PICMG, a not-for-profit 501(c) consortium of companies and organizations that collaboratively develop open specifications, has announced the release of a high-performance revision that adds server-grade functionality to COM Express embedded computing systems.

PICMG, a not-for-profit 501(c) consortium of companies and organizations that collaboratively develop open specifications, has announced the release of a high-performance revision that adds server-grade functionality to COM Express embedded computing systems. COM Express is widely used in Industrial Automation, Military/Aerospace, Gaming, Medical, Transportation, IoT, and other applications.

Revision 3.0 of COM Express provides for a new Type 7 connector and the addition of up to four 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) interfaces on the board. Previous revisions of the specification were limited to a single Gigabit Ethernet interface. The higher speed ports open up new markets such as data centers where the high compute density of COM Express can result in increased rack utilization. The 10GbE ports are also ideal for high bandwidth video applications such as surveillance. Another change to the specification includes increasing the number of PCI Express lanes to 32 across the Type 7 connector. This provides a wealth of connectivity and interface options including the ability to facilitate the use of GPGPUs.

"The work done in Revision 3.0 positions COM Express for the future while maintaining backwards compatibility.", said Jeff Munch, Chief Technology Officer for ADLINK and the Chair of the COM0 R.3 Committee. "This is a key goal for PICMG."

PICMG continues to advance new technologies and upgrades to existing specifications. Recent and upcoming efforts include 100G AdvancedTCA, 40G MicroTCA, Physics upgrades to AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA, Industrial IoT concepts, and much more. For those interested in joining PICMG, visit www.picmg.org/membership. Affiliate memberships start as low as $1000.00

About PICMG

PICMG is a not-for-profit 501(c) consortium of companies and organizations that collaboratively develop open standards for high performance industrial, military/aerospace, telecommunications, test/measurement, and general purpose embedded computing applications.
There are over 150 member companies that specialize in a wide range of technical disciplines, including mechanical and thermal design, single board computer design, very high speed signaling design and analysis, networking expertise, backplane and packaging design, power management, High Availability software, and comprehensive system management.

Founded in 1994, PICMGs original mission was to extend the PCI standard to non-desktop applications. The formal name of the organization is the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group.

Key standards families developed by PICMG include CompactPCI®, AdvancedTCA®, MicroTCA®, AdvancedMC®, CompactPCI® Serial, COM Express®, SHB Express®, and HPM (Hardware Platform Management).