MicroTCA.4 System bridges gap between ATCA and MicroTCA.

Press Release Summary:



Providing foundation for next-generation network communications and services applications, Monterey open-standards application-ready platform comes complete with pre-integrated hardware, middleware, and software, as well as processing and I/O options. MicroTCA.4 shelf features intelligent, redundant, and serviceable power and cooling, while backplane supports 40 GbE to each slot. In addition to MicroTCA.4 double-wide form factor, Monterey also supports single width AMC(TM) modules.



Original Press Release:



PT Transforms the Open-Standards Ecosystem with Innovative Platform for Next-Generation Solutions



Powerful 10/40GbE MicroTCA.4 System Bridges the Gap Between ATCA and MicroTCA

ROCHESTER, N.Y., -- PT (NASDAQ: PTIX), a leading global supplier of advanced network communications, today announced the development of a revolutionary new open-standards solution set, code named Monterey. First of its kind in the industry, Monterey is an enhanced application-ready system that combines compatibility with the latest MicroTCA.4 standard with superset extensions including increased backplane performance and higher available power budget. The Monterey architecture leverages the latest trends in high-density computing and high speed fabrics in a compelling cost-performance, space-efficient model that is ideally suited as the foundation for a wide range of next-generation network communications and services applications.

"Industry observers predict a quadrupling of data traffic within four years due to increased mobile location-based services, and the explosive growth of smart phones and internet connected tablets" said John Grana, Senior VP, Products and Technology for PT. "In anticipation of such huge demands for capacity, PT designed Monterey to fill a gap in the ecosystem. It is a compact powerhouse that meets the stringent NEBS and ETSI requirements for telecommunications central offices, as well as those of demanding data and military communications environments. In fact, we architected the backplane to support an unprecedented 40GbE to each slot." PT projects Monterey to be commercially available in September 2011 accompanied by a planned product launch and branding campaign.

PT's new, open-standards architecture is a complementary solution to AdvancedTCA® (ATCA)-based systems, ideal for Aggregation Layer applications ranging from mobile networks, gateways, IMS services, and security systems, to content inspection, fault tolerant communications, business services, and military operations. Monterey offers the industry's single genuine application-ready platform, complete with pre-integrated hardware, middleware, and software, along with a wide variety of processing and IO options, assuring designers of minimized development costs and faster time-to-market. It is smaller in scale than ATCA, allowing developers to right-size the solution to best fit their application, thus eliminating the development and support costs of integrating disparate functions onto a single ATCA blade. In addition to the new MicroTCA.4 double-wide form factor, Monterey also supports single width Advanced Mezzanine Card(TM) (AMC) modules, leveraging the large installed base of existing AMC technology.

"Monterey is the latest edition in PT's history of developing innovative, cost savings solutions to fulfill the requirements of applications developers," said John Slusser, President and CEO of PT. "In fact; PT's particular forte lies in the enhancement of industry standards, as demonstrated by the CompactPCI® 2.16 and VME64 protocols. With Monterey we successfully bridge gaps - between AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA, between legacy and IP networks. It is a modular, cost-effective platform for telecommunication equipment manufacturers developing high performance, long lifecycle solutions for service providers. In addition, the efficiency of PT's COTS-based solution makes it ideal for industrial control applications like smart grids, and military and aerospace communication applications such as data acquisition and analysis, and control systems."

PICMG, a consortium of companies that collaboratively develops open specifications for high performance telecommunications and industrial computing applications, began working on the MicroTCA.4 spec, also known as 'Enhanced MicroTCA®', at the behest of the physics community who required finer incremental granularity in scaling. The resulting standard offers a broad range of benefits to the OEM, telecoms, and military arenas as well, due to its versatility and vast power. Joe Pavlat, President and Chairman of PICMG, commented, "The MicroTCA.4 spec represents a significant evolutionary step in the computing world - one that corresponds with the unprecedented volume of data traffic and compute-intensive services for 4G mobile, gateway, sensor/data acquisition, or military applications. It is very complementary to AdvancedTCA systems, with support for AdvancedMC's, Rear Transition Modules, and IPMI-based management; but it offers a smaller form factor and higher granularity alternative. PT has developed a uniquely powerful and flexible MTCA.4 platform with many enhancements."

Online Resources

http://www.pt.com/page/monterey

Addendum

Monterey Portfolio of Products:

Examples of applications:

-- IMS-based Services

-- SIP-based Services

-- Mid-size LTE EPC Gateways

-- Femto/Pico Gateways

-- Deep Packet Inspection

-- High-Availability Business Services

-- Military Communication Systems

-- Ground-based Command and Control Systems

-- Smart Grid Services

-- Sensor/Data Acquisition and Control Systems

-- Other Industrial Control Systems

Monterey's product suite features:

-- MicroTCA.4 shelf with intelligent, redundant, and serviceable power and cooling

-- Redundant MCH modules for IPMI-based Platform Management and Base Fabric with Rear Transition Module

-- 10GbE "Fat Pipe" switch option with Rear Transition Module

-- Intel Quad-Core i7 AdvancedMC processor with Rear Transition Module

About PT (www.pt.com)

PT (NASDAQ: PTIX) is a global supplier of advanced network communications solutions to carrier, government, and OEM markets. PT's portfolio includes IP-centric network elements and applications designed for high availability, scalability, and long life cycle deployments. The company's entire line of offerings is anchored by IPnexus®, PT's own IP-native, highly integrated platforms and element management systems. OEMs and application developers, including PT itself, leverage the robust carrier grade Linux® development environment and rich suite of communications protocols (PT's NexusWare®) of IPnexus Application-Ready Systems as a cornerstone component of their end product value proposition. PT's SEGway(TM) Signaling Solutions provide low cost, high density signaling, advanced routing, IP migration, gateway capabilities, SIP bridge, and core-to-edge distributed intelligence, as well as features such as Number Portability and SMS Spam Defense. The company's Xpress(TM) NGN applications enable evolving Mobile 2.0, Multi-media, and IMS based revenue generating services. PT is headquartered in Rochester, NY and maintains sales and engineering offices around the world.

PT is a trademark of Performance Technologies, Inc. The names of actual companies, products, or services may be the trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of their respective owners in the United States and/or other countries.

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