Passive Backplanes
Consider the facts below to help you determine the passive backplane that’s
right for your project
First, let’s take a look at the benefits of backplane architecture
Drawing contrast to choosing a commercial motherboard, a passive backplane is a
circuit board backbone that has no processor on it—all the intelligence is on the
SBC (single board computer) that is plugged into one of the backplane’s expansion
slots. If you are putting together an industrial computing solution, selecting the
proper backplane for your application should be a primary step.
Besides the rugged nature and easy maintenance that the backplane/SBC pin-to-pin
computer architecture have to offer, another one of its huge upsides is the diverse
slot offerings available. There are extensive Advantech backplane offerings
covering a multitude of desired slot configurations, ensuring
that your application’s hunger for available board space is met.
Whether placed in a 19” rackmount chassis or in a small facility floor desktop,
industrial computing solutions often call for backplane/SBC computing architecture
for its vast expandability and reliability.
Where to start
Selecting the proper passive backplane for your system should be
based around several key needs.
Expansion slots - You need enough
expansion capability in your choice of backplane for any needs now and in the future.
Advantech backplanes are available with a mix of slots/ bus standards (ISA, PCI,
PCI-X, PCI Express, etc.).
Number of segments – Backplane
architecture also offers the division of the platform into segments. Each segment
on a backplane can contain its own processing power. For example, a 4-segment “quad”
backplane can house the computing power of up to 4 computer systems -- or 4 SBCs
and adjoining peripheral slots -- on the single backplane.
Chassis type – What form factor
will your computing system take? Are you planning on a 19” rackmount computer for
your application? If, for example, you have requirements for a dual backplane chassis
(featuring two full-sized SBC boards) and related peripheral cards, they plug in
perpendicular to your backplane. Therefore, you must count on at least a 4U rackmount
chassis to accommodate this requirement.
Another reason the single-board architecture fits so well into industrial
computer applications is that if there is a system failure, you can unplug and replace
the SBC in seconds, reducing down-time.
Segments
As mentioned, a dual backplane can contain two CPU card slots
and assorted peripheral slots, essentially enabling one chassis to house two computer
systems. Many applications take advantage of dual or quad architecture passive backplane
choices to increase the compute density within the chassis. Consider these options
below and how they may apply to your requirements.
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Single segment backplane
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Dual backplane
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Quad
backplane
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PICMG 1.3
The newer PICMG 1.3 bus specification extends the previous PICMG
1.0 and 1.2 specifications to continue support for PCI/PCI-X plug in cards as well
as add new support for the newer PCI-Express.
The
PICMG 1.3 SBC (often called System Host Board, or SHB, in the PCMIG
1.3 community) interfaces to PCI Express peripherals on a compatible backplane.
PCI and PCI-X option cards can take advantage of the high-speed serial links, streamlined
interconnects that PCI Express has to offer. For these reasons, you may be able
to advantage of the added system flexibility of Advantech’s selection of both
PICMG 1.3 backplanes and SHBs, offering support for PCI Express.
Note: It is easy to recognize the
eStore’s compatible SHB-to-backplane combinations based on product naming. For example,
our server-grade PCE-7XXX SHB is compatible with PCE-7BXX backplanes. Our PCE-5XXX
SHB is compatible with PCE-5BXX backplanes.
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PCI Express
PCI Express, officially abbreviated PCIe, is a serial computer
expansion card standard designed to replace the older PCI, AGP, and even the PCI-X
standards.
Due to its advanced transaction layer over serial format, the PCI Express (PCIe)
standard brings a higher performance over other PCI formats. Conceptually, the PCIe
bus can be thought of as a high-speed serial replacement of the older (parallel)
PCI/PCI-X bus. At the software-level, PCIe preserves compatibility with PCI; a PCIe
device can be configured and used in legacy application and operating systems. A
PCIe card will fit into a slot of its physical size or bigger.
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