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Foreword
(This Foreword is not a part of ANSI/IEEE Std 1014-1987, IEEE Standard for A Versatile Backplane Bus: VMEbus.)
The architectural concepts of the VMEbus are based on the VERSAbus, which was developed in the late 1970's by
Motorola. Motorola's European Microsystems group in Munich, West Germany proposed the development of a
VERSAbus-like product line based on the Eurocard mechanical standard. To demonstrate the concept, Max Loesel and
Sven Rau developed three prototype boards: a 68000 CPU board, a dynamic memory board, and a static memory
board. They named the new bus VERSAbus-E. It was the VERSAbus-E, renamed VMEbus, that Motorola, Mostek,
and Signetics have agreed to jointly develop and support.
John Black of Motorola, Craig MacKenna of Mostek, and Cecil Kaplinsky of Signetics developed the Þrst draft of the
VMEbus speciÞcation. In October of 1981, at the
System 81
show in Munich, West Germany, Motorola, Mostek, and
Signetics announced their joint support of the VMEbus, and placed Revision A of the speciÞcation in the public
domain.
In August of 1982, Revision B of the VMEbus speciÞcation was published by the newly formed VMEbus
Manufacturers' Group. This new revision reÞned the electrical speciÞcations for the signal line drivers and receivers,
and also brought the mechanical speciÞcations more in line with the developing IEC 297-3 standard, the formal
speciÞcations of the Eurocard mechanical formats.
In the later part of 1982, the French delegation to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) proposed
Revision B of the VMEbus as an international standard. The IEC SC47B subcommittee nominated Mira Pauker of
Philips, France, as the chairperson of an editorial committee, formally starting international standardization of the
VMEbus.
In March of 1983, the IEEE Microprocessor Standards Committee (MSC) requested authorization to establish a
working group to standardize the VMEbus. This request was approved by the IEEE Standards Board, and the P1014
Working Group was established. Wayne Fischer was appointed Þrst chairman of the working group. John Black served
as chairman of the P1014 Technical Sub-committee.
The IEC and the IEEE distributed copies of Revision B for comment, and both received requests for change.
Additional requests for change were received from the members of the VMEbus Manufacturers' Group. These
comments made it clear that it was time to go onward past Revision B. In December of 1983, a meeting was held that
included John Black, Mira Pauker, Wayne Fischer, and Craig MacKenna. It was agreed that a Revision C should be
created, and that it should take into consideration all the comments received by the three organizations. John Black and
Shlomo Pri-Tal of Motorola incorporated the changes from all sources into a common document. The Manufacturers'
Group called it Revision C. 1, the IEEE called it P1014 draft 1.2, and the IEC called it the IEC 821 BUS. Subsequent
ballots in the IEEE P1014 Working Group and in the MSC resulted in more comments, and required that the IEEE
P1014 draft be updated. This work resulted in draft IEEE P1014 .
The process that led to the development of ANSI/IEEE Std 1014 embodies the philosophy that the ÒÉ
IEEE will
cooperate with standardizing groups throughout the world in the preparation of standards
ÉÓ as expressed in the
IEEE Standards Manual.
The development of the VMEbus was a team effort, which involved experts from the United States, Britain, West
Germany, France, and many other countries. It is truly an internationally developed standard. However, the
contribution of several individuals is worthy of special recognition:
John Black and Craig MacKenna were the key individuals in the creation of the VMEbus speciÞcation. Their efforts,
expertise, and perseverance have guided the development of the VMEbus to its present form.
Max Loesel and Sven Rau are recognized for proposing and demonstrating the feasibility of a Eurocard-based 32-bit
backplane bus.
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