Fundamentals of PCI and CompactPCI

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  • Brief history of computer bus evolution
  • Introducing the PCI bus
  • Bus protocol
  • Electrical/mechanical issues
  • Advanced features
  • Scalability--Overcoming electrical limitations
  • Configuration (Plug & Play)
  • Performance issues
  • CompactPCI
  • Hot Swap
  • Development tools and commercial silicon

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By I, <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Digon3" title="User:Digon3">Jonathan Zander</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/" title="Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5000215">Link</a>For a long time the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) was the dominant mechanism for inter-connecting the elements of modern, high-performance computer systems. At the consumer level at least it has largely been replaced by USB. Nevertheless, it is still found internal to many computing devices. It is a well-thought-out standard that serves as a good starting point for understanding Plug-and-Play busses. In the form of CompactPCI, it is having a major impact in the telecommunications market.
 
 A maximum theoretical transfer rate of 528 Mb per second, along with advanced features like Plug & Play configurability and Hot Swap distinguish the PCI from most of its predecessors. Yet these very features that provide added value to end users lead to added headaches for product designers. Plug & Play makes PCI design as much a software problem as a hardware problem.
 
 This class looks at the fundamentals of PCI--both hardware and software--from a practical, results-oriented point of view. It provides the tools you need to make informed decisions on interconnect-related issues. Whether you design hardware or software, if you're involved in product development for PCs, workstations or industrial computing, you need to know about PCI.

Copyright © 2015 to 2019 Douglas Abbott