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News Release from: PLX Technology Europe | Subject: Gen 2 PCIe switches
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 22 January 2008
PCIe switches sample the next generation
Second generation PCIe switches combine lowest power requirements, reduced packet latency and shrinking package footprint.
PLX Technology is sampling its eagerly awaited Gen 2 PCIe switches to a broad base of key customers across North America, Asia and Europe The high-performance chips set a new industry standard with a distinguished feature set, while maintaining leading specifications in lowest power requirements (down to 2.0W), reduced packet latency (to only 140ns), and shrinking the package footprint (to 19mm square)
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 20 Aug 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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The PLX ExpressLane PCIe Gen 2 switch family was announced in September 2007 and includes the PEX 8648 (48 lanes, 12 ports), PEX 8632 (32 lanes, 12 ports), PEX 8624 (24 lanes, six ports), PEX 8616 (16 lanes, four ports) and PEX 8612 (12 lanes, three ports) devices, with more Gen 2 products already in development.
Cutting-edge PLX-only integrated on-chip features for enhancing performance include read pacing, dual cast, dynamic buffer allocation, as well as nontransparency, port flexibility, hot-plug circuitry and special embedded diagnostic tools that customers can use to help bring their own systems to market faster.
Industry-leading new features are achieved through a unique package of PLX Gen 2 engineering solutions that greatly enhance system performance and widen the gap compared with other devices.
Further reading
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PLX Technology is developing I/O interconnect devices based on the next-generation input/output architecture PCI Express.
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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.
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This includes read pacing (increases performance by removing system bottlenecks), dual cast (enhances performance by simultaneously sending data from one port to two ports) and dynamic buffer allocation (allows increased throughput by absorbing dynamic increments in bandwidth requirements).
The switches' 90nm design on flip-chip packaging takes advantage of an experienced and field-tested fourth-generation internal architecture that is fully compliant with the PCI-SIG PCIe base specification 2.0.
Interoperability of the switches play a critical role, and the chips receive extensive validation across numerous major application platforms and end-points, thus assuring customers can design in PLX Gen 2 devices with confidence.
All PLX PCIe products are fully supported with a combination of hardware and a highly customised software development kit (SDK) containing powerful new tools to help customers design efficiently and quickly.
The SDK provides effective diagnostic features for performance and signal integrity monitoring, as well as EEPROM programming tools.
"With its multi-lane and -port Gen 2 switches that support 5GT/s operation now in the hands of designers, PLX is leading the way in expanding the PCI Express ecosystem", says Jag Bolaria, Senior Analyst at The Linley Group.
"These new switches give PLX the broadest line of PCI Express Gen 1 and Gen 2 switches and should empower makers of server, storage, embedded and communications systems with interconnect solutions for their needs".
"We are very encouraged by the broad customer reception of our Gen 2 switches as they ramp to full production", says David Raun, PLX Vice President of Marketing and Business Development.
"With the variety of unique and powerful value-added features built into these chips, customers are finding these unique solutions very valuable above and beyond the doubling of speed gained with the Gen 2 specification".
PLX's PCI Express switches and bridges provide board and system designers with the industry's most extensive and proven lineup of products to address a wide variety of market segments.
The company's PCIe switches range in density from three to 12 ports and from five to 48 lanes, and the PCIe bridges provide PCI, PCI-X and local-bus support.
Volume quantity pricing ranges from US $25 for the 12-lane PEX 8612 to US $75 for the 48-lane PEX 8648.
The five switches will go into full production in Q1 2008.
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