Agilent Technologies Inc. has unwrapped its first advanced telecommunications computing architecture (ATCA) probing solutions, which include additional support for the Advanced Mezzanine Cards (AMC) standard and help developers increase flexibility in testing their high-speed standards. The ATCA standard is a new, open industry specification sponsored by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG) for carrier-grade equipment incorporating high-speed switched fabric technology.

Article Tools

• 

The Agilent E2943A ATCA active interposer probe board and the E2944A ATCA passive interposer probe board enable design and verification engineers to quickly and thoroughly test designs and boards based on the ATCA backplane form factor, from first board turn-on to overall backplane verification. Software and hardware engineers in R&D, validation and quality assurance can test either single or multiple ATCA interfaces within a backplane with complete test coverage. This reduces the risk of expensive, time-consuming rework while increasing test coverage dramatically.

The Agilent E2943A active probe board is the key probing solution for the exerciser to be plugged in the ATCA backplane to emulate real ASI designs or topologies. The active probe board also offers analyzer and exerciser support for the new AMC standard.

The Agilent E2944A passive probe board enables nonintrusive capturing of ASI transactions between two line cards in the ATCA-based backplane. Alternatively, the exerciser can be used to emulate one of the line cards of the test setup.

The ATCA standard is capable of switching and processing 2.5 terabits per second in a single shelf. ATCA will incorporate the latest trends in high-speed interconnect technologies, next-generation processors and improved reliability, manageability and serviceability. The AMC is an additional PICMG standard, which defines the base-level requirements for a wide range of high-speed mezzanine cards optimized for ATCA carriers.

The Agilent E2943A and E2944A can be ordered now, with shipments starting in August 2005. The E2943A active interposer probe board is priced at $14,500, and the E2944A passive interposer probe board is priced at $20,400.