PCIe? Switches: Essential for High-Performance Computing in Automotive and Embedded Applications

PCI Express (PCIe?) switches are crucial for efficiently managing high-bandwidth data transfer and ensuring seamless communication between multiple devices or subsystems. This is especially true for High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems, where these switches enable the scalable, reliable, low-latency connectivity that is vital for handling demanding workloads in automotive, industrial and data center applications.

In this article, we will look at the pivotal role of PCIe switches optimized for HPC designs and take a closer look at the special needs of automotive designs.

How PCIe Switches Solve HPC Challenges

Modern HPC systems require support for packet switching and multi-host applications and PCIe solutions make this possible. They provide the versatility to deliver high performance and cost efficiency wherever this kind of specialized computing is needed. An example is our recently announced PCI100x family of Switchtec? PCIe Gen 4.0 16-lane switches that bring the benefits of PCIe switching capabilities to automotive and mass market embedded computing applications.

Meet the New PCI100x Family

Microchip’s Switchtec? family now includes the PCI1005 for packet switching support and PCI1003 for enabling multi-host connectivity. The PCI1005 expands a single host PCIe port to as many as six endpoints, while the PCI1003 multi-host switch features Non-Transparent Bridging (NTB) and is fully configurable to support 4-8 ports. These switches also provide features including:

●?Compliance with the PCI-SIG Gen5 specification

●?Operation up to 16GT/s

●?Support for high-speed Direct Memory Access (DMA)

●?Advanced features including Automatic Error Reporting (AER), Downstream Port Containment (DPC) and Completion Timeout Synthesis (CTS)

●?Availability in wide temperature ratings to meet commercial, industrial and Automotive Grade 2 requirements

Other family members include the PCI1001, a 4-Port 0-NTB PCIe Gen4x16 fanout switch, and the PCI1004, a 4-Port 4-NTB PCIe Gen4x16 switch.

Automotive Applications and PCIe

PCI switches like our new PCI100x family will grow in importance for automotive system development as today’s vehicles continue to look more and more like data centers on wheels.

Developed in 2003, PCIe is now in its sixth generation and serves as the backbone for data center communications. It has become a key pillar of automotive networking, delivering the necessary bandwidth while providing the DMA and support for the high-speed storage interfaces that are required for latency-sensitive data transfers between processors or from sensor interfaces to the CPU.

Despite the lack of a specific automotive-grade variant, PCIe has been widely adopted by automotive OEMs. This has prompted silicon vendors to create PCIe switches designed for the automotive environment, such as the first Gen 4 automotive-qualified Switchtec technology in 2022.

Automotive Ethernet Solutions

Discover how Microchip’s VelocityDrive? Software Platform, a turnkey Ethernet switch software solution and Configurable Tool (CT) based on standardized YANG models, to help OEMs manage In-Vehicle Networking (IVN). Automotive Ethernet enables zonal architecture for control and gateways, high-performance central compute, telematics systems and other IVN capabilities for supporting the Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs). Learn more about the VelocityDrive Software Platform.

Microchip Blog: Data Transport Ecosystem for Automotive Sensor Processing

Gain insights into the role of PCIe as a key vehicle safety component of today’s automotive network configurations: Building an Effective Data Transport Ecosystem for Automotive Sensor Processing.

PCIe Gains Automotive Mileage

In an EE Times | Electronic Engineering Times article our Daniel Leih shares insights about why PCIe switches are an optimal solution for the automotive market.

Driving Innovation with PCIe Solutions

Microchip’s PCIe solutions, including the PCI100x Switchtec PCIe Gen 4.0 switches are designed to meet the growing demands of high-performance, low-latency applications. With a focus on reliability, scalability and cost efficiency, our PCIe switches deliver exceptional performance to support complex, data-intensive workloads.

As industries evolve, Microchip continues to innovate, providing the advanced connectivity solutions that power the next generation of computing and automotive technologies. Explore our broader portfolio of solutions for 5G network infrastructure, IoT/edge computing, data centers, e-mobility, sustainability and ADAS/autonomous driving to discover how we can help accelerate your design journey.