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Fig. 1: Compact PC sub-rack
PICMG workgroups
address different
specification areas.
The two groups
dedicated to Rugged
MicroTCA are
concerned primarily
with the mechanical
expansion of the
MicroTCA standard
with the goal
of applying the
system architecture
designed for telecom
applications in harsher conditions, such as in industrial,
aviation or transport (see article “Shock-resistant”, p. 30).
The CompactPCI Plus effort is predominantly geared
towards the electrical upgrade of the CompactPCI standard
while preventing drastic mechanical modifications. In
the case of CompactPCI plus, the existing parallel PCI
bus structure is extended to include serial point-to-point
data transmission. This increases data rates and improves
functionality as the new serial transmission protocols
enable a simple star architecture. One hundred percent
backward compatibility is retained. In other words,
current CompactPCI modules are also fully functional in
new CompactPCI Plus systems. PICMG3.1 also focuses on
electrical expansion. The PICGM3.1 standard describes
The PICMG (PCI Industrial
Computer Manufacturers Group)
is a consortium of more than 450
companies that work together to
develop open standards for high-performance
telecommunication and industrial computer
applications. The PICMG specifications comprise:
Compact PCI®, AdvancedTCA®, AdvancedMC,
MicroTCA, CompactPCI Express, COM Express
and SHB Express. HARTING is currently active
in five PICMG workgroups: Rugged MicroTCA.1,
Rugged MicroTCA.2, Compact PCI Plus, PICMG3.1
and PICCC (www.PICMG.org).
Fig. 2: ATCA sub-racks
the use of Ethernet protocols in the PICMG3.0 architecture
(also known as AdvancedTCA or ATCA). The existing
PICMG3.1 specification is currently being extended
in order to support the new serial 10GBps protocol in
accordance with IEEE 802.3ap_KR.
The PICCC (PCI Industrial Computers Channel
Characterization) pursues a more comprehensive objective:
the definition of transmission channels for high data rates.
In the future, all PICMG specifications and, preferably,
also proprietary architectures, are to comply with this
definition. This specification has many advantages. The
uniform nomenclature of the interfaces in the transmission
channel helps to prevent expensive misunderstandings
between component manufacturers and board-level/system
designers. Better definitions of the simulation models and
measurement data improve the interchangeability and
comparability of measurement data and simulation models.
This also saves time when designing new applications. For
component manufacturers, it means that the expertise to
create this data has to be available and that due to the
emphasis on better comparability, the focus has to be on
the quality of the components. Consequently, this gives
HARTING a competitive advantage since it already has
the necessary expertise and quality has always played an
overriding role within the company.
Gert Havermann
Signal Integrity Engineer, Germany
HARTING Technology Group
gert.havermann@HARTING.com
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