MultiComm� PC/104 Module Provides 8 RS-232/422/485 Serial Ports Together with CAN and Ethernet

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - March 4, 2004 - Parvus� Corporation today announced the release of its MultiComm� 8-port serial controller module, an all-in-one communications solution, delivering RS-232/422/485, Ethernet, and CAN protocol functionality for embedded PC/104 computer systems.

FEATURES

The MultiComm module supports eight (8) independent asynchronous serial channels, 10MBps Ethernet and two (2) Control Area Network (CAN) ports. For flexibility and high-speed transmission, the board's 16C550C-compatible serial ports operate at up to 921.6kbps and are configured in pairs via software as either eight (8) RS-232, or four (4) RS-232 and four (4) RS-422/485 ports (capable of controlling up to 132 devices in a multi-drop environment).

The Ethernet controller is NE2000 compatible and has both TP and AUI outputs. Both CAN ports are implemented using the Intel� 82527 chip, which supports the fieldbus CAN specification 2.0 Part B and Part A. It performs all serial communications functions, including transmission and reception of messages, message filtering, transmit search and interrupt search with minimal interaction from the host microcontroller.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

This product is sold in one of two configurations � Serial Ports Only (MultiComm 8) and Serial with CAN and Ethernet (MultiComm 8EC). Select models are currently in stock and priced from $150 to $194/each for orders of 100+ units. All models can be qualified to extended temperature ranges (-40�C to +85�), upon request.

APPLICATION

The MultiComm board can be used in conjunction with any of Parvus� SpacePC� CPU cards to expand the number of serial ports in a PC/104 or PC/104-Plus embedded computer system. The SpacePC processor family comes standard with two to four serial ports onboard in Pentium� MMX, 586, 486DX, and 386SX class models. Visit http://www.spacepc.com for more information.

ABOUT PARVUS

Parvus Corporation is a leading North American manufacturer and systems integrator of modular computer boards, enclosures, displays and embedded systems based on the PC/104 computer standard. Parvus offers rugged, Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) computing solutions ideal for avionics, military, medical, industrial, and transportation OEMs. For more information, visit http://www.parvus.com or call 801.483.1533.

NOTE FOR EDITORS

See http://www.parvus.com/news for high-resolution, downloadable artwork for this announcement.

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