A leading single-board computer vendor has revealed further details of its first-ever AdvancedTCA (ATCA) server platform, announced last month. Kontron's ATCA platform will include an ATCA chassis, ATCA blades, high-availability (HA) base fabric switches, and “best-in-class” software and middleware from a range of partners, Kontron says.

(Click for nice large image of Kontron ATCA chassis)

Kontron and Carrier Grade Linux partner MontaVista announced Kontron's first-ever ATCA platform last month. ATCA is an open alternative to proprietary hardware used today in telecom equipment. It is defined by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG), which was formed in 2001 by nearly 100 companies that found existing standards such as VME and PCI ill-suited to telecom. Together, ATCA and Carrier Grade Linux are emerging as defacto telecom industry standards.

Today, Kontron has announced that in addition to an operating system from MontaVista, its ATCA platform will support or include software and middleware from partners that include Solid Information Technology, IP Fabrics, GoAhead Software, and ZNYX Networks. Kontron America CEO Thomas Sparrvik said, “We have forged an alliance with the best-in-class software providers.”

IP Fabrics CEO Glen Myers said, “IP Fabrics's advanced Packet Processing Language and PPL Virtual Machine for Intel IXP2XXX network processors adds 'ease of programming,' [because] developers can build and modify network processor dataplane applications without having to write, debug, or validate machine-specific microcode.”

The Kontron ATCA platform will include high-availability middleware from GoAhead, which announced the first HA middleware compliant with the Service Availability Forum's HPI (hardware platform interface) specification, in August of 2003. HPI aims to make middleware portable across hardware from different vendors.

Kontron's ATCA platform will also use ZNYX Networks's OpenArchitect Ethernet switching software. ZNYX CEO Connie Austin said, “Kontron's ATCA platform combined with OpenArchitect's extensible QoS (quality-of-service) s, Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing framework provides the building blocks for carrier grade solutions with the full benefit of a standard platform.”

According to Kontron, “industry sources” estimate that ATCA will grow from first deployments in 2005 to several billion dollars, in just two years.

 
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