Abstract: Linear synchronous motor traction technology is utilized in high-speed maglev system. However, the linear synchronous motors in real maglev system is large and costly, which hinders the pre-researches. A novel segmented permanent magnet linear synchronous motor(PMLSM) drive prototype is developed for deploying and verifying maglev linear motion algorithms quickly in a low-cost way. Moreover, an ARM-FPGA based dual-core controller specific to the prototype is designed for separating algorithm deployment from control implementation. Eventually EtherCAT network is introduced into the controller so as to realize the high-precision and low-latency networked control architecture. Both the availability and feasibility are proved by simulation and experiment. In the future, more maglev linear motion algorithms will be developed, deployed and verified using the maglev drive architecture.