PC/104 consortium adapts stackable PCI/104 Express bus specification

Developed under the lead-management by DIGITAL-LOGIC and adapted by the PC/104 consortium, the PCI/104 Express bus represents a future-oriented standard which will, in the next 10 to 20 years, allow the design of computer modules with PC/104 form factor and the use of this serial bus standard. In the effective utilisation of the limited space available for the implementation of current and future embedded applications, the successful integration of the PCI Express bus into a stackable PC architecture represents a significant milestone. It can be used in all modules with the 104, EPIC and EBX form factor.

"The PC/104 embedded consortium approved a consolidated and consistent stackable PCI Express road map for the PC/104 industry“, said Felix Kunz, Chairman and CEO of DIGITAL-LOGIC. "The new specification is the result of countless meetings held by the Technical Committee last year. The committee's efforts were defined by the desire to combine a progressive technology with the successful specifications of PC/104, PC/104 Plus, PCI-104, EBX and EPIC. The decisive factors were the mechanical compatibility and the possibility to also be able to combine the additional modules with other form factors.“

PCI Express is a point-to-point connection with a 2.5 GHz data rate. The high transmission rate requires a fitting loading system. This should enable high speeds and simultaneously fulfil the requirements of the applications for high stability and reliability for use in a rough environment, as well as the basic mechanical requirements of the PC/104 architecture. The connector assembly selected for this purpose is a modified version of the Samtec high-density Q2 connector assembly, which was optimised for a module spacing of 15.24 mm.

With the PCI/104 Express Bus, DIGITAL-LOGIC facilitates the market acceptance for the PC/104 form factor for a period of at least ten more years. PCI/104 Express will set the technical standard in the long term, since currently, nothing new is in the development stage. PCI/104 Express has the bandwidth to support high-speed applications such as 1- and 10-Gbit Ethernet, high-end graphics processing, customer-specific FPGA and DSP requirements and I/O-intensive applications. In two to three years, the PCI Express bus will be adapted from 2.5 GHz to 5 GHz. The Q2 connector is specified for 6.25 GHz and can, therefore, also support the next generation bearing the name PCI Express 2.

DIGITAL-LOGIC is the first supplier to offer a PCI/104 Express CPU board with Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a clock rate of up to 2x 1.6 GHz (MSM945P), as well as a PCI/104 Express with the new ATOM CPU Z530 (MSM200XP). In addition, even today, several PCI/104 Express periphery cards, one 1-Gbit Ethernet LAN controller (MSMGE104EX), one ExpressCard adapter (MSMEC104EX), one fourfold frame grabber (4XBT878, 16 channels) (MSMG104EX), one MXM high-performance graphic with ATi-X2400 (MSMMX104EX) and one power-supply module are available. DIGITAL-LOGIC is also the first company worldwide to feature functional PCI/104 Express products which are also currently in serial production. These include the MSEP945P (a single-board computer in EPIC format) and the MSEBX945P, a high-performance EBX-embedded computer – both feature a PCI/104 extension bus. The line of PCI/104 Express cards will be expanded in the future to include a SATA card, a fourfold LAN card and more.

About DIGITAL-LOGIC

Luterbach/Switzerland-based DIGITAL-LOGIC, one of the world's leading companies in the embedded computer market, was established in 1992 and is involved in the development, manufacture and international marketing of highly-integrated embedded PC’s. The group has subsidiaries in Germany and France, and currently employs around 130 specialist staff world-wide. DIGITAL-LOGIC has received many awards and knows how to be at the cutting edge of technology with innovative, reliable products and realises economical PC solutions for demanding applications. The ISO9001 certified company develops miniature computer systems based on the x86 architecture from AMD Élan™ SC520 and Geode LX800 up to Intel® Core™ Duo processors. The product range comprises the standard products with embedded computer modules (smartModules) and boards (PC/104, PC/104-Plus, PCI/104-Express, EPIC, EBX, Slot-PC), as well as customized embedded computers and computer systems. Further Information at http://www.digitallogic.com