The CMF-1394 is a 400Mbps controller (host adapter) for the IEEE 1394 High Performance Serial Bus, also known as FireWire™ (Apple) and i.LINK™ (Sony). The IEEE 1394 defines a high speed next-generation network topolgy and protocol. Guaranteed bandwidth is provided for mission critical applications, live connect/disconnect and many more impressive features make it a fast, reliable, durable and universal interconnection between computers and I/O-devices.

The CMF-1394 is housed on a PC•MIP mezzanine module. While the PC•MIP electrical characteristics are derived from the popular PCI specification, PC•MIP modules represent a miniaturized successor to the proven PMC- and M-Module technology.

Up to 3 PC•MIP modules e.g. can be mounted on a single 3U CompactPCI® carrier board for a maximum of functionality at low cost, thus making system integration easier.

The CMF-1394 is provided with an integrated LLC/PHY chip, being fully compatible to OHCI based software. The data transfer rate is specified at 400Mbps (200/100Mbps). When sourced across the 6-position 1394 connector with integrated power distribution, peripheral devices attached to the CMF-1394 need no separate power supply.

Typical applications for the IEEE 1394 High Performance Serial Bus are digital video and digital audio processing and high speed data storage systems.

Often compared to the slower USB 1.1 (Universal Serial Bus), the IEEE 1394 High Performance Serial Bus defines data rates up to 3200Mbps (1394b), providing both asynchronous and isochronous data transfers. Isochronous packets are issued on the average of each 125µs in support of time-sensitive applications. A high quality video signal e.g. generates an uncompressed continuous data flow of up to 200Mbps, which is passed across the IEEE 1394 bus just-in-time.

In industrial applications, high resolution image processing is used for visual inspection systems, as needed for process and quality control. These and many other applications profit from the superior 1394 performance.

Der CMF-1394 is equipped with the TSB43AA22 iOHCI-Lynx (integrated Link Layer Controller and Physical transceiver), which is compatible to OHCI based software (implicit part of the MS Windows OS since Windows 98SE and Windows 2000). If a single FireWire connector isn't enough, EKF offers the CF2-CYMBAL alternatively, a CPCI Board with three 1394 transceiver ports.