Compaq ProLiant 1600 The Benefits of PCI Hot Plug Technology - Page 7

The Benefits of PCI Hot Plug Technology 7 PCI Hot Plug - an Industry-Standard Approach Although a pioneer of PCI Hot Plug technology, Compaq chose to develop this new technology as an industry-standard specification rather than a proprietary solution. Not only was Compaq a pioneer in the development of systems hardware, but the company also had extensive experience in systems configuration software and device driver development. Because of its unique position, Compaq gathered the support of major software developers and independent hardware vendors (IHVs) to deliver PCI Hot Plug technology as an open, industry standard. Since the June 1996 announcement to deliver PCI Hot Plug technology as an open, industry standard, Compaq has worked with key hardware and software partners and the industry-wide PCI standards committee. This effort allows customers to move forward in implementing this technology with greater flexibility. Compaq has taken several steps to ensure broad industry acceptance of the technology, including: • Standardized PCI Hot Plug technology by initiating and chairing the PCI Special Interest Group (SIG) Hot Plug Workgroup. The workgroup included other industry leaders such as Adaptec, Inc.; Cirrus Logic, Inc.; Digital Equipment Corporation; Hewlett-Packard Company; IBM Corporation; Intel; Microsoft; Novell; Pro-Log Corporation; The Santa Cruz Operation (SCO); and Texas Instruments Incorporated. Efforts of the workgroup allowed quick completion of the PCI Hot Plug Specification - only 14 months from the group's charter- with an official release two months later. For more information on the PCI Hot Plug Specification, visit the PCI SIG website at http://www.pcisig.com. "Compaq has demonstrated time and time again their ability to take new technology and new standards and integrate them into products very rapidly. The PCI Hot Plug specification is a fantastic example. The capability to remove or insert PCI controller cards into your computer without having to turn the computer off is a very important ingredient in our (Intel's) long-term growth objectives." -John Miner, Vice-President & General Manager, Enterprise Server Group, Intel Corporation • Partnered with OS developers to ensure incorporation of the PCI Hot Plug standard in product releases. Compaq has taken a proactive role in ensuring broad OS support for hotplug capabilities. Actions to date range from the development of cross-company design teams to the delivery of PCI Hot Plug platforms for testing OSs. Currently, Microsoft, Novell, and SCO support PCI Hot Plug. • Worked with leading adapter vendors such as 3Com Corporation; Adaptec; Dialogic Corporation; Digi International; Mylex Corporation; QLogic Corporation; American Megatrends, Inc.; Madge Networks; SMC Networks Inc.; and SysKonnect to ensure broad acceptance and rapid implementation of the standard. • Licensed PCI Hot Plug which will be available to customers who OEM systems and system components from Intel. Intel will incorporate Compaq's implementation of PCI Hot Plug, including the hot-plug controller and related system technologies, in some Intel Pentium II Xeon products and beyond. • Developed hot-plug aware drivers for Compaq NetFlex controllers, Netelligent controllers, Smart array controllers, and Fast-Wide SCSI-2 controllers. • Developed the Compaq ProLiant 6500 and ProLiant 7000, announced in August 1997, as the first available server platforms conforming to the PCI Hot Plug Specification and added next- ECG093/0798