PICMG, or PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group, is a
consortium
A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...
of over 140 companies in the fields of
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
and
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
. Founded in 1994, the group was originally formed to adapt
PCI technology for use in high-performance
telecommunication
Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...
s, military, and industrial computing applications, but its work has grown to include newer technologies. PICMG currently focuses on developing and implementing specifications and guidelines for
open standard
An open standard is a standard that is openly accessible and usable by anyone. It is also a common prerequisite that open standards use an open license that provides for extensibility. Typically, anybody can participate in their development due to ...
sbased computer architectures from a wide variety of interconnects.
History
The original PICMG mission was to provide extensions to the PCI standard developed by PCI-SIG for a range of applications. The organization's collaborations eventually expanded to include a variety of interconnect technologies for industrial computing and telecommunications. PICMG's specifications are used in a wide variety of industries including industrial automation, military, aerospace, telecommunications, medical, gaming, transportation, physics/research, test and measurement, energy, drone/robotics, and general embedded computing.
In 2011, PICMG completed its transfer of assets from the Communications Platforms Trade Association (CP-TA). Since 2006, CP-TA had been a collaboration of communications vendors, developing
interoperability
Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader de ...
testing requirements, methodologies, and procedures based on open specifications from PICMG,
The Linux Foundation
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
, and the
Service Availability Forum. PICMG has continued the educational and marketing outreach formerly conducted by members of the CP-TA marketing work group.
Specification naming convention
For many years, PICMG used a numerical naming convention with specification being referred to as “PICMG X.YY”. Where X was used to denote differing form factors ("1" for
slot card based single board computers, "2" for
CompactPCI
CompactPCI is a computer bus interconnect for industrial computers, combining a Eurocard-type connector and PCI signaling and protocols. Boards are standardized to 3 U or 6U sizes, and are typically interconnected via a passive backplane. The ...
, and "3" for
AdvancedTCA) while YY was used to indicate incremental changes, option definitions, or a slight variation of a specification form its core specification. In 2003, PICMG added an acronym-based naming convention for its specifications to yield better results from internet search engines. Specifications are now often named ABCD.X where ABCD is an acronym of the specification. In this naming convention, base or main specifications are denoted with X=0 (i.e. ABCD.0), and PICMG subsidiary specifications are denoted X>0. PICMG subsidiary specifications represent how various options or variations of a based specification should be handled.
List of adopted specifications
:*
PICMG 1.0 PCI/ISA
:*
PICMG 1.1 PCI/ISA Bridging
:*
PICMG 1.2 PCI only
:*
PICMG 1.3 SHB Express
:*
PICMG 2.0 CompactPCI
:*
PICMG 2.1 CompactPCI Hotswap
:*
PICMG 2.2 CompactPCI VME64x
:*
PICMG 2.3 CompactPCI PMC I/O
:*
PICMG 2.4 CompactPCI IP I/O
:*
PICMG 2.5 CompactPCI Telephony
:* PICMG 2.7 Dual CompactPCI
:*
PICMG 2.9 CompactPCI Management
:*
PICMG 2.10 CompactPCI Keying
:*
PICMG 2.11 CompactPCI Power Interface
:*
PICMG 2.12 CompactPCI Software Interoperability
:*
PICMG 2.14 CompactPCI Multicomputing
:*
PICMG 2.15 CompactPCI PTMC
:* PICMG 2.16 CompactPCI Packet Switching Backplane (PSB)
:* PICMG 2.17 CompactPCI Starfabric
:* PICMG 2.18 CompactPCI RapidIO
:* PICMG 2.20 CompactPCI Serial Mesh
:*
PICMG 2.30 CompactPCI PlusIO
:*
CPCI-S.0 CompactPCI Serial
:* CPCI-S.1 CompactPCI Serial for Space
:*
PICMG 3.0 AdvancedTCA Base
:* PICMG 3.1 AdvancedTCA Ethernet
:* PICMG 3.2 AdvancedTCA Infiniband
:* PICMG 3.3 AdvancedTCA StarFabric
:* PICMG 3.4 AdvancedTCA
PCI Express
PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe, is a high-speed standard used to connect hardware components inside computers. It is designed to replace older expansion bus standards such as Peripher ...
:* PICMG 3.5 AdvancedTCA RapidIO
:* PICMG 3.7 AdvancedTCA Extensions
:*
AMC.0 AdvancedMC Mezzanine Module
:* AMC.1 AdvancedMC PCI Express and AS
:* AMC.2 AdvancedMC Ethernet
:* AMC.3 AdvancedMC Storage
:* AMC.4 AdvancedMC Serial RapidIO
:* IRTM.0 Intelligent Rear Transition Module
:* SFP.0 System Fabric Plane
:* SFP.1 iTDM
:* EXP.0 CompactPCI Express
:*
COM.0 Computer on Module
:* CDG COM Design Guide
:* MTCA.0 MicroTCA
:* MTCA.1 Air-cooled rugged MicroTCA
:* MTCA.3 Hardened conduction-cooled MicroTCA
:* MTCA.4 MicroTCA Enhancements for Rear I/O & Precision Timing
See also
*
PCI-SIG
PCI-SIG, or Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group, is an electronics industry consortium responsible for specifying the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), PCI-X, and PCI Express (PCIe) computer buses. It is based in Be ...
*
Eurocard (printed circuit board)
Eurocard is an IEEE standard format for printed circuit board (PCB) cards that can be plugged together into a standard chassis which, in turn, can be mounted in a 19-inch rack. The chassis consists of a series of slotted card guides on the top a ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Standards organizations in the United States
Technology consortia
Organizations established in 1994
Open standards
Peripheral Component Interconnect