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STEbus nears adoption as a standard
STEbus nears adoption as a standard The IEEE Microprocessor Standards Committee has voted unanimously to pass draft 3.2 of the STEbus (P1000) specification on to the Technical Committee on mini/ microcomputers. Should the Technical Committee accept the proposed standard, it will then only have to obtain final approval from the IEEE Standard Board before it becomes an official IEEE standard. Tentative estimates suggest officialization before the year's end. STE is an asynchronous 8-bit bus designed to support chips such as the Motorola 68008, National Semiconductor 32008, Hitachi 64180 and Intel 80188. Older CPUs (eg the Z80, 6809, 6502 etc.) can also be used. The addressing range of the bus is 1 Mbyte. The specified data transfer rate is up to 5 Mbyte s-1. The bus can support up to three master CPU cards. The recommended board size
is single-height standard-depth Eurocard (100 mm X 160 mm). The specification includes complete position independence of cards in the backplane. The STEbus has a number of features in common with VME, such as asynchronous data transfer protocol, transfer error reporting and multiple interrupt levels. It can be used as an intelligent I/O channel in a VMEbus system, or as a byteoriented standalone bus. Since work on the bus specification began in 1982, 30 companies have taken part in the forum leading to its present draft stage. Five companies have already brought out about 40 STEbus-compatible products. A need for the standard has been confirmed by about 250 firms. In August last year, a manufactureruser group was set up. Further details can be obtained from 5TE Manufacturers and Users Group, 44 Chyngton Gardens, Seaford, East Sussex BN25 3RS, UK. []
LAN licence could cut OEM development time US-based company Excelan has set up a licensing programme which will allow OEMs to base their proprietary Ethemet local area network (LAN) interfaces on Excelan technology. Instead of spending years developing their own LAN systems, says Excelan, OEMs will be able to produce a complete subsystem, including software, in as little as three months. The licence will apply to the Exos 200 series of front-end processor boards for Multibus, VMEbus, Q-bus and Unibus, designed to integrate a wide range of computers over Ethemet. By making interface modifications, OEMs will be allowed to incorporate the Exos technology in the front-end processors for their proprietary bus, or integrate it into the host CPU itself. The Exos200 series is based on the 80186 CPU, with 32-bit addressing capability. (Excelan Inc., 2180 Fortune Drive, San Jose, CA 95131, USA. Teh (408) 945-9526) []
Designer-foundry link The Genesil silicon development system, made by Silicon Compilers of the USA, is to supply VLSI circuit designs for US-based manufacturer NCR. The two companies have signed an agreement that Genesil be used to generate finished circuit layouts, timing models and simulation models tailored to the fabrication processes used by NCR silicon foundries. 'This agreement, which is an industry first, creates a new type of relationship between a silicon foundry and a design tool supplier,' said Silicon Compilers president Phillip Kaufman. Under the agreement, Silicon Compilers and NCR will support designs in dual-layer metal CMOS and single-layer metal NMOS, with 2-3 ~m geometry. Other processes are likely to be supported as they become commercially available, says NCR. D
vol 9 no 6 july~august 1985
The Personal Designer computer-aided design (CAD) system, from US-based Computervision Corp., is now being marketed by the company in the UK. Based on the IBM PC/XT or PC~AT, the package includes the PC-DOS operating system, Computervision's microCADD5 geometric construction and detailing software for two- and three-dimensional design, and enhanced graphics capabilities including the 8087 maths coprocessor, a 640 pixel X 400 pixel display driver, a colour monitor and a 12 in X 12 in (306 mm X 306 ram) digitizing tableL UK price for the system is £14 500.
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is single-height standard-depth Eurocard (100 mm X 160 mm). The specification includes complete position independence of cards in the backplane. The STEbus has a number of features in common with VME, such as asynchronous data transfer protocol, transfer error reporting and multiple interrupt levels. It can be used as an intelligent I/O channel in a VMEbus system, or as a byteoriented standalone bus. Since work on the bus specification began in 1982, 30 companies have taken part in the forum leading to its present draft stage. Five companies have already brought out about 40 STEbus-compatible products. A need for the standard has been confirmed by about 250 firms. In August last year, a manufactureruser group was set up. Further details can be obtained from 5TE Manufacturers and Users Group, 44 Chyngton Gardens, Seaford, East Sussex BN25 3RS, UK. []
LAN licence could cut OEM development time US-based company Excelan has set up a licensing programme which will allow OEMs to base their proprietary Ethemet local area network (LAN) interfaces on Excelan technology. Instead of spending years developing their own LAN systems, says Excelan, OEMs will be able to produce a complete subsystem, including software, in as little as three months. The licence will apply to the Exos 200 series of front-end processor boards for Multibus, VMEbus, Q-bus and Unibus, designed to integrate a wide range of computers over Ethemet. By making interface modifications, OEMs will be allowed to incorporate the Exos technology in the front-end processors for their proprietary bus, or integrate it into the host CPU itself. The Exos200 series is based on the 80186 CPU, with 32-bit addressing capability. (Excelan Inc., 2180 Fortune Drive, San Jose, CA 95131, USA. Teh (408) 945-9526) []
Designer-foundry link The Genesil silicon development system, made by Silicon Compilers of the USA, is to supply VLSI circuit designs for US-based manufacturer NCR. The two companies have signed an agreement that Genesil be used to generate finished circuit layouts, timing models and simulation models tailored to the fabrication processes used by NCR silicon foundries. 'This agreement, which is an industry first, creates a new type of relationship between a silicon foundry and a design tool supplier,' said Silicon Compilers president Phillip Kaufman. Under the agreement, Silicon Compilers and NCR will support designs in dual-layer metal CMOS and single-layer metal NMOS, with 2-3 ~m geometry. Other processes are likely to be supported as they become commercially available, says NCR. D
vol 9 no 6 july~august 1985
The Personal Designer computer-aided design (CAD) system, from US-based Computervision Corp., is now being marketed by the company in the UK. Based on the IBM PC/XT or PC~AT, the package includes the PC-DOS operating system, Computervision's microCADD5 geometric construction and detailing software for two- and three-dimensional design, and enhanced graphics capabilities including the 8087 maths coprocessor, a 640 pixel X 400 pixel display driver, a colour monitor and a 12 in X 12 in (306 mm X 306 ram) digitizing tableL UK price for the system is £14 500.
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