Pci Mezzanine Card Article Index for
Pci
Website Links For
Pci
 

Information About

Pci Mezzanine Card




A PMC card can have 2 bus connectors ("P1" and "P2"), supporting 32 bit PCI signals; 3 bus connectors ("P1", "P2" and "P3") supporting 64 bit PCI signals, and / or a 4th bus connector ("P4") supporting non-specified I/O signals. In addition, arbitrary connectors can be supplied on the front panel, or "bezel".

The PMC standard defines which connector pins are used for which PCI signals; in addition it defines 64 of the (optional "P4") connector pins for use of arbitrary I/O signals.

It enables manufacturers to offer products that are compatible with the well-established PCI bus, but in a smaller and more robust package than standard PCI plug-in cards. The word ''mezzanine'', meaning a platform inserted between two floors of a building, describes the way in which a PMC card fits between two adjacent host cards in a standard card rack, attached to one of the cards by connectors and mounting pillars. A single PMC measures 74 mm x 149 mm. The standard also defines a double-sized card, but this is rarely used.

Carrier cards that accept PMCs are usually made in the Eurocard format, which includes single, double and triple-height VME cards and Compact PCI (cPCI) cards.

For the PMC standard, various I/O cards are available such as Serial Communication controllers, SCSI controllers, Graphics Controller s and Firewire controllers.


VARIANTS

Additional standards exist that define variants of the standard PMC. For example,
  • PMC-X ( PCI-X PMC) defined by the VITA 39 standard

  • PPMC (processor PMC) defined by the VITA 32 standard

  • CCPMC (conduction-cooled PMC) defined by the VITA 20 standard

  • XMC (PMC with high-speed serial fabric interconnect) defined by the VITA 42 standard. XMC specifies a 5th connector ("P5") that supports PCI Express ( VITA 42.3) or other high speed serial formats such as Serial RapidIO ( VITA 42.2) and Parallel RapidIO ( VITA 42.1).



EXTERNAL LINKS