Product category: PC-Compatible Boards and Assemblies
News Release from: Pigeon Point Systems | Subject: IPM Sentry Shelf Manager
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 14 November 2005

Shelf Manager with added cross-connects

Pigeon Point Systems announces the immediate availability of its IPM Sentry Shelf Manager, supporting the recent AdvancedTCA specification improvement that adds ShMC cross-connects

Pigeon Point Systems, supplier of shelf and board management for AdvancedTCA and AdvancedMC, announces the immediate availability of its IPM Sentry Shelf Manager, supporting the recent AdvancedTCA specification improvement that adds ShMC (Shelf Management Controller) cross-connects. Adopted by PICMG in June 2005, ShMC cross-connects dramatically improve redundancy by allowing the two shelf managers in an AdvancedTCA shelf to communicate with both of the Ethernet hub boards, rather than just one of them, as provided in the original AdvancedTCA architecture.

Now, if a failure occurs in either an Ethernet hub board or in a shelf manager, a switchover of just the failed type of module is needed, which is much simpler and more reliable than co-ordinating a combined failover of both module types.

Pigeon Point Systems' IPM Sentry ShMM-500 shelf management mezzanine module provides hardware and software support for the new feature.

Many of the industry's leading vendors have integrated the ShMM-500 and its predecessor, the ShMM-300, into their AdvancedTCA and CompactPCI shelves.

The IPM Sentry Shelf Management Starter Kit provides the hardware and software support for new shelf developers to build AdvancedTCA and CompactPCI shelves based on the IPM Sentry ShMM-500.

'We have worked closely with Pigeon Point Systems to support the just-adopted ShMC cross-connect Engineering Change Notice (ECN) in our ATS1460 and ATS2148 AdvancedTCA hub boards for PICMG 3.1 and 3.2', said Joe McDevitt, AdvancedTCA Program Manager for Diversified Technologies.

'Our Tier 1 customers that are using ShMC cross-connects with the ATS1460 in IPM Sentry ShMM-500-based shelves are already seeing the benefits this improvement provides'.

'ZNYX Networks is incorporating support for the ShMC cross-connect ECN in its second generation AdvancedTCA switch products, including the ZX6000 and ZX7000, to provide a specification-compliant, shelf-independent solution', said Connie Austin, President and CEO of ZNYX Networks.

'We developed the initial proposal with Pigeon Point Systems because we wanted this improvement in high availability at the soonest possible point in our product line'.

'As a result, we have just completed interoperability testing with our ZX7000s in IPM Sentry ShMM-500-based shelves'.

'The ShMC cross-connects initiative demonstrates the vital role that Pigeon Point Systems plays in the rapidly growing AdvancedTCA ecosystem', said Joe Pavlat, President of PICMG.

'In just over a year, Pigeon Point Systems conceived this improvement, led development and adoption of the formal ECN within PICMG, and delivered working support for this feature to Tier 1 AdvancedTCA adopters, in collaboration with their shelf and hub developer partners'.

'Now, shortly after PICMG's formal approval, this improvement is already broadly benefiting the users of AdvancedTCA shelves, the great majority of which incorporate the IPM Sentry Shelf Manager'.

Pigeon Point Systems led the initiative to make this improvement, formally defined in an Engineering Change Notice (ECN) to PICMG 3.0 R2.0 (the AdvancedTCA specification).

The company also chaired the PICMG subcommittee that developed the ECN, and now is delivering the first implementation in the industry, which has been already tested with leading vendors' cross-connect-ready AdvancedTCA shelves and Ethernet hub boards.

The IPM Sentry ShMM-500 is a member of Pigeon Point Systems' IPM Sentry family of hardware and software products that enable cost-effective, interoperable management of open modular platforms based on the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) standard.

Using IPM Sentry components, developers of AdvancedTCA, AdvancedMC and CompactPCI products can quickly and efficiently incorporate compliant, competitive, and interoperable management solutions into their systems.

More than 65 companies worldwide employ Pigeon Point Systems' IPM Sentry components at the shelf level, board level, or both.

The IPM Sentry ShMM-500 with ShMC cross-connect support is available now, with prices starting at $350 each for 1000 units.

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