Micro Channel Architecture

E844006

Micro Channel Architecture is a proprietary 16- and 32-bit computer bus standard introduced by IBM in the late 1980s to replace the ISA bus and provide improved performance, configuration, and expansion capabilities in personal computers.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Micro Channel Architecture canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf IBM technology
computer bus standard
abbreviation MCA NERFINISHED
addressingMode memory-mapped I/O
reduced use of legacy I/O ports
bitWidth 16-bit
32-bit
compatibility not backward compatible with ISA cards
competingStandard EISA NERFINISHED
Extended Industry Standard Architecture NERFINISHED
configurationMethod POS registers
Programmable Option Select
controversy rejected by many clone PC manufacturers due to licensing costs
dataTransferMode burst transfers
designGoal reduce hardware jumpers and DIP switches
simplify system expansion
support higher throughput peripherals
developer IBM
influenced later Plug and Play concepts
influencedBy limitations of ISA bus
introducedInYear 1987
keyFeature 32-bit data path
arbitration for multiple bus masters
automatic configuration
bus mastering support
higher bus bandwidth than ISA
improved interrupt handling
improved performance over ISA
software-configurable resources
support for DMA improvements
licensingModel proprietary
royalty-bearing
market PC servers
personal computers
notableLimitation lack of widespread third-party adoption
predecessor ISA bus NERFINISHED
Industry Standard Architecture NERFINISHED
purpose replace ISA bus
signalType synchronous bus
slotType dedicated MCA expansion slot
status largely obsolete
supports 16-bit MCA adapter cards
32-bit MCA adapter cards
usedIn IBM PS/2 Model 50 NERFINISHED
IBM PS/2 Model 60 NERFINISHED
IBM PS/2 Model 80 NERFINISHED
IBM PS/2 computers NERFINISHED
some IBM RS/6000 systems

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

IBM Personal System/2 line busStandard Micro Channel Architecture