Packet switch offers design flexibility and advanced power management

Diodes Incorporated has released the PI7C9X3G816GP, a PCIe 3.0 packet switch that supports 16-lane operation in flexible two-port, three-port, four-port, five-port, and eight-port configurations. Created to satisfy advanced performance demands, this switch is ideal for networking and telecommunications infrastructure, security systems, AI and deep learning, fail-over systems, HBA cards, NAS, and data centre applications. The wide operating temperature range of -40C to +85C also serves a growing number of industrial applications, such as embedded, industrial PC and industrial control.

Proprietary architecture employed in the packet switch provides for enhanced flexibility and performance. It may be configured to have multiple port/lane width combinations, including upstream, downstream, and CDEP, to support fan-out and dual-host connectivity.

Unique is the integrated PCIe 3.0 clock buffer, which decreases the overall component count, reduces product design-in, and assists to reduce BOM cost. It supports three reference clock structures: common, separate reference no spread, and separate reference independent spread. Multiple DMA channels are embedded into the switch to aid efficient communication between the host (or hosts) and connected end-points.

Further features such as error handling, advanced error reporting, hotplug, end-to-end data protection with error correction, and surprise removal provide enhanced RAS. Also, the built-in thermal sensor reports operational temperature instantly. Advanced power management signifies that the device aligns with the most stringent energy-saving demands for building greener data centres. For instance, the packet switch supports seven power states to efficiently align with the power requirements and any inactive hot-pluggable ports are kept in a low-power state. Advanced diagnostic software tools, including PHY Eye, MAC Viewer (embedded LA), and PCIBUDDY, assist designers throughout system development.

The device is supplied in an HFC package, with 324-ball BGA format and 19mm x 19mm dimensions.