AdvancedTCA® is primarily aimed at the infrastructure of telecommunications systems with the highest availability requirements. With AdvancedTCA®, it becomes possible to build modular systems using components from different manufacturers. This technology thus offers the ability to develop flexible and cost-effective devices more quickly than was possible with previously proprietary systems.

Conceptually, AdvancedTCA® is a scalable, high-performance architecture characterized by high functional density, availability, and future-proofing, and its platform supports the implementation of many future-oriented applications. Scalable data rates of several Tbit/s, multi-protocol support, the ability to integrate new services, and the convergence of access, core, and optical networks are all part of this, as is the integration of data center functions. Interfaces for Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand, StarFabric, PCI Express, and RapidIO demonstrate the high flexibility of the AdvancedTCA® architecture. Another core element of the systems is the high availability of 99.999%.

To make the AdvancedTCA® system described above even more cost-effective, the PICMG® developed the AdvancedMC™ standard (Advanced Mezzanine Card). AdvancedMC™ modules are small cards that are mounted in parallel on a “carrier board” (a carrier board in the form of an AdvancedTCA® daughtercard) as a mezzanine application. The carrier board contains only management functions; the actual application, however, is implemented via the AdvancedMC™ modules.

MicroTCA® is based on the approach of inserting the AdvancedMC™ modules directly into the backplane. The goal is to build smaller and more flexible systems, independent of carrier boards and AdvancedTCA®. MicroTCA® is aimed at applications that do not require such high computing power but where a small footprint and low costs are paramount. This opens up further areas of application in the mid- and low-end segments, such as image processing, medical technology, or automation technology.