PCI Express (PCIe) is a widely deployed bus interconnect interface that is commonly used in server platforms. Increasingly, it is also used as a storage and GPU interconnect solutions. PCIe Gen3 supports 8 GT/s of throughput per PCIe lane, and Gen4 supports 16 GT/s. Typical implementations utilize ×2, ×4, ×8, and ×16 lane width interconnect configurations—directly from the host root complex or through PCIe switches to endpoint PCIe devices.

Microsemi is a leader in PCIe, having introduced multiple industry firsts. Highlights include:

• PCIe Gen3 SAS/SATA RAID controller
• The industry’s highest density and lowest power Gen3 PCIe Switches, Switchtec PSX and PFX
• PCIe Gen3 NVMe Flash controller (Flashtec™), followed by a second-generation introduction of the industry’s fastest PCIe Gen3 NVMe SSD controllers
• PCIe Gen3 redriver with EQNOX™ adaptive equalization
• Flash-based FPGAs and SoCs used in CPLD functions with integrated PCIe endpoint implementations

Microsemi offers a flexible product portfolio to intelligently design your PCIe system for data center, communications, defense, and industrial applications. Our industry-leading PCIe solutions include storage and fanout switches, NVMe controllers, NVRAM drives, redrivers, and timing solutions, and flash-based FPGAs and SoCs.

Microsemi Advantages Switchtec™ PCIe Switches

• Options from 24 to 96 lanes
• Industry’s most flexible port bifurcation, from ×2 to ×16 lanes per port
• Highest port and non-transparent bridge (NTB) density, with up to 48 ports and 48 NTBs
• Highest switch partition density
• Industry’s first integrated programmable processor
• Industry’s first integrated enclosure management solution
• PFX-I supports extended industrial temperature ranges, –40 °C (Ta) to 105 °C (Tj)

Flashtec™ NVMe Controllers

• World’s first and fastest enterprise PCIe NVMe controller, with up to 850K IOPS and up to 8 TB
• Software-defined flash: flexible, programmable architecture optimized for cost, performance, and endurance
• Enterprise-class reliability, availability, and serviceability with NVMe management features and industry’s only dual-port controller

Flashtec NVRAM Drives

• Non-volatile DRAM with over 10 million IOPS, sub-microsecond latency
• Industry-standard interfaces that are application-friendly for ease of integration
• Zero-maintenance green backup
• Unlimited endurance NVRAM
• Small form factor for high-density rack solutions

Signal Integrity

• PCIe Gen 3.0 solutions supporting ×1 to ×8 lanes
• Adaptive EQ and de-emphasis with up to 30 dB loss compensation
• BOM integration and smaller package sizes save board cost and area
• Low-power modes scale with speed and drive strength
• High ease of use

Timing Solutions

• End-to-end offerings, including synthesis, rate conversion, attenuation, and distribution
• Ultra-low-jitter (160 fs) synthesizers and attenuators
• Ultra-low additive jitter, cost-efficient buffers
• Application specific with custom configuration— MiClockDesigner™
• Validated with the Agilent Time Domain PCI-SIG Compliance Software Suite

In the next post, I will write about the Switchtec™ Gen3 PCIe Fanout Storage and Advanced Fabric Switches.

Please connect with me on LinkedIn to learn more or ask questions.

Tags: FPGAs, GPU Interconnect Solutions, NVMe Flash Controllers, NVRAM Drives, PCIe, PCIe Switches, Redrivers, SoC, Storage Solutions, Timing Solutions