Fast Ethernet NIC

The PMC/Fast Ethernet/21143 network interface card (NIC) for Fast Ethernet connectivity within local area networks (LANs) has been introduced. With its PMC form factor, it is ideal for cost-sensitive applications in telecommunications, data communications and military/aerospace markets. Equipped with the Intel 21143 Ethernet controller, this general-purpose NIC enables low-cost migrations from Intel 21140 designs with minimal software driver considerations.

The network card enables cost-effective distribution and networking of communications and control functions using the Ethernet 10/100 BaseTx protocol. It can also be used to populate the PMC expansion slots on a single board computer, such as the CPCI-680, CPCI-730, CPCI-731, CPCI-760 or Alpha VME/5/480, with Fast Ethernet connections, which provides a redundant communication channel for mission-critical, multi-channel applications. Other features include a wide operating temperature range of 0 to 70 degrees Celsius and a standard RJ45 connector that eliminates the need for adapter cables. A 1 KByte SROM is used for storing Ethernet addresses and system parameters.

With a standard PCI mezzanine card (PMC) form factor, the network card offers embedded systems developers a cost-effective, general-purpose product and easy upgrade path for Fast Ethernet-based Intel 21140 LAN applications. The card enables communications speeds of 100 MBits per second without a major change in infrastructure. It supports automatic configuration between 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps per second to match the speed of the attached network or host device. The network interface card enjoys wide support from vendors of network controllers, networks and systems, which helps ensure the development of a wide variety of interoperable products. It is compatible with Alpha, Pentium and PowerPC processor-based platforms running the Tru64 UNIX, VxWorks or Windows NT operating systems. A Developer Design Kit is available for other operating systems and microprocessors, such as MIPS and StrongARM.

Force Computers, a Solectron Company, 5799 Fontanoso Way, San Jose, CA 95138. Tel: 408-369-6231; Fax: 408-371-3992.