Flash Memory Summit: Switchtec PAX Advanced Fabric Gen3 PCIe Switch by Microsemi

Microsemi Corporation announced the availability of its Switchtec PAX advanced fabric Gen3 PCIe switch providing performance fabric connectivity for scalable, multi-host systems and just a bunch of flash (JBOF) supporting single root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV), NVMe and multi-function endpoints.

This device will be showcased in Microsemi’s booth at the Flash Memory Summit, Aug. 8-10, 2017.

Hyperconverged systems are evolving towards composable/disaggregated infrastructures (C/DI) such as rack scale architecture to meet the rapidly changing demands on resources and storage capacity of next-generation applications. PAX advanced fabric PCIe switches provide a scalable, low latency and cost-effective solution to the disaggregation of computing, networking, graphics processing units (GPUs) and storage resources. These PAX PCIe switches, which are flexibly interconnected with configurable high-speed fabric links, virtualize PCIe domains and SR-IOV endpoints. System development is simplified through a fabric application programming interface (API) and the ability to utilize off-the-shelf NVMe host drivers, reducing time-to-market for complex multi-host systems.

Click to enlarge

“As we work closely with industry leaders, it became clear there’s demand for Microsemi to expand our PCIe switch portfolio to support next-generation disaggregated architectures,” said Derek Dicker, VP and business unit manager, performance storage, Microsemi. “Our PAX advanced fabric PCIe switch is pin-compatible to our PSX storage and PFX fanout PCIe switches, providing our customers a simple upgrade path to building SR-IOV-enabled and composable disaggregated systems while supporting our ability to gain market share.“

According to market research firm IDC’s February report titled, ‘Composable/Disaggregated Infrastructure (C/DI)-Addressable Market Opportunity, the total worldwide addressable opportunity for vendors with C/DI is $34.5 billion in 2017. The firm also expects this opportunity will grow at a modest CAGR of 7.4% and reach $45 billion in 2020. The Switchtec PAX advanced fabric PCIe switch is well-aligned to these growth trends, as it enables customers to leverage the device for the development of next-generation C/DIs.

Switchtec PAX family comprises switches from 96 lanes to 24 lanes, providing:

Performance PCIe fabric connectivity overcoming the limitations of the PCIe specification for rack scale multi-host systems
Multi-host sharing of SR-IOV and multifunction endpoints
Virtualization of PCIe domains and SR-IOV NVMe SSDs
Software development kit (SDK) for virtualization of other SR-IOV endpoints, and for enclosure management
Flexible port bifurcation in the industry, from x2 to x16 lanes per port
High port density, with up to 48 ports
Advanced error reporting
Error containment for surprise-plug and unplug to prevent system crashes
Advanced diagnostics and debug features to identify, diagnose and fix problems
Separate Refclk Independent SSC (SRIS) for cabled PCIe and lower cost system designs

The company’s Switchtec PAX advanced fabric PCIe switches are sampling to lead customers.