PEX8617-BA50BC PLX [PLX Technology], PEX8617-BA50BC Datasheet - Page 3

• Manufacturer Part Number: PEX8617-BA50BC
• Description: PCIe Gen 2, 5.0GT/s 16-lane, 4-port Switch
• Manufacturer: PLX [PLX Technology]

Network Interface Cards
The PEX 8617 can also be utilized in communications
applications such as Network Interface Cards (NICs).
NICs, like the one shown in Figure 4, can utilize the
PEX 8617 for its fan-out capabilities. In the example
below, the PEX 8617 is being used on a Dual-port 10-
Gigabit Ethernet (GE) NIC card. The PEX 8617 utilizes
a x8 link to connect to the host and two x4 downstream
links to fan-out to the 10GE ports. The peer-to-peer
communication feature of the PEX 8617 allows the
endpoints to communicate with each other without any
intervention or management by the host.
Host Bus Adapters
The PEX 8617 is well suited for Host Bus Adapter cards
(HBAs) as well. Figure 5 shows a Quad-Port Fibre
Channel HBAs utilizing the PEX 8617 to allow
connectivity to two Fibre Channel (FC) controllers. The
PEX 8617 uses a x8 link on the upstream port and two
x4 downstream links to fan-out to the FC Controllers
Each FC controller supports two FC ports.
10 GE
10 GE
Endpoint
Endpoint
MAC/PHY
MAC/PHY
Figure 4. 10GE NIC Fan-Out
Figure 3. Fan-in/out Usage
x16
x16
PCIe Gen1 or PCIe Gen2 slots
Chipset
CPU
CPU
x4
x4
x4
x4
PEX 8617
CPU
CPU
x4
x4
PEX 8617
Dual-Port NIC
Memory
x8
Failover Storage Systems
The PEX 8617’s Dual Cast feature proves to be very
useful in storage systems. In the example shown in
Figure 6, the Dual Cast feature enables the PEX 8617 to
copy data going to its two downstream ports to the
backup system and vice versa (see yellow traffic
patterns) in one transaction as opposed to having to
execute two separate transactions to send data to the
redundant chassis. By offloading the task of backing up
data onto the secondary system, processor and system
performance is enhanced. Non-Transparent (NT) ports
are used to isolate the host domains of the backup
system from the primary system.
FC
FC
FC
FC
x4
PEX 8617
Chipset
CPU
CPU
Figure 5. Quad-Port Fibre-Channel HBA
Figure 6. Dual Cast in Storage Systems
x4
Control
8 Disk Chassis
x4
FC
PEX 8617
CPU
CPU
FC Cont.
FC Cont.
Control
FC
NT
x4
x4
Memory
x4
x4
x4
Control
8 Disk Chassis
PEX 8617
x4
FC
x4
NT
Control
Chipset
CPU
CPU
NT
FC
x4
x4
Quad-Port FC HBA
CPU
CPU
8617
PEX 8617
PEX
x4
x8
Memory
Backup
System