Control plane switches move to PCIe Gen 2

Second-generation control plane switch family comprises three chips that cover key configurations specified by leading telecommunications and networking designers.

PLX Technology has developed a next-generation family of PCIe switches targeting Gen 2 connectivity in high-performance control plane applications, building on the company's industry-first Gen 1 chip family.

The new PLX ExpressLane PCIe Gen 2 control plane switch family includes three chips - the PEX 8618 (16 lanes, 16 ports), PEX 8614 (12 lanes, 12 ports) and PEX 8608 (eight lanes, eight ports) - which represent key configurations specified by leading telecommunications and networking designers.

With these three new devices, PLX expands its globally recognised leadership in PCIe switching selection and functionality with ground-breaking Gen 2 device specifications, including flexible port configurations (x1, x2, x4, x8), low power requirements (down to 1.1W), low latency (140ns), packaging as small as 15mm x 15mm, spread-spectrum clock isolation supporting dual-clock domains, and two virtual channels (VCs) per port ensuring quality of service (QoS) - all critical elements for successful PCIe connectivity on the control plane.

PLX Gen 2 switches are fully backward-compatible with the PCIe Gen 1 (2.5Mbit/s) standard, allowing designers to reap the benefits of this higher-performance technology.

Innovative performancePAK elements integrated into each switch include Read Pacing (intelligent bandwidth allocation), Dual Cast (simultaneously sending data to two ports) and Dynamic Buffer Allocation (increased throughput by absorbing dynamic increments) features.

The new switches also include nontransparency (NT), crosslink, highly configurable port flexibility, real peer-to-peer fan-out, and hot-plug controllers - attributes developed through years of experience and four generations of proven PLX architectures.

PLX's Gen 2 switches also offer a special visionPAK debug diagnostics suite of integrated hardware and software instruments, including serdes eye measuring (capable of evaluating signal integrity at the physical layer), packet generation (for exercising external links at full wire speed), error injection (to evaluate a system's ability to detect and recover from such errors) and other unique functions that system designers and manufacturers can use to help bring their systems to market faster.

Both performancePAK and visionPAK are supported by the industry's most advanced software- and hardware-development kit (SDK/RDK) products.

This powerful combination supports all PLX Gen 2 switches and accelerates customer designs by merging proven test silicon with an advanced device-editor GUI utility for chip management, EEPROM programming, performance monitoring and an expansive set of other tools.

"Freescale processors offer a wide range of high-speed connectivity options including multiple PCI Express connections", says Nikolay Guenov, Power Architecture portfolio manager for Freescale's Networking Systems Division.

"Support for these high-speed interfaces enables scalable connectivity, and designing with PLX switches helps to resolve a fundamental building block requirement for high-performance PCIe fan-out".

"Our leadership in device definition in the control plane market is a direct result of PLX's long-term industry relationships and an innovative understanding of customers' needs", says Krishna Mallampati, Senior Marketing Manager, PLX Technology.

"By merging PLX Gen 2 PCIe switch technology with control plane development, designers are able to lower their cost and take advantage of a new generation of higher-performance devices and a suite of unique, useful tools".

"With an ever-increasing number of processors from vendors such as Freescale, AMCC, Cavium, RMI and others embedding PCI Express natively into their architectures, the market for PCI Express Gen 2 in the control plane is primed for growth", says Steve Berry, President of market researcher Electronic Trend Publications.

"By providing early Gen 2 control plane PCI Express devices, PLX is well positioned to take advantage of this growth in the market".

Volume quantity pricing is US $12 for the PEX 8608, $19 for the PEX 8614 and $24 for the PEX 8618.

The switches will begin sampling in Q2 2008.

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