AdvancedTCA: New Schroff Shelf Manager with ShMM 700 Module

18th November 2014

Jacqueline Regnier

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Pentair has developed a new shelf manager featuring the brand new ShMM 700 module from Pigeon Point Systems. The new ACB-VI shelf manager supports the latest Linux kernel, offering better security functions and extended software functionality. The Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) implementation has been upgraded via a ground-up revision. Data integrity is improved via simplified radial IPMI using an FPGA. The IPMB-0 segments are now logically isolated for every slot from all other segments.

Redundancy, or the communication of status information between two redundant shelf managers at the hardware level, is also improved in the newly developed version. A stable two-wire bus exchanges information between shelf managers, replacing the six discrete signals used in previous versions. The reliability of I²C communication both on board the shelf manager and to Field Replaceable

Units (FRUs) is improved by dividing between five independent I²Cs. Naturally, care has been taken to ensure the longest possible availability of the components and modules used in the new ACB-VI shelf manager. This guarantees that the shelf manager will continue to deliver long into the future. Along with improved security functions, higher availability and a more robust design, however, the new ACB-VI shelf manager comes with a lower price (radial or bussed versions).

The previous ACB-V shelf manager is also still available to customers. This enables existing customers to continue to service current projects without modifications to hardware, alternatively it gives time to approve the new shelf managers for new projects while using the ACB-V in parallel.