The rapid development and widespread popularization of industrial computers

With the rapid development of information technology, the integration of communication and computing is an inevitable trend. The development of computer and communication technology has gradually integrated independent business applications into more user-friendly and integrated business applications. At the same time, the integration has brought a new opportunity. It must be a universal platform that is inclusive and has a characteristic on this basis, that is, it must have an open standard architecture. This puts higher requirements on industrial computers.

Due to the limitations of IPC structure and gold finger connector, it is difficult to fundamentally solve the heat dissipation and high availability problems. In 1997, the international PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Organization) released the new generation of industrial computer technology CPCI, namely PICMG2.0 standard. In order to better promote new technologies in China, in 1998, STDMG/PRC branch was officially renamed PICMG/PRC branch and became an executive member of the international PICMG organization.

If the STD bus industrial computer solved the problem of whether there were industrial computers at that time; IPC solved the problem of low cost and PC compatibility; then CPCI technology solved the problem of reliability and maintainability. "CPCI is the electrical and software of the PCI bus plus the European card. It has the plug-and-play function without shutting down the system. The realization of this function is very important for high-availability systems and fault-tolerant systems." This passage in the 2004 Ministry of Science and Technology's Technology Innovation Fund Project Guide for Science and Technology-based Small and Medium-sized Enterprises summarizes the main characteristics and importance of CPCI technology.

Entering the 21st century, industrial computer technology is ubiquitous, bringing a world full of networked devices. The biggest equipment challenge for converged communications is unfavorable factors such as availability and slow function development. A universal platform that provides full IP functions can support business differentiation, integrate content and business support systems, simplify complex networks, and provide the best user experience. To this end, in 2001, PICMG introduced the Ethernet packet switching backplane bus into the CPCI standard, providing a new technical platform for telecommunications voice value-added service equipment and Ethernet-based industrial automation systems.

In 2002, PICMG promulgated a new standard for telecommunications, AdvancedTCA, or ATCA for short. ATCA has larger specifications and capacity, higher backplane bandwidth, stricter management and control capabilities for boards, higher power supply capabilities, and stronger cooling capabilities than CPCI. It is mainly to solve the current problems of system bandwidth, high availability, field upgrades, scalability, manageability, and interoperability faced by telecommunications systems, and ultimately reduce costs. Currently, the fields of communications and computers are evolving towards open standards, and the birth of ATCA just caught up with the opportunity of the transformation of the information industry chain.

With the increasing application of industrial computers, market segmentation has become a common strategy for most manufacturers, which has also led to further segmentation of industrial computer technology. There are many popular open specifications, including: PCI-ISA, SHB, CPCI/PXI, ATCA/MTCA, VME/VPX, PC 104/Plus, PMC, AMC, COM E, ETX; motherboards include ATX, Micro ATX, BTX, DTX, Mini ITX, EPIC, 3-inch boards, 5-inch boards, etc.