June 11, 2015
Pigeon Point Systems Leads PICMG Subcommittee Doing a Suite of Specification Updates for IPv6
Pigeon Point Shelf Manager gets IPv6 access in System Manager Interface
CARLSBAD, California, June 10, 2015 – Pigeon Point Systems, LLC, the leading independent supplier of hardware platform management solutions for AdvancedTCA® (ATCA®) has announced the first industry support for the IPv6-awareness added to the ATCA specification via a just-adopted Engineering Change Notice (ECN). The 3.5.0 release of the Pigeon Point Shelf Manager, which is already shipping, includes basic support for IPv6 communication with the Shelf Manager, when running on the award-winning ShMM-700R shelf management mezzanine module. The 3.5.1 release, scheduled for July 2015, will add specific support, also on the ShMM-700R platform, for the ECN-defined IPv6 extensions in the ATCA specification, PICMG 3.0. The Pigeon Point Shelf Manager is the market leader in ATCA Shelf Managers and is installed in tens of thousands of shelves around the world.
IPv6 is the newest version of the ubiquitous Internet Protocol (IP) on which much of modern electronic communication is based. IPv6 solves multiple long term problems with the existing IPv4, including the impending exhaustion of IPv4 addresses, which are only 32 bits in size. The burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) is making it ever more crucial to continue and accelerate the availability of IPv6, which supports 128-bit addresses. Though many existing AdvancedTCA (ATCA) applications will continue to use IPv4 for a considerable time, it is crucial for ATCA to allow new applications to make use of IPv6 where appropriate. The Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI, a foundation for the management layer of ATCA) was augmented with IPv6 support in 2013. PICMG’s new ATCA ECN adopts that IPMI support as an option and adds ATCA-specific facilities to that support, such as for configuring shelves with IPv6 access addresses, among other areas.
The already shipping 3.5.0 release of the Pigeon Point Shelf Manager supports IPv6 access to any of the external Internet Protocol interfaces of the ShMM-700R, specifically including the IPMI-defined interface, which uses the Remote Management Control Protocol (RMCP). For instance, support in RMCP and in the Shelf Manager’s Command Line Interface has been added for more than 30 IPv6-related LAN configuration parameters. The upcoming 3.5.1 release augments that support with the ATCA-specific extensions defined by the new ECN.
The new PICMG 3.0 ECN and a companion ECN adding IPv6-awareness to PICMG 3.7, the ATCA Base Extensions Specification, were just adopted by PICMG after being developed in the Hardware Platform Management (HPM) subcommittee. This subcommittee within PICMG was proposed by and is led by PPS. The subcommittee is also adding IPv6 awareness to HPM.2, the LAN-attached IPM Controller Specification and HPM.3, the DHCP-Assigned Platform Management Parameters Specification.
The ShMM-700R’s outstanding flexibility and carefully crafted implementation philosophy were recognized at its introduction with the ATCA Summit Best of Show award for infrastructure products.
The ShMM-700R uses a Freescale i.MX287 ARM9-based main processor to execute Linux and the Shelf Manager application, plus a Microsemi SmartFusion A2F060 intelligent mixed signal FPGA for critical supplementary functions. (Pigeon Point also delivers SmartFusion-based variants of its market-leading Board Management Reference (BMR) series of xTCA board and module management controller solutions.)
The Pigeon Point ChMM-700R, a companion module to ShMM-700R and based on the same Pigeon Point Management Mezzanine or PPMM-700R, implements the core of a VITA 46.11 Chassis Manager. The upcoming 1.1.0 release of the Pigeon Point Chassis Manager will include the same basic IPv6 support that is already shipping in the 3.5.0 release of the Shelf Manager
For additional information on the ShMM-700R and other Pigeon Point products, visit www.pigeonpoint.com; further queries are welcome via email at
in**@pi*********.com
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About Pigeon Point
Pigeon Point Systems LLC delivers world-class management components for modular platforms based on the AdvancedTCA, AdvancedMC and MicroTCA and VITA 46.11 architectures to leading companies worldwide. Pigeon Point’s focus on providing dependable, proven solutions for the 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. This expertise also uniquely equips Pigeon Point to assist customers in building extended or custom variants of these architectures that largely preserve a standard management layer.
Pigeon Point is an executive member of PICMG, a leader in its AdvancedTCA®, AdvancedMC®, and MicroTCA™ subcommittees and active in other technical subcommittees. Pigeon Point is also a member of VITA, which developed and issued the VITA 46.11 system management specification for popular VPX architecture for critical embedded systems. For more information on Pigeon Point Systems, visit www.pigeonpoint.com.
Pigeon Point and the stylized lighthouse logo, as well as IntegralHPI, are trademarks of Pigeon Point Systems. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
