HP AD278A and AD279A PCI Multiplexer Release Notes, November 2008

1 Announcement
This document describes features, limitations, and known issues of the HP Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI) Multiplexer (MUX) product. The AD278A/AD279A PCI MUX product is
compliant with Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) standard.
The AD278A/AD279A PCI MUX is a high-speed serial communication multiple port product. It
combines various signals for transmission over a single channel, and provides intelligent
communication functions to off-load CPU serial communication processing tasks.
Common Features (AD278A/AD279A)
The current version of AD278A/AD279A PCI MUX serial adapters supports the following features:
• Supports serial data transactions speed up to 115.2 kbps with AD278A PCI MUX 8-port
adapter and 38.640 kbps with AD279A PCI MUX 64-port adapter.
• Supports RS-232 connections.
• Supports both Itanium-based and PA-RISC based processor architectures that enhances
overall system throughput by off-loading CPU communication bottlenecks.
• Supports PCI 2.2 and 2.3 standards.
• Supports both 3.3 V and 5 V systems.
• Provides heavy-duty surge protection on all pins for reliability.
• Supports on-board IDT 3081 RISC processor with patented front end processor/operating
system (FEP/OS).
• Provides surge protection on all signals.
• Supports full modem control and full hardware handshaking (Clear to Send (CTS), Request
to Send (RTS), Data Set Ready (DSR), Data Terminal Ready (DTR), and Data Carrier Detect
(DCD)) on all ports.
Features Specific to AD279A PCI MUX
The AD279A PCI MUX 64-port adapter supports the following features:
• Supports up to 4 port modules (for a maximum of 64 ports) with AD279A PCI MUX 64-port
adapter.
• Supports 16 RS-232 asynchronous serial ports with RJ45 and DB25 male connectors.
• External Bus Interface (EBI) provides power to port modules from bus. Applications that
use less than 32 ports do not need a power supply.
NOTE: The AD279A PCI MUX 64-port adapter can support 2 port modules or up to 32 port
configurations without the port module power supply. The port module power supply is required
on the third port module and the fourth port module or 33 through 64 port configurations.
Known Problems, Workarounds, and Limitations
There are no known problems for AD278A/AD279A PCI MUX products.
Limitations
Table 1-1 lists the slot limitations of AD278A PCI MUX 8-port adapter.
Common Features (AD278A/AD279A) 5