PLX Technology, a provider of high-speed I/O connectivity
solutions, and Avago Technologies, a supplier of analog interface components,
announced a collaboration using optics to demonstrate PCI Express extending
beyond its dominant role within the box to a cabled box-to-box solution.

 

This higher-performance alternative is paving the road
for next-generation data center applications where lower latency, lower cost,
extended cabling distances, and I/O conversion minimization create simpler
architectures for cleaner PCIe end-to-end environments.

 

The demonstration from this collaboration features PLX
PEX8748 PCIe Gen3 (8Gbps per lane) switches, along with Avago
high-density MiniPOD parallel fiber optic modules, both of which are setup in a
x8 configuration, showcasing external box-to-box high-performance connectivity
at 64Gbps.

 

PCI Express as an interconnect for data centers using
parallel optics will enable a wide variety of applications including storage,
servers and GPU clustering.

 

“With PCI Express now native virtually everywhere,
including Intel platforms and SSD storage modules, the market is hungry for
reliable and harmonious solutions,” said Reggie Conley, senior director,
hardware applications, PLX.

 

“As the market drives down the cost of optical
solutions, today’s cumbersome and costly conversion of PCI Express to Ethernet
or InfiniBand will be replaced by clean system architectures enjoying the
fruits of PCIe and optical connectivity’s premium performance,” Conley
added.

 

“PCI Express is a natural fit for our MiniPOD
embedded parallel optics, which deliver the speed and overall performance
necessary to enable box-to-box connections,” said Victor Krutul, director
of marketing for fiber optic products at Avago. “Our work with PLX provides
another example of Avago serving as the technology partner of choice to develop
innovative fiber optic solutions for new applications.”

 

By TelecomLead.com Team
[email protected]