SAN FRANCISCO--BUSINESS WIRE--The 1394 Trade Association has completed a new set of specifications
that support FireWire’s faster speeds, longer distances and new
applications. Updates and additions to the Base Test Suite,
1394-Automotive, and VersaPHY General Purpose Input/Output standards
were completed during the second quarter.
“The new HPCF and glass fiber specification resulted from the hard work
and cooperation of many companies around the world”
Hard Polymer Cladding Fiber and All Glass Fiber Components for
1394-Automotive Networking Applications
The Trade Association has completed the 1394 Automotive Glass Fiber
Specification, a supplement to the original 1394 Automotive IDB-1394
automotive networking standard. The specification addresses the addition
of hard polymer cladded fiber cables and all glass fiber cables for
embedded vehicle networks. The additions enhance the 1394 Automotive
standard, which was developed by automakers and global electronics
leaders to meet the demand for multimedia applications and driver
awareness systems in vehicle passenger compartments. The new class of
unique HPCF and GOF automotive connectors and cables contained in the
additions to the standard are defined for implementation within
vehicles. The connector interface is usable from S200 to S800 dependent
on the fiber and optical transceiver capabilities.
“The new HPCF and glass fiber specification resulted from the hard work
and cooperation of many companies around the world,” said Max Bassler,
1394 Trade Association chairman. “We would like to acknowledge the work
done by representatives from some of our Trade Association leaders
including Yazaki, Sumitomo, JAE, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi Cable, TE
Connectivity, and others.”
Updated Base Test Suite
The Trade Association also announced updates to its Base Test Suite,
which is the document that details the guidelines for achieving
compliance for FireWire-equipped components or products. The test suite
and its associated process ensures that components and products are 100
percent compliant. The additions are entitled “Base 1394 Test Suite with
Extension for 1394b and IEEE-1394-2008,” and include all required tests
for 800 Megabits/second FireWire products to ensure compliance. Passing
the 1394 TA compliance suite is required before 1394 products can apply
to Microsoft for the Windows Hardware Quality Labs logo. For more
details, visit http://www.1394ta.org/developers/ComplianceOverview.html
Additions to VersaPHY GPIO Standard
There is also an addition to VersaPHY, which is a compatible extension
to the IEEE 1394 standard that is designed to enable lower cost
implementations by allowing communication between nodes without
IEEE-1394 link or transaction layer overhead. The revised specification
supplements VersaPHY additions to IEEE-1394 with the details needed to
develop hardware and software applications designed for monitoring and
controlling a broad range of GPIO devices. The intent of VersaPHY
profiles is that a wide range of profiles can provide highly optimized
interfaces. This GPIO profile is more generic and suited to a wide range
of on/off signaling requirements. For more information about VersaPHY,
please visit www.quantumparametrics.com/files/VersaPHY_Overview_032508_0.pdf
or www.1394ta.org/developers/Seminars/1394_VersaPHY.pdf#search=%22versaPHY%20%22
“The dedicated efforts of our working groups are continuing to add value
to the IEEE1394 standard as FireWire moves to faster speeds of 1.6
Gigabit/second and 3.2 Gigabit/second and to distances in excess of 10
meters,” said Bassler.
For more information visit the 1394 Trade Association website at www.1394ta.org
