Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2001 09:58:35 -0700
Subject: MontaVista Inserts PICMG Hot Swap into Open Source
From: Carrie Gorges <cgorges@pacifico.com>
To: <lwn@lwn.net>

For Immediate Release

MontaVista Inserts PICMG Hot Swap into Open Source
Call to Action for CompactPCI Board and Systems Vendors and
Open Source Developers to Support Embedded Linux

Sunnyvale, Calif., April 10, 2001 - MontaVista Software Inc., the company
powering the embedded revolution, today announced the submission of its hot
swap infrastructure code to the Open Source Community.  MontaVista is
releasing the hot swap code as a project on Source Forge
(www.sourceforge.com) with two goals:  to encourage a wide adoption of the
base software and to promote the development of the infrastructure for
fault-resilience and high availability.

The PICMG  (PIC Industrial Manufacturers Group) 2.12 software interface
specification describes the process for installing and removing CompactPCI
boards into and from a running system.  The specification includes the
concept of a hot swap infrastructure, a body of software that interfaces
with the underlying operating system to support hot swap. In particular, the
software infrastructure in PICMG 2.12 supports the discovery, configuration,
and management of hot swapped system resources.  The implementation that
MontaVista is placing into Open Source builds on the Linux 2.4 kernel, and
includes platform drivers for the Ziatech ZT5550 hot swap redundant system
slot board and the Motorola Computer Group 82xx high availability platforms.

³By placing this technology into Open Source, we invite our open software
peers to join forces with us and with industry-leading hardware vendors to
implement PICMG standard technology on the broadest possible platform base,²
commented Kevin Morgan, MontaVista vice president of engineering.  ³Opening
this project on SourceForge is a call to action to all interested parties to
bring this key high availability technology rapidly into the marketplace and
out into deployed systems.²

In keeping with MontaVista and Open Source practices, all pertinent work is
submitted back to the relevant source trees promoting the architecture and
specification for the entire community. MontaVista and others are promoting
PICMG 2.12 and related standards for the above-mentioned platforms and other
carrier class hardware from Motorola Computer Group, Ziatech, Force
Computers, Radisys, and others. Acceptance of standards like PICMG 2.12 will
enhance the infrastructure mix needed by communications equipment
manufacturers to build central office switching equipment, ISP/ASP
platforms, and other networking applications, giving them and integrators
more design options to speed OEM communications solutions to market.

Interested parties can examine and download the project code from
SourceForge at http://sourceforge.net/projects/picmg212-hs  -- for
additional information on the hot swap, redundant system slot, and chassis
drivers for embedded Linux, contact MontaVista Software.

Background
High Availability (HA) is a term for technology that enhances the ³up-time²
of computer systems by distributing functionality across multiple CPUs.   In
response to hardware and software failures, HA systems facilitate the rapid
transfer of control (fail-over) from a faulty CPU, peripheral, or software
component to a functional one, while preserving operations or transactions
in progress at the time of failure.  Many embedded designers choose the
standard CompactPCI board and system form factor for HA designs since it
supports hot swap (replacement and insertion) of system and peripheral cards
without the need for cycling power, reducing technician-assisted
time-to-repair.

About MontaVista Software Inc.
MontaVista Software Inc. is a leading provider of open-source systems
software solutions for embedded systems. Founded in 1999 by real-time
operating system pioneer James Ready, MontaVista's principal offering is the
Linux operating system and cross development tools tailored for embedded
systems. MontaVista products include Hard HatTM Linux®, a standard
off-the-shelf binary distribution of Linux optimized for x86/IA-32, PowerPC,
StrongARM, MIPS, Hitach SH and other microprocessor architectures. Hard Hat
Linux offers developers a family of open source solutions for embedded
design, with targeted offerings for applications ranging from communications
infrastructure to thin-client and edge applications.

Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale, California,
MontaVista Software is a privately held company funded by leading investors
such Alloy Ventures, US Venture Partners, RRE Ventures, WR Hambrecht + Co,
and Intel Capital. For more information about MontaVista, please visit
http://www.mvista.com or call (408) 328-9200.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Hard Hat is a trademark
of MontaVista Software Inc. All other names mentioned are trademarks,
registered trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.

Contacts:
Joe Samagond
Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications
MontaVista Software Inc.
Phone (408) 328-9234
E-mail: jsamagond@mvista.com

Patricia Colby
PR Strategy and Business Development
Pacifico Inc. 
Phone (408) 293-8600 ext. 340
E-mail: pcolby@pacifico.com