RapidIO movement gathers pace in 2005

The RapidIO Trade Association and its member companies have achieved substantial developments in the first quarter of 2005.

The RapidIO Trade Association and its member companies have achieved substantial developments in the first quarter of 2005, including accelerated growth in the RapidIO ecosystem, specification delivery and new product introductions - accentuating continued market momentum for this established interconnect and fabric standard.

"The RapidIO interconnect standard is poised for significant growth based on its flexible design and the backing of dominant players in the embedded marketplace", said Jag Bolaria, Senior Analyst at The Linley Group.

"In 2005 we expect to see numerous RapidIO product launches, including silicon, software and support equipment".

Since the beginning of the year, new products have been launched by Mercury Computer Systems, Praesum Communications, QNX Software Systems and Fabric Embedded Tools, Texas Instruments and Tundra Semiconductor, representing the first of more than 20 announcements expected throughout the year.

These recent introductions continue to add to the wide range of components, boards, software and tools based on RapidIO technology that are currently available, building out the ecosystem needed to implement high-performance, cost-effective designs in embedded applications.

LSI Logic has welcomed Jennic, an industry recognised provider of sRIO IP solutions, to the RapidChip IP Partner programme.

Jennic is making significant progress in its work towards RapidReady certification, which will ensure seamless integration of their cores into LSI Logic's RapidChip platform ASIC technology.

Mercury Computer Systems, announced the availability of its serial RapidIO-based silicon IP (intellectual property) core.

In addition, Mercury announced the Ensemble2 system, the first high-speed serial RapidIO-based AdvancedTCA platform for the telecomms infrastructure industry.

Praesum Communications announced the availability of a new RapidIO IO Logical Layer Initiator IP core.

QNX Software Systems and Fabric Embedded Tools Corporation announced that the RapidFET diagnostic tool is now available for networking and communications systems based on RapidIO technology and the QNX Neutrino RTOS.

Texas Instruments Incorporated announced the TMS320TCI6482, the industry's first DSP developed using serial RapidIO technology.

The next-generation programmable DSP operates at 1GHz and is capable of handling multiple 3G air interface standards and a range of basestation form factors on a single chip.

Tundra Semiconductor Corp announced the availability of the Tundra Tsi568A, the industry's first serial RapidIO switch.

"The proliferation of RapidIO-based products is being nurtured by market leaders like Lucent, Freescale, Alcatel, AMCC, EMC Corp, Ericsson, PMC-Sierra, with more than 50 others comprising the current RapidIO Ecosystem", said RapidIO Trade Association Executive Director, Iain Scott.

"By the second half of 2005, we fully expect to see enough serial RapidIO silicon in production to allow the launch of exciting, new capabilities which could only be achieved with RapidIO technology - the leading interconnect and fabric for embedded computing".

A key element of the success of RapidIO technology is the breadth and depth of the RapidIO ecosystem, which ensures that the RapidIO standard continually meets the collective needs of the embedded marketplace.

In Q1 2005, the ecosystem continues to grow to meet the needs of the embedded market with the addition to membership of the following market leaders: Polycom, Elta Systems and Micro Memory.

In addition, NEC reaffirmed its commitment to RapidIO technology by upgrading its membership.

The RapidIO Trade Association and its member companies continued efforts to broaden the RapidIO technology knowledge base with training events across Europe and North America.

In Q1 two webinars were held, one with Light Reading on ATCA and RapidIO technology, and a second hosted by QNX Software Systems and Freescale Semiconductor discussing why RapidIO technology offers the most compelling solution - focusing on processor and software implementations.

In addition, the RapidIO Trade Association announced two Spring regional training events, the first in Boston, Massachusetts, on 10th May, and the second for Munich, Germany, on 31st May.

These programmes offer customers the opportunity to meet with RapidIO Trade Association members and receive up-to-the- minute details of the RapidIO specification and application briefings.

The first quarter also marked significant progress on specification development.

The Next Generation Serial PHY spec is nearly complete and is scheduled for release next quarter.

The goal is to increase the bandwidth available per lane and link for both chip-chip and chip-backplane-chip applications.

In addition, the PICMG 3.5 specification, which defines how the RapidIO interconnect interoperates in an ATCA environment, is ready to be sent to general ballot and is expected to be ratified in early Q2.

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