 The goal was to improve the interoperability of COTS 3U and 6U VPX boards through the implementation of predefined system topologies, and thus to lower the risk of adoption, expand the addressable market for VPX solutions, increase the market opportunities, and accelerate the deployment of VPX solutions into defense related applications.The OpenVPX System Specification describes the technical implementation details for 3U and 6U VPX payload and switch modules, backplane topologies, and chassis products, which provides clear guidance on how to build interoperable computing and communication platforms.Widespread adoption of OpenVPX will ultimately create a healthy ecosystem of interoperable components and systems providing customers with the benefits of reuse, choice of best of breed, faster time-to-market, lower risk technology refresh, and a more competitive marketplace.