Fundamentals of PCI and CompactPCI

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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PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) has emerged as the dominant mechanism for inter-connecting the elements of modern, high-performance computer systems. It is a well-thought-out standard with a number of forward-looking features that should keep it relevant well into the next century. In the form of CompactPCI, it is having a major impact in the rapidly growing 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.
 

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