A

Adapter

An Adapter is a board-level product that can operate as a stand-alone unit. It does not need to be connected to another board to function.

Performance Technologies offers many adapter products including the CPC358 PICMG® 2.16-Compliant 8-Port WAN Communications Adapter.

Advanced Managed Platforms™

Advanced Managed Platforms™ are comprised of Performance Technologies' embedded packet products and offers the most complete set of high availability, system management, switching, power and cooling features on the market. This enhanced platform line gains its strength from being based on the PICMG 2.16 and 2.9 (IPMI) standards. Advanced Managed Platforms are designed to be application-ready, to minimize the equipment manufacturer's time-to-market.

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AdvancedTCA®

Ratified in December 2002, AdvancedTCA®, PICMG 3.X, is the newest family of specifications being developed by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG). With participation from over 100 companies, ATCA is in the early phases of providing a new architecture for building high end, carrier-grade telecommunications equipment that is complementary to PICMG 2.16.

Performance Technologies offers AdvancedTCA products.

ATM

ATM or Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a method of transporting digital communications in both local and wide area networks (LANs and WANs). It is capable of very high speeds, making it extremely effective for voice and video, as well as data. ATM is installed for mission critical backbones because of its quality of service.

B

Bandwidth

Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted through a connection in a fixed amount of time. In digital communications, bandwidth is measured in bits per second (BPS).

C

Channel7™

Channel7™ is a comprehensive hardware and software SS7 MTP-2 platform that provides telecom manufacturers and developers a baseline solution for the creation of SS7 applications and systems.

This product offers a hardware and software solution that enables customers to reduce their time to market by eliminating the time needed to integrate diverse hardware & software elements within the SS7 environment.

ChanneLink™

ChanneLink™ is a communications software package that provides our T1/E1 adapter customers an easy way to run a variety of SunSoft™ communications protocols.

This product allows users of Sun MicroSystem's suite of communication protocols to quickly and easily integrate our adapters with the desired SunSoft™ protocol.

ComLink™

ComLink™ is a communications software package that provides our Sync/Serial adapter customers an easy way to run a variety of SunSoft™ communications protocols.

This product allows users of Sun MicroSystem's suite of communication protocols to quickly and easily integrate our adapters with the desired SunSoft™ protocol.

CompactPCI®

CompactPCI® (Compact Peripheral Component Interface) is a specification adapted from the PCI spec that provides a system optimized for ruggedness. Designed mainly for the industrial/embedded computer industry, it offers a more robust mechanism than the desktop computer PCI.

It has a 32/64 data bus with transfer rates up to 528 megabytes per second.

Performance Technologies offers many CompactPCI products including:

• AMP5086 12U General Purpose Platform
• CPC6600 6U 24-Port 10/100/1000 TX Ethernet Switch
• CPC5505 Single Board Computer
• CPC358 6U WAN Sync/Serial Aadapter

CompactPCI® Packet Switching Backplane

CompactPCI® Packet Switching Backplane (or PICMG® 2.16) is a specification issued by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group that defines an extension to the PICMG® 2.X family of specifications that overlays a packet-based switching architecture on top of CompactPCI®. This creates an Embedded System Area Network (ESAN), enabling an Ethernet-based dual-star topology to exist within the CompactPCI® chassis.

This specification was co-sponsored by Performance Technologies and our own John Peters acted a Chairman. Joe Muczynski, also of Performance Technologies, acted as Co-Secretary/Editor.

This specification is important as it integrates greater bandwidth and fault-tolerant capabilities into a widely deployed infrastructure.

D

DIMSI

DIMSI (Dual International Mobile Subscriber Identity) is an application that functions in our GSM Signaling Platform that provides IMSI translation capabilities.

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Distributed Software Architecture

With distributed software architecture, two or more systems, can be connected to each other using redundant Ethernet or serial high-speed connections. This feature, included in our SEGway™ Signaling Gateways, increases reliability by allowing system and SS7 link load sharing among platform units. Since the signaling traffic is constantly distributed among units, any system or network failure is handled with minimum switchover delay.

When combined with the "hot-swap" capabilities of CompactPCI and mated pair configuration, the reliability of our signaling gateways is comparable to "five-nines" systems.

E

E1

E1 is the rate European carriers use to transmit digital channels for voice or data calls, plus additional Kbps for signaling and framing.

Performance Technologies offers many E1 (T1/E1/J1) products.

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Embedded

Embedded often refers to Embedded Systems - hardware and software together forming a component of some larger system.

The CompactPCI (and accompanying PICMG 2.16) platform is an embedded system and Performance Technologies' IPnexus product family has been designed to maximize these form factors.

Ethernet

Ethernet is a local area network used for connecting computers, printers, servers, etc.

Ethernet is everywhere. 95% of worldwide data travels on Ethernet. 85 percent of installed networks are Ethernet. And Ethernet technology continues to be incorporated into more products than ever before.

The Performance Technologies' co-sponsored PICMG 2.16 specification brings Ethernet into the CompactPCI environment.

F

Fault-Tolerant

Fault-tolerant is a method of making a computer or network system resistant to software error and hardware problems. Every operation is performed with a backup system, ensuring that there is no single point of failure.

The IPnexus product family offers fault-tolerant capabilities.

Five-Nines

Five-Nines is a term used in the telecommunications and Internet industry meaning that a piece of equipment is functioning with 99.999% reliability. With an estimate of no more than 5 minutes per year of system malfunction total.

Performance Technologies' SEGway Signaling Gateways can provide reliability comparable to five nines systems.

Frame Relay

Frame Relay is a high-speed protocol standard designed to provide more efficient ways of transmitting infrequent data traffic between LAN and between end-points in a WAN.

G

Generation

The term generation is used to categorize different stages of technology advancement, i.e.. computers, internet, wireless communications, etc. The following descriptions refer to wireless communications only.

1G

1G or first generation wireless. This is the generation when the basic analog cellular phones were introduced.

2G

2G or second generation wireless. This is the generation when digital voice encoding was introduced. Most of the systems in the United States and Europe are in this generation.

2.5G

2.5G or second and a half generation wireless. This generation is where additional features are added to the digital service. Changing wireless towards the packet-switching service.

3G

3G or third generation wireless is digital and includes but is not limited to such enhanced features as high-speed transmission, global roaming and advanced multimedia access. This generation will become more an more visible within the next few years.

GSM

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is a globally accepted standard for digital cellular communication. For more details, visit our GSM Primer in our learning center.

H

Hot-Swap

Hot-Swap refers to act of pulling a component from a system and plugging in a new one while the power is still on and the unit is still operating. Redundant systems can be designed to swap drives, circuit boards, power supplies - virtually anything that is duplexed. This feature greatly increases the reliability of the system.

Many of Performance Technologies network access and switching products are hot-swappable, allowing them to be installed into fault-tolerant and/or high availability environments.

I

IETF

The Internet Engineering Task Force is an international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet.

Performance Technologies is committed to supporting industry protocol standards and sits on the IETF design committee for signaling transport protocols (SIGTRAN). Our signaling gateways are among the first to support SUA and M3UA over SCTP, promoted by the SIGTRAN working group.

IP

IP stands for Internet Protocol. Internet Protocol is the IP part of the TCP/IP communications protocol. IP implements the network layer (layer 3) of the protocol, which contains a network address and is used to route a message to a different network or sub-network.

Our embedded Ethernet switches handle all switching functions within their systems utilizing IP.

IPnexus®

IPnexus® is the trademarked name of our family of products that are compatible with the PICMG 2.16 specification.

Products include:

• AMP5095 7U Advanced Managed Platform
• CPC6600 6U 24-Port 10/100/1000 TX Ethernet Switch
• CPC5505 Single Board Computer
• SG5601 Signaling Gateway Blade

ISUP

ISUP or Integrated Services Digital Network User Part is the call control part of the SS7 protocol. It defines the procedures used to setup, manage, and release trunk circuits that carry voice and data calls over the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

J

J1

J1 is the rate Japanese carriers use to transmit digital channels for voice or data calls, plus additional Kbps for signaling and framing.

Performance Technologies offers many J1 (T1/E1/J1) products.

M

M3UA

M3UA is a protocol defined by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) SIGTRAN Working Group, and is necessary for the reliable transport of SS7 signaling messages over IP networks that is required in many next-generation telephony applications.

Module

A Module is a board-level product that cannot operate as a stand-alone unit. It must be connected to another board to function.

Performance Technologies continues to offer many module products ideal for SS7, Frame Relay or any channelized connection to SS7 network elements, signaling and media gateway devices, wireless nodes, or remote access servers and multiplexers.

N

NexusWare™

NexusWare™ is a family of Linux-based software products that enables users of Performance Technologies' hardware to rapidly develop and deploy value-added capabilities with their solutions.

• NexusWare Core is a comprehensive, highly integrated Linux-based development, integration and management environment. It is intended for system engineers using Performance Technologies' embedded products to build packet-based systems including next-generation wireless and IP telephony systems.
• NexusWare™ C7 is a comprehensive SS7 MTP-2 installable software package designed to work in conjunction with NexusWare Core, our Linux-based development, integration and management environment. NexusWare C7 provides equipment manufacturers and application developers, using Performance Technologies' embedded packet-based products with a starting point for building SS7 applications, including next-generation wireless and IP telephony systems.
• NexusWare ISM is a development environment that allows customers to add their own value and functionality to the CPC7301 Intelligent Shelf Manager (ISM). It leverages the flexible and scalable architecture of the ISM, allowing customization of Linux kernel 2.4.18 and ISM settings, addition of third-party applications and modification of ISM management behavior.

P

Packet

Packet is a term meaning a bundle of data.

Packet Switching

Packet switching is a networking technology in which messages are broken up into small bundles of data before they are sent to their required destination. During this process each bundle of data may follow different paths, however they are assembled back into the message at the main destination.

PSTN

Public Switched Telephone Network is the standard telephone system we use everyday for local, long distance and international telephone calls.

Protocol

A protocol is a set of communication rules that govern the format of sending and receiving data.

PCI

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) is a peripheral bus commonly used in PC's, Macintoshes and workstations. PCI provides a high-speed data path between the CPU and peripheral devices and provides "plug and play" capability, automatically configuring the PCI cards at startup.

Performance Technologies offers many PCI based products including the PCI384. This product provides telecom OEMs and integrators with a high density, highly advanced connectivity subsystem ideally suited for both PSTN and IP telephony systems handling large volumes of voice circuits.

PICMG®

PICMG® (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group) is a consortium of over 700 companies who collaboratively develop specifications that adapt PCI technology for use in industrial and telecommunications applications. PICMG® specifications include CompactPCI® for Eurocard, rackmount applications and PCI/ISA for passive backplane, standard format cards.

Performance Technologies is an executive member of PICMG® and recently co-sponsored the PICMG® 2.16 specification.

PICMG® 2.16

PICMG® 2.16 is a specification issued by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group that defines an extension to the PICMG® 2.X family of specifications that overlays a packet-based switching architecture on top of CompactPCI®. This creates an Embedded System Area Network (ESAN), enabling an Ethernet-based dual-star topology to exist within the CompactPCI® chassis.

This specification was co-sponsored by Performance Technologies and our own John Peters acted a Chairman. Joe Muczynski, also of Performance Technologies, acted as Co-Secretary/Editor.

This specification is important as it integrates greater bandwidth and fault tolerant capabilities into a widely deployed infrastructure.

PMC (PCI Mezzanine Card) is a PCI-based mezzanine card that is widely adapted to VMEbus, CompactPCI and PCI cards. Small and compact (74mm x 149mm) and providing 32 or 64-bit data paths, PMC cards enable a large variety of PCI products to be retrofitted to other bus environments.

S

SCTP or Stream Control Transmission Protocol operates on top of the Internet Protocol (IP), and is defined in the RFC 2960 (IETF standard). SCTP was developed by SIGTRAN to provide reliable transport of SS7 messages over an IP network.

SEGway Signaling Products provide SCTP standards.

Sbus

Sbus was originally a proprietary bus from Sun, but has since been released into the public domain. It is a resource sharing and expansion bus interface for the SPARC architecture.

At one time, Performance Technologies offered many Sbus products including the SBS915, SBS516, SBS508, etc. These products are now obsolete and limited Technical Support is available.

SEGway™

SEGway is the name given to our product family of signaling products that offer an alternative for transporting SS7 messages at dramatically lower costs than with traditional circuit-switched infrastructures. SEGway SS7 over IP products include:

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Serial

Serial is a telecom term that refers to "one after another." Data transmissions that are serial are ones that come in streams of data - one after another - one bit following the previous bit.

Performance Technologies offers many products that interact with serial data.

Signaling Gateway

A signaling gateway provides access to SS7 networks, and when used in conjunction with softswitches (media gateway controllers), media gateways and application servers, can help to perform IP telephony applications that can emulate the call control functionality or service processing capabilities of traditional circuit switched telephone network switches.

Performance Technologies offers a suite of signaling gateway solutions in both a full -featured stand-alone unit, compact stand-alone unit and in an embedded system-in-a-slot.

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SS7

Signaling System No. 7, also referred to C7 in European markets, is a global standard for telecommunications defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). SS7 performs call setup and tear down, handles routing decisions and supports all modern telephony services such as 800 numbers, call forwarding, caller ID and local number portability (LNP).

Performance Technologies' SS7/IP signaling products provide cost-effective and seamless integration of SS7 signaling between traditional telephone and IP networks, as is required in many next-generation telephony applications.

Switch

Switch often refers to network devices that connect segmented elements within the LAN.

Our latest switch, the CPC6600, is an embedded Ethernet switch that is compatible with the PICMG® 2.16 specification.

Synchronous

Synchronous is a telecom term that refers to data transmissions that are controlled by a master clock - controlling constant time between successive bits in the data stream.

Performance Technologies offers many products that interact with synchronous data including the CPC358. This product provides eight high performance synchronous/serial channels for WAN connectivity.

T

T1

T1 is the rate U.S. carriers use to transmit digital channels for voice or data calls, plus additional Kbps for signaling and framing.

T3

T3 is another rate U.S. carriers use to transmit digital channels for voice or data calls. It is roughly equivalent to 28 T1 lines.

Performance Technologies offers a T3 product - the CPC396. The CPC396 has been specifically designed for IP telephony applications requiring the manipulation of large numbers of voice and data circuits.

U

UniPorte™

UniPorte™ is a trademark named for our software-based processing system that can recognize and process any type of subscriber call on a call-by-call basis.

UniPorte is incorporated into each media and voice processing solution.

V

VME

VME (Versa Module Eurocard) is a 32-bit bus that was developed by Motorola, Signetics, Mostek and Thompson CSF. It has been widely used in industrial, commercial and military applications.

At one time, Performance Technologies offered many VME products including the VME910, VME902, VME610, etc. These products are now obsolete and limited Technical Support is available.

W

WAN Protocols

Performance Technologies' suite of WAN Protocols provide all of the critical pieces required to quickly and efficiently develop WAN protocol applications.

Protocols include:

• Radar Receiver (Synchronous bit stream interface)
• HDLC (ABM/LAPB, LAPD, NRM, SDLC)
• X.25
• Frame Relay
• Asynchronous Data Transfer
• TADIL-B