Description

The ICS TRIPLEX T8310 Trusted TMR Expander Processor is a high-integrity expansion processor designed for use in the Trusted expansion chassis. Installed in the processor slot, it acts as a slave interface between the expansion bus and the expansion chassis backplane, enabling reliable communication across distributed safety systems.

Using the Trusted expansion bus, multiple chassis can be interconnected with unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cables while preserving the system’s fault-tolerant, high-bandwidth Inter-Module Bus (IMB) performance. This design allows system scalability without compromising safety, availability, or communication integrity.

The T8310 features a hardware-implemented Triple Modular Redundancy (HIFT TMR) architecture with advanced fault isolation. This ensures that potential faults are contained locally, maximizing system uptime and supporting hot standby operation and processor redundancy. Built-in diagnostics, continuous monitoring, and self-testing enable fast fault detection and simplified maintenance in safety-critical environments.

Key Features

• Hardware-implemented Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) architecture

• Fault isolation to prevent error propagation and maintain system availability

• Supports hot standby and redundant module configurations

• Expansion bus connectivity using UTP cabling for flexible system scaling

• High-bandwidth, fault-tolerant Inter-Module Bus (IMB) communication

• Comprehensive diagnostics, monitoring, and fault reporting

• Designed for Trusted safety systems and high-availability applications

Architectural Design

The T8310 Expander Processor is built on a lockstep TMR architecture with four clearly defined Fault Containment Regions (FCRs):

• FCR A, B, and C:
  Each region contains independent control logic, communication transceivers, power supplies, and interfaces for:

  • Expansion bus

  • Inter-Module Bus (IMB)

  • Main/standby communication with other TMR expander processors

• FCR D:
  Provides non-critical monitoring and display functions and participates in the Byzantine voting mechanism to support system integrity.

Electrical and logical isolation between FCRs ensures that faults are confined locally and do not affect the overall system operation.

Communication Mechanism

• Processor Communication
  Communication with the Trusted TMR processor is achieved via the TMR expansion interface module and a triple-modular expansion bus.

• Expansion Bus Architecture
  The expansion bus uses a triple modular point-to-point design, with each channel carrying independent command and response paths. Interface-level voting allows the system to tolerate cable or channel faults without loss of operation.

• I/O Communication
  Communication with I/O modules in the expansion chassis is handled through the IMB on the backplane. All IMB transactions are continuously voted, ensuring that any faults remain confined to the bus and do not compromise system integrity.