In order to be effective, data transport rates associated with electronic warfare (EW), spectrum monitoring and signal intelligence (SIGINT) applications require fast, highly complex RF processing platforms to handle high-throughput, low-latency signal digitization and transport. These platforms integrate RF transceivers, FPGAs, GPUs, and CPUs, with each hardware element integrated onto a SOSA-aligned 3U VPX compatible plug-in card (PIC). While SOSA-aligned platform components are designed to reduce complexity, deciding how components are interconnected on the PIC - via Ethernet or PCIe - is still a challenge for engineers.

Each option has its advantages, and in this technical whitepaper, we will help chart a course for system architects to determine which is the best fit for their needs and systems.