IDT extends product range in PCI Express switching

Key Points:
• Five new PCIe Gen2 switch devices target data, control and service plane traffic
• Industry’s first PCIe architecture to support multicast – multiple outputs from one root
• Innovative design extends PCIe Gen2 as a comprehensive system interconnect solution

IDT® has announced the availability of a new series of PCI Express® (PCIe®) system interconnect switches that provide higher levels of performance, availability and optimal resource utilisation in demanding applications. The switches, built on a new IDT architecture, are the first in the industry to support multicast and multi-root partitioning. Moreover, IDT is further enabling the adoption of PCIe as the primary systems interconnect for computing and communications applications by extending and exceeding the requirements of the PCIe standard.

The new PCIe Gen2-compatible switching solutions provide system architects with unprecedented levels of flexibility through a partitionable switching architecture, which enables dynamic assignment of PCIe slot and I/O peripherals for on-the-fly resource sharing and load balancing among multiple root complexes. The innovative architecture also provides unmatched system availability and reliability options with advanced failover support. Moreover, the partitionable architecture allows customers to achieve improved power efficiency by reducing power consumption and board space requirements with a single IDT device replacing multiple discrete switches.

The new IDT switches, built on the new proprietary IDT PCIe switch architecture, are the first in the industry to support multicast. This key construct — which allows any switch port to simultaneously send identical data to two or more switch ports — increases system resource utilisation by decreasing the previously required hardware and software overhead needed to send copies of data in a looped manner. This extension of the PCIe standard ensures consistency in data and table information among multiple host processors and extends the reach of PCIe into emerging enterprise computing and communications applications requiring robust data coherency and sharing.

IDT remains focused on providing the right PCIe switching and interconnect solutions, working very closely with customers to ensure the ongoing innovation in the IDT PCIe switching solves the system interconnect needs of its customers. The innovative partitionable switch architecture and support of multicast not only extend the reach of PCIe as an interconnect solution, but are also examples of achievements made by working directly with customers to solve their specific switching needs. Moreover, with this offering, IDT continues to lead with the broadest and most comprehensive suite of PCIe switches.

With the connectivity market poised to exceed $195 million by 2011, there is a significant market opportunity for PCIe switches and particularly Gen2 devices that address the needs of PC, embedded and communications applications, according to senior analysts at The Linley Group. The new multicast and multi-root features in the latest PCIe Gen2 switches from IDT enable designers to meet application requirements for flexibility by allocating switch and system resources.

IDT is announcing five (5) new devices with system interconnect solutions, targeting data and services plane traffic as well as control plane traffic. Solutions for high performance data traffic include the industry’s largest PCIe switch, a 64-lane and 16-port device, as well as a 48-lane, 12-port device and a 32-lane, 8-port device. Devices for control plane traffic include a 34-lane, 16-port device and a 22-lane, 16-port device. All of the new devices are PCIe specification 2.0 compliant (Gen2) and are based on a robust system interconnect switch architecture that is optimised to meet the capacity, scalability and predictable throughput requirements demanded by systems for consistent high performance and flexible system resource sharing. As with other established IDT solutions, the new devices have been optimised for low power and offer industry-leading performance-per-watt, enabling scalable and increasingly dense system architectures and reducing the total cost of ownership by significantly minimising thermal management requirements.

Development Tools

All of the new switches have a dedicated evaluation and development kit for device testing, analysis and system emulation. Each kit consists of a hardware development board with representative upstream and downstream connectivity, and an IDT-developed, GUI-based software environment that enables the designer to tune system and device configurations to meet system requirements.

Availability

All the new devices are currently sampling to customers. The devices are each offered in ball grid array (BGA) packaging with each configuration having a pin-compatible package option for backward compatibility to equivalent IDT PCIe Gen1 solutions.

For further information please contact your local Sasco Holz branch office or visit www.IDT.com/go/PCIe.