VSO MINUTES
VSO Meeting
November 19-20, 2003
Scottsdale, AZ
Call to Order
Elwood Parsons, VSO Chair, called the meeting to order at
8:31 AM and asked members to introduce themselves. After introductions the agenda was reviewed and several
items were added. The agenda was
accepted as amended. There were no
announcements made. The minutes
from the previous meeting were accepted as written.
VITA Report
Ray Alderman, VITA, gave the VITA report. The plans for B&B 2004 are being
finalized. General Kern will be
the keynote speaker. Ray urged
members to make their reservations as the hotel is starting to fill up. Ray discussed his thoughts on RAND
licensing and compelling members to provide RAND terms via contractual
membership agreements. Ray feels
that allowing the committee to remove the technology and search for other
technology is a better alternative.
Standards Report
John Rynearson, VITA, gave the standards report. See presentation.
Patent Policy Review and Call for Patents
John presented the VSO patent policy and called for
patents. No patents were
disclosed. See patent policy overheads.
Request for RAND Terms by Foxconn
Jim Koser, Foxconn, noted that he had received the RAND
terms that he had requested from Tyco regarding the connectors specified for
VITA 41 within the alloted time period.
However, Jim stated that he did not feel that the terms were reasonable
and made a motion that the VSO take action to resolve this issue. The motion failed for lack of a second,
but the contents of the motion and the issue of judging whether or not terms
offered were reasonable were discussed.
John Rynearson noted that standards bodies are precluded from entering
into discussions regarding pricing due to anti-trust concerns. The Congress is considering legislation
that would allow such discussion, but this legislation has not yet been acted
upon. Further discussion
followed. In conclusion the VSO
advised Jim to express his concerns regarding the RAND terms directly to Tyco
and to raise this issue again if he feels it is not resolved. The membership asked John to find out
from legal counsel how it might deal with or discuss this issue within the
meeting and to report back at the next VSO meeting.
VSO P&P Review
John gave an overview of the revisions made to the VSO
Policies and Procedures and presented the new ANSI/VITA Procedures. See VSO P&P presentation and ANSI/VITA presentation. Also see the following http://www.vita.com/vso/new-rev/vsopp-revise.html. Comments from Bob Downing were discussed. Elwood Parsons provided additional
comments and corrections. The
definition of a duly called meeting will be included and the 75/75 voting
criteria will be reviewed. These
procedures will be put to ballot in December and the results will be discussed
at the January VSO meeting.
*** BREAK ***
New Standards Proposal
Ron Taulton, Systran, noted that VITA 17.1 have become a
popular standard and users have expressed interest in expanding Serial FPDP to
handle higher frequencies. See presentation. A signup sheet for the
activity was distributed.
VITA 34, New Framework Report
Bob Downing gave the VITA 34 report. Frank Hom, APW, is working on new
prototypes to display at Bus&Board.
VITA 42, XMC Report
Greg Novak, Motorola, reported on VITA 42. The latest working group ballot for
VITA 42.0, XMC, elicited a lot of comments that the working group is currently
reviewing. A working group ballot
review was scheduled for Thursday morning. A working group ballot for VITA 42.2 has also been completed
and the ballot will be reviewed at the next teleconference. Ray Alderman noted that putting FPGA
cores on mezzanine modules is a popular application and suggested that would be
a important use for XMCs.
VITA 41, VXS 9U Report
Andy Reddig, Tek Micro, gave a presentation on VITA 41
9U. See presentation.
VITA 41, VXS Report
Bob Tufford, Motorola, reported on VITA 41. See presentation. The name for the P0 connector that will be used on payload
boards has been changed from NG RT2 to RT2 7 Row.
*** LUNCH ***
VITA 46 Report
Stewart Dewar, DY4, reported on VITA 46. See presentation.
Ivan Straznicky, DY4, presented the test plan for the RT2 7 Row connector
for VITA 46. The plan will be
revised and re-circulated.
Randy Banton, Mercury Computer, presented a proposal for
a new mechanical standard. Randy
disclosed that 8 patents had been filed on this technology. See presentation and supporting reference-1 and reference-2. The group discussed what the scope of
the standard should be and how it would be specified. No formal action to form a study group or working group was
taken.
*** BREAK ***
VITA 46 Legacy Connector Subcommittee Report
Dick DeBock, Thales, reported on the VITA 46 legacy sub
committee activities. See presentation. Dick made a motion that the VITA 46 efforts be split into
two separate activities. A second
was provided and after discussion the motion passed all-in-favor.
After further discussion, John Rynearson made a motion
that Dick form a study/working group to propose revisions to VITA 1.1 to
include the proposed 7 row DIN connector and if feasible a compatible P0
connector that would accommodate higher frequency operation. A second was provided and after
discussion the motion was passed all-in-favor.
New Standards Proposal
Jim Robles, Boeing, discussed the need for a catch-all
standard that would contain certain environmental and other requirements. See presentation which was also
presented at the September meeting. A signup list,
circulated at a previous meeting, was updated to reflect new sponsors. The effort has four sponsors and will
be designated as VITA 47. A
reflector will be set up.
There being no further business for the day the meeting
was adjourned until Thursday.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Call to Order
Elwood Parsons called the meeting to order at 8:35 AM.
John Rynearson presented an award to Ron Taulton,
Systran, as chair of the VITA 17.1, Serial FPDP, standard which recently
received ANSI recognition.
New Standards Proposal
John Rynearson noted that Bob Sullivan, Keith Seawright,
DNS-CS, and Steve Christo, Stargen, had contacted him regarding starting a
working group to standardize Star Fabric VME64x. The standard would be similar to VITA 31.1, 10 Gbit Ethernet
on VME64x. See proposal. The working group has been assigned the number VITA
31.2. A signup
list was circulated.
Reports from the working groups were given.
John discussed the meeting schedule for 2004. All venues have been confirmed except
for July 2004. See the VITA VSO webpage for details.
There being no further business the meeting was
adjourned.
Submitted by
/s/ John Rynearson, VITA Secretariat