Pigeon Point Systems Announces IPMC and Carrier IPMC BMR Starter Kits Using SmartFusion Intelligent Mixed Signal FPGAs

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pigeon Point Systems (PPS), an Actel company (Nasdaq: ACTL), today announced new AdvancedTCA® (ATCA) IPM Controller (IPMC) and ATCA/AdvancedMC™ (AMC) Carrier IPMC Board Management Reference (BMR) Starter Kits using Actel's new SmartFusion™ intelligent mixed signal FPGA. SmartFusion is the only device that integrates an FPGA, hard ARM® Cortex™-M3-based microcontroller subsystem (MSS) and programmable analog, offering full customization, IP protection and ease-of-use.

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These comprehensive IPMC and Carrier IPMC solutions based on Pigeon Point's field-proven IPMC offerings and the SmartFusion intelligent mixed signal FPGA accelerate customer design cycles and enable designers to concentrate on differentiating their ATCA board products (including those with AMC slots) instead of expending internal effort meeting management requirements for xTCA™ specification compliance.

By leveraging Pigeon Point's proven record for compliance, interoperability and responsive support, together with the flash-based SmartFusion device for power and system management, Pigeon Point Systems delivers comprehensive IPMC and Carrier IPMC reference solutions that reinforce Actel's commitment to the strong worldwide adoption of xTCA by telecom equipment manufacturers. xTCA includes the ATCA and AMC architectures, as well as the complementary MicroTCA architecture.

Compared to other core silicon used for xTCA management controllers, SmartFusion devices deliver:

• Customizability, due to the built-in flash FPGA; IP blocks can be added to the FPGA to provide management focused functionality, such as an IPMI-defined register-based external interface via the CoreLPC block, but also for board-specific functionality, eliminating the need for a separate PLD device on the board.
• Higher processor performance with a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 processor operating at 80 MHz, the optimum balance for controller, FPGA and analog operation. Typical existing core silicon used for management controllers operates at less than half that frequency.
• Advanced analog processing, with zero load on the ARM processor to do xTCA-aware analog sensor monitoring for up to 32 analog sensors. The analog compute engine can be configured so that xTCA analog sensors are sampled and processed via the sample sequencing engine and the post-processing engine.

The new kits deliver a world class solution for the mandatory management controllers used on ATCA boards and ATCA AMC carrier boards and enables customers to develop cost-effective, compliant and interoperable ATCA board and AMC carrier board products.

Included in the kits are a common benchtop IPMC development board and a benchtop Pigeon Point Shelf Manager for system level testing, as well as the corresponding SmartFusion FPGA design in a Libero® Integrated Design Environment (IDE) project, complete firmware including full source code in C for both the management controller code and development tools, comprehensive documentation and a production license that grants you the rights you need to design and bring to market your ATCA product. There is no per-board royalty to sell your product using these world-class Pigeon Point solutions.

For more information on SmartFusion-based IPMC and Carrier IPMC solution, visit either of www.actel.com/products/solutions/xtca or www.pigeonpoint.com; further queries are welcome via email at [email protected].

About Pigeon Point Systems

Pigeon Point Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Actel Corporation, delivers world-class management components for modular platforms based on the AdvancedTCA, AdvancedMC and MicroTCA architectures to leading companies worldwide. Pigeon Point's focus on providing dependable, proven solutions for the mandatory management controllers in these architectures allows customers to concentrate on the value-added aspects of their products. Deep expertise on these architectures ensures compliance and interoperability in the Pigeon Point components.

Pigeon Point, an executive member of PICMG, is a leader in its AdvancedTCA, AdvancedMC, and MicroTCA subcommittees and is active in many other technical subcommittees. Pigeon Point is also a contributing member of the Service Availability Forum™ and a leader in its HPI Working Group. For more information on Pigeon Point Systems, visit www.pigeonpoint.com.

About Actel

Actel is the leader in low power FPGAs and mixed signal FPGAs, offering the most comprehensive portfolio of system and power management solutions. Power Matters. Learn more at www.actel.com.

Actel, Actel Fusion, IGLOO, Libero, Pigeon Point, ProASIC, SmartFusion and the associated logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Actel Corporation. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Actel Corporation