Latest enhancement quadruples bandwidth of AdvancedTCA embedded computing standard

WAKEFIELD, Mass., 22 Aug. 2012. The PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG), an embedded computing trade association and standards organization for communications and military embedded systems, has adopted the AdvancedTCA 3.1R2 specification that quadruples bandwidth in AdvancedTCA systems.

AdvancedTCA has become the most widely used open standard in telecommunications applications, and is gaining momentum in military applications because of its capability, expandability, and high availability features, PICMG officials say, adding that U.S. AdvancedTCA sales are expected to reach $1 billion this year. The original AdvancedTCA specification was first ratified in 2003.

The new specification increases system bandwidth by four times, allowing a single chassis to handle data transfers as quickly as 10 terabits per second for full mesh designs. This translates into transporting and switching more than 2 million high definition video channels at the same time, PICMG officials say.

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“The 40-gigabit fabric interface defined in PICMG 3.1R2.0 is the natural evolution for AdvancedTCA platforms,” says Doug Sandy, chairman of the PICMG 3.1R2.0 committee and chief technology officer of the Embedded Computing business of Emerson Network Power in Tempe, Ariz. “It guarantees backward compatibility and interoperability, and offers a significant bandwidth improvement for next-generation data-hungry applications.”

The new AdvancedTCA specification is available in print and electronic formats, and can be purchased at http://www.picmg.org/v2internal/specorderformsec.htm. For more information contact PICMG online at www.picmg.org.

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