbc)
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tageboxeS
System Components
Section 2: Preparation | Page 2-17