CompactPCI Serial – Compendium Both CompactPCI PlusIO and CompactPCI Serial is based on CompactPCI, an established standard for building cost-effective, industrial and reliable computers. Users appreciate the modularity, robustness and economic efficiency of CompactPCI. With the new standards they get all these advantages plus fast serial data transfer – including the migration path. Content CompactPCI Serial – Compendium ......................................................................................... 1 History of a New Standard ....................................................................................................... 4 CompactPCI Serial ................................................................................................................... 7 Architecture Overview ................................................................................................................................7 Key Characteristics ............................................................................................................................. 10 Wiring and Connectors ........................................................................................................................ 11 Look Back on CompactPCI: Keep What is Tried and Tested ............................................................. 13 Computer Set-Up as a Star and Mesh .................................................................................................... 13 Modern Computer Architecture ........................................................................................................... 13 Star Architecture with Ethernet, PCI Express, SATA and USB .......................................................... 15 The Special Role of Ethernet .............................................................................................................. 15 Identical Peripheral Slots .................................................................................................................... 17 Typical Tasks of the Serial Interfaces ..................................................................................................... 17 Ethernet for Complex Systems ........................................................................................................... 17 CompactPCI Serial – Compendium Page 1 of 68 The Ethernet Mesh .............................................................................................................................. 17 PCI Express for High Bandwidth ......................................................................................................... 24 SATA/SAS for RAID Systems ............................................................................................................. 27 USB for Mobile Functions ................................................................................................................... 29 Hot-Plug Functionality ............................................................................................................................. 30 Requirements for Hot Plugging ........................................................................................................... 30 Typical Applications............................................................................................................................. 31 Conduction Cooling ................................................................................................................................. 32 Convection Cooling ............................................................................................................................. 32 Conduction Cooling ............................................................................................................................. 32 Physical Addressing ................................................................................................................................ 34 Benefits and Pitfalls ............................................................................................................................. 34 Physical Addressing with CompactPCI Serial ..................................................................................... 34 Mechanics ............................................................................................................................................... 36 The Guide Element ............................................................................................................................. 36 Connector Usage and Coding ............................................................................................................. 37 Two Card Formats: 3U and 6U ........................................................................................................... 39 Extension using Mezzanine Cards ...................................................................................................... 43 Individual Rear I/O for 3U and 6U ....................................................................................................... 44 Application-Specific Backplane Architectures ..................................................................................... 46 Use in Harsh Environments: EN 50155 as an Example ......................................................................... 48 Spoiled for Choice: CompactPCI Serial or VPX? ................................................................................... 49 Migration using CompactPCI PlusIO .................................................................................... 51 Architecture Overview ............................................................................................................................. 51 Standardized Interfaces with CompactPCI PlusIO ............................................................................. 52 Hybrid Systems as a Bridge between the Standards .......................................................................... 53 PCI Express ............................................................................................................................................ 54 CompactPCI Serial – Compendium Page 2 of 68 Ethernet................................................................................................................................................... 55 Why BASE-T? ..................................................................................................................................... 55 Possibilities through Ethernet on the Backplane ................................................................................. 55 Electrical Specification ............................................................................................................................ 56 Interoperability ........................................................................................................................................ 57 Defined Interface Order ....................................................................................................................... 57 Implementation in Real Life ................................................................................................................. 58 Hybrid Systems ...................................................................................................................... 60 Using CompactPCI PlusIO...................................................................................................................... 60 The Important Role of CompactPCI PlusIO ........................................................................................ 60 Hybrid Possibilities using CompactPCI PlusIO ................................................................................... 61 Direct Connection between CompactPCI and CompactPCI Serial ........................................................ 63 Perspective ............................................................................................................................. 65 Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................... 67 CompactPCI Serial – Compendium Page 3 of 68 History of a New Standard In 1994/95, Jim Medeiros of Ziatech and Joe Pavlat of Pro-Log, among others, presented a concept for modular computers based on PCI bus plug-in cards in Eurocard format, connected to a passive backplane. They called their concept CompactPCI. Soon, other companies such as Motorola, Radisys (Intel) and Lucent showed interest in this concept and participated in its standardization. The CompactPCI bus was successful and soon reached a high market penetration for industrial, reliable systems. It became the most important standard in the telecommunications industry. But it also soon conquered markets that had traditionally been occupied by the STD Bus or the VMEbus. Beside wide areas in industrial environments, these were medical engineering, measurement and transportation. CompactPCI was cleverly based on the IEEE 1101 mechanical standards for Eurocards and 19" systems known and proven from the VMEbus. Finally, the conductive cooling solutions were also taken over so that even military applications opened up for the CompactPCI bus. During the last years the parallel PCI bus technology has more and more been complemented by fast serial point-to-point connections. Depending on the types of peripherals and functions, different interface standards are taking root. For example, SATA