PCI BUS

The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus presents a hybrid of sorts between ISA and VL-Bus. The PCI Bus provides direct access to system memory for connected PCI bus devices, but uses a bridge to connect to the front side bus and therefore to the CPU. This means the PCI Bus is capable of even higher performance than VL-Bus while eliminating the potential for bus interference with the CPU.

Connecting the PCI Bus
PCI Bus can connect more devices than VL-Bus, up to five external PCI bus components. Each of the five PCI bus connectors for an external PCI bus component can be replaced with two PCI bus fixed devices on the motherboard. Also, the same computer will support more than one PCI bus, although this is rarely done.

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

PCI 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 PCI Bus Modules
Symmetricom's PCI Bus time and frequency modules provide precise time to the PCI bus host computer and generate PCI bus programmable event pulses and PCI bus pulse rates for external equipment.

Symmetricom's PCI Bus modules generate IRIG B serial time code and will synchronize to an IRIG B time code input. In addition to the PCI bus external event time capture function, these features facilitate time integration into most PCI bus applications. All of these PCI Bus modules are optionally equipped to synchronize with GPS satellite time, thus enabling Symmetricom's PCI Bus modules to provide accurate reference to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

For more information about Symmetricom's PCI Bus cards, click here.