CPCI

CPCI is a flexible and rugged open-ended bus system, offering a number of advantages over VME bus modules such as low price and the compact, efficient CPCI bus formfactor. CPCI bus modules are widely used in embedded applications.

Cost Effectiveness of CPCI
To begin with CPCIs are far more cost effective than VME bus modules.

Technical Advantages of CPCI
The CPCI bus is a passive-backplane PCI-based bus. The technical feature that currently favors the CPCI bus is the PCI bus speed as compared to a VME bus. The CPCI also provides a synchronous interface, so its actual performance comes close to its theoretical maximum. CPCI-based buses are not limited to any particular type of MPU chip. Any processor can be easily interfaced to the PCI based buses using a PCI bus bridge chip.

CPCI Use
In today’s telecom world, CPCI bus is widely seen as the solution of choice for CPCI bus communications hubs, CPCI bus high performance servers, and CPCI bus telephony equipment. CPCI bus combines the Eurocard form factor (familiar to VMEbus users) with the PCI electrical bus characteristics, creating a CPCI bus based open standard that easily accommodates any modern microprocessor in the CPCI bus based environment.

Symmetricom’s CPCI card is used in a wide variety of PC-based applications, as well as CPCI bus based servers, CPCI bus based work stations, CPCI bus based desktops, or CPCI bus based industrial computers. In many cases, the CPCI card system design has been tailored to support specialized applications. Some of the most popular CPCI card based applications include Aerospace; the Military; Simulation; Test & Measurement; Industrial Controls; Transportation; Telecom; Medical; High Energy Physics; and general business.

CPCI Operating Systems
Symmetricom’s PCI bus card time and frequency processor modules can be configured within a wide variety of computing environments (including Windows, Solaris, Linux, Unix, VxWorks, and more) and meet most interface requirements.

Symmetricom’s CPCI
Symmetricom’s CPCI receiver modules provide precision CPCI bus time and frequency reference to the CPCI bus host computer system and CPCI bus peripheral data acquisition systems. CPCI time is acquired from either the GPS satellites using a supplied antenna/receiver or from serial time code signals, typically IRIG B time code. Integration of the CPCI module is facilitated with optional drivers for Windows 98/2000/XP, Linux, Solaris and VxWorks.

CPCI uses industry standard mechanical components and high-performance connector technologies to provide a system that is optimized for rugged applications. Symmetricom’s CPCI cards are PCI bus based time and frequency modules that provide precise time to CPCI bus based host computer and generate CPCI bus based programmable event pulses and CPCI bus based pulse rates for external equipment. Symmetricom’s CPCI cards generate IRIG B serial time code and will synchronize to an IRIG B time code input or to the GPS satellites. In addition to the CPCI bus based external event time capture function, Symmetricom’s CPCI card product features facilitate time integration into most applications using time from IRIG time codes or the GPS constellation. All of Symmetricom’s CPCI bus modules are optionally equipped to synchronize with GPS satellite time, thus enabling Symmetricom’s CPCI bus modules to provide an accurate time reference to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

For more information about Symmetricom’s CPCI modules, click here.