Complete PCI Express 4.0 IP solution targets enterprise computing

The DesignWare IP for PCI Express 4.0 architecture enables easy SoC integration of 16 GT/s performance and the power-saving features defined in the PCI Express 4.0 specification. Based on proven technology in the DesignWare IP for PCI Express 3.0, 2.1 and 1.1 architectures, which combined have more than 1,000 design wins, the DesignWare IP for PCI Express 4.0 architecture allows designers to quickly incorporate the new PCI Express 4.0 standard into their products with less risk and improved time-to-market.

"Synopsys is an aggressive, early supporter of the PCI Express 4.0 specification, which provides critical performance and power enhancements to high-end server and enterprise applications," said Bruce Tolley, vice president of technical and solutions marketing at Solarflare. "As the leader in application-intelligent Ethernet network interface software and hardware, we rely on Synopsys to provide us with trusted PCI Express IP solutions that support the latest specifications. Synopsys' early support of the PCI Express 4.0 specification, combined with the company's best-in-class technical support, is exactly what we expect from the leading provider of PCI Express IP."

"Teledyne-LeCroy has worked closely with Synopsys in the past to ensure interoperability and standards compliance for the PCI Express and M-PCIe specifications," said John Wiedemeier, product marketing manager at Teledyne-LeCroy. "To accelerate time-to-market, designers require a high-quality IP product that helps lower the risk of incorporating the interface into their SoCs. Our collaborative relationship with Synopsys on the latest PCI Express specifications strengthens the ecosystem for everyone and allows developers of enterprise SoCs to leverage proven solutions."

The DesignWare PHY IP for PCI Express 4.0 architecture will support full-featured bifurcation and aggregation, offering designers the flexibility either to configure the PHY macro into multiple individual links at 2.5, 5, 8 or 16 GT/s, or to aggregate the PHY macro up to 16 lanes. For increased signal integrity at high-speed data rates across legacy channels, the PHY analog front-end will include 5-tap DFE, continuous time linear equalization (CTLE) and feed forward equalization (FFE) with advanced algorithms for link initialization and adaptation. As power reduction is a key requirement in many markets, the DesignWare PHY IP will reduce both active and standby power consumption through advanced techniques including L1 sub-states. Support for Separate Refclk Independent SSC (SRIS) will allow the use of cables to enable a new class of PCI Express applications outside of the system.

The low-power, low-latency DesignWare Controller IP for PCI Express 4.0 architecture is backward compatible with the PCI Express specification (4.0, 3.0, 2.1, 1.1, M PCIe and optional features including L1 sub-states) across Switch, Endpoint, Dual Mode and Root Complex port types, with support for embedded DMA and SR-IOV. ARM AMBA 4 AXI, AMBA 3 AXI and AMBA AHB and native interfaces are available in the DesignWare Controller IP for PCI Express 4.0 architecture, as well as in previous generations, enabling designers to quickly upgrade to the PCI Express 4.0 technology. Based on existing DesignWare IP architectures, the DesignWare Controller IP for PCI Express 4.0 architecture supports multiple lanes (x1 to x16) and multiple datapath widths, enabling an optimized solution for the target application while minimizing gate counts and reducing design risk.

The Synopsys Verification IP for PCI Express architecture will be available to thoroughly verify designs based on the PCI Express 4.0, 3.0, 2.1 and 1.1 specifications. It will be fully configurable to support verification of PCI Express technology endpoints, switches and root complex devices at the PIPE or serial interface. With this comprehensive set of protocol, methodology, coverage, verification and productivity features, designers will be able to achieve rapid verification closure of their designs using PCI Express technology.

"Enterprise applications require greater bandwidth through PCI Express interfaces to address the demands of servers, storage devices and switch interconnects," said John Koeter, vice president of marketing for IP and prototyping at Synopsys. "Synopsys is building on our leading PCI Express technology to enable designers to bring leading-edge products using the latest PCI Express specification to the market. Our complete DesignWare IP solution for the PCI Express 4.0 specification doubles performance over our existing PCI Express 3.0 IP, reduces design risk and accelerates time-to-revenue for designers implementing the PCI Express 4.0 architecture in their SoCs."

The DesignWare Controller IP for PCI Express 4.0 architecture is available now.