CP-TA Sponsor Members Achieve Association’s Specified Level of Thermal Testing for AdvancedTCA ^®

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Communications Platforms Trade Association (CP-TA) today announced that its sponsor level members — Continuous Computing, Emerson Network Power Embedded Computing, Kontron and RadiSys — are already deploying products that have been tested to thermal guidelines specified by the CP-TA’s Test Procedure Manual (TPM) and in accordance with Interoperability Compliance Document (ICD) requirements. This announcement coincides with CP-TA’s validation of DegreeC’s Chassis Scan thermal tool as an AdvancedTCA (ATCA) chassis bulk airflow tester.

“This is a significant milestone for the ATCA market,” said Todd Keaffaber, CP-TA Technical Working Group Chair. “It demonstrates tangible progress in achieving the CP-TA’s mission of building a strong ATCA ecosystem by advancing interoperability,” Keaffaber continued. “The announcement of CP-TA’s validation of the Chassis Scan thermal test tool and further clarification of thermal ATCA shelf profiles brings us all closer to the day when Network Equipment Providers (NEPs) can expect CP-TA compliance and certification verification as required ‘must-have’ features.”

Thermal interoperability of a blade in an ATCA shelf depends on the airflow characteristics of the shelf and airflow impedance of the blade. The Chassis Scan offers a standardized methodology to measure bulk airflow of a single slot or for all slots in any ATCA chassis within an error margin of five percent. CP-TA is currently reviewing tools for validation that will measure chassis quadrant airflow measurement and slot airflow direction determination capabilities in accordance with PICMG specifications and CP-TA interoperability testing requirements.

Continuous Computing

“Continuous Computing supports CP-TA’s work in creating guidelines and certifying test tools to assure industry-wide ATCA interoperability,” said Chuck Hill, principal architect, Continuous Computing. “We use tools endorsed by CP-TA as part of the rigorous validation process for our complete line of ATCA blades and FlexTCA^TM systems featuring Trillium^® protocol software and SAF-compliant HA middleware.”

Emerson Network Power Embedded Computing

“As a founding sponsor of the CP-TA, Emerson Network Power Embedded Computing fully endorses the excellent work that CP-TA has achieved in this highly technical arena and believes that the CP-TA’s next generation of tools and developments will play a key role in driving the xTCA ecosystem forward,” said Stuart Jamieson, director of industry relations, Emerson Network Power Embedded Computing. “The CP-TA’s rigorous test procedure manual has consistently been an integral part of our engineering development process and has helped us to provide innovative NEBS-compliant interoperable products to our partners and customers – including most recently the Centellis^TM 4460 ATCA platform, which used the thermal tools to achieve an industry leading B.4 rating.”

Kontron

“To provide ATCA components and integrated platforms with multivendor components, these test tools are the foundation for a strong eco-system and a common guidance to the overall systems design on ATCA,” said Sven Freudenfeld, business development for telecom at Kontron. “Using these tools for integration and validation is helping our customers and us by bringing compatible products to the market with a shorter integration and validation time effort.”

RadiSys Corporation

“RadiSys absolutely supports and leverages the great work the CP-TA Technical Working Group has produced as guidelines for companies delivering ATCA-based products and services,” stated John Archer, RadiSys senior director of engineering. “In fact, these guidelines were beneficial in helping us to complete, in record time, NEBs certification with the RadiSys Promentum® platform built on our ATCA 6010 shelf as well as incorporate components developed by both RadiSys and our third-party partners.”

Representatives from CP-TA and SCOPE will discuss ATCA thermal issues and CP-TA progress on its upcoming webcast “SCOPE and CP-TA: Debunking the Myths of ATCA” on Light Reading on November 13 at Noon Eastern Standard Time. To register for the webinar, please visit www.lightreading.com.

About CP-TA

The Communications Platforms Trade Association is a global organization of communications platform and building block providers whose mission is to accelerate the adoption of SIG-governed, open specification based communications platforms by certifying interoperable building blocks. For more information about CP-TA, visit www.cp-ta.org.

RadiSys and Promentum are registered trademarks of RadiSys Corporation.

Trillium is a registered trademark of Continuous Computing Corporation.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.