ComStruct DSP Building Blocks Set To RevolutionizeTelecommunications Systems Development.

CARROLLTON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 1999--Blue Wave Systems (Nasdaq/NMS:BWSI), the world's leading Digital Signal Processing (DSP) solutions supplier, has developed ComStruct(TM), a truly open, modular approach to building a telecom system and enables a user to develop a fully integrated

Designers and system builders working on their next-generation of communications products can now build complete DSP-based telecommunications systems from a unique library of DSP hardware and software modules.

ComStruct offers system builders a faster and surer route to market. The products are based on established open standards and are fully customizable, flexible and upgradeable in the network. ComStruct is ideal for voice over IP, voice recording and archival, transcoding systems and many more feature-enriched services.

ComStruct is made up from three principal building blocks: the DSP and I/O hardware, FACT(TM) (Framework Architecture for Communication Technologies) system management software, and application specific DSP algorithms. Industry standard protocols have been employed throughout for easier system integration. All blocks allow users to incorporate third-party hardware and software, thus protecting any investments in other technologies.

The DSP hardware platforms are formed from dedicated telecoms PCI and Compact PCI (CPCI) DSP boards based on Texas Instruments' advanced C6000 range of fixed and floating-point DSPs. Optimized for high-density processing, four 200MHz C6000 DSPs reside on the PCI/C6400 and CPCI/C6400 boards providing a peak processing power of 6400 (4x1600) MIPS. An on-board crossbar switch provides an ECTF H.100 standard telephony bus while an optional Motorola MPC860 PowerQUICC processor is available to handle real-time, on-board control, signaling and data management. In addition, an IEEE 1386.1 compliant PMC site is provided to support a range of peripheral computer and line interfaces like T1/E1 trunks, ATM and FDDI.

Overseeing system control is Blue Wave Systems' FACT software, a powerful library of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that is used to configure and control the DSP hardware. The FACT APIs are pre-developed code routines that execute specific tasks such as the allocation and configuration of resources within the system or the transfer of data between the host and the DSPs. A developer selects which APIs and DSP resources are needed for a telecommunications system then simply builds up the application. Using pre-defined APIs means ComStruct developers can reduce their application software development times by up to 80 percent and don't even have to be familiar with the DSP hardware.

Like the DSP hardware, the API software is modular proving both flexible and reliable in even the most highly sophisticated telecommunications systems. FACT is dynamically configurable permitting diagnostic checks on hardware and software while the application is running, or the reallocation of hardware resources in the event of failure, or hot-swapping. Written in C/C++, the FACT APIs can be ported to a variety of platforms including standard Windows NT and Solaris 2.x for higher-level development or use in other applications.

A key feature of FACT is the ability for customers to add new DSP resources and have them managed in the same way as existing resources.

Completing the ComStruct system are the application specific software modules -- the DSP resources. These are optimized algorithms for specific applications like modem pools, voice coding, speech recognition and voice over IP. All comply with current and emerging industry standards and again, the purpose of these resources is to provide rapid interconnection of ComStruct building blocks, minimizing development time and increasing system reliability. Blue Wave Systems plans to build an extensive stock of DSP resources and is currently developing further application specific modules with major third-party partners.

Blue Wave Systems (Nasdaq/NMS:BWSI) is the world's leading supplier of board-level DSP solutions and provides digital signal processing (DSP) boards and subsystems to more than one-half of the world's top 40 industrial companies. Blue Wave Systems is principally involved in the development and sale of embedded DSP computers to a variety of industries. The company resulted from the merger of Mizar Inc. and Loughborough Sound Images Ltd. in April 1998.