PDF of this tutorialCompactPCI and PCI technologies have emerged from the search for a standard interface between peripherals on PC–compatible CPUs and backplanes. In keeping with the requirements for true interoperability, the PICMG, which is an independent and cooperative consortium of vendors and manufacturers, has overseen the development of these specifications.
The PICMG is primarily focused on the evolution and development of specifications for PCI and CompactPCI products, and the diversity of membership ensures that all interested parties can be represented and that interoperability can be maintained to produce a common specification, accessible to all.
PICMG specifications define hardware practices. Software communication and bus architecture, however, have been defined by a second independent interest group, the Enterprise Computer Telephony Forum (ECTF). The ECTF was founded to converge the plethora of competing standards for computer telephony (CT) buses and to improve interoperability between manufacturers. Essential to this process is introducing better notions of scalability, so that solutions can be built to serve the needs of different environments while utilizing the same core technology. To this end, the ECTF has produced two specifications for hardware and software bus interfaces: H.100 and H.110, also known as CT buses. The two organizations work in tandem to develop all aspects of the CompactPCI standard.
