Kontron has announced its latest application ready MicroTCA starterkit. The starterkit includes the company's MicroTCA system OM6060 with AC-power supply and an entry-level MCH (MicroTCA carrier hub) AM4901 together with the company's MicroTCA configuration management software OMVIU.
All MicroTCA systems are managed over IPMI (intelligent platform management interface). The MCH is in charge of this type of management: it checks electronic keying before booting up the system; it controls the power, hot-swap cycles and fans. Also, IPMI allows monitoring the system, such as checking system event logs, monitoring the health of the system and taking measures in case of problems.
The company's configuration management software is a Java-based tool and allows remote monitoring and control of MicroTCA systems on any Java-enabled platform. The intuitive GUI allows the simultaneous access to several MicroTCA shelf or carrier managers. The software supports the company's entire AMC (advanced mezzanine card) and MicroTCA portfolio and any standard compliant system such as backplanes, fan units, and power modules, MCH or AMC from other vendors. With the company's software, all remote control and visualisation can be done via mouse clicks, without the deep level of knowledge and experience required for a command line interface.
The GUI helps to create remote controlled MicroTCA systems, including extensibility for vendor-specific recognition and graphical representation of extra boards and components. With its trace and error logging facilities it is possible to track behaviour of components with respect to conformance to standards.
The starterkit provides space for up to six AMCs, such as the Kontron Processor AMC AM4020 or the Kontron Processor AMC AM4120, storage or peripheral interfaces. The company also offers many MicroTCA systems, which apply to entry-level designs and compact-sized systems up to high-performing systems with high-speed fabrics such as PCI Express, serial rapidIO, GbE and 10GbE. MicroTCAs are suitable for telecomms, test equipment, military communications, research, medical image processing, and industrial automation.
