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With Release 3 of the CompactPCI Serial specification, PICMG doubles the bandwidth and speed of CompactPCI Serial applications. This benefits sectors such as aerospace, industry and automotive.

Wakefield, MA. March 11, 2025. PICMG – a leading consortium to develop innovative open standards in embedded computing – today announces the release of CompactPCI Serial^® Revision 3 (CPCI-S.0 R3.0). With the third revision of the standard, the organization is ensuring future viability and scalability for many years to come. CompactPCI Serial^® was originally developed as an extension of the open CompactPCI^® standard to meet the demand for robust, modular and powerful computer systems in industrial and embedded applications. The combination of high performance, modularity and robustness has made CompactPCI Serial^® a popular standard for industrial applications, automation, and much more – where robustness, interoperability and use in harsh environments with comprehensive connectivity are crucial.

CompactPCI supports serial data transfer rates via PCI Express, USB, and Ethernet, a robust design with AirMax connectors and full interchangeability with CompactPCI cards via 3U/6U slot card systems. Developers can look forward to the completely new opportunities offered by revision 3 compared to revision 2, which are among others:

• Full PCI Express (PCIe) support: While R2 supported PCI Express up to Gen3 with 8 GT/s, R3 extends support to PCI Express Gen4 with 16 GT/s, which means increasing speed by doubling the data rate.
• USB support: USB interface support has been increased from USB 3.0 (Gen1) with 5 Gb/s in R2 to USB 3.1 (Gen2) with 10 Gb/s in R3, doubling the bandwidth.
• Ethernet: R3 introduces support for 10GBASE-T and 10GBASE-KR Ethernet, enabling higher bandwidth network speeds.
• Connectors: In order to realize these higher data rates, new AirMax VSe^® high-speed connectors for CPU boards are used in R3 instead of AirMax VS^® in Release 2. These connectors are fully upwards and downwards compatible.

“I am very proud that with Revision 3 of the specification, we have managed to provide all embedded integrators with better CompactPCI Serial performance. Developers can look forward to better connectivity, higher performance and much better scalability,” said Jess Isquith, President of PICMG.

The CompactPCI specification defines a modular computer system, consisting of a backplane, a system slot, and up to 24 peripheral boards. The mechanical design is fully backward compatible to CompactPCI^® and will interoperate with existing systems. A system slot board can be used in a peripheral slot as well to do multiprocessing. The easiest way to communicate in this case is via Ethernet. Ethernet uses cable standards ‘xxBase-T’ instead of dedicated backplane standards. This lowers the cost, guarantees better interoperability and offers currently up to 10 Gb/s data throughput. Plus, implementation of the Ethernet connection of a system board can be done with a mezzanine board (3U or 6U). Due to this concept, more flexibility will be achieved, because the usage of Ethernet does not depend on the system board itself.

CompactPCI Serial can be combined with existing CompactPCI boards by using a CompactPCI PlusIO system slot card. These hybrid systems offer an ideal migration path from parallel to serial connections. CompactPCI Serial for Space specifically addresses the extreme environment requirements for outer space. Developers who want to build applications for harsh environments in industry, aviation or more can now download the new specification from the PICMG website and start designing immediately. PICMG member companies are also already working on their first products based on the new specification. The release of revision 4 is even in preparation.

PICMG at embedded world:

Hall 5, booth 320A

Additional material can be found here: https://www.picmg.org/openstandards/compactpci-serial/

Revision 3 of CompactPCI Serial can be downloaded here:

https://www.picmg.org/product/compactpciserial-specification-r3/

About PICMG

Founded in 1994, PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group) is a nonprofit consortium of companies and organizations that collaboratively develop open standards for high performance telecommunications, military, industrial, and general purpose embedded computing applications. Its original mission was to extend the PCI standard to non-desktop applications. There are over 140 member companies that specialize in a wide range of technical disciplines, including mechanical and thermal design, single board computer design, very high speed signaling design and analysis, networking expertise, backplane and packaging design, power management, High Availability software, and comprehensive system management. Equipment built to PICMG standards is used worldwide and anyone can build or use equipment without restriction (although certain technologies used for some military applications may be subject to U.S. export restrictions governed by ITAR rules). Key standards families developed by PICMG include CompactPCI®, AdvancedTCA®, MicroTCA®, AdvancedMC®, CompactPCI® Serial, COM Express®, SHB Express®, MicroSAM, COM-HPC. and HPM (Hardware Platform Management).

Another year, more open standards. In the coming days we will make significant announcements on three PICMG specifications: 400G AdvancedTCA, CompactPCI Serial, and the IoT.x family of specifications. Keep your eyes peeled for news releases that detail the work product of thousands more hours of contributions from multiple member companies across our vast and growing community.

PICMG’s commitment to fostering collaboration and advancing embedded computing technologies is truly making an impact. The integration of open standards and partnerships with organizations like DMTF, Open Group, VITA, and SGeT certainly accelerates the development of innovative solutions and ensures that the industry can keep up with the rapid pace of technological change.

The upcoming Embedded World event in Nuremberg will be an incredible opportunity for attendees to see firsthand the latest advancements in the industry, particularly with the demos and exhibits from over forty member organizations. It will also be a rare opportunity for talented individuals from across the PICMG family to interact in person, and the organization wants to facilitate those valuable exchanges.

On Wednesday, March 12th at 12 PM Central European Time (CET) PICMG will be hosting a networking lunch in the Mitte entrance (train side of Nuremberg Messe) lobby. We invite all PICMG members, as well as individuals from companies and organizations who would like to learn more about our work with open standards, to attend.

The PICMG booth at 5-320 will likely be another likely hotspot for those wanting to learn more about the standards and how they are shaping the future of embedded systems. And if that weren’t enough, there is once again a conference track dedicated to PICMG (and SGeT) technologies taking place on Thursday, March 13th from 9:30 AM to 11:15 AM CET.

If you’re attending the event, don’t be a stranger. Reach out to [email protected], [email protected] or schedule a meeting https://calendly.com/brandon-picmg/30min.

We’d love to hear from you! See you in Nuremberg!

As PICMG’s 30th anniversary comes to a close, it’s worth reflecting on the incredible progress and momentum built over the past three decades. Today, we are a vibrant, diverse community of engineers and innovators with member companies from more than 20 countries. These organizations are responsible for expanding PICMG’s global influence, as well as the sustained adoption of PICMG specifications and products in key growth areas.

These growth areas include:

* IoT Expansion
* Edge Computing
* Automation and AI
* Security

The ongoing adoption of open standards is driven by the same core principles that have guided PICMG for three decades: flexibility, vendor-neutral competition (no lock-in), long lifecycle support, and security. We’re proud to support open standards in an embedded computing industry that is forecast to exceed $150 billion USD by 2030—where open standards alone represent about 30% of the market and hardware accounts for a significant portion of that $50 billion.

While we celebrate our successes, we also recognize that many of the early pioneers and members of PICMG are transitioning to new phases in their careers. We thank them for their invaluable contributions and have full confidence that the next generation of engineers will continue to carry forward their legacy of excellence and innovation.

Looking ahead, PICMG remains open to new members. We encourage organizations and companies to get involved, learn more about our work, and explore the many opportunities available to contribute to the future of embedded computing. Visit picmg.org or reach out to me directly at [email protected].

We’re excited for the next chapter in the PICMG journey.

Jess Isquith
President
PICMG
[email protected]