Frequently Asked Questions about DI/OT crate
Q: What's the difference between DI/OT crate and off-the-shelf CPCI-S crates?
A: The main difference is that DI/OT uses 220mm, 6HP front boards, while CPCI-S uses 160mm, 4HP front boards. The electrical topology of the backplane is compatible with the CPCI-S specification. However, DI/OT does not rely on PCIe/Ethernet/USB communication in the backplane like CPCI-S. Instead, we use the backplane as protocol agnostic set of LVDS lanes to implement any application-specific communication between Peripheral Boards and the System Board.
Q: Can I use COTS power supplies inside the DI/OT Crate?
A: Absolutely yes! The crate is compatible with COTS power supplies used in CompactPCI-Serial crates.
Q: What are the differences between the radiation-tolerant and non-radiation-tolerant variant of the crate?
A: Since the crate is fully passive, exactly the same design is used for both types of applications. What makes the DI/OT system radiation-tolerant or not is the modules (PSUs, System Board, Peripheral Board) that are plugged inside the crate.
Q: Is there a fan tray provided together with the crate?
A: Yes, we have the 1U DI/OT fan tray that can be used together with the crate. It is powered and controlled through the 15-pin D-SUB connector that's available in the front panel of the crate.