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Starting with the fundamentals, a general-purpose platform, a Gigabit Ethernet switch and a management module, Rochester, N.Y.-based Performance Technologies introduced its first products based on the PICMG 3.0 AdvancedTCA specification.

The ATC5210 12U General Purpose Platform is the high-availability chassis that supports the ATC6610 Embedded Base-Fabric Gigabit Ethernet Switch and the MGT7402 Intelligent Shelf Manager (ISM). All three products are part of Performance Technologies' IP Nexus Advanced Managed Platform

"As with any new technology, there has been a lot of froth around ATCA, but we feel the market has matured, so we came out with our first-generation products based on the experience we gained supplying the telephony market with CompactPCI blades," said Hank Heneghan, director of product management for Performance Technologies.

The company was able to apply the same software it has used in CompactPCI and PICMG 2.16 modules to the new ATCA hardware. "That's one of the unique things about our products; we have developed our own software, where a lot of people buy third-party components," Heneghan said.

The ATC5210 platform has built-in redundancy for active system components, including Ethernet hub switches, ISMs, power entry modules and fan trays. It supports 14 slots, update channels, dual star fabric interface and has a 10/100/1000 M/b Ethernet dual star base interface.

Based on the PICMG 2.9 Intelligent Platform Management Interface standard, the ISM monitors IPMI-based components, including fabrics, nodes, hubs, power entry modules, fan trays and any other IPMI device. The ATC6610 switch is configurable for monitoring network status while continuously checking its own health through real-time integrity tests.

The products are currently in the alpha testing stage and will move to beta testing in a couple of months.

"These are the central resources you have to have," said Tony Romero, product marketing engineer for Performance Technologies. "The customer can figure out what configuration they want, and we will work with them on their road map."