Version 1.4 2006
PEX 8516
Features
PEX 8516 General Features
o
16-lane PCI Express switch
-
Integrated SerDes
o
Up to four configurable ports
o
27mmx27mm, 312 pin PBGA package
o
Maximum Power: 4.36 Watts
PEX 8516 Key Features
o
Standards Compliant
-
PCI Express Base Specification, r1.0a
-
PCI SHPC Specification, r1.0
o
High Performance
-
Non-blocking switch fabric
-
Full line rate on all ports
o
Non-Transparent Bridging
-
Configurable Non-Transparent port
for Multi-Host or Intelligent I/O
Support
o
Flexible Configuration
-
Four highly flexible & configurable
ports (x1, x2, x4, or x8)
-
Configurable with strapping pins,
EEPROM, or Host software
-
Lane and polarity reversal
o
PCI Express Power Management
-
Link power management states: L0,
L0s, L1, L2/L3 Ready, and L3
-
Device states: D0 and D3hot
o
Quality of Service (QoS)
-
Two Virtual Channels per port
-
Eight Traffic Classes per port
-
Fixed and Round-Robin Virtual
Channel Port Arbitration
o
Reliability, Availability,
Serviceability
-
4 Standard Hot-Plug Controllers
-
Upstream port as hot-plug client
-
Transaction Layer end-to-end CRC
-
Poison bit
-
Advanced Error Reporting in addition
to PCIe baseline error reporting
-
Lane Status bits and GPO available
-
Per port performance monitoring
•
Average packet size
•
Number of packets
•
CRC errors and more
-
JTAG boundary scan
Flexible & Versatile PCI Express Switch
Multi-purpose, Feature Rich
ExpressLane™
PCI Express Switch
The ExpressLane PEX 8516 device offers PCI Express switching
capability enabling users to add scalable high bandwidth, non-blocking
interconnection to a wide variety of applications including servers,
storage systems, communications platforms, blade servers, and
embedded-control products. The PEX 8516 is well suited for fan-out,
aggregation, peer-to-peer, and intelligent I/O module applications.
Highly Flexible Port Configurations
The
ExpressLane
PEX 8516 offers highly configurable ports. There are a maximum
of 4 ports that can be configured to any legal width from x1 to x8, in any
combination to support your specific bandwidth needs. The ports can be
symmetric
(each port having the same lane width) or
asymmetric
(ports having different lane
widths). Any of the ports can be designated as the upstream port, which can be
changed dynamically.
End-to-end Packet Integrity
The
ExpressLane
PEX 8516 provides
end-to-end CRC
protection (ECRC) and
Poison
bit support to enable designs that require
guaranteed error-free packets.
These features are optional in the PCI Express specification, but PLX provides them
across its entire
ExpressLane
switch product line.
Non-Transparent “Bridging” in a PCI Express Switch
The
ExpressLane
PEX 8516 product supports full non-transparent bridging (NTB)
functionality to allow implementation of
multi-host systems
and
intelligent I/O
modules
in applications such as
communications, storage,
and
blade servers.
To
ensure quick product migration, the non-transparency features are implemented in
the same fashion as in standard PCI applications.
Non-transparent bridges allow systems to isolate memory domains by presenting the
processor subsystem as an endpoint, rather than another memory system. Base
address registers are used to translate addresses; doorbell registers are used to send
interrupts between the address domains; and scratchpad registers are accessible from
both address domains to allow inter-processor communication.
Two Virtual Channels
The
ExpressLane
PEX 8516 switch supports 2 full-featured Virtual Channels (VCs)
and a full 8 Traffic Classes (TCs). The mapping of Traffic Classes to port-specific
Virtual Channels allows for different mappings for different ports. In addition, the
devices offer user-selectable Virtual Channel arbitration algorithms to enable users
to fine tune the Quality of Service (QoS) required for a specific application.
Low Power with Granular SerDes Control
The
ExpressLane
PEX 8516 provides low power capability that is fully compliant
with the PCI Express power management specification. In addition, the SerDes
physical links can be turned off when unused for even lower power.
PLX [ PLX TECHNOLOGY ]
