ETC AHA3520

comtech aha corporation
PRODUCT BRIEF*
AHA3520
20 MBYTES/SEC ALDC DATA
COMPRESSION COPROCESSOR IC
The AHA3520 is a single-chip CMOS lossless
compression and decompression integrated circuit.
The device implements the ALDC compression
algorithm defined by various industry standards.
This algorithm is also known as Adaptive Lossless
Data Compression.
The device compresses, decompresses or
passes data through. Flexible interface connects
directly with various microprocessors and DMA
devices used in tape drive systems. Content
Addressable Memory within the ALDC engine
eliminates external SRAMs typically required for
dictionary storage in a compression system. Other
system features include compatibility to an
ALDC1-20S-HA device.
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE:
• 20 MBytes/sec data compression, decompression
or pass-through rate
• 2 to 1 average compression ratio
• Multiple byte transfers without microprocessor
intervention
• Error checking in decompression mode reportable
via an interrupt
FLEXIBILITY:
• In-line or look-aside system architectures
supported
• Polled or interrupt driven I/O
• Two independent DMA ports programmable for 8
or 16-bit transfers and handshaking modes
SYSTEM INTERFACE:
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APARITY[1]
GND
VDD
APARITY[0]
ADATA[8]
ADATA[9]
ADATA[10]
ADATA[11]
ADATA[12]
GND
VDD
ADATA[13]
ADATA[14]
ADATA[15]
ADATA[0]
ADATA[1]
APCS
ARD
ADATA[2]
GND
VDD
ADATA[3]
ADATA[4]
ADATA[5]
TESTN2
ADATA[6]
ADATA[7]
GND
VDD
ACIN
• Single-chip data compression solution
• Programmable interrupts
• Interfaces directly with industry standard SCSI
chips
AHA3520A-040 PQC-G
YYWWD - COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
LLLLL
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AAE
VDD
GND
BDATA[7]
BDATA[6]
BDATA[5]
BDATA[4]
BDATA[3]
BDATA[2]
VDD
GND
BDATA[1]
BAF
BAE
BDATA[0]
BDATA[15]
BDATA[14]
BDATA[13]
BDATA[12]
VDD
GND
BDATA[11]
BDATA[10]
BDATA[9]
BDATA[8]
BPARITY[0]
BPARITY[1]
VDD
GND
IREQN
MDATA[7]
TESTN3
TESTN4
MDATA[6]
MDATA[5]
MDATA[4]
MDATA[3]
ACOUT
AWR
GND
VDD
MCIN[0]
MCIN[1]
MDATA[2]
MDATA[1]
MDATA[0]
AAF
MMODE
TESTN5
TESTN6
NOTE: YYWWD = DATE CODE; LLLLL = LOT NUMBER
comtech aha corporation
ADDR[0]
ADDR[1]
ADDR[2]
TESTN1
GND
BCIN
TESTN0
ADDR[3]
ADDR[4]
VDD
GND
CLK
TRISTATEN
RESETN
BCOUT
BWR
BRD
WAITN
BPCS
IREQ
OTHERS:
• Industry standard ALDC adaptive lossless
compression algorithm
• Complies to QIC-154, ECMA 222, ANSI
X3.280-1996 and ISO 15200 standard
specifications
• Compatible to ALDC1-20S-HA Specification
• 100 pin package in 14 mm × 20 mm PQFP
• RoHS compliant
APPLICATIONS
• Tape drives
• Printers and copiers
*Request the AHA3520 Product Specification for complete details.
comtech aha corporation
Figure 1:
AHA3520 Block Diagram
AHA3520 Compression Chip
ADATA[15:0]
APARITY[1:0]
ACOUT
AWR
ARD
APCS
ACIN
AAF
PORT A
INTERFACE
PORT B
INTERFACE
PORT A
DMA
STATE
MACHINE
PORT B
DMA
STATE
MACHINE
ALDC
ENGINE
BDATA[15:0]
BPARITY[1:0]
BCOUT
BWR
BRD
BPCS
PORT A
TRANSFER
COUNTER
PORT B
TRANSFER
COUNTER
BCIN
BAF
BAE
AAE
PASS THROUGH
CONTROLLER
CLOCK
GENERATION
FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
Major blocks in this device are the
Microprocessor Interface, Port A Interface, Port B
Interface, and the Compression/Decompression
Engine. The Microprocessor Interface provides
status and control information by register access.
Port A and Port B Interfaces are DMA ports
configurable for bus width, polarity, handshaking
modes, and other options. The operating mode
establishes the direction of both the Port A and Port
B Interfaces. Compression or Compression Pass
Through sets the Port A Interface as an input and the
Port B Interface as an output. Conversely
Decompression or Decompression Pass Through
sets the Port A Interface as an output and the Port B
Interface as an input. Decompression Output
Disabled mode allows the device to decompress a
block of data up to a predetermined point while
dumping the uncompressed data, then automatically
begin outputting the remaining uncompressed data
in that block or record.
A four byte Transfer Size counter allows the
user to partition the data into blocks of four
gigabytes or less to process. Compression Pass
INTERRUPT
LOGIC
IREQ
IREQN
RESETN
MMODE
ADDR[4:0]
WAITN
PROCESSOR INTERFACE
STATE MACHINE
MDATA[7:0]
PROCESSOR
INTERFACE
MCIN[1:0]
CLOCK
Through mode and Decompression Pass Through
modes allow data transfers through the device
without changing the data. Both the Port A
Interface and Port B Interface have a 16-byte FIFO
with Almost Empty and Almost Full signal pins
and programmable thresholds. Both of the DMA
interfaces, Port A and Port B, have programmable
wait states in addition to four selectable DMA
transfer modes: asynchronous
request/acknowledge pair, asynchronous burst
mode, and two peripheral access modes that
correlate with the two microprocessor modes.
comtech aha corporation
THE ALDC COMPRESSION ALGORITHM
The ALDC (Adaptive Lossless Data
Compression) algorithm is one variant of the LZ1
(Lempel-Ziv 1) class of data compression
algorithms, first proposed by Abraham Lempel and
Jacob Ziv in 1977.
LZ1 algorithms achieve compression by
building and maintaining a data structure, called a
HISTORYBUFFER. An LZ1 encode process and
an LZ1 decode process both initialize this structure
to the same known state, and update it in an identical
fashion. The encoder does this using the input data
it receives for compression, while the decoder
generates an identical data stream as its output,
which it also uses for the update process.
The compression process consists of examining
the incoming data stream to identify any sequences or
strings of data bytes which already exist in the encoder
history. If an identical such history is available to a
decoder, this matching string can be encoded and
output as a 2 element COPYPOINTER, containing a
byte count and history location. It is then possible for
a decoder to reproduce this string exactly, by copying
it from the given location in its own history. If the
COPYPOINTER can be encoded in fewer bits of
information than required for the data string it
specifies, compression is achieved.
Table 1:
PORT A AND PORT B CONFIGURATION
Port A and Port B operate identically. They both
are 16-bit bidirectional data ports with parity
checking and generation. There are three
configuration registers associated with each port
and a polarity register that determines the polarity of
all of the control signals for that port.
The function of the control pin is determined by
either xCNF0[13, 12] bits or Command register
programmed for peripheral access. The polarity of
control signals are controlled by specific bits in the
Polarity registers.
Port A Interface Signals
SIGNAL
NAME
ACIN
ACOUT
AWR
ARD
APCS
AAF
AAE
Table 2:
If an incoming byte of data does not form part of
a matching string, a LITERAL, containing this
embedded value, is encoded and then output to
explicitly represent this byte.
A decoder performs the inverse operation by first
parsing a compressed data stream into LITERALS
and COPYPOINTERS for processing.
ALDC is a lossless algorithm, insuring that the
decompressed data output is exactly the same as the
uncompressed data input. QIC-154 Development
Standard describes this industry standard algorithm
in detail.
MASTER
SLAVE
SLAVE=0
DACKA
DREQA
deasserted
deasserted
APCS
AAF
AAE
SLAVE=1
DREQA
DACKA
AWR
ARD
APCS
AAF
AAE
APOL
bit
DIRECTION
7
5
4
3
2
1
0
I
O
O
O
O
O
O
BPOL
bit
DIRECTION
7
5
4
3
2
1
0
I
O
O
O
O
O
O
Port B Interface Signals
SIGNAL
NAME
BCIN
BCOUT
BWR
BRD
BPCS
BAF
BAE
MASTER
SLAVE
SLAVE=0
DACKB
DREQB
deasserted
deasserted
BPCS
BAF
BAE
SLAVE=1
DREQB
DACKB
BWR
BRD
BPCS
BAF
BAE
comtech aha corporation
SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
ORDERING INFORMATION
A typical application for the AHA3520 is the
implementation of data compression in a tape drive
system. An in-line architecture is employed in this
system.
The in-line application inserts compression
directly between the host and the system data buffer.
There is no direct connection between the buffer
and the host. For compression, data flows from the
host, through the bus controller and into the
AHA3520. The data is then compressed by the
ALDC engine and flows into the system buffer
followed by the tape drive interface. This data flow
is usually controlled by a local microprocessor. For
decompression, the flow is reversed.
In an in-line architecture the AHA compression
chip operates at the data rate of the host interface
controller. The AHA3520 device supports a
sustained data transfer rate of up to 20 MBytes/sec.
In a look-aside application, the system buffer is
in series with the data flow. There is a direct
connection between the host and the buffer memory
through a DMA port. For compression, data flows
from the host, through the bus interface and
peripheral controller and into the system buffer.
Data then flows from the system buffer into the
AHA3520 where it is compressed and sent back to
the system buffer. Finally, data is transferred from
the system buffer interface. During decompression,
this flow is reversed.
PART NUMBER
DESCRIPTION
20 MBytes/sec ALDC Data
AHA3520A-040 PQC-G
Compression Coprocessor IC
ABOUT AHA
Comtech AHA Corporation (AHA) develops
and markets superior integrated circuits, boards,
and intellectual property core technology for
communications systems architects worldwide.
AHA has been setting the standard in Forward Error
Correction and Lossless Data Compression
technology for many years and provides flexible,
cost-effective solutions for today’s growing
bandwidth and reliability challenges. Comtech
AHA Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Comtech Telecommuncations Corp. (NASDAQ:
CMTL). For more information, visit www.aha.com.
EXAMPLE IN-LINE APPLICATION
BUFFER
DRAM
INTERFACE
BUS
SCSI or ATAPI
CONTROLLER
AHA3520
DATA COMPRESSION
CHIP
SYSTEM
MEMORY
CONTROLLER
TAPE
DRIVE
INTERFACE
SYSTEM
PROCESSOR
EXAMPLE LOOK-ASIDE APPLICATION
BUFFER
DRAM
INTERFACE
BUS
SCSI or ATAPI
CONTROLLER
SYSTEM
MEMORY
CONTROLLER
SYSTEM
PROCESSOR
PERIPHERAL
CONTROLLER
DATA FLOW
CONTROL
AHA3520
DATA COMPRESSION
CHIP
comtech aha corporation
A subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications Corporation
1126 Alturas Drive
Moscow ID 83843-8331
tel: 208.892.5600
fax: 208.892.5601
e-mail: [email protected]
www.aha.com
PB3520_1205