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The PICMG AdvancedTCA specification provides a clear structure to develop open architecture blades. However, as you know, with any specification comes potential for interpretation. This is why the CP-TA was formed – to provide the interoperability testing that enables components from different manufacturers within the ATCA eco-system to be more easily integrated. To help smooth this process, the specification was divided into a set of different functional areas: manageability, thermal and data transport. A task force for each functional area, made up of subject matter experts from member companies, was created to solve the interoperability challenges that integrators have repeatedly faced in the past. In addition, a certification task force was created, to define certification levels and the certification programs to support each level.
“Freedom of Choice”…The phrase has a nice ring to it, and it also conveys much more than what one would initially think upon reading or hearing the words. It’s kind of like “The buck stops here” or “You get what you pay for” – simple and concise yet deep and profound. There’s more to it than meets the eye.
So what is Freedom of Choice and why has CP-TA selected this phrase as an important tag line for the organization (and part of the title of a recent CP-TA collaborative paper)?
During the past two years since CP-TA’s inception, we have encountered questions about the need and effectiveness of identifying and testing to interoperability requirements for ATCA, AMC and microTCA. The typical response is “What value add does CP-TA bring to the PICMG specifications? Why isn’t PICMG compliance sufficient?” As a short answer, I highly recommend reading our white paper “Reducing Product Integration Time With CP-TA Tested Building Blocks.”
This is our introduction to the new CP-TA blog, which allows members and non-members to exchange ideas and provide direct feedback to CP-TA.
Since the standardization of ATCA and AMC, more and more component and systems vendors are launching new products. From ATCA chassis in various footprints, general purpose CPU blades, switch blades with various switching technologies, network processing based components as blades or Advanced Mezzanine Cards to specialty telecom I/O Advanced Mezzanine Cards or ATCA blades. The freedom to choose gives Network Equipment Providers (NEPs) a broad range of options to choose from the best of breed component and system providers...
Stay tuned for more information about CP-TA news, events and discussions on the new CP-TA Blog!