PEX 8648

PEX 8618  Lead Free  PCI-SIG Integrator's List

16 Lane, 16 Port PCI Express Gen 2 (5.0 GT/s) Switch, 19 x 19mm PBGA

The ExpressLane™ PEX 8618 device offers 16 PCI Express Gen 2 (5.0 GT/s) lanes, capable of configuring up to 16 flexible ports. The switch conforms to the PCI Express Base Specification, rev 2.0. The PEX 8618 architecture supports packet cut-thru with the industry's lowest latency of 140ns (x4 to x1) and offers two virtual channels for traffic prioritization in the system. This, combined with large packet memory (2048 byte maximum payload size) and non-blocking internal switch architecture, provide full line-rate on all ports. The PEX 8618 supports both host-centric as well as true peer-to-peer traffic. The PEX 8618 also features an on-chip Non-Transparent port for dual-host and failover applications and supports dual-clock domain operation by virtue of support for Spread Spectrum Clock (SSC) isolation. This switch is hardware configurable and software programmable, allowing users to tailor their port configurations and quality-of-service system needs to suit their application requirements. This device can be used in a wide variety of applications including control planes in the communications and networking markets, servers, storage systems, embedded systems, multi-function printers, network interface adapters, medical imaging systems, industrial-control systems and AMC cards. The PEX 8618 is offered in a 19 x 19mm 324-ball PBGA and is available in both leaded and lead-free packaging. This device supports Access Control Services (ACS).

Page Index

Related Gen 3 Devices


Related Gen 2 Devices


Related Gen 1 Devices

PEX 8618 Technical Documentation

Document/Resources Everyone Access Requires Membership Requires NDA Description Version Date
Product Brief Download     Product Overview 1.2 05/09
Data Book     Download Detailed Technical Specifications 1.3 31Mar11
Design Notes     Download Dual Cast, 8600 family feature (white paper) 1.0 10/07
    Download Dynamic Buffer Pool, 8600 family feature (white paper) 1.0 10/07
    Download Error Injection (white paper) 1.0 07/10
    Download Hardware Design Checklist 1.0 11/09
    Download Non-Transparent Mode: Setup & Demonstration (white paper) 1.0 04/09
    Download Performance Metrics (white paper) 1.0 09/09
    Download Power Management Modes, PEX 8600 Products (white paper) 1.0 04/08
    Download Quick Start Hardware Design Guide 1.2 12/09
    Download Read Pacing, 8600 family feature (white paper) 1.0 10/07
    Download REXT Resistor Guidelines 1.1 05Aug11
Errata     Download Silicon Errata List 1.7 09July11
Interoperability     Download Interoperability Report 2.0 06/09
Application Notes     Download Gen 2 switch compatibility with Gen 1 devices 1.2 11/09
    Download Performance Monitor Feature (white paper) 1.0 05Jan11
    Download Timing Specifications for EEPROM, I2C, and JTAG 1.1 24Aug10
    Download Using a PCIe Switch as a Bandwidth Bridge 1.0 04/10
    Download Using Dual Cast feature of Gen 2 switches 1.0 05/08
Videos   View HTML   IO Sharing via PLX PCIe Switches -- Oct 2010
  View HTML   PCI Express 3.0 over Optical Cable -- Oct 2010
  View HTML   PCI Express Clustering for next generation data centers -- Oct 2010
Product Change Notification (PCN)   Download   PCN-2010-14: Final Test Location (ASE Kaohsiung Taiwan) 1.0 26Oct10
  Download   PDN-2011-4: Product Discontinuance Notice of select revisions/packages -- 22Dec11
Ordering Information View HTML     Part Number, Listing and Compliance -- --
Quality & Reliability   Download   Certificate of Compliance (CoC) -- REACH -- 28Jan11
  Download   ICP Test Report -- 27Sep10
  Download   Material Analysis Data, Green (35x35mm) -- 15Feb11
    Download Materials Analysis Data, PBGA -- 04/09
  Download   Moisture/Reflow Sensitivity Classification (IPC/JEDEC J-STD-020D.1) -- 03/08
    Download Reliability Qualification Report -- 06/09
    Download RoHS 6/6 Certificate of Compliance (PEX86xx Flip Chip BGA products with a suffix 'F') -- --
Webinars   View HTML   About PLX PCIe Gen3 Switches (may require Webex plug-in) -- 05Oct11

PEX 8618 Development Tools

Document/Resources Everyone Access Requires Membership Requires NDA Description Version Date
Signal Integrity Kit     Download PCIe Receiver Equalization (white paper) 1.0 12/08
    Download PLX Gen 2 Testing over "16 / 30" Tyco Comm Backplane (presentation) 1.0 12/08
    Download PLX PCI Express over 30" of Legacy Backplane (white paper) 1.0 07/08
    Download Tool provides loss estimation and bandwidth distortion for a specified trace distance and configuration. 2.0 06/08
    Download Using PEX 8648 SMA based (SI) Card (white paper) 1.3 20Jul10
Rapid Development Kit (RDK)     Download Base Board Hardware Reference Manual 1.0 10/08
    Download Hardware Reference Manual 1.2 06Aug10
    Download OrCAD Design Files for Add-in Card RDK 1.0 05/08
Software Development Kit (SDK)   View HTML   Software Development Kit -- --
BSDL     Download Boundary Scan Description Language files -- 03/09
HSPICE Model     Download HSPICE Model -- 04/09
OrCAD     Download OrCAD Library Files for the PEX 8618 1.0 05/08
    Download Pinout List 1.0 11/09
Design Guidelines     Download PCB Layout Review Guide 1.0 11Oct11

Relevant Press Releases

Release Date Announcement
09/27/11 Industry-Leading PCI Express Compliancy List Grows with Addition of New Switch, Bridge Products
08/01/11 PLX to Present on PCI Express-SSD Storage at Flash Memory Summit
06/21/11 PLX and Avago Technologies Team-Up to Prove PCI Express over Fiber Optics at 64Gbps
11/08/10 PLX Announces Sampling of Industry's First PCI Express 3.0 Switches
10/18/10 PLX Techology Executive to Present at Linley High-Speed Interconnect Conference

PEX 8618 Applications

Application Description Document
Communications Router/Switch PCIe Connectivity & Fan-Out ExpressApps #60
(PDF)