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Flexible & Versatile PCI Express® Switch
.
Features
PEX 8509 General Features
o 8-lane PCI Express switch
- PCIe Gen 1 (2.5Gbp s) Integrated
SerDes
o Up to eight ports (x1, x2, x4)
o 15mm x 15mm, 196-ball PBGA pkg.
o Typical Power: 1.2 Watts
PEX 8509 Key Features
o Standards Compliant
- PCI Express Base Specification, r1.1
- PCI Power Management Interface
Specification r1.2
o High Performance
- Cut-through with low packet latency
- Max Payload Size of 1024 Bytes
- Non-blocking switc h fab ri c
- Full line rate on all ports
o Flexible Configuration
- Eight flexible and configurable ports
(x1, x2 or x4)
- Lane and polarity reversal
- Configurable through I2C, Host
software, EEPROM or strapping pins
o PCI Express Power Management
- Link power management states: L0,
L0s, L1, L2/L3 Ready, and L3
- Device states: D0 and D3hot
o Quality of Service (QoS)
- One Virtual Channel per port
- Eight Traffic Classes per port
- Weighted Round-Rob in Ingress Port
Arbitration
o Reliability, Availability,
Serviceability
- 3 standard Hot-Plug controllers
supporting PCI SHPC spec r1.0
- Transaction layer end-to-end CRC
- Poison bit support
- Basic and Advanced Error Reporting
support
- Per port error diagno stics
• Bad DLLPs
• Bad TLPs
• CRC errors and more
- Fatal Error (FATAL_ERR#) sign al
(legacy SERR equivalent)
- INTA# signal
- Port status bits
- Eight software controllable G eneral
Purpose Output (GPO) signals
- JTAG boundar y scan
Low-Power 8-Lane, 8-Port ExpressLaneTM PCIe Switch
The PEX 8509 device offers PCI Express switching cap ability conforming to the
PCI Express Base speci fi cat ion revi si o n 1. 1. Thi s devi ce en abl e s users to add
scalable high bandwidth, non-blocking interconnects at the lowest cost to a wide
variety of applications including communications platforms, consumer products,
servers, storage systems, blade servers, industrial systems and embedded-control
products. The PEX 8509 can be used as a fan-out, aggregation, or peer-to-peer
switch, and is well-suited for Control Plane Applications, Docking Stations,
DVRs, Multi-Function Printers, Industrial Control Systems, Medical Imaging
Systems, Embedded Systems and AMC modules.
Port Configurations
The PEX 8509 offers eight lanes and up to eight ports supporting x1, x2 and x4 lane
widths. The ports can be configur ed for symmetric (each port ha vi n g the same lane
width and traffic load) or asymmetric (ports having different lane widths). In the
event of asymmetric traffic, the PEX 8509 features a flexible central packet
memory that allocates a memory buffer for each port as required by the application
or endpoint. This buffer allocation along with the device's flexible packet flow
control minimizes bottlenecks when the upstream and aggreg ated downstream
bandwidths do not m a t ch (a re asymmetric).
High Performance
The PEX 8509 architecture supports packet cut-thru with low latency (118ns).
This, combined with large packet memory (up to 1024 byte maximum payload
size) and non-blocking internal switch architecture, provides full line rate on all
ports for performance hungry applications such as docking stations, control planes,
embedded systems and AMC modules.
End-to-End Packet Integrity
The PEX 8509 provides end-to-end CRC protection (ECRC) and Poison-bit
support to enable designs that require end-to-end dat a integrity. These features are
optional in the PCI Express specification, but PLX provides them across its entire
ExpressLane switc h pr o duct line.
Configuration Flexibility
The PEX 8509 provides several ways to configure its operations. The device can be
configured through strapping pins, I2C interface, CPU configuration cycles, or an
optional serial EEPROM. This allows for easy debug during the development phase,
performance monitoring during the operation phase, and driver or software upgrade.
Interoperability
The PEX 8509 is designed to be fully compliant with the PCI-SIG PCI Express base
specification revision 1.1. Additionally, it supports auto-negotiation, lane reversal,
and polarity reversal. The PEX 8509 also undergoes extensive Interop erab ility
testing in PLX’s Interoperability Lab.
Low Power with Granular SerDes Control
The PEX 8509 provides low power capability that is fully compliant with the PCI
Express power management specification. For even lower power, the SerDes
physical links can be programmed for desired power or turned off when unused.
Version 1.4 2008
PEX 8509
Port Configurations
The lane width of each port can be individually configured
through auto -negotiation, hardware strapping, host software
configuration, I2C interface, or through an optional EEPROM.
The PEX 8509 supports 4 port configurations:
1) One x1 upstream por t and seven x1 downstream ports
2) One x2 upstream port and six x1 downstream ports
3) One x2 upstream port and the downstream ports as one x2
and four x1
4) One x4 upstream port and four x1 downstream ports
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Figure 1. Port Configurations
For eight-lane con fi g urat i o ns not sh own in Figure 1, please
use the PEX 8508 device which offers more configuration
options in an 8-lane switch .
Hot Plug for High Availability
Hot Plug capability allows users to replace hardware modules
and perform maintenance without powering down the system.
The PEX 8509 Hot Plug capability and Advanced Error
Reporting features make it suitable for High Availability
(HA) appli cations. Ports 1, 2 & 3 include a Standard Hot
Plug Controller. If the PEX 8509 is used in an applicatio n
where one or more of its downstream ports connect to PCI
Express slots, Hot Plug Controllers on the three downstream
ports can be used to manage the hot plug event of its
associated slot.
Fully Compliant Power Management
For applications th at require power management, the
ExpressLane PE X 8 50 9 de vi ces sup po rt both link (L0, L0s ,
L1, L2/L3 Ready, and L3) and device (D0 and D3hot) power
management states, in compliance with the PCI Express power
management specification.
SerDes Power and Signal Management
The ExpressLane PEX 8509 supports software control of the
SerDes outputs to allow optimization of power and signal
strength in a system. The PLX SerDes implementation
supports four l evel s of p ower – off, low, typical, and high. The
SerDes block also supports loop-back modes and advanced
reporting of error conditions, which enables efficient debug
and management of the entire system.
Port Arbitration
The PEX 8509 switch supports hardware fixed and Weighted
Round-Robin Ingress Port Arbitration. This allows fine
tuning of Quality of Service and efficient use of packet buffers
and the system bandwidth.
PEX 8509
x1
PEX 8509
x4
PEX 8509
x2
x1x1 x2
x1 x1 x1 x1
all x1
PEX 8509
x2
all x1
x1
x1
PEX 8509PEX 8509
x1
PEX 8509PEX 8509
x4
PEX 8509PEX 8509
x2
x1x1 x2
x1 x1 x1 x1
all x1
PEX 8509PEX 8509
x2
all x1
x1
x1
Applications
Suitable for docking stations, control plane applications,
multi-function printers, DVRs, industrial control systems,
medical imaging systems, embedded systems & AMC
modules, the PEX 8509 can be configured for a wide variety
of form factors and applications.
Docking Station
The PEX 8509 is the most cost-effective PCI Express switch
that can be used in a docking station application. Figure 2
shows four x1 downstream ports connecting t wo PC Ie en d-
points, a Network Card and an ExpressCard to a single x4
upstream port. The PEX 85 09’s Hot-Plug feature is extremely
useful for the plugging/un-plugging of ExpressCards.
4
1
1
Docking Station
1
1
PEX 8509
End
Point
South
Bridge
North
Bridge
CPU
USB/SATA/GE
Memory
Mother Boar d
Graphics
Network
End Point
4
1
11
Docking Station
11
11
PEX 8509PEX 8509
End
Point
South
Bridge
North
Bridge
CPU
USB/SATA/GE
Memory
Mother Boar d
GraphicsGraphics
NetworkNetwork
End Point
Figure 2. Docking Station
Adapter Card Aggregation
The number and variety of PCI Express native-mode devices
is growing quickly. As these devices become mainstream, it
will be necessary to create multi-function and multi-port
adapter cards with PCI Express capability.
The PEX 8509 can be used to create an adapter or mezzanine
card that aggregates the PCI Express devices into a single port
that can be plugged into a backplane or a motherboard.
Figure 3 shows the PEX 8509 in this application.
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Figure 3. Aggregation Adapter Card
Control Plane Application
The PEX 8509 is ideal for migrating existing PCI control
planes in routers to high-speed PCI Express interface to meet
increased packet processing needs. Figure 4 shows a controller
card with a PEX 8509 connecting the Control Processor to as
many as seven line cards each via a x1 port. This usage model
provides connectivity to multiple line cards giving the
processor control over a large number of line cards in mid-
range routers.
Figure 4. Control Plane
Control Planes For Larger Systems
Two PEX 8509 devices can be linked together to provide up to
14 ports, for larger systems that need more than eight ports.
Figure 5 shows such an application. The two PEX 8509
devices together provide connectivity for up to 13 line card s
each via an x1 link. The Control Processor connected to a
PEX 8509 via an x1 port on the contro ller card in this example
can control up to 13 different line cards.
Controller Card
Controller Card
Control
Processor Memory
PEX 8509
To Line Cards
PEX 8509
7 ports 6 ports
Controller Card
Controller Card
Control
Processor Memory
PEX 8509PEX 8509
To Line Cards
PEX 8509PEX 8509
7 ports 6 ports
GE
GE
GE
114
11
GE
PEX 850 9
MAC/PHY
MAC/PHY
MAC/PHY
MAC/PHY
GE
GE
GE
114
11
GE
PEX 850 9PEX 850 9
MAC/PHY
MAC/PHY
MAC/PHY
MAC/PHY
Figure 5. Control Plane for Large Systems
Redundant Control Plane Applications
For those systems that need redundant control planes, the
PEX 8509 can be used in conjunction with the PEX 8508
which supports Non-Transparent bridging. With the NT port,
the PEX 8508 can connect to a redundant control card
providing fai l - over support . An added benefit of the PE X 85 0 9
& PEX 8508 combination design is the increased fan-out
capability – it is now possible to connect a total of nine line
cards to the controller card.
Line Card 1
Line Card 7
Controller Card
Controller Card
Co-Processor-
Security/DSP
Local
Processor
NPU/ASIC Framer
PHY
Control
Processor Memory
PEX 8509
Switch
Up to 7 x1
cards
Line Card 1
Line Card 7
Controller Card
Controller Card
Co-Processor-
Security/DSP
Local
Processor
NPU/ASIC Framer
PHY
Control
Processor Memory
PEX 8509PEX 8509
SwitchSwitch
Up to 7 x1
cards
Control
Processor
Memory
PEX 8508
PEX 8509
Controller Card
Control
Processor
Memory
PEX 8508
Port #1
Redundant
Control Card
NTB
PEX 8509
Port #9
To Line Cards
To Line Cards
LC #9
LC #1
Switch Switch Switch Switch
Fabric Car d
GE Ports
to Fabric
Control
Processor
Memory
PEX 8508PEX 8508
PEX 8509PEX 8509
Controller Card
Control
Processor
Memory
PEX 8508PEX 8508
Port #1
Redundant
Control Card
NTB
PEX 8509PEX 8509
Port #9
To Line Cards
To Line Cards
LC #9
LC #1
SwitchSwitch SwitchSwitch SwitchSwitch SwitchSwitch
Fabric Car d
GE Ports
to Fabric
Figure 6. Redundant Control Plane
Software Usage Model Interrupt Sources/Events
The ExpressLane PEX 8509 switch supports the INTx
interrupt message type (compatible with the PCI 2.3 Interrupt
signals) or Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI) when enabled.
Interrupts/messages are generated by the PEX 8509 for hot
plug events, baseline error reporting, and advanced error
reporting.
From a system model viewpoint, each PCI Express port is a
virtual PCI to PCI bridge device with its own set of PCI
Express configuration registers. It is through the upstream port
that the BIOS or host can configure the other ports using
standard PCI enumeration. The virtual PCI to PCI bridges
within the PEX 8509 are compliant to the PCI and PCI
Express system models. The Configuration Space Registers
(CSRs) in a virtual primary/secondary PCI to PCI Bridge are
accessible by type 0 configuration cycles through the virtual
primary bus interface (matching bus number, device number,
and function number).
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© 2008 PLX Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. PLX and the PLX logo are registered trademarks of PLX Technology, Inc. ExpressLane is a trademark of PLX Technology, Inc.,
which may be registered in some jurisdiction. All other product names that appear in this material are for identification purposes only and are acknowledged to be trademar ks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies. Information supplied by PLX is believed to be accurate and reliable, but PLX Technology, Inc. assumes no responsibility for
any errors that may appear in this material. PLX Technology , Inc. reserves the right, without notice, to make changes in product design or specification.
8509-SIL-PB-1.4 04/08
Development Tools
PLX offers the PEX 8509RDK which includes hardware and
software tools to enable rapid customer design activity. These
tools consist of a hardware module, hardware documentation
and a Software Development Kit (SDK).
ExpressLaneTM PEX 8509RDK
The RDK hardware module includes the PEX 8509 with one
upstream x4 port and four downstream x1 ports.
The PEX 8509RDK hardware module can be installed in a
motherboard, used as a riser card, or configured as a bench-top
board.
The PEX 8509RDK can be used to test and validate customer
software. Additionally, it can be used as an evaluation vehicle
for the PEX 8509 features and benefits.
SDK
The SDK tool set includes:
- Linux and Windo ws d ri ve rs
- C/C++ Source code, Objects, libraries
- User’s Guides, Application examples, Tutorial
Figure 7. PEX 8509RDK
Product Ordering Information
Part Number Description
PEX 8509-AA25BI 8-Lane, 8-port PCI Express Switch
PEX 8509-AA25BI G 8-Lane, 8-port PCI Express Switch Pb-Free
PEX 8509-AA RDK
PLX Technology, Inc. PEX 8509 Rapid Development Kit w ith x4 Edge Connector
870 W. Maude Ave. PEX 8509 Rapid Development Kit w ith x4 Edge Connector;
x1 PCIe Cable, x1 PCIe Host Adapter; RDK Port Expander
PEX 8509-AA RDK Kit*
Sunnyvale, CA 94085 USA
www.plxtech.com * To use the 8-port RDK configuration, customer needs to purchase the PEX 8509-AA RDK Kit
Please visit the PLX Web site at http://www.plxtech.com/8509 or contact PLX sales at 408-774-9060 for sampling.
