PRODUCT
NOTICE
| PRODUCT |
Date: 15 May 2000
Release Date: For Immediate Release
Product EOL Announcement
Macrolink, Inc., was recently informed that a key component used on the MVC8/16 Asynchronous VMEbus Serial Communications Controller has reached End-Of-Life (EOL) status. The manufacturer has discontinued the AMD 29K processor version used on this board. AMD has set a July deadline for last time buys of these processors, with delivery of all parts by the end of this year.
Since being notified of this EOL, Macrolink has thoroughly investigated the options available. No other versions of the 29K processor that might be suitable as a replacement for this part are available. AMD has made it clear that no new sources for this part will be available. And while Macrolink could develop a hardware solution that would preserve the 29K functionality on this card, the effort would result in an extremely expensive solution, and is therefore not considered a viable option.
Macrolink, therefore, sees no alternative but to announce our intention to move the MVC board family over to EOL status. We realize that many of you have a significant investment in the MVC board, and we will do everything in our power to mitigate the impact of this decision. Towards this end, we offer the following options:
1. Place an order for a lifetime buy of the necessary parts to guarantee the availability of a sufficient quantity of MVC boards for all of your future requirements. Customers who place firm, non-cancelable orders with Macrolink before July of this year, and who agree pay all costs for maintaining this inventory and Macrolink, or who agree to take delivery of all product ordered by the end of December 2000, will be guaranteed that product will be available to meet their needs.
2. Customers who are willing to make a commitment to purchase a known quantity of MVC boards, but who are not willing to pay for these parts in advance, will have their requirements considered as a high probability forecast, and these requirements will be weighted accordingly and added to the requirements of all other customers to determine the quantity of parts that Macrolink may purchase as part of our own last time buy. Commitments must be in writing, and must be received prior to July 1, 2000, to be considered.
3. Customers who are not willing to make a commitment to purchase a known quantity of MVC boards, but who are willing to provide an accurate business forecast will have their requirements considered as a low probability forecast, and these requirements will be weighted accordingly and added to the requirements of all other customers to determine the quantity of parts that Macrolink may purchase as part of our own last time buy. Forecasts must be received prior to July 1, 2000, to be considered.
4. All other customers who do not transition to the MVCS Sierra, or who do not exercise any of the above options, cannot be guaranteed availability of product. Orders for products not included in prior purchase commitments will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
5. Transition existing designs over to the new Macrolink MVCS Sierra board. The MVCS Sierra was designed to replace the MVC board functionally, and is a superior design based on the latest available technologies. You can review information on the MVCS Sierra on our website at http://www.macrolink.com/vmebus/vme_mvcs.htm. The MVCS is a substantial improvement over the MVC card in both performance and cost/port, and retains most of the features that made the MVC card such a success, including low host overhead requirements and the ability to mix multiple electrical interfaces on a single card. Macrolink will soon announce plans for an MVC-MVCS Hardware/Software Transition Kit, to ease the migration from the MVC board over to the newer technology.
It is Macrolink’s intent to procure sufficient parts to maintain production of the MVC board for up to two (2) more years. However, except for customers willing to procure the necessary parts to guarantee product availability, Macrolink cannot commit to product availability beyond July of this year.
Due to the short time available, please response as soon as possible. Only responses received prior to July 1, 2000, can be considered. You can contact us at (714) 777-8800 X307, or via email at indo @ macrolink.com. We look forward to hearing from you, and to assuring the long-term success of our joint efforts.
Sincerely,
Macrolink, Inc.