RoCEv2 on 3U VPX brings high-performance RDMA capabilities to rugged embedded platforms by leveraging the RoCEv2 IP Core, which enables low-latency, high-throughput Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) over Converged Ethernet version 2 (RoCEv2). As the de facto interconnect standard for hyperscale data centres, AI/ML training clusters, and high-performance storage fabrics, it delivers RDMA over standard, routable Ethernet networks without the overhead of a traditional software network stack, extending data centre-class networking capabilities to demanding embedded and edge computing applications.
Modern aerospace, defence, radar, electronic warfare (EW), software defined radio (SDR), and AI-driven edge computing systems built around rugged 3U VPX architectures, are generating unprecedented volumes of sensor data. Processing this data in real time requires more than raw compute performance it demands an ultra-low latency, high-bandwidth data transport mechanism capable of moving data directly between processing elements without burdening the CPU.
This is where RDMA over Converged Ethernet Version 2 (RoCEv2) becomes a game changer.
iWave’s RoCEv2 IP core is now being extended to run on 3U VPX platforms bringing data centre class RDMA networking into rugged, size, weight, and power constrained (SWaP) environments. By integrating the iWave RoCEv2 IP Core into its 3U VPX FPGA platforms, iWave enables deterministic, zero copy networking that allows FPGA-based applications to communicate directly with GPUs, CPUs, SmartNICs, and storage systems over standard Ethernet infrastructure.
The result is a rugged embedded platform capable of supporting next generation AI, radar, SDR, and sensor fusion applications with significantly reduced latency and higher overall system throughput.
Why RoCEv2 for VPX Systems?
Traditional Ethernet communication relies on the operating system network stack, resulting in:
- Multiple memory copies
- High CPU utilization
- Increased software latency and Unpredictable timing
RoCEv2 eliminates these bottlenecks by enabling Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) over standard Layer-3 Ethernet networks. Instead of copying packets through multiple software layers, the FPGA transfers data directly into the destination memory. This provides:
- Ultra-low latency
- Near line-rate throughput and Deterministic communication
- Zero-copy data movement and Minimal CPU overhead
These characteristics perfectly align with the requirements of mission-critical VPX systems.
Bringing a 100G class RoCEv2 IP core onto 3U VPX means embedded system architects can adopt the same RDMA based data movement model used in hyperscale data centres, but packaged into a conduction cooled, MIL-SPEC-qualifiable board that fits inside a 3U chassis slot.
What are the System Level Benefits?
Supporting RoCEv2 on 3U VPX platforms opens up several system-level advantages:
- Multi-board sensor fusion: High-bandwidth RDMA transport between VPX slots lets radar and other sensor processing boards share large data sets (raw ADC captures, intermediate FFT/beamforming results) without CPU-mediated staging.
- Distributed edge AI/ML inference: As inference workloads are distributed across multiple accelerator-equipped VPX boards, RoCEv2 gives a standardized, low-overhead way to move activation/feature data between nodes.
- Chassis-to-chassis scalability: Because RoCEv2 traffic is routable IP/UDP traffic, it extends naturally from board-to-board within a chassis to system-to-system communication across a platform, using the same protocol and, ideally, the same IP core.
- Reduced integration risk via standardization: Using an industry-standard RDMA protocol instead of a proprietary interconnect reduces long-term lock-in and eases integration with COTS software ecosystems built around RDMA (storage targets, high-performance compute libraries, etc.)
iWave RoCEv2 Architecture on VPX
The below architecture illustrates a rugged end to end data pipeline built on the 3U VPX ecosystem, where the SDR card performs high speed RF acquisition and FPGA-based signal processing before transmitting data using the iWave RoCEv2 IP Core. The processed data is carried over the VPX Ethernet fabric and received by a 3U VPX CPU/GPU processing card through hardware-accelerated RDMA, eliminating unnecessary memory copies and minimizing CPU intervention. This zero copy architecture enables deterministic, ultra-low-latency, and high throughput data transfer, making it ideal for real-time radar, software-defined radio (SDR), electronic warfare (EW), and AI-driven edge computing applications. By leveraging standard VPX backplane connectivity and RoCEv2, the solution provides a scalable and interoperable platform for next generation mission critical embedded systems.
Key Applications
- Software Defined Radio (SDR): Continuous streaming of multi-channel IQ data directly into GPU memory enables real-time spectrum analysis, digital beamforming, and AI-assisted signal classification.
- Electronic Warfare: EW systems require deterministic processing with minimal latency. Hardware RDMA ensures rapid transfer of wideband RF data between VPX processing nodes and AI accelerators.
- Radar Processing: High-speed radar data can be transmitted directly to GPU clusters for FFT processing, target detection, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image generation.
- AI at the Edge: Machine learning pipelines benefit from direct FPGA-to-GPU communication, reducing inference latency and improving overall throughput for object detection, sensor fusion, and autonomous systems.
- Multi-Board VPX Systems: RoCEv2 enables efficient communication between distributed VPX modules, allowing scalable architectures without relying on custom interconnect protocols.
Why Choose iWave?
iWave brings together expertise in FPGA IP development and rugged embedded hardware, offering customers a complete, integrated solution rather than standalone components.
Key differentiators include:
- End-to-end solution: Rugged 3U VPX hardware with integrated RoCEv2 IP.
- High-speed networking: Support for 10G, 25G, 40G, and 100G Ethernet interfaces.
- Optimized for AMD and Altera FPGA platforms: Efficient implementation on Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC, RFSoC, Versal RF, Agilex 7 and Agilex 9 devices.
- GPU-ready architecture: Enables direct FPGA to GPU data transfer for AI and high-performance computing.
- Standards-based interoperability: Compatible with standard Ethernet networks, avoiding proprietary interconnects.
- Customization support: Tailored integration for SDR, radar, EW, ISR, and AI edge applications.
Looking Ahead
As defence and industrial systems continue to adopt AI driven processing and distributed sensor architectures, the demand for low-latency, high throughput data movement will only increase. By combining its RoCEv2 IP Core with rugged 3U VPX platforms, iWave provides a scalable foundation for next-generation embedded computing.
Whether deployed in software defined radios, radar systems, electronic warfare suites, or AI enabled mission computers, the solution enables efficient movement of data from sensors to processors, allowing developers to focus on advanced algorithms rather than communication bottlenecks.
With the iWave RoCEv2 IP Core on 3U VPX platforms, organizations can build future ready embedded systems that deliver deterministic networking, zero-copy data movement, and the performance required for modern mission critical applications.
