Originally Published EMDM
May/June 2004
Industry News
End of the Line for ISA Bus on New PCI StandardThe PC/104 Embedded Consortium introduced a new standard in March that yields 10% more board space. This was achieved by removing the ISA bus connector. In all other respects, the new PC-104 specification is identical in size and architecture to the PC/104-Plus standard. The extra space will benefit larger CPU chip sets and allow greater integration and more I/O connectors.
PC-104 defines a standard with PCI-compatible I/O features such as video, audio, Ethernet, and communications, says the group. It adds that most vendors of field-programmable gate arrays offer PCI bus cores to simplify product development and to speed time to market. “The ISA-free standard form factor allows engineers to develop more-rugged and -reliable [parts] for today’s complex embedded systems,” notes consortium president Jim Blazer.
Readers wanting to learn more about the new standard or the PC/104 Embedded Consortium are invited to visit
www.pc104.org.
Copyright ©2004 European Medical Device Manufacturer
