Backplane assembly for printed circuit boards

A backplane assembly for printed circuit board modules, comprising:

• a backplane;
• a first signal transmission channel;
• a second signal transmission channel;
• multiple pairs of substantially identical first and second connectors mounted on the backplane, the first connector of each of the multiple pairs being connected to the first signal transmission channel and the second connector of each pair of the multiple pairs being connected to the second signal transmission channel, wherein each of the first and second connectors of the multiple pairs has a long dimension and a short dimension, and wherein the first connector of each of the multiple pairs is positioned on the backplane above the second connector of each of the multiple pairs with the short dimensions of the first and second connectors being most proximate;
• and
• a plurality of printed circuit board modules, each module of the plurality of modules having a long dimension, a short dimension, a longitudinal axis that coincides with the long dimension, and an edge connector for mating with any one of the first and second connectors of the multiple pairs;
• wherein any one of the plurality of modules is in a first orientation when connected to any one of the first connectors of the multiple pairs and in a second orientation when connected to any one of the second connectors of the multiple pairs, and wherein the one of the plurality of modules in the second orientation is rotated substantially 180° about its longitudinal axis relative to the module in the first orientation, such that the module connected to the first signal transmission channel can be easily discerned from the module connected to the second signal transmission channel.