PLX PEX8533

.
Version 1.2 2007
PEX 8533
Features
ƒ PEX 8533 General Features
o 32-lane PCI Express switch
- Integrated SerDes
o Up to six configurable ports
o 35mm x 35mm, 680 pin PBGA package
o Pin Compatible with PEX 8532
o Typical Power: 3.3 Watts
ƒ PEX 8533 Key Features
o Standards Compliant
- PCI Express Base Specification, r1.1
- PCI SHPC Specification, r1.0
o High Performance
- Cut-through with 120ns packet latency
- Max Payload Size of 1024 Bytes
- Non-blocking switch fabric
- Full line rate on all ports
o Flexible Configuration
- Six highly flexible and configurable ports
(x1, x2, x4, x8, or x16)
- Configurable with strapping pins,
EEPROM, I2C 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)
- Eight Traffic Classes per port
- Round robin and weighted RR port
arbitration
o Reliability, Availability, Serviceability
- 3 Standard Hot-Plug Controllers
- Upstream port as hot-plug client
- Transaction Layer end-to-end CRC
- Poison bit
- INTA & FATAL ERROR signal support
- Advanced Error Reporting in addition to
PCIe baseline error reporting
- Port Status bits and GPO available
- Per port performance monitoring
• Average packet size, number of
packets, CRC errors
- JTAG boundary scan
Flexible & Versatile PCI Express™ Switch
Multi-Purpose, Feature Rich PCI Express ExpressLane™ Switch
The ExpressLaneTM PEX 8533 device offers PCI Express switching
capability conforming to the latest revision of the PCIe Base specification.
This device enables users to add scalable high bandwidth, non-blocking
interconnects to a wide variety of applications including servers, storage
systems, communications platforms, blade servers, and embedded-control
products. The PEX 8533 is well suited for fan-out, aggregation, peer-topeer, backplane, and switch fabric applications.
Highly Flexible Port Configurations
The ExpressLaneTM PEX 8533 offers highly configurable ports. There are a
maximum of 6 ports that can be configured to any legal width from x1 to
x16, 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.
High Performance
The ExpressLaneTM PEX 8533 architecture supports packet cut-through
with a latency of 115ns (x8 to x8). This, combined with large packet
memory (256 to 1024 byte maximum payload size) and non-blocking
internal switch architecture, provide full line rate on its ports for
performance hungry applications such as storage servers or storage switch
fabrics.
End-to-End Packet Integrity
The ExpressLaneTM PEX 8533 provides optional end-to-end CRC
protection (ECRC) and Poison bit support to enable designs that require
guaranteed error-free packets.
Configuration Flexibility
The ExpressLaneTM PEX 8533 provides several ways to configure its
operations. The device can be configured through strapping pins, I2C
interface, CPU configuration cycles, or an optional serial EEPROM. This
allows for easy debug during the development phase, performance
monitoring during the operation phase, and driver or software upgrade.
Interoperability
The ExpressLaneTM PEX 8533 is designed to be fully compliant with the
PCI-SIG specification. Additionally, it supports auto-negotiation, lane
reversal, and polarity reversal. The PEX 8533 also undergoes thorough
Interoperability testing in PLX’s Interoperability Lab.
Low Power with Granular SerDes Control
The ExpressLaneTM PEX 8533 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.
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Flexible Port Width Configuration
The lane width of each port can be individually
configured through auto-negotiation, hardware
strapping, host software configuration, I2C interface, or
through an optional EEPROM.
The PEX 8533 supports a large number of port
configurations. For example, if you are using the PEX
8533 in a fan-out application, you may configure the
upstream port as a x8 and the downstream as one x8 port
& four x4 ports; two x8 & two x4 ports; or other
combinations, as long as you don’t run out of lanes (32)
or ports (6). For a dual-graphics application, you may
configure the device as one x16 upstream and two x8
downstream ports (see Figure 1). The device can also
support x2 & x1 ports by auto-negotiating its x4 ports to
the width of the actual end-device it is interfacing with.
application where one or more of its downstream ports
connect to PCI Express slots, the ports with the Hot Plug
Controller feature can be used for these slots. The device
will automatically manage the hot-plug event of its hotplug capable ports/slots. Furthermore, the hot-plug
capable ports can be used as a hot-plug client or
master, allowing it to be used on hot-pluggable carrier
modules, backplanes, and fabric modules.
Fully Compliant Power Management
For applications that require power management, the
PEX 8533 device supports both link (L0, L0s, L1, L2/L3
Ready, and L3) and device (D0 and D3hot) power
management states, in compliance with the PCI Express
power management specification.
SerDes Power and Signal Management
The ExpressLane PEX 8533 supports software control
of the SerDes outputs to allow optimization of power
and signal strength in a system. The PLX SerDes
implementation supports four levels of power – off, low,
typical and high. The SerDes block also supports loopback modes and advanced reporting of error
conditions, which enables efficient debug and
management of the entire system.
Applications
Suitable for host-centric as well as peer-to-peer traffic
patterns, the PEX 8533 can be configured for a wide
variety of form factors and applications.
Host Centric Fan-out
The ExpressLane PEX 8533 device, with its versatile
symmetric or asymmetric lane configuration capability,
allows for user specific tuning to a variety of hostcentric applications.
Figure 1. Port Flexibility
Low Packet Latency
The PEX 8533 supports packet cut-through with a
latency of 115ns between symmetric x8 ingress and
egress ports. The low latency enables many applications
to achieve high throughput and performance. In addition
to low latency, the device supports a packet payload size
of up to 1024 bytes, enabling the user to achieve even
higher throughput.
Hot Plug for High Availability
Hot plug capability allows users to replace hardware
modules and perform maintenance without powering
down the system. The ExpressLane PEX 8533 hot plug
capabilities and Advanced Error Reporting features
make them suitable for high availability (HA)
applications. Three of the six ports include a Standard
Hot Plug Controller. If the PEX 8533 is used in an
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Figure 2. Fan-in/out Usage
Figure 2 shows a typical server-based design, where the
Root Complex provides a PCI Express link that needs to
be expanded into a larger number of smaller ports for a
variety of I/O functions, each with different bandwidth
requirements.
In this example, the ExpressLane PEX 8533 would
typically have an 8-lane upstream port, and as many as 5
downstream ports. The downstream ports can be of
differing widths if required.
Peer-to-Peer & Backplane Usage
The PEX 8533 is also suitable for peer-to-peer
applications such as switch fabrics and backplanes.
Figure 3 represents a backplane where the device
provides peer-to-peer data exchange for a large number
of line cards where the CPU/Host plays the management
role.
Figure 4. Dual Graphics
Redundant Switch Fabric
The PEX 8533 can be used in redundant switch fabrics
for high availability applications. In the example shown
in Figure 5, the PEX 8533 is used in conjunction with
the PEX 8518 switch that offers non-transparent
bridging (NTB). The PEX 8533 provides high
performance non-blocking switching while the PEX
8518s keep the two fabrics and hosts isolated.
Figure 3. Peer-to-Peer/Backplane Usage
Graphics Fan-out Switch
High resolution 3D graphics applications can take full
advantage of the PEX 8533 three port configuration.
Applications such as dual graphics, high resolution
scientific use, and image processing can benefit from
the performance of the PEX 8533 switch. Figure 4
illustrates use of the device in a dual graphics
application while supporting PCI port expansion through
another PLX PCIe switch. The upstream x16 port links
to the Root Complex and the two downstream ports
connect to the Graphics modules. The peer-to-peer
support of the PEX 8533 allows the two GPU modules
to communicate with each other for maximum
performance. Figure 4 also illustrates use of PCIe
bridges to connect to PCI and PCI-X busses.
Figure 5. Blade Server
The number of ports and port widths can be configured
as needed. This example assumes a x8 link to each CPU
blade and a x8 link to each I/O blade.
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Development Tools
PLX is offering hardware and software tools (PEX 8533
RDK) to enable rapid customer design activity. These
tools are bundled in a Rapid Development Kit (RDK).
The RDK consists of hardware, hardware documentation
and a Software Development Kit (SDK).
Port 8 Status LED
HotPlug
Ckt
PORT 8 - X8
HD Power
Connector
Port 10 Status LED
PORT 10 - X4
Port 9 Status LED
PORT 9 - X4
test and validate customer software. Additionally, it can
be used as an evaluation vehicle for PEX 8533 features
and benefits. The PEX 8533 RDK provides everything
that a user needs to get their hardware and software
development started.
SDK
The SDK tool set includes:
- GUI to use and configure the switch
- Linux and Windows drivers
- C/C++ Source code, Objects, libraries
- User’s Guides, Application examples, Tutorials
Manual
Reset
Midbus Site
DIP Switch
for Config
JTAG
PEX 8533
RefClk
Midbus Site
PERST#
EEPROM
Port 0, 1, & 2
Status LEDs
Port 0 - x16
(Upstream Port)
Figure 6. PEX 8533 RDK
The PEX 8533 RDK offers a x16 upstream port, one x8
downstream port, and two x4 downstream ports. The
PEX 8533 RDK board can be installed on a
motherboard, used as a riser card, or configured as a
bench-top board. The PEX 8533 RDK can be used to
PLX Technology, Inc.
870 Maude Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94085 USA
Tel: 1-800-759-3735
Tel: 1-408-774-9060
Fax: 1-408-774-2169
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: www.plxtech.com
Product Ordering Information
Part Number
Description
PEX8533-AA25BI
PEX8533-AA25BI G
PEX 8533-AA RDK
32-Lane PCI Express Switch
32-Lane PCI Express Switch, Pb-free
PEX 8533 Rapid Development Kit w/ x16 Connector
Please visit the PLX Web site at http://www.plxtech.com or contact PLX sales at 408-774-9060 for sampling.
© 2007 PLX Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. PLX and the PLX logo are registered trademarks of PLX Technology, Inc. ExpressLane is a trademark of PLX
Technology, Inc., which may be registered in some jurisdiction. All other product names that appear in this material are for identification purposes only and are
acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Information supplied by PLX is believed to be accurate and reliable, but PLX
Technology, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this material. PLX Technology, Inc. reserves the right, without notice, to make changes in
product design or specification.
PEX8533-SIL-PB-P1-1.2
PLX Confidential
01/07