The Small Form Factor Special Interest Group (SFF-SIG, pronounced ''ess-eff-eff-sig'') is an international

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

standards body A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...

focused on modular

computer hardware Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the central processing unit (CPU), random-access memory (RAM), motherboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound card, and computer case. It includes external devices ...

technologies used in embedded and

small form factor Small form factor (SFF) is a classification of desktop computers and for some of their components, chassis and motherboard, to indicate that they are designed in accordance with one of several standardized form factors intended to minimize the vo ...

computers and controllers. Members are mainly computer board and component manufacturers. The group was founded in 2007 and had a web site until early 2020.

History

SFF-SIG generally targets low power components and processors from

VIA Technologies VIA Technologies, Inc. () is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory. It was once the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets. As a fabless semiconductor company, ...

and

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

including the Nano and Atom processors, although products for RISC processors were discussed in some working groups. VIA, WinSystems, and Octagon Systems were founding members of SFF-SIG. It was created in 2007. A logo and web site debuted in April 2008. SFF-SIG creates, promotes, and maintains

embedded computer An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is em ...

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

for form factors and

computer bus In computer architecture, a bus (historically also called a data highway or databus) is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer or between computers. It encompasses both hardware (e.g., wires, optical ...

es. Examples include the governing documents and trademarks for

CoreExpress CoreExpress modules are complete computer-on-module (COM) highly integrated, compact computers that can be used in an embedded computer board design, much like an integrated circuit component. COMs integrate CPU, memory, graphics, and BIOS, and c ...

Pico-ITX In computer design, Pico-ITX is a PC motherboard form factor announced by VIA Technologies in January 2007 and demonstrated later the same year at CeBIT. The formfactor was transferred over to SFF-SIG in 2008. The Pico-ITX form factor specificatio ...

, Express104, and

SUMIT Sumeet or Sumit is a masculine given name. It originated from Devanagari language and means "good friend" or "well pleased". Notable people Notable people with the given name include: *Sumeet Dogra (born 1969), former Indian cricketer *Sumeet Huka ...

. Members use the specifications to build specialized embedded computers used in both commercial and rugged environments where applications insist on reliable control and

data acquisition Data acquisition is the process of sampling signals that measure real-world physical conditions and converting the resulting samples into digital numeric values that can be manipulated by a computer. Data acquisition systems, abbreviated by the ...

, for example. Primarily focused on hardware, SFF-SIG defined new

single-board computer A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonst ...

(SBC) and

computer-on-module A computer-on-module (COM) is a type of single-board computer (SBC), a subtype of an embedded computer system. An extension of the concept of System on a chip, system on chip (SoC) and system in package (SiP), COM lies between a full-up computer ...

(COM) form factors. SFF-SIG standardizes expansion connectors to create the building blocks required by system manufacturers. Each specification is a free

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 ...

ITU-T The International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is one of the three Sectors (branches) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It is responsible for coordinating Standardization, standards fo ...

definition. Specifications often use pre-existing interface buses and interconnects such as

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 ...

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

2.0,

ExpressCard ExpressCard, initially called NEWCARD, is an interface to connect peripheral, peripheral devices to a computer, usually a laptop, laptop computer. The ExpressCard technical standard specifies the design of slots built into the computer and of expa ...

Low Pin Count The Low Pin Count (LPC) bus is a computer bus used on IBM-compatible personal computers to connect low-bandwidth devices to the CPU, such as the BIOS ROM (BIOS ROM was moved to the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus in 2006), "legacy" I/O ...

(LPC) Bus, SPI / uWire, and I2C / SMBus, with adaptations for modular and extensible usage. Some standards preserve the

Industry Standard Architecture Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) is the 16-bit internal bus (computing), bus of IBM PC/AT and similar computers based on the Intel 80286 and its immediate successors during the 1980s. The bus was (largely) backward compatible with the 8-bi ...

(ISA) bus and legacy peripherals.

References

External links

Express104 spec boosts stackable module design
*
The Case for Smaller Form Factors in Industrial Systems
*
Pico-sized platform ushers in new era for I/O

What is SUMIT?

What is Express104

SFF-SIG Adopts CoreExpress Specification
{{Computer form factors Motherboard form factors Computer hardware standards

History

See also

References

External links