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Elma Bustronic Corp. in Fremont, Calif., is offering a line of 3U VPX backplanes in 3U, 6U, and a 6U hybrid mix of VPX and VME. The company is offering a 6-slot 3U version with a twisted-ring topology that complies with VITA 46 specifications. The twisted-ring allows for an increased use of I/O pins and ability to use mezzanines like XMC. The backplane facilitates two channels at the top of the J1 connector, typically for Gigabit Ethernet traffic in a fat pipe (4x bi-directional links). The remaining channels in J1 together with those in the J2 leave 24 XAUI-capable ports that can be used entirely for rear panel I/O. The 24 thin-pipe (one or two bi-directional links) channels remaining can be used by a PMC or XMC mezzanine or simply enable the 3U VPX modules to interface with external equipment, networks, displays, or storage systems. The VPX backplane also incorporates the Gigabit Ethernet control plane per VITA 46.20. This sub-specification adds a Gigabit Ethernet switch, providing a separate star or dual star network for out-of-band communication. This can be particularly important for system management, software and firmware upgrades, and initiating new processes on specific boards. The backplane was designed with a 12-layer controlled-impedance stripline design. To ensure optimal performance, signal integrity analysis was performed on the backplane. For more information, visit Elma Bustronic online at www.ElmaBustronic.com.