Rx7I Overview - GE PACSystems RX7i Reference Manual

1.4

RX7i Overview

The RX7i control system hardware consists of an RX7i rack and up to seven Series 90-70 expansion racks.
The CPU resides in slot 1 of the main rack. RX7i racks use a VME64 backplane that provides up to four
times the bandwidth of existing VME based systems, including the current Series 90-70 systems for
faster I/O throughput. The VME64 base supports all standard VME modules including Series 90-70 I/O
and VMIC modules.
Expansion racks support Series 90-70 discrete and analog I/O, the Genius Bus Controller, and the High-
Speed Counter. The CPU provides an embedded auto-sensing 10/100 Mbps half/full duplex Ethernet
interface.
RX7i supports hot standby (HSB) CPU redundancy, which allows a critical application or process to
continue operating if a failure occurs in any single component. A CPU redundancy system consists of an
active unit that actively controls the process and a backup unit that is synchronized with the active unit
and can take over the process if it becomes necessary. Each unit must have a redundancy CPU,
(IC698CRE020, CRE030 or CRE040). The redundancy communication path is provided by IC698RMX016
Redundancy Memory Xchange (RMX) modules set up as redundancy links. For details on the operation of
PACSystems redundancy systems, refer to the PACSystems Hot Standby CPU Redundancy User Manual,
GFK-2308.
Note: Extended operation with dissimilar CPU types is not allowed. During normal operation, the
primary and secondary units in an HSB redundancy system must have the same CPU model
type.
The primary and secondary units of an HSB redundancy system can have dissimilar model types for a
limited time, for the purpose of system upgrade only. Fail wait times for the higher performance CPU in
a dissimilar redundant pair may need to be increased to allow synchronization.
RX7i communications features include:
▪
Open communications support includes Ethernet, Genius, and serial protocols.
▪
A built-in 10/100mb Ethernet interface that has dual RJ45 ports connected through an auto-
sensing switch for upload, download and online monitoring. This eliminates the need for rack-
to-rack switches or hubs. The CPU Ethernet Interface provides basic remote control system
monitoring from a web browser and allows a combined total of up to 16 web server and FTP
connections. For details on Ethernet Interface capabilities, refer to PACSystems RX7i & RX3i
TCP/IP Ethernet Communications User Manual, GFK-2224.
▪
Two serial ports, one RS-232 and one RS-485.
▪
An RS-232 isolated Ethernet Station Manager serial port.
GFK-2222AD April 2018
Chapter 1. Introduction
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