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Motorola Backs MicroTCA and Selects Ethernet for AdvancedTCA Communications Servers
Sets Technology Direction to Speed and Simplify Telecom Industry’s Adoption of Standards-based Platforms
SUPERCOMM 2005 -- Chicago June, 6, 2005 -- Motorola (NYSE: MOT) will focus on key technologies to maximize and accelerate the benefits of open industry standards for developers of communications-intensive applications.
Strategic technology directions of Motorola’s Embedded Communications Computing include developing a new family of Open Application-Enabling Platforms based on the MicroTCA standard; and selecting Ethernet as the data fabric for the company’s AdvancedTCA® communications servers.
“Creating open standards is just the first step toward realizing their benefits. To achieve the business benefits of open standards, industries must focus on the subset of often competing specifications that best meet their market needs to create a strong supporting ecosystem,” said Wade Campbell, strategic marketing director, Embedded Communications Computing, Motorola. “Along with AdvancedTCA, Carrier Grade Linux and Service Availability™ Forum (SA Forum), Motorola has set two additional standards directions for the core elements of our Open Application-Enabling Platforms: the MicroTCA form factor and Ethernet as our AdvancedTCA fabric. By doing so, we focus our own development investments and encourage other industry players with similar market needs to support the same standards. We believe this will help to establish the focus essential to mobilize the industry and more quickly achieve the full benefits of these standards.”
At SUPERCOMM 2005 in Chicago from June 7-9 in booth # 48039 Motorola will preview a proof-of-concept Open Application-Enabling Platform based on the MicroTCA specification. The company will also demonstrate the Avantellis™ series and Centellis™ 3000 series of Open Application-Enabling Platforms, communications servers based on the AdvancedTCA and SA Forum Application Interface Specification (AIS) and Hardware Platform Interface (HPI) open industry standards.
MicroTCA
The MicroTCA specification, currently under development, connects Advanced Mezzanine Card (AdvancedMC) modules through a backplane. It builds on the hot-swap and switch fabric capabilities within the AdvancedMC specification to define a modular scaleable computing platform that is capable of addressing applications that require up to 5 NINES service availability and beyond, and can also be cost-effective in less demanding applications.
“We see MicroTCA being used in telecom edge applications where small physical size and low entry cost are key requirements, such as WiMAX access points, DSLAMs and VoIP access gateways,” said Shlomo Pri-Tal, chief technology officer, Embedded Communications Computing, Motorola. “It can also support a variety of applications in medical, industrial and defense segments. The MicroTCA and AdvancedTCA standards will complement each other and together they will be able to address a very broad spectrum of applications with standards-based platforms.”
“By using the same AdvancedMC module designs that are deployed as mezzanines on AdvancedTCA blades, products based on the MicroTCA standard can get to market quickly. It also makes software migration between the two types of platform relatively easy, so software support for MicroTCA platforms will be available in a much shorter timescale. And, of course, re-use of existing hardware and software will improve cost-efficiency through economies of scale,” continued Pri-Tal.
A MicroTCA system has the same architecture as AdvancedTCA. It has at least one switch card to handle the switch fabric and it will support the same Intelligent Platform Management Interface found in AdvancedTCA to provide power management and system-monitoring capability. This increases the manageability of MicroTCA systems without incurring new development costs, because the same management software will be used on both MicroTCA and AdvancedTCA systems.
Motorola is planning to develop Open Application-Enabling Platforms (OAEPs) based on MicroTCA and other open standards. This approach will provide pre-integrated and validated communications computing platforms that help equipment manufacturers get their products to market faster and more cost-efficiently and complement the company’s range of OAEPs based on AdvancedTCA.
AdvancedTCA Switch Fabric
“By selecting a fabric for AdvancedTCA, a system integrator determines which of the available blades can be used in that system – we call this a ‘blade-set’,” said Pri-Tal. “A key challenge for the telecom industry is to adopt a platform architecture that will take full advantage of the economies of scale that AdvancedTCA promises by maximizing the support for just a few blade-sets – ideally just one, which would result in the strongest ecosystem. Backwards compatibility is also a very important issue. As a selected fabric technology evolves, it is critical that upgrades can be performed without disturbing existing blade set deployments, and that applications currently deployed on existing blades can migrate quickly and easily onto platforms with an upgraded fabric.”
Based on an extensive investigation, Motorola’s Embedded Communications Computing has selected Ethernet as its AdvancedTCA fabric. Ethernet offers the best currently available combination of technical characteristics and interface controller availability. A robust ecosystem of suppliers and users, supported by a large commercial base, allows Ethernet to continue to improve in performance and provide capabilities that meet the demands of more applications across the telecom network. Ethernet also has an outstanding track record of providing backward compatibility as the technology has evolved and performance increased.
About Motorola’s Open Application-Enabling Platforms
Open Application-Enabling Platforms are pre-integrated and validated communications servers architected to support a wide range of communications computing applications. Equipment manufacturers can focus on adding application-specific value, reducing the time, cost and risk involved in deploying new revenue-generating applications. They also can improve operating efficiencies by consolidating more of their product portfolio onto a common platform based on open standards. For more information: www.motorola.com/computing.
A press release on Motorola’s new Open Application-Enabling Platforms is available at: www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,5581_5572_23,00.html
About Motorola
Motorola is a Fortune 100 global communications leader that provides seamless mobility products and solutions across broadband, embedded systems and wireless networks. In your home, auto, workplace and all spaces in between, seamless mobility means you can reach the people, things and information you need, anywhere, anytime. Seamless mobility harnesses the power of technology convergence and enables smarter, faster, cost-effective and flexible communication. Motorola had sales of US $31.3 billion in 2004. For more information: www.motorola.com
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Media Contacts:
Lee Ann Kuster
Embedded Communications Computing
Motorola
+1 602 438 3623
leeannkuster@motorola.com
Shreek Raivadera
Embedded Communications Computing
Motorola
+44 (0) 1509 634461
shreek@motorola.com
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. AdvancedTCA is a registered trademark of the PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group. © Motorola, Inc. 2005
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