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VXS Board Description

The VXS board is the new style of VME interface. VXS stands for VMEbus Switched Serial Standard. The standard is VITA 41.
VXS has the same form factor as standard VME boards, but uses a different type of connector and a different electrical interface.

The VXS specification defines 2 types of boards: Payload cards and Switch cards.
Payload cards are standard VME64x boards with a new PO connector for serial links.
Switch cards are not backward compatible with the legacy VMEbus standard via P1 and P2 connectors.
Basically VXS defines a hybrid between the parallel VME64x standard and the serial based VXS standard.
VXS has either some number of Payload boards and two Switch boards.
Payload Card is the new name for VME cards used in a VXS backplane system. The payload boards are VME64x compliant.
Payload boards also use a new style of P0 connector.
Switch boards use the new MULTIGIG connectors for P1 to P5 (no VME compatible connector) and a power module connector.

VXS Backplanes may operate in a number of configurations; Star, Dual-Star, Mesh, or Daisy-Chain.
There are a number of Interconnect Topologies [definitions and diagrams].
VXI supports InfiniBand bus, Serial RapidIO, Gigabit Ethernet, and PCI Express Bus.

Three card heights are allowed with VME; 3U, 6U, or 9U; a single slot card is 6T wide. Length is either 160mm or 340mm (Norm).
The other possible lengths are: 100/160/220/280/340/400mm. How ever VXS needs a P0 connector which does not exist in a 3U card format.
Height is given in 'U', Length is given in 'mm', Width is given in 'T'; Most card sizes listed are one slot or 6T wide.

Board Form Factors A size PWB = 3U x 160mm, not VXS compatible. B size PWB = 6U x 160mm, C size PWB = 6U x 340mm, D size PWB = 9U x 340mm ... H x L x W VXS Backplane. VME64x, light yellow. Payload Cards; slots 1-5 & 8-12. Switch Boards; slots 6 & 7.

VMEbus Extender cards come in any one of the board sizes listed above. Of course the 3U height is not relevant here.
Extender boards are used to extend the 'card under test' out the front of the VME chassis, so it may be probed while being worked on.

Note the addition of a P0 connector is not new, it was added to the VME standard years ago.
A P0 connector was originally added in 1994 under VITA 1. Of course the application has changed over the years.

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