Motorola Computer Group Extends Life of VME 68K Product Family With New ASIC.TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 1999-- Motorola Computer Group, the leading provider of embedded computing platforms for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Tuesday announced a major chip enhancement designed to extend the life of its family of 68K VME (Virtual Machine Environment) An operating system from Fujitsu Services (formerly ICL) that runs on its Series 39 mainframes. Introduced in 1975, VME is a comprehensive product that provides a variety of utilities for datacenter operations. products. This enhancement comes in the form of a new in-house-designed application specific integrated circuit integrated circuit (IC), electronic circuit built on a semiconductor substrate, usually one of single-crystal silicon. The circuit, often called a chip, is packaged in a hermetically sealed case or a nonhermetic plastic capsule, with leads extending from it for (ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. ) known as Petra. The Petra ASIC compresses five component capabilities into a single device, helping to improve product performance and reliability while saving space and power. It also provides a software-transparent migration path for OEMs that are using Motorola's 68K-based board products to build equipment used in industrial automation, medical imaging, semiconductor processing equipment and military/aerospace applications. The Petra ASIC provides the memory controller functions and/or the IndustryPack(R) interface across Motorola's line of 68K based products. While 68K board products utilizing the Petra ASIC are fully software compatible with previous generation products, some increases in performance may also be realized due to the replacement of the now-obsolete page dynamic random-access memory (storage) dynamic random-access memory - (DRAM) A type of semiconductor memory in which the information is stored in capacitors on a MOS integrated circuit. Typically each bit is stored as an amount of electrical charge in a storage cell consisting of a capacitor and a transistor. (DRAM) with synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) A type of dynamic RAM (DRAM) memory chip that has been widely used since the late 1990s. SDRAM chips eliminated wait states by dividing the chip into two cell blocks and interleaving data between them. ). "The 68K VME product line has provided the foundation for the success of the Motorola Computer Group over the past decade," said Bob Lyon, vice president, Cross Industry Business Unit, Motorola Computer Group. "As the industry leader in 68K VME embedded computing platforms, we have a commitment to our embedded OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and customers using this technology to help protect their hardware and software investments. These OEMs require embedded platforms with the highest level of stability and reliability. "As demonstrated by the introduction of the Petra ASIC, we've spent millions of dollars on this technology, including a heavy investment in end-of-life buys on related components, to assure that our 68K hardware will continue to satisfy their requirements well into the future." According to Nobuhiko Ito, president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , GE Yokogawa Medical Systems, "It is obvious that Motorola has our best interests in mind when it comes to the support and longevity of its 68K product lines. Motorola realizes that by its continuous engineering efforts we are able to help achieve and maintain the goals and interests of our customers. "Motorola's hardware roadmaps and product enhancements to the 68K family of boards are conducive to our customers' software needs." The Petra ASIC will be integrated exclusively into Motorola's MVME MVME Muzzle Velocity Measuring Equipment MVME Motorola Versa Module Eurocard 167, MVME177, MVME162 and MVME172 single-board computers. All of these products support the MC68040 and MC68060 microprocessors, an Ethernet interface, SCSI interface, up to 4 serial I/O ports, parallel port, Flash and SRAM See static RAM. SRAM - static random-access memory memory. In addition, the MVME162 and MVME172 provide up to four IndustryPack sites for OEM customized I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output . Motorola's line of 68K products will be available with the Petra ASIC starting in the fourth quarter of 1999. A 12 to 18 month migration period will be provided between the release of the new platforms and the end-of-life of previous generation products. About Motorola Motorola Computer Group (MCG), headquartered in Tempe, is the leading supplier of embedded computing platforms to OEMs for use in telecommunications, imaging and industrial automation applications worldwide. MCG provides best-in-class solutions by combining its advanced design engineering capability with responsive, world-class manufacturing operations. Additional information about MCG is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.mcg.mot.com MCG is part of Motorola's Integrated Electronics Systems Sector (IESS IESS Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (Ecuador) IESS Integrated Electronic Systems Sector (Motorola) IESS Imagery Exploitation Support System IESS International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences ), a division of Motorola Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : MOT). IESS is a leading provider of electronic systems for customers who integrate them into their products. The five businesses of IESS deliver high value embedded electronic solutions that enable customers to differentiate their products and lead their markets. Motorola is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 1998 were $29.4 billion. Motorola and the Motorola logo are registered trademarks of Motorola Inc. Other brand or product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. Motorola Computer Group identifies a product and/or division of the respective Motorola legal identities worldwide. |
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