The new MB86701A Plug-and-Play ISA Controller (PPIC) is a highly-integrated solution for PC product manufacturers building ISA-compliant add-in cards. It provides all of the interface and storage resources needed to isolate the card, identify resource requirements, and reconfigure it according to the allocation determined by the Plug-and-Play software resident on the host PC.
This is achieved automatically, with virtually no user interaction. The MB86701A conforms to the Plug-and Play ISA specification version 1.0a, introduced in 1994, which is part of the emerging PnP standards. This specification defines hardware and software mechanisms that the next generation of ISA cards must implement to support identification, resource usage determination, conflict detection, and conflict resolution.
The MB8670A also meets Microsoft Corporation's 'PC95' hardware requirements for all add-in cards, so OEMs using it can certify their cards to carry the Windows95 logo, an important step in assuring Windows compatibility.
"Our Plug-and-Play controller meets the needs of PC card manufacturers for a single device that can identify and reallocate resources when a card or peripheral is added to the PC," said Bruce Bowman, director of networking products. "It removes the requirement for users to become experts in hardware and software configuration by eliminating the need to set switches and install jumpers. The chip simplifies PC upgrades based on Plug-and-Play standards, and reduces cost for users and OEMs. Any vendor of connectivity products that does not offer this kind of functionality is unnecessarily penalizing customers."
The MB86701A PPIC provides an interface to an external serial EEPROM, which maintains the card's resource requirement data and other user-defined information, such as Ethernet identification. The Plug-and-Play system sends configuration information to the chip. This information is used to generate chip select outputs corresponding to the allocated I/O and memory addresses, and to steer interrupt request and direct memory access signals to allocated channels.
The device maintains configuration data for two interrupt requests, two DMA channels, two I/O chip selects, and two memory chip selects. more NEW MB86701 SINGLE CHIP CONTROLLER FOR PC PLUG-AND-PLAY FROM FMI 2/These lines allow the control of additional functions, such as media selection for a LAN card, or the monitoring of external events. The PPIC also can map any access to a user-defined memory window into a single user-defined address on the logical device side. This permits the driver software to use memory reference instructions to access a fixed-address register on the card. For example, it can move a sector of data to or from a FIFO on a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) card using string or block move instructions instead of I/O loops, providing much better data transfer performance.
"Because the ISA bus interface has lacked defined hardware and software mechanisms for reallocation DMA channels, I/O addresses, and other resources, PC users have been required to change decode maps and update software configuration files themselves when they add a new card to their PC," according to Alex Goldberger, manager of LAN product marketing. "By adding the single-chip MB86701 to their ISA cards, manufacturers eliminate the need to reconfigure the system to change direct memory access, I/O or software files. Use of the MB86701 to provide Plug-and-Play capability will eliminate the majority of these calls. This helps reduce the high cost to OEMs of providing that service. Savings result from the elimination of jumpers, switches, and logic devices, which are not required when FMI's PPIC is used."
While full autoconfiguration will be possible in a PC using only Plug-and-Play ISA cards, some user intervention may be required in hybrid systems that apply standard ISA cards with Plug-and-Play versions.
The MB86701 is manufactured using Fujitsu's low-power CMOS process, and is packaged in a 120-pin plastic quad flat pack. Production began in July. Pricing is $5.95 in 10,000-piece units.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Betsy Taub
Fujitsu Microelectronics, Inc.
(408) 922-9440
Dick Davies
Independent Public Relations Assoc.
(415) 777-4161