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Small Form Factor Special Interest Group

{{short description|Standards body specializing in small electronic devices}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Small Form Factor Special Interest Group

|image= Small Form Factor Special Interest Group logo.jpg

|image_size= 147px

| type = Professional Organization

| founded_date = September 2007

| key_people = Colin McCracken (president)

| area_served =

| focus = Standards for small, low power computers, building blocks, and accessories

| method = Industry Standards, Conferences, Publications

| revenue =

| endowment =

| num_volunteers =

| num_employees =

| num_members = 16

| owner =

| homepage =

| tax_exempt =

| dissolved =

| footnotes =

}}

The Small Form Factor Special Interest Group (SFF-SIG, pronounced ess-eff-eff-sig) is an international non-profit standards body focused on modular computer hardware technologies used in embedded and small form factor computers and controllers. Members are mainly computer board and component manufacturers. The group was founded in 2007 and had a web site until early 2020.{{Cite web |url= http://sff-sig.info |title= SFF-SIG official website |url-status=dead |archive-date= January 29, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200129161019/http://www.sff-sig.info:80/ |access-date= November 11, 2021 }}

History

SFF-SIG generally targets low power components and processors from VIA Technologies and Intel including the Nano and Atom processors, although products for RISC processors were discussed in some working groups. VIA, WinSystems, and Octagon Systems were founding members of SFF-SIG.

It was created in 2007.{{Cite web |url= https://sff-sig.info/articles/NewSigInTown.pdf |title= Small Form Factors: A new SIG in town |author= Chris A. Ciufo |date= January 13, 2008 |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 16, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191216093706/https://sff-sig.info/articles/NewSigInTown.pdf |access-date= November 11, 2021 }}

A logo and web site debuted in April 2008.{{Cite news |title= New specs, new members, new logo |date= April 15, 2008 |work= Embedded Computing Design |author= Don Dingee |url= http://embedded-computing.com/new-specs-new-members-new-logo |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101123092009/http://embedded-computing.com/new-specs-new-members-new-logo |archive-date= November 23, 2010 |access-date= July 23, 2013 }}

{{anchor|Express104}}SFF-SIG creates, promotes, and maintains embedded computer standards for form factors and computer buses. Examples include the governing documents and trademarks for CoreExpress, Pico-ITX, Express104, and SUMIT. Members use the specifications to build specialized embedded computers used in both commercial and rugged environments where applications insist on reliable control and data acquisition, for example.

Primarily focused on hardware, SFF-SIG defined new single-board computer (SBC) and computer-on-module (COM) form factors. SFF-SIG standardizes expansion connectors to create the building blocks required by system manufacturers. Each specification is a free open standard by ITU-T definition.

Specifications often use pre-existing interface buses and interconnects such as PCI Express, USB 2.0,

{{cite web

| title = USB Implementers Forum

| url = http://www.usb.org

}} ExpressCard,

{{cite web

|title = ExpressCard Specification

|url = http://www.expresscard.org

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080828023633/http://www.expresscard.org/

|archive-date = 2008-08-28

}} Low Pin Count (LPC) Bus,

{{cite web

| title = Low Pin Count (LPC) Specification

| url = http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/industry/lpc.htm

}} SPI / uWire,

{{cite web

| title = SPI Bus

| url = http://www.freescale.com/files/microcontrollers/doc/ref_manual/S12SPIV3.pdf

}} and I2C / SMBus,

{{cite web

| title = I2C Specification

| url = http://www.nxp.com/acrobat_download/literature/9398/39340011.pdf

}} with adaptations for modular and extensible usage. Some standards preserve the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus and legacy peripherals.

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.eetimes.com/news/design/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207200705 Express104 spec boosts stackable module design]
  • {{cite web|url=http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS2025637581.html|title=SUMIT aims to unify SBC expansion|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127190655/http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/SUMIT-aims-to-unify-SBC-expansion/|archive-date=2013-01-27|url-status=dead}}
  • [https://sff-sig.info/articles/CaseForSmallerFormFactors.pdf The Case for Smaller Form Factors in Industrial Systems]
  • {{cite web|url=http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9265074155.html|title=Pico-ITX goes stackable|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120908063801/http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/PicoITX-goes-stackable/|archivedate=2012-09-08}}
  • [http://www.smallformfactors.com/articles/id/?3037 Pico-sized platform ushers in new era for I/O]
  • [https://sff-sig.info/articles/WhatIsSumit.pdf What is SUMIT?]
  • [https://sff-sig.info/articles/WhatIsExpress104.pdf What is Express104]
  • [https://sff-sig.info/pr/pr0310_core.pdf SFF-SIG Adopts CoreExpress Specification]

{{Computer form factors}}

Category:Motherboard form factors

Category:Computer hardware standards