Product category:
Communications ICs (Wired)
News Release from: PLX Technology Europe | Subject: PEX 8114, PEX 8516 and PEX 8532
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 05 July 2004
Switches and bridges ready for PCI
Express growth
The new PLX PEX line of PCI Express bridges and switches is billed as the industry's most complete and flexible line of interconnect chips based on PCI Express technology.
The new PLX PEX line of PCI Express bridges and switches is billed as the industry's most complete and flexible line of interconnect chips based on PCI Express technology The new PEX bridging and switching devices provide system and board manufacturers with a complimentary set of essential interconnect building blocks - a typical PCI Express-based system will incorporate both types of devices - for next-generation applications
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 20 Aug 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Switched-PCI architecture speeds expansion
The PLX GigaBridge switched-PCI architecture has been designed into Magma's new PCI expansion system.
Switched-PCI alternative for storage
As storage-system makers begin to adopt alternative interconnect technologies, switched-PCI is providing them a means of expanding and improving the overall performance of their systems.
The devices will sample in Q3, and PLX customers already are in development with their products using the PEX line.
This new PEX chip family from PLX, which has championed PCI Express technology since its inception and is among the first to announce interconnect silicon based on the architecture, delivers an array of unique features available from no other silicon vendor.
The PEX 8114 PCI Express-to-PCI/PCI-X bridge, the most versatile bridging device in its class, is capable of forward, reverse and non-transparent bridging, and features 1Gbyte/s throughput - all in a 17 x 17mm BGA package and drawing less than 2W of power.
Further reading
Interconnect devices support PCI Express
PLX Technology is developing I/O interconnect devices based on the next-generation input/output architecture PCI Express.
Upgraded PCI drivers speed I/O accelerators
The latest software development kit from PLX Technology dramatically boosts performance - up to 42 times - in Linux and Microsoft Windows XP drivers for all PLX I/O accelerator devices.
HyperTransport bridge speeds network cards
PLX's HyperTransport bridging device is providing the I/O interconnect to SBE's powerful new Gigabit Ethernet line of products.
The PEX line also includes two powerful new PCI Express switching devices: the PEX 8516 and PEX 8532, with the unprecedented flexibility provided by up to eight completely configurable ports, on-chip nontransparency for multiprocessor designs, two virtual channels, and both peer-to-peer and fan-out capability, which are ideal for new high-performance systems ranging from high-speed I/O boards to complex backplane designs.
The versatile new PLX PEX 8114 PCI Express-to-PCI/PCI-X device bridges PCI Express components to conventional PCI/PCI-X chips and subsystems.
In forward mode, the PEX 8114 allows legacy PCI or PCI-X chips and adapters to be used with new PCI Express systems.
The PEX 8114 can also operate in reverse bridging mode, a feature which PLX has pioneered in the PCI Express architecture, enabling the ever-expanding number of native-mode PCI Express chips to bridge back to the PCI-X infrastructure.
Reverse bridging allows conventional PCI or PCI-X processors and chipsets to configure and control advanced PCI Express switches and endpoints.
The PEX 8114 features a four-lane PCI Express port with integrated 2.5Gbyte/s serdes.
The device supports the advanced PCI-X protocol - at 64bit, 133MHz operation - but also provides full bus-backward compatibility with 32 and 64bit PCI boards and systems, which helps preserve investment in and extend the life of legacy PCI/PCI-X designs.
Although the PEX 8114 bridge provides significant performance-enhancing features, it also was designed with power- and space-constrained applications in mind.
The 17 x 17mm standard BGA footprint is ideal for a wide range of adapter designs, from standard I/O cards to mezzanine and daughterboards to ExpressCard applications.
Additionally, with a maximum power consumption less than 2W, no heatsink or special airflow is required, making it highly suitable for environments with tight thermal restrictions.
Furthermore, the small size and power characteristics allow the PEX 8114 to be easily accommodated in motherboard and backplane designs based on PCI Express technology.
The PEX 8516 (16 lanes) and PEX 8532 (32 lanes) are the industry's only PCI Express switches with completely configurable ports - eight and four, respectively - and were designed for use in new high-performance systems ranging from high-speed I/O boards to complex switch-fabric or back-plane designs.
Any port can be configured as either upstream or downstream through hardware strapping, software configuration or an optional EEPROM.
Either device can be used in fan-out or peer-to-peer switching applications, providing a designer with unmatched flexibility in using each lane and port.
The PEX 8516 and PEX 8532 also are the only PCI Express devices available to support mapping of eight traffic classes on two virtual channels for each port, allowing the implementation of quality of service for blade server, storage, communications, and multimedia applications.
Each device's peer-to-peer-transfer feature frees the system bandwidth that otherwise would be required by the host to orchestrate or manage data transfers between I/Os.
The PEX 8516 and PEX 8532 also support nontransparent port functions, allowing the isolation of two CPU or memory domains and enabling the use of PCI Express technology in multiple-host environments and high-availability applications.
PLX introduced nontransparency to the PCI Express architecture and is the first to implement it.
Both switching devices are designed for the most demanding high-reliability applications, such as servers and storage, by offering both link and end-to-end CRC capability.
Though the end-to-end CRC feature is optional in the PCI Express specification, PLX has decided to include it in its entire PEX product line.
Additionally, the devices feature advanced error detection and correction capabilities that ease system development and debug, as well as a non-blocking architecture that improves real-world quality of service and efficient throughput.
The PLX PEX family's unique feature set and focus on strategic applications align with what industry experts predict will be key to the PCI Express architecture's commercial success.
Market research firm In-Stat/MDR in a recent report stated that increased performance and quality-of-service guarantees would lead to rapid adoption of PCI Express technology.
Additionally, the Linley Group conducted a poll in which 79% of respondents asked to assess serial interconnect technologies for networking applications selected the PCI Express architecture.
"PCI Express technology is getting further market and interconnect validation in communications, storage and computing applications from new OEM vendor customers and new design wins", said Paul Zorfass, Senior Analyst with International Data Corp/First Technology.
"By announcing early support for PCI Express, then embarking on an aggressive development effort, PLX has solidified its leadership role in championing the PCI Express standard industry-wide and, now, by bringing to market a powerful, versatile and flexible line of PCI Express chips".
To aid system and board designers in streamlining their product development and bring their designs to market faster, PLX is expanding its reference development kit (RDK) and software development kit (SDK) family to include design tools for the PEX 8114, PEX 8516 and PEX 8532 PCI Express devices.
The PLX PEX 8114, PEX 8516 and PEX 8532 PCI Express devices will sample in early Q3 of 2004.
The PEX 8114, in a 256-ball PBGA package, is priced under $30 in volume.
The PEX 8516 in 27 x 27mm 680-pin HSBGA package and PEX 8532 in 35 x 35mm 312-pin HSBGA package, are priced under $50 and $100 in volume, respectively.
• PLX Technology Europe: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
