What do the QSFP-DD800 MSA and VITA 57 have in common? Fair question. One focuses on defining the next-gen pluggable form factors while the other complements FPGA mezzanine applications. So what is the link? Samtec, of course! Samtec participates in many Industry Standards to develop commonality is specific applications. QSFP-DD800 and VITA 57 are but two examples. QSFP-DD800 MSA: New HW Spec QSFP28. QSFP-DD. QSFP-DD800. It seems the Multi Source Agreements (MSAs) for Quad Small … [Read more...]
VITA 57.1 FMC and VITA 57.4 FMC+ are like ‘Avengers: Endgame’ . . . Kinda
What’s that? There’s a new movie out? What’s it called? Avengers? Who are they? What do they do? I highly doubt anyone – except someone’s grandmother – has said the above. 'Avengers: Endgame' has been taking the world by storm. For superhero fanboys like yours truly, 'Avengers: Endgame' is the dream movie worth waiting for. In a similar way, the VITA 57 FMC and FMC+ specifications are the dream interface between FPGAs carrier cards and mezzanine cards. Like 'Avengers: Endgame' … [Read more...]
Samtec Standards Experts Present at Embedded Tech Trends
FMC. FMC+. XMC. PC/104 . . . Does the list of Industry Standards ever stop? Like TLAs, probably not! What are Industry Standards? They are formal specifications that simplify differences in popular applications. The purpose is improved compatibility, performance, and efficiency across embedded systems How is this achieved? Building consensus across a diverse group of stakeholders. This requires constant research, development and pier review of the particular standard. One popular … [Read more...]
New Optical FMC+ Module Supports Extended Temperature Ranges
Readers of the Samtec blog are familiar with the benefits of FMC and FMC+. These popular interfaces define a compact electro-mechanical expansion interface for a daughter card to an FPGA baseboard or other device with re-configurable I/O capability. VITA 57.1 has been around for some time. It supports 10 full-duplex transceivers running at 10 Gbps. The new VITA 57.4 standard defines two new connectors. Combined, they offer 32 full-duplex transceivers running at 28 Gbps. New … [Read more...]
Evaluation and Development Kits Viewable Across Samtec.com
Over the past few years, Samtec has expanded its portfolio of Evaluation and Development Kits. Engineers and designers demand the best tools for system prototyping. From concept and prototype to development and production, Samtec-designed Evaluation and Development Kits featuring high-speed interconnect solutions to help simplify design. Helpfully, they reduce time to market for hobbyists, tinkerers, start-ups and OEMs alike. Easy Access via Landing Page Engineers want instant access … [Read more...]
Samtec Unveils New Standards Home Page
In the Standards world, specifications are categorized to three ascending levels: Corporate, De Facto, and Industry Standard. Corporate Standards are achieved when design elements are adopted company-wide. De Facto Standards often grow out of a Corporate Standard to act as a solution in a common industry (like using micro-USB in Android phones). Industry Standards are formal specifications produced by a body of participants assembled to narrow variations on a precise application. The purpose … [Read more...]
Samtec Releases New VITA Standards Webpages
As a connector company, Samtec is involved with a wide variety of different Industry Standards and Protocols that are constantly growing. From USB to PCI Express, Standards allow for our compliant interconnect solutions to be deployed in a diverse number of configurations and settings. One of the largest Standards families Samtec participates with is VSO, VITA Standards Organization, better known as just VITA. VITA members have worked together to define and develop key computer … [Read more...]
Samtec Rewrites the VITA 42 Story
Everyone loves a good book. From Shakespearean classics to more modern-day masterpieces, a solid story can leave a lasting impression. While the VITA family of standards isn't necessarily a book, it does have a rich history with a large impact. As we learned in a previous blog, standards are always progressing, and, in this case, so is VITA 42. What does that mean to the connector industry, and how has VITA 42 changed with Samtec? To get a solid grasp on these questions and more, let's … [Read more...]
Industry Standards and Samtec – What They Are and Why We Are Involved (Part 2)
As was discussed briefly in Part 1, Industry Standards play a big role at Samtec. In addition to offering technical credibility and innovation, many of the standards we work with drive our current and future product designs forward. Take, for example, the three aforementioned standards… PC/104™ As members of both the Technical Work Group & Marketing Group, Samtec has taken a large role in PC/104 over the years. As one of the oldest and most recognized Embedded … [Read more...]
Industry Standards and Samtec – What They Are and Why We Are Involved (Part 1)
Cadillac vs. Ford. Fast food vs. fine dining. 24k gold vs. 25₵ plastic. The difference between all of these things: standards. Standards are what define the choices we make each and every day as to what we will invest our time and money in. But what do standards, in this case, Industry Standards, have to do with a connector company, and why are they so important to us? What is a Standard? To understand why, we first need to define what a standard is. In the … [Read more...]