CompactPCI Serial R3: PICMG announces release of new specification

CompactPCI Serial was originally developed as an extension of the open CompactPCI standard to meet the demand for robust, modular, and powerful computer systems in industrial and embedded applications. The combination of high performance, modularity, and robustness has made CompactPCI Serial a popular standard for industrial applications, automation, and much more – where robustness, interoperability and use in harsh environments with comprehensive connectivity are crucial.

CompactPCI supports serial data transfer rates via PCI Express, USB, and Ethernet, a robust design with AirMax connectors and full interchangeability with CompactPCI cards via 3U/6U slot card systems. Developers can look forward to the completely new opportunities offered by revision 3 compared to revision 2, which are among others:

• Full PCI Express (PCIe) support: while R2 supported PCI Express up to Gen3 with 8GT/s, R3 extends support to PCI Express Gen4 with 16GT/s, which means increasing speed by doubling the data rate
• USB support: USB interface support has been increased from USB 3.0 (Gen1) with 5Gb/s in R2 to USB 3.1 (Gen2) with 10Gb/s in R3, doubling the bandwidth
• Ethernet: R3 introduces support for 10GBASE-T and 10GBASE-KR Ethernet, enabling higher bandwidth network speeds
• Connectors: in order to realise these higher data rates, new AirMax VSe high-speed connectors for CPU boards are used in R3 instead of AirMax VS in Release 2. These connectors are fully upwards and downwards compatible

“I am very proud that with Revision 3 of the specification, we have managed to provide all embedded integrators with better CompactPCI Serial performance. Developers can look forward to better connectivity, higher performance and much better scalability,” said Jess Isquith, President of PICMG.

The CompactPCI specification defines a modular computer system, consisting of a backplane, a system slot, and up to 24 peripheral boards. The mechanical design is fully backward compatible to CompactPCI and will interoperate with existing systems. A system slot board can be used in a peripheral slot as well to do multiprocessing. The easiest way to communicate in this case is via Ethernet. Ethernet uses cable standards ‘xxBase-T’ instead of dedicated backplane standards. This lowers the cost, guarantees better interoperability and offers currently up to 10Gb/s data throughput. Plus, implementation of the Ethernet connection of a system board can be done with a mezzanine board (3U or 6U). Due to this concept, more flexibility will be achieved, because the usage of Ethernet does not depend on the system board itself.

CompactPCI Serial can be combined with existing CompactPCI boards by using a CompactPCI PlusIO system slot card. These hybrid systems offer an ideal migration path from parallel to serial connections. CompactPCI Serial for Space specifically addresses the extreme environment requirements for outer space. Developers who want to build applications for harsh environments in industry, aviation, or more can now download the new specification from the PICMG website and start designing immediately. PICMG member companies are also already working on their first products based on the new specification. The release of revision 4 is in preparation.