Today at the ATCA Summit event in Santa Clara, the Communications Platforms Trade Association (CP-TA)introduced a self-testing program for the interoperability of xTCA (AdvancedTCA(r), MicroTCA(r), AMC(r)) building blocks. Companies can now utilize the interoperability criteria, test procedures and test tools developed by CP-TA and its members to perform self-testing in order to verify xTCA product interoperability. CP-TA empowers the xTCA ecosystem by providing standardized, proven guidance and tools to lower integration costs without the added expense of a formal third party certification program.

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During the event CP-TA and Polaris Networks demonstrated the new MicroTCA Tester. This test tool, to be released in the near future, incorporates the IPMB analyzer. DegreeC also demonstrated prototype thermal test tools for AMC and MicroTCA.

The Communications Platforms Trade Association (CP-TA) and PICMG teamed up in Chicago during the week of June 11 for their first joint Interoperability Workshop, demonstrating structured testing to industry profiles. PICMG has hosted Interoperability Workshops for its members since the early days of CompactPCI®, but this is the first time it has opened the events to another organization. Previous AdvancedTCA Interoperability Workshops have tested the multi-vendor interoperability of new products designed to the AdvancedTCA specifications.

The Communications Platforms Trade Association (CP-TA) today announced that it has selected Degree Controls Inc.’s (DegreeC) Chassis Scan and Blade Profiler as the thermal test tools for its AdvancedTCA interoperability testing. CP-TA members worked with DegreeC to develop the test tools. In an AdvancedTCA platform where the shelf and blades may be from different vendors, interoperability is assured by strict adherence to design requirements. The thermal test tools will provide vendors with a systematic way to measure airflow impedance of a blade and airflow distribution across slots in an AdvancedTCA shelf.

This paper describes how interoperability of AdvancedTCA products using Data Transport features
like the Base and Fabric Interfaces can be enhanced by defining appropriate interoperability requirements and
applying applicable test methodologies for product certification.