<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Rick,<br><br>We have a rough architecture and cost estimate for a 40 channel correlator/beamformer capable of 40 channels (19 dual pol antennas plus reference or RFI auxiliary) over 250 MHz BW. We worked this out with CASOER head Dan Werthimer and his crack correlator/beamformer developer Jason Manley. It will require 20 ROACH boards, 20 iADC boards, 1 20-port 10 Gbit ethernet switch, and some lesser associated parts.<br><br>Our recent ROACH order was $2750 each, iADC: $1300 each, enclosures: $750 each, XiLinx chip: free or $3000, ethernet switch: $12000.<br><br>You can use your existing data acquisition array of PCs as the stream-to-disk farm, but will need to buy 10 Gbit cards and hardware RAID controllers.<br><br>The total (which will be a bit low) assuming no free XiLinx parts and not including is: $168,000.<br><br>Of course this does not include development manpower costs.<br><br>Brian<br><br><br>On Feb 3, 2010, at 3:05 PM, Rick Fisher wrote:<br><br><blockquote type="cite">This is an incomplete question, but maybe we can beat it into something<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">answerable: Do we know enough about existing applications on CASPER<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">hardware to make a conservative estimate of what it would cost to build a<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">PAF beamformer with a given set of specs? I'm looking for at least two<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">estimates. What is a realistic set of specs for the first science PAF<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">beamformer, and what would the dream machine that would make a big<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">scientific impact cost? You're welcome to define the specs that go with<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">either of these two questions or I'll start defining them by thinking "out<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">loud". The first science beamformer will guide the initial system design,<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">and the dream machine will help get a handle on longer range expectations.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Cheers,<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Rick<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">_______________________________________________<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Pafgbt mailing list<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><a href="mailto:Pafgbt@listmgr.cv.nrao.edu">Pafgbt@listmgr.cv.nrao.edu</a><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><a href="http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/mailman/listinfo/pafgbt">http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/mailman/listinfo/pafgbt</a><br></blockquote><div><br></div></body></html>