Pigeon Point Systems announced a family of Linux-based hardware and software components and starter kits for interoperable out-of-band management of standards-based open modular platforms based on the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI). IPMI is the chosen foundation for platform management in the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group's recently launched AdvancedTCA specifications for next generation telecom equipment, the company said.

According to Pigeon Point, its family of “Intelligent Platform Management (IPM) Sentry” components and starter kits can help developers of next-generation telecom boards and systems (“shelves”) comply with AdvancedTCA's system- and board-level platform management specs. The products include . . .

• A reference design of a Linux-based IPM controller subsystem for incorporation into AdvancedTCA system hardware; it includes schematics, bills of materials, and software licenses.
• A tiny “shelf manager” single-board computer (SBC), called the ShMM-300, along with Linux-based IPM Sentry Shelf Manager software; the software includes functions such as RMCP (Remote Management Control Protocol, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), command line, and web-based access of the shelf management system.
• Starter kits consisting of the above board- and shelf-management reference designs, hardware and software components, Linux operating system, and source code, along with a bench-top carrier board for the ShMM-300 SBC.

The ShMM-300 shelf management SBC is implemented in SODIMM form-factor (67.6 x 50.8 mm), and is based on a TI dual-core ARM7-based RISC processor with built-in DSP (the TMS320VC5471). It provides I/O interfaces for dual Ethernet, dual RS-232/485, I2C, SPI, IPMB, GPIO, and JTAG. An enlarged picture of the SBC is here, and a photo of the carrier board is here.

In addition to product source code, the starter kits include Pigeon Point's uClinux-based Monterey Linux operating system, along with a full Linux-hosted cross development environment, the company said. Monterey Linux, based on uClinux kernel v2.4.17, currently targets TI's dual-core ARM7TDMI/DSP C547x architecture. It also supports Pigeon Point's JTAG-based Flash memory programming and debug connection to the management processor.

Both the ShMM-300 SBC hardware and Monterey Linux operating system will be offered as OEM components for other embedded applications beyond that of Intelligent Platform Management, the company said.

Pigeon Point's IPM Sentry products will also support CompactPCI and CompactTCA, in addition to AdvancedTCA, the company said. CompactTCA is a newly launched PICMG initiative which, on a CompactPCI compatible form-factor (which is smaller than that of AdvancedTCA), will employ management functions similar to those of AdvancedTCA.

A whitepaper about Pigeon Point's board and shelf management building blocks and the associated standards and technologies, which is a reprint of a recent article in CompactPCI Systems magaaine, is available here (PDF download).

 
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