Two SFP sockets are located on the left side of the chassis to allow interconnection with third-party devices or with other OPAL-RT chassis. These sockets are connected to the PL section of the Zynq module and configured by the FPGA programming file (generated using OPAL-RT RT-XSG toolbox).
There are two standard modes of operation available for the SFP ports, both based on the Xilinx Aurora communication protocol:
| Generic Aurora communication | This mode is enabled using the RT-XSG block set's Generic Aurora blocks in the FPGA programming file’s Simulink model. These blocks are used to exchange data with 3rd-party devices or with other OPAL-RT systems The data communication layer (data packing/unpacking) must be configured by the user according to the targeted application. The communication speed is configurable between 1 and 5 Gbps and the SFP transceivers should be selected accordingly. |
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| OPAL-RT MUlti-System Expansion link (MuSE) | This mode encapsulates the Aurora protocol within a network protocol designed by OPAL-RT for inter-system communication. The communication speed is set to 5Gbps by default, but downgrades automatically to the speed of the other port, if that port is used at a lower speed for 3rd party device connection. |
The MuSE mode is selected in the RT-XSG block by setting the synthesis manager architecture option to <remote>. In this mode, the unit must be connected to another OPAL-RT system itself connected in central mode, and it then becomes a remote expansion unit (similar to an OP4520 or OP5607). The simulator ARM CPUs are then used only for monitoring the unit, and not during the real-time simulation.