The Linley Group - A Guide to High-Speed Interconnects

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A Guide to High-Speed Interconnects

Fifth Edition

Published July 2010

Authors: Jag Bolaria and Bob Wheeler

Single License: $3,495 (single copy, one user)
Corporate License: $5,000

Pages: 130

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Download an excerpt containing the complete table of contents, list of figures, list of tables, preface, and executive summary.

What's New in this Edition

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Vendors and Products

An In-Depth Look at High-Speed Interconnects

Interconnect technology, the nervous system for any computing, networking, and consumer device, transfers control messages and data within the system and ensures there are no choke points. Increasing bandwidth and the unique requirements of data centers, networking, computing, storage, and embedded systems are driving a host of interconnect technologies. With these diverse requirements and competing stakeholders, interconnects are likely to be specialized for the target applications. At the same time, several of these interconnects will lose out or become niche solutions.

The new edition of "A Guide to High-Speed Interconnects" examines the leading high-speed interconnect technologies—including PCI Express (PCIe) switches, RapidIO switches, PHYs for 40G Ethernet (40GbE) and 100G Ethernet (100GbE), active optical cables for Ethernet, and Light Peak technologies. The report provides an unbiased analysis of their strengths, future potential, and projected market position. In addition, within each interconnect, we examine the key vendors offering silicon products. Within each interconnect we analyze market leaders and their products as well as identify technology leaders. We provide market forecast and share our picks for future winners in each established interconnect segment.

Vendors covered include Alpen, Altera, Aprius, Avago, Cortina, Ensphere, Finisar, IDT, Intel, IPtronics, Luxtera, Mercury, NetLogic Microsystems, NextIO, Pericom, PLX Technology, Semtech, Texas Instruments, Tyco, Virtensys, and Xilinx.

Changes within the interconnect market are likely to introduce disconnects and present opportunities for new leaders to emerge in the affected interconnects. These changes include the adoption of Light Peak, MR-IOV, 40GbE/100GbE, PCI Express Gen2 and changing architectures within the data center.

Evaluating and Comparing Competing Technologies

Like its predecessor, PCIe is moving beyond PCs into embedded and communications systems. Compared to PCI, PCIe offers greater scalability, robustness, and even broader applicability. RapidIO is championed by Freescale and Texas Instruments, which offer native RapidIO ports on their processor and DSPs, respectively. Connectivity requirements in the data center are driving Active Optical Cables and 40GbE and potentially 100GbE. Each of these interconnects is backed by high-volume platforms—setting the stage for a positioning struggle. We evaluate each of these interconnects and project their relative acceptance.

Get the Facts Quickly

"A Guide to High-Speed Interconnects" provides an in-depth look at the standards, products and vendors in this market. This new edition, packed with over 130 pages of valuable information, brings you up-to-date on the latest developments in this important market and gives you the analysis you need to help choose a supplier or partner in this field. The report begins with tutorials on the key technologies implemented by these products, background on the networking market, and a discussion of the latest technology and market trends. Following these introductory chapters, the report delivers thorough coverage of all announced products in this area. For each of these vendors, the report examines the performance, feature set, and details of each product, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses in a consistent, easy-to-compare fashion. The report provides our own comparisons of these products and conclusions about which will fare best.

Make Informed Decisions

Senior analysts Jag Bolaria and Bob Wheeler draw on their broad experience in analyzing technology to explain the architecture and system interfaces of each device and how it will affect application performance. As the leading vendor of technology analysis for networking silicon, The Linley Group has the expertise to deliver the technical and strategic information you need to make informed business decisions.

Whether you are looking for the most effective solution for your application, a vendor to partner with, or a rising company to invest in, this report will cut your research time and save you money. Get the inside scoop on this market segment. Order “A Guide to High-Speed Interconnects ” today.

This report is written for:

Engineers who are designing networking equipment and need to select a high-speed serial device
Marketing and engineering staff at companies that sell networking chips that incorporate or connect to high-speed serial devices
Technology professionals who want an introduction to high-speed interconnect technology
Financial analysts who desire a detailed analysis and comparison of serdes companies and their chances of success
Press and public-relations professionals who need to get up to speed on this technology

What's New in This Edition

Updates to the Fifth Edition of "A Guide to High-Speed Interconnects"

This new edition covers many new products since the publication of the previous edition:

Updated coverage of PCI Express Gen 2.1 and RapidIO
Expanded coverage of PCIe switches from IDT and PLX Technology
Expanded coverage of PCIe vendors including Pericom
Expanded coverage of IO virtualization products from Aprius, VirtenSys and NextIO
New coverage of Light Peak
New coverage of Light Peak products from Intel, IPtronics, and Ensphere
New coverage of Ethernet at 40Gbps and 100Gbps
New coverage of 40GbE/100GbE products from NetLogic, Cortina, Xilinx, Altera, and Semtech
New coverage of Active Optical Cables
New coverage of AOC products from Tyco, Finisar, Avago, Luxtera, and Alpen

Plus, this report contains fully updated side-by-side comparisons of products, as well as up-to-the-minute analysis of the vendors, their strategies, and their roadmaps.

Don’t wait! Get your copy now to track the latest developments in this market.

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Table of Contents

List of Figures	vii
List of Tables	ix
About the Authors	xi
About the Publisher	xiii
Preface	xv
Executive Summary	xvii

Chapter 1. High-Speed System Design	1
Signal Integrity	1
System-Interconnect Design Issues	4
PCB and Connectors	5
Signal Transmission	6
Signal Conditioning	7
Clock and Data Recovery	10
Semiconductor Technologies	11
Chapter 2. Interconnect Standards	13
RapidIO	13
PCI and PCI Express	19
Ethernet	24
Physical-Layer Interfaces	30
Optical Modules	31
Light Peak	32
OIF CEI	33
Network Interfaces	34
Chapter 3. HSI Applications	37
What Is High-Speed Interconnect?	37
System-Transceiver Applications	38
Chip-to-Chip Interconnects	40
Chip-to-Module Interconnects	41
Chapter 4. Interconnect Products	43
Interconnect Switch Chips	43
Optical-Module Components	45
Chapter 5. Technology and Market Outlook	49
Technology Trends	49
PCI Express	49
40G and 100G Ethernet Technology Trends	51
RapidIO	52
Light Peak	52
Market Outlook	53
PCI Express	53
RapidIO	55
40GbE and 100GbE	56
Light Peak	57
Chapter 6. PCIe and Rapid IO Switches	59
IDT	59
Company Background	59
PCI Express Products	60
PCIe Switch Design Details	62
RapidIO Products	63
RapidIO Switch Design Details	66
Product Roadmap	67
Conclusions	67
Pericom	68
Company Background	68
Switch Products	69
Conclusions	70
PLX Technology	70
Company Background	70
Switch Products	71
System Design	73
Product Roadmap	74
Conclusions	75
Other Vendors:	75
Mercury Computer	75
Texas Instruments	76
Chapter 7. I/O-Consolidation Products	79
Aprius	79
Company Background	79
Product Details	80
Conclusions	81
NextIO	81
Company Background	81
Product Details	82
Conclusions	83
Virtensys	83
Company Background	83
Product Details	84
Conclusions	86
Chapter 8. Light Peak	87
Intel	87
IPtronics	88
Ensphere	89
Chapter 9. 40GbE and 100GbE PHYs	91
Cortina	91
Company Background	91
Product Details	92
Conclusions	93
NetLogic	93
Company Background	94
Product Details	94
Conclusions	95
Other Vendors	96
Xilinx	96
Altera	97
Semtech	98
Chapter 10. Active Optical Cables	101
AlpenIO	101
Avago	102
Finisar	104
Company Background	104
Product Details	104
Conclusions	106
Luxtera	107
Company Background	107
Product Details	107
Design Details	109
Conclusions	110
Tyco Electronics	110
Chapter 11. Product Comparisons	113
PCI Express Switch Chips	113
PCI Express I/O-Consolidation Products	115
Active Optical Cables	117
40GbE/100GbE Retimers	118
Chapter 12. Conclusions	121
Interconnect Trends	121
PCI Express Switch Vendors	122
RapidIO Switch Vendors	123
40GbE and 100GbE Vendors	124
Closing Thoughts	125
Appendix: Further Reading	127
Index	129

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List of Figures

Figure 1-1	Transmitted data eye and received data eye after two connectors and 40 inches	2
Figure 1-2	Transmitted eye with pre-emphasis and received eye	8
Figure 1-3	Impulse response and equalization	9
Figure 1-4	Broadcom's 10Gbps data eye, using FR4 dielectric	9
Figure 1-5	Conceptual phase-locked loop	10
Figure 2-1	Interconnect examples using RapidIO	15
Figure 2-2	RapidIO three-layer model	16
Figure 2-3	PCI Express system connections	20
Figure 2-4	IEEE 802.3 basic frame format	24
Figure 2-5	Ethernet physical layer	26
Figure 2-6	10G Ethernet physical layer	28
Figure 2-7	40G/100G Ethernet layer model	29
Figure 2-8	Standard line-card interfaces	34
Figure 3-1	Block diagram of transceivers in switch applications	39
Figure 3-2	Block diagram of PCI Express switches used in servers	39
Figure 3-3	Block diagram of wireless baseband card using RapidIO switch	41
Figure 3-4	Diagram of Light Peak assembly	42
Figure 4-1	Block diagram of a generic optical module	45
Figure 4-2	Block diagram of serializer and deserializer for 25Gbps	47
Figure 5-1	Revenue forecast for PCI Express bridge and switch chips, 2008–2014	54
Figure 5-2	Market share of PCIe bridge and switch chips, 2009	54
Figure 5-3	Revenue forecast for serial RapidIO switch chips, 2009–2014	56
Figure 5-4	Forecast for 40GbE and 100GbE ports	56
Figure 6-1	Block diagram of IDT's 24-port switch for PCI Express v2.1	63
Figure 6-2	IDT's RapidIO products in a simplified baseband card	66
Figure 6-3	Block diagram of multihost PCI Express system	74
Figure 7-1	Diagram of Virtensys PCI Express rack switch	84
Figure 10-1	Photo of AlpenIO's paddleboard	102
Figure 10-2	Photo of Finisar's C-Wire cable	106
Figure 10-3	Photo of Luxtera's OptoPhy module	108
Figure 10-4	Diagram of Luxtera's transceiver and QSFP+ module	109

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List of Tables

Table 1-1.	Differential signaling standards	6
Table 2-1.	PCI revisions and characteristics	19
Table 2-2.	Ethernet PHY standards at 10Gbps and greater	27
Table 6-1.	Key parameters for selected IDT PCI Express switch chips for I/O connectivity	61
Table 6-2.	Key parameters for IDT PCI Express switches for system interconnects	61
Table 6-3.	Key parameters for IDT RapidIO products	64
Table 6-4.	Key parameters for Pericom PCI Express products	69
Table 6-5.	Key parameters for selected PLX PCI Express switch chips	72
Table 10-1.	Key parameters for Finisar's active optical cables	105
Table 10-2.	Key parameters for Luxtera's OptoPhy and AOC products	107
Table 11-1.	Comparison of PCIe switch chips	114
Table 11-2.	Comparison of I/O-consolidation appliances	116
Table 11-3.	Comparison of AOC products	118
Table 11-4.	Comparison of 40GbE and 100GbE retimers	119