CP-TA Releases Interoperability Compliance Document and Test Procedure Manual for AdvancedTCA.

Enables NGN and Wireless Vendors to Build Interoperable Systems for Faster Deployments

BEAVERTON, Ore. -- The Communications Platforms Trade Association (CP-TA), an association of communications platform and building block providers, today announced the release of the group's first Interoperability Compliance Document (ICD) 1.0 and Test Procedure Manual (TPM) 1.0. The ICD defines a set of interoperability requirements to build interoperable communications platforms. The TPM defines test procedures for those requirements. Together, these two documents will allow vendors to design and deliver interoperable open specifications-based products.

"The ICD and TPM provide the blueprints for interoperability compliance for modular communications platform building blocks," said Shlomo Pri-Tal, CP-TA Chairman. "We've overcome the first hurdle to achieving our vision of multi-vendor interoperable building blocks by enabling vendors to design and build interoperability into their products. This release addresses interoperability for AdvancedTCA and is aligned to the system-level profile developed by SCOPE."

"SCOPE and CP-TA are both committed to accelerating the deployment of carrier-grade base platforms based on open specifications," said Magnus Karlson, SCOPE Alliance Chairman. "We are encouraged to see CP-TA aligning their interoperability documents with our published AdvancedTCA profile and we believe this will lead to faster adoption of commercial off-the-shelf building blocks within the industry."

The ICD and TPM address three integral areas of interest for communications' providers who construct AdvancedTCA platforms - thermal, manageability and data transport.

"The community of organizations that are working to make AdvancedTCA the platform of choice for next generation telecom networks continues to grow and it is important that these organizations work together," said Joe Pavlat, PICMG President. "PICMG and CP-TA are working cooperatively to improve the interoperability landscape for equipment providers and carriers and the new CP-TA documents are an important addition to that landscape."

"Thermal interoperability of AdvancedTCA Shelves and Boards is a critical factor for true plug-and-play," said Eike Waltz, Technology Consultant. "CP-TA has established a measurement methodology to characterize Shelf airflow and Board impedance to eliminate multiple interpretations of the thermal section of PICMG 3.0 specification. By defining a single, thermal measurement methodology and the appropriate test tools, CP-TA is providing for repeatable test methods and thermal performance classes to be met. CP-TA thermal methodology provides critical information for the designer, the integrator and end user alike."

"When CP-TA launched, the group set out to address interoperability head-on," said Brian Partridge, Senior Analyst, Communications Network Infrastructure, Yankee Group. "With the release of the ICD and TPM, CP-TA provides a consistent methodology for interoperability testing that has been needed in the industry."

"CP-TA has delivered on the promise they made when launching last April to develop interoperability test requirements and detailed test procedures," said Lee Doyle, Vice President Networking, IDC. "The release of these documents is a major milestone for the communications platforms industry."

CP-TA members will be able to conduct self-testing in the first half of the year with plans for a third party interoperability lab to be running in Q4 2007. Products that pass third party certification will be labeled CP-TA certified.

"We are delighted that we are on a course to have the Intel[R] NetStructure[R] MPCBL0050 and Intel[R] NetStructure[R] MPCBL0040 products amongst the first CP-TA compliant products in 2007," said Anthony Ambrose, General Manager, Modular Communications Platform Division, Intel Corporation. "We believe that this compliance will enable Service Providers and TEMs to speed their time to market and break down interoperability barriers."

"Motorola has a long history of participating in industry association and standards development organizations that work to further the development of the industries and technologies that enable our customers to obtain solutions that better meet their business needs," said Jorge Magalhaes, Director of Marketing for Motorola's Embedded Communications Computing business. "As a founding sponsor of CP-TA, we are committed to building CP-TA compliant building blocks and communications servers to deliver the time-to-market, flexibility, and economic benefits of open, standards-based computing to our customers."

"As a contributing member of CP-TA, HP strongly believes that the CP-TA Interoperability Compliance Document and test plans are a major contribution to the ATCA ecosystem," said Stephen Low, Director, Telecom Platforms Group, HP. "CP-TA certification of ATCA components will allow HP to reduce the time-to-market for next generation telecom systems."

"As a CP-TA board member and pioneer in the development and early adoption of open standards like ATCA, AdvancedMC, and MicroTCA, we applaud CP-TA for the excellent progress with the Interoperability Compliance Document," said Todd Wynia, Vice President of Product Management for Emerson's new Embedded Computing business. "Testing and certification processes that facilitate multi-vendor interoperability are vitally important to network equipment providers who are looking to outsource their system design and utilize open architecture COTS hardware and software. We plan to be CP-TA-compliant with our existing ATCA products by the end of 2007."

"As an original CP-TA member, Continuous Computing is committed to building NGN-Ready, CP-TA-compliant telecom infrastructure solutions," said Mike Dagenais, Chief Executive Officer, Continuous Computing. "Our customers want standards-based AdvancedTCA and Trillium([R]) protocol software so that they can quickly and seamlessly deploy their NGN, IMS, and 3G Wireless applications."

In the near future, CP-TA will also address interoperability requirements for PICMG's MicroTCA and AMC specifications as well as specifications from Linux Foundation and the Service Availability Forum.

The ICD is available for download at www.cp-ta.org/certification. The TPM will be available for download on February 19, 2007.

About CP-TA

The Communications Platforms Trade Association is a global organization of communications platform and building block providers whose mission is to accelerate the adoption of SIG-governed, open specification-based communication platforms by certifying interoperable building blocks. For more information about CP-TA, visit www.cp-ta.org.

SCOPE Alliance www.scope-alliance.org

PICMG www.picmg.org