PCIe switches with integrated DMA

1 October 2008 Computer/Embedded Technology

PLX Technology has introduced three powerful new PCI Express (PCIe) switch devices with an innovative architecture that features an integrated direct memory access (DMA) engine. Each switch provides four DMA channels to support the high data rates required in storage systems, servers, networking, control plane and embedded markets. By offloading the DMA function typically required of the processor, these switches increase system performance and create a wide range of new options for next-generation PCIe designs.

The ExpressLane PEX 8619 (16 lanes, 16 ports), PEX 8615 (12 lanes, 12 ports) and PEX 8609 (eight lanes, eight ports) PCIe Gen 2-compliant switches offer flexible and configurable ports ranging from x1 to x4 on all three devices, with up to x8 on the 8619. The four DMA channels can support high-speed data transfers between I/O devices connected to any of the available ports, while maintaining independence from the unique transparent switch functionality with up to 3 Gbps throughput per DMA channel.

Additional features include a low latency maximum of 140 ns and power requirements down to 1,2 W typical (8609), with quality of service (QoS) by means of two virtual channels per port, spread spectrum clock (SSC) isolation via dual clock domains, and end-to-end guaranteed data integrity.

The DMA engine in these devices implements a descriptor ring approach, while each of the four DMA channels can saturate an x8 link at Gen 2 speeds (up to 4 GBps) in one direction. Each descriptor provides support for large transfer sizes (up to 128 MB), giving the user the ability to perform very large data transfers in any direction (memory to device, device to device, memory to memory). Descriptors can exist in host memory or alternatively, inside the DMA switch. Up to 256 descriptors are supported internally in the switches, which also support 32-bit and 64-bit transfers as well as programmable QoS.

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