Backplanes Expand Motherboard Functionality

Backplane is a group of similar connectors connected in parallel to each other so that every pin of each connector is linked to the same relative pin on the other connector forming a computer bus. This technique is used to connect several PCBs to make up a complete computer system. Backplanes are preferred over the cable connectors because of their high reliability and ease. A cable may fail mechanically each time when a card is added where as a backplane does not suffer from this type of failures. A backplane uses plug-in cards for processing and storage. Backplanes are used with a motherboard to expand the functionality and provide more slots for expansion cards. Server computers usually use backplanes for attaching hot swappable hard drives. There are other types of backplanes like butterfly backplane due to the structural variation. A backplane provides the same funcionality as a motherboard when it is used with a single board computer (SCB) or single host board (SHB).