Mezzanine Module for CompactPCI

The range is growing

Kaufbeuren, Germany, March 2, 1999 - PEP Modular Computers experience with mezzanine modules goes back to 1988. The manufacturer of industrial computer equipment has a total of three different mezzanine modules in its VME bus range.

1999 will now see the expansion of the mezzanine spectrum to the PMC family for CompactPCI boards. From February, respectively March 1999, an Ultra 2 Wide SCSI PMC module, a Profibus FMS/DP PMC module and a 3U CompactPCI carrier module for the previous PMC modules will be available.

The SCSI Host Adapter
The PMC260 Mezzanine Module is the fastest available Ultra 2 Wide SCSI host adapter on the market which can be obtained in the form of a PMC module. The adapter supports SCSI-1, -2 as well as SCSI-3. A main feature is that the SCSI-3 standard simplifies the integration of drives on an SCSI bus. This now means that longer cables of up to 12 meters can be used, more devices can be linked than previously and, finally, SCSI-3 also includes the automatic detection of terminators. The PMC Module 260 can also be added to CPUs without SCSI or as a second SCSI channel. Since FireWire will not widely available until well into the year 2000 and the prices for Fiber Channel are still relatively high, the popularity and acceptance of SCSI is increasing at an unrelenting pace, particularly for high memory-capacity hard disks. Along with IDE, SCSI is still the most widely used interface for mass storage. A Windows. NT is available, support for VxWorks is already in process.

The Profibus Module
The range of Profibus functions can be obtained with any PEP double-height CompactPCI CPU by plugging on the PMC 251 Mezzanine Module. The module enables a data rate of up to 12 Mbaud to be achieved and supports the functional features of the Profibus FMS Master and Slave as well as Profibus DP Master in Classes 1 and 2. The processor on the module handles the protocol stack handling, relieving the overall system controller of these tasks.

The PMC 251 module is software compatible to the intelligent Profibus controller CP351 from PEP Modular Computers and so also has support for Windows. NT as well as VxWorks and a C application interface, ensuring the best integration in Windows NT applications. In addition, the optional OPC server available for the board provides plug & play communications with peripheral devices within visualisation/HMI applications given they support an OPC client interface.

Hot-Swap PMC Carrier for CompactPCI
Previously, the intelligent PMC slots on the CPUs of PEP Modular Computers presented the only method of plugging in the mezzanine modules. From March 1999 on, PEP will also have a CompactPCI PMC carrier, CP390, in the single-height format. One PMC module can be plugged on each board, with PEPs dual PCI systems up to 14 PMC modules. The CP390 Carrier is also available as a hot-swap variant. The carrier can also be obtained as an option for the extended temperature range of (-250C to +750C).

Media Contact:
Susanne Peczler
PR Manager
Email: susape@pep-kaufbeuren.de

Thomas Wiedemann
Product Marketing Manager
Email: thomwi@pep-kaufbeuren.de

Winfried Wolf
Product Manager
Email: winfwo@pep-kaufbeuren.de