Scientific
Applications:
RapidIO
INTERCONNECT ARCHITECTURE
ACCEPTED AS ECMA STANDARD
Resulting ECMA-342 standard will be submitted to ISO/IEC for fast track
approval in 2003 Geneva, and Austin, Texas.
In a significant standardization milestone for high-performance
interconnect
architectures, ECMA International announced its new interconnect standard
ECMA-342, which includes both parallel and serial versions of the RapidIO
interconnect architecture developed by the members of the RapidIO Trade
Association.
This marks the first acceptance by an international standards organization
of
the next-generation of open interconnect standards designed to ensure
reliability and system-level compatibility in high-performance networking,
communications and embedded systems.ECMA International was founded in 1961 and
is dedicated to the standardization of information and communications
systems.
As part of its approval, ECMA will submit the approved standard to the
ISO/IEC
JTC1 for the latter's Fast-Track process, involving a 6-month international
ballot and comment period. The final specification is expected to be published
by ISO/IEC as an international standard in autumn 2003.
Jan W. van den Beld, the Secretary General of ECMA International, said: "By
accepting the RapidIO architecture, our TC42 Technical Committee ensured that
the RapidIO interconnect was developed as an open standard, that it addresses
the technical needs and concerns of the industry represented by ECMA
International's members, and ensures the interoperability, scalability, and
reliability of I/O communications protocols needed in system-level
communications.
It is worth noting that acceptance was achieved rapidly and efficiently.
"Engineers worldwide, especially in Europe and Asia, look to ECMA-approved
standards as they design new generations of high-performance embedded
systems." Louis Francois Pau, general manager of Ericsson's Core Network
Products Divisions, noted: "Open public interconnect standardization is
essential in the communications space, and embedded systems in general, to
enable interoperability and reduced support costs for end users."
It also triggers multi-vendor competition and thus performance enhancements
for which RapidIO technologies already represent a timely leap forward at a
time where bandwidth and service diversity put much higher demands on embedded
hardware interconnect than can be handled by PCI or Ethernet.
Also available at this website is information on system-enablement tools
including RapidIO vendor product lists, synthesizable Verilog cores, analog
physical layer cores, logic and protocol analyzers, operating system support,
bus functional models, and a hardware interoperability platform.
The new standard is available at: http://www.ecma-international.org
.
About the RapidIO Trade Association
The RapidIO Trade Association was formed in June 2000 to drive the adoption
of
open-standard, high-performance interconnect architectures needed for
high-performance networking, communications and embedded systems.
With more than 50 members worldwide, this non-profit organization is
headquartered in Austin, Texas. Membership provides early access to the
specifications, the ability to propose changes to the RapidIO standards, and
the opportunity to actively participate in the adoption process.
A complete list of member companies, as well as education and design tools,
are available at the association's website and the RapidIO parallel and serial
interconnect architectures are open standards are also available for review
at: http://www.rapidio.org.
About ECMA
Since its inception in 1961, ECMA International has developed standards for
information and communication technology (ICT). ECMA International is a
not-for-profit industry association of technology developers, vendors and
users.
Industry and other experts work together in ECMA International to prepare
standards for industry use.
ECMA International then submits the finished work for publication as ISO,
ISO/IEC and ETSI standards. ECMA International offers industry a "fast track"
into these organizations' standardization procedures, through which high
quality standards are rapidly made available for implementation.
Main areas of standardization include:
- Scripting and programming languages
- Optical and Magnetic storage
- High speed interconnects
- Safety, environmental, acoustical and electromagnetic product
attributes
- Enterprise and proximity communication and networking
File and volume structures.publications can be downloaded free of charge
from: http://www.ecma-/international.org
Please refer further questions to the Secretary General, Mr. Jan W. van den
Beld, at: jan@ecma.ch 41-22-849-6000 or 79-
203-5256.
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