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Now you have the option of bridging to or abandoning the CompactPCI . H. 110 bus. Will you take the leap?
Of the many recent offerings from Motorola Computer Group (MCG, Tempe, AZ - 800-759-1107, www.mcg.mot.com), perhaps their biggest technological leap forward is the Multi-Service Packet Transport Platform (MXP) as embodied in the new MXP3000 - a 21-slot CompactPCI rackmount with up to 18 slots available for general-purpose tasks or network processors.
"Everybody knows the time is coming when circuit-switched communications will be replaced by optimized packet platforms," says Paul Virgo, director of product marketing for MCG's telecommunications business. "And so, while the MXP is based on four different 'channels' - buses and switching fabrics each having a defined purpose that can serve an incredible number of converged applications - the MXP nevertheless abandons the old CompactPCI H. 110 TDM bus entirely."
The first and perhaps most important "channel" between boards/blades in the MXP is the PICMG 2.16 packet backplane. This provides a communications path between IP-based intelligent devices. The...