What is PICMG

PICMG is a consortium of companies who collaboratively develop open specifications for high
performance telecommunications and industrial computing applications. The members of the
consortium have a long history of developing leading edge products for these industries.
Founded in 1994, PICMG's original mission was to extend the PCI standard, from the PCI Special
Interest Group for use in non-traditional computer markets such as Industrial Automation, Medical,
Military and Telecom. With the advent of fabric based transports PICMG specs have continued to
evolve. This has resulted in a series of specifications that include CompactPCI, AdvancedTCA,
AdvancedMC, CompactPCI Express, COM Express and SHB Express. Each specification has a
unique PICMG identifier. Details on each specification, including those under development can be found
in our Specifications Directory. These specifications are represented by many leading edge products
from PICMG member companies, details of which can be found in our Product Directory.
Our Purpose
PICMG's purpose is to offer equipment vendors common specifications, thereby increasing availability
and reducing costs and time to market.
Our Structure
PICMG is headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts. The organization is led by a group of elected
officers and is comprised of two levels of membership and an Affiliate level for specification
subscriptions. Technical subcommittees, under the direction of the Technical Officer, are responsible for
the development of PICMG specifications. PICMG is committed to open specifications, available to all
and developed by member companies who represent a broad cross-section of the marketplace. To
enable participation by companies both large and small, we have maintained an accessible dues
structure.

Bylaws
PICMG is incorporated as a not-for-profit, tax exempt organization. The group's Bylaws are available
for download in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Resources

AdvancedTCA Specifications for Next Generation Telecommunications Equipment

The Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (AdvancedTCA) specifications, denoted PICMG 3.X ,
are a series of PICMG specifications, targeted to requirements for the next generation of carrier grade
communications equipment. This series of specifications incorporates the latest trends in high speed
interconnect technologies, next generation processors and improved reliability, manageability and
serviceability.

Companies participating in the AdvancedTCA effort have brought a wide range of knowledge of the
industry. They include telecommunications equipment manufacturers, board and system level vendors,
computer OEMs, software companies and chassis, connector and power supply vendors.

Resource Links

AdvancedTCA Core Short Form Specification

AdvancedTCA FAQ

The SCOPE Alliance profile for AdvancedTCA

AdvancedTCA tutorial presented by Brough Turner, NMS Communications

ATCA and 10 GbE Primed for Military Service

Co-opetition

PICMG News

PICMG Forms Technical Committee Focused On Large-Scale Physics Applications

PICMG announces the formation of the xTCA for Physics Coordinating Committee.

PICMG to Expand Market and Applications for AdvancedTCA

PICMG announces a new initiative to expand the capabilities of the AdvancedTCA platform to
address additional markets beyond its successful telecom base.

PICMG Successfully Completes Its 19th Interoperability Workshop

PICMG announces the successful conclusion of its 19th Interoperability Workshop, which was
held from March 16, 2009 through March 19, 2009, in Burlingame, CA.

Industry News

Two New AdvancedTCA Blades from Emerson Network Power Feature Latest Intel Xeon
Processors
Emerson Network Power launches two new high-performance AdvancedTCA (ATCA) server
blades powered by the latest Intel Xeon processor 5600 series.

Documents

ATCA for IMS: The Perfect Match for Telecommunications Service Delivery
Document Type: Presentation
Company: RadiSys Corporation

ATCA: A Practical Perspective

Document Type: White Paper
Company: RadiSys Corporation

The Advanced Mezzanine Card (AdvancedMC) specifications denoted AMC.x are a series of PICMG
specifications, that take the extensive knowledge and practices developed with AdvancedTCA and
applies them to the area of smaller form factor mezzanine cards. Companies participating in the
AdvancedMC effort have brought a wide range of knowledge of the industry. They include
telecommunications equipment manufacturers, board and system level vendors, computer OEMs,

software companies and chassis, c

onnector and power supply vendors.

Note: AdvancedMC is a trademark of PICMG

PICMG News

PICMG Adds RapidIO for AdvancedMC Modules

The PICMG announces the adoption of the AMC.4 specification, which adds RapidIO
interconnects to PICMG's Advanced Mezzanine Card (AdvancedMC) family.

Industry News

NAT annouces NAMC-8569-CPU

The NAMC-8659-CPU is equipped with two processing resources which are the MPC8569
PowerQUICC III CPU and a powerful FPGA from Lattice. This combination offers a low power

and high bandwidth PowerPC based computing platform by an extension slot for adaptation to
particular application needs.

New AMC filler modules: economical alternatives

Schroff announces lower cost AMC filler panels.

CompactPCI was developed in the mid 1990s, as PCI-based industrial computers. It is electrically a
superset of desktop PCI with a different physical form factor. CompactPCI utilizes the Eurocard form
factor popularized by the VME bus. Defined for both 3U (100mm by 160 mm) and 6U (160mm by 233
mm) card sizes.

CompactPCI has the following features:

Standard Eurocard Dimensions (complies with IEEE 1101.1 mechanical standards)

High Density 2mm Pin-and-Socket Connectors (IEC approved and Bellcore qualified)

Vertical Card Orientation for good cooling

Positive Card Retention

Excellent Shock and Vibration Characteristics

Metal Front Panel

User I/O Connections on Front or Rear of module

Standard Chassis available from many Suppliers

Uses Standard PCI Silicon Manufactured in Large Volumes

Staged Power Pins for Hot Swap Capability (Future)

Eight Slots in Basic Configuration. Easily expanded with Bridge Chips

Connector Definitions
3U CompactPCI processor boards use a single 220 pin connector for all power, ground, and all 32 and
64 bit PCI signals. This connector consists of two halves - the lower half (110 pins) is called J1 and the
upper half (also 110 pins) is called J2. Twenty pins are reserved for future use. Backplanes use male
(pin) connectors and plug-in boards use female (socket) connectors. Plug in boards that only perform
32 bit transfers can use a single 110 pin connector (J1). 32 bit boards and 64 bit boards can be
intermixed and plugged into a single 64 bit backplane.
6U boards can have up to three additional connectors with a total of 315 pins. These are also 2mm
style. These optional connectors can be used for a variety of purposes. They can be used as to bridge
to other buses like VME or ISA in hybrid backplanes. These hybrid backplanes use CompactPCI for the
processor and high speed peripheral section and one of these industrial buses for an I/O expansion
section. PICMG is developing "recommended practices" with defined pinouts for bridging to VME-64
and telephony buses like SCSA and HMVIP.
These connectors, in conjunction with commercially available PCI-PCI bridge chips, can also be used to
extend the CompactPCI bus in 8 slot increments. In this manner a CompactPCI system with 16, 24 or
even 32 slots can easily be fabricated.
The connectors can also be used for rear panel I/O in a manner similar to VME. This approach, popular
in the telecommunications industry, brings I/O wiring out the rear of the chassis. Eliminating front
panel wiring can reduce the time required to replace a module in critical applications. The IEEE
1101.11 draft standard for rear panel I/O provides a standard method for doing this, and works well
with CompactPCI.

The MicroTCA specifications denoted mTCA.x is a new series of PICMG specifications, that takes the
extensive knowledge and practices developed with AdvancedTCA and AdvancedMC and applies them to
the area of smaller form factor plug in systems.
Companies participating in the MicroTCA effort have brought a wide range of knowledge of the
industry. They include telecommunications equipment manufacturers, board and system level vendors,
computer OEMs, software companies and chassis, connector and power supply vendors.
A Short Form version of the specification is available for download.
Visit this page frequently for the latest information on MicroTCA. Click here to visit our product
directory.

Resource Links

MicroTCA Application Guide

PICMG News

PICMG Enhances MicroTCA Embedded Computing Platform

PICMG announces Air Cooled Rugged MicroTCA specifications which extends temperature,
shock and vibration ranges of MicroTCA.

Industry News

Pentair MicroTCA test system with rear I/O

Schroff announces a new test system aimed at High Energy Physics markets.

Schroff develops new retention device to meet Rugged MicroTCA requirements

Schroff has developed a new retention device for securely fastening AdvancedMC modules into
a MicroTCA subrack to enable such systems to withstand the extreme shock and vibration
conditions laid down in the recently issued MicroTCA.1 specification.