Press Release


For more information, contact:

Lisa Sherwin
Nereus for PCI-SIG
Phone: 503-619-0425
lsherwin@nereus-worldwide.com 

PCI-SIG to Develop PCI-X 1066 Specification, Delivering 8.5 Gigabytes per Second of I/O Bandwidth

PCI-X 1066 will Offer Backward Compatibility with Previous Generations of PCI-X and PCI

PORTLAND, OR, - November 13, 2002 -

The PCI-SIG, the Special Interest Group responsible for PCI, PCI-X and PCI Express industry-standard I/O technologies, announced today that its PCI-X Workgroup is beginning the initial work necessary to develop PCI-X 1066 as a backwards-compatible follow-on to the recently announced PCI-X 266 and PCI-X 533 specifications.

The newest development effort from the PCI-SIG will enable 1066 mega-transfers per second translating into sustainable push-rate bandwidth of more than 8.5 Gigabytes/second, while enabling future applications such as 40 Gigabit Ethernet and others that are in development. In addition to speed enhancements and backward compatibility, other features being considered for inclusion in the PCI-X 1066 specification are enhanced power management, full isochronous support, support for redundant paths, and modular form factors. Member feedback will be an important factor in determining which features are most in demand.

PCI-X 1066 development will take place in two phases. During the first phase, the PCI-X Workgroup will analyze the signaling, card, and connector characteristics and alternatives, as well as possible protocol extensions for future applications. In phase two, the Workgroup will write and validate the specification.

"The PCI-SIG is excited to begin the work to extend the PCI-X specification," said Tony Pierce, PCI-SIG chairman. "We are committed to enhancing PCI-X to meet the future speed and feature requirements of our members and maintaining the strong value that PCI-X delivers."

"We believe that it is possible to extend PCI-X's parallel architecture to yet another speed grade that once again doubles the bandwidth," said Alan Goodrum, chairman of the PCI-SIG's PCI-X Workgroup. "The benefit of extending PCI-X technology to a new generation is to ensure a solid roadmap for the design community that cares about backward compatibility and investment protection."

"Adaptec supports the advancement of PCI-X technology as it extends server performance and adds value for our customers while providing investment-protecting backward compatibility," said Mark Delsman, chief technology officer at Adaptec. "The increased bandwidth of PCI-X 1066 is an important step in the design of ever more powerful servers as systems builders and I/O designers work to meet the growing performance needs of their customers."

"HP ProLiant server customers depend on the winning formula of advancing capabilities combined with full compatibility," said Karl Walker, CTO and vice president for Technology Business Development, HP Industry Standard Servers. "The phenomenal success of PCI and PCI-X is also based on this model, and we are excited about these new performance extension developments."

"Incremental improvements on the incumbent standard have great value to both end users and suppliers," said Dr. Tom Bradicich, CTO, IBM xSeries Servers. "Advances in PCI-X technology improve reliability and bandwidth, while protecting hardware, software, and engineering design investments. This balance between innovation and investment protection is why PCI-X takes hold as the high bandwidth interconnect standard for servers."

"LSI Logic has supported the PCI initiative for over 10 years and we've committed to extend our product roadmap as the PCI-X standard moves forward" said David Steele, director of product planning and management for the LSI Logic Storage Standard Products division. "In 1992, the original 33MHz/32 bit PCI interface had a bandwidth of 132 MB/s. PCI-X 1066 will increase that to 8.5 GB/s, a 64X gain. We're pleased to have participated in advancing this technology and to help engineer next generation server performance as well as maintain backward compatibility."

"We're looking forward to PCI-X 1066 to follow the previous generations of PCI-X," said David Dorrough, technical marketing manager at ServerWorks. "There is tremendous value in a standard that is backward compatible; PCI-X 1066 will allow our customers to make an easy upward migration."

Join PCI-SIG to Contribute to the Development of PCI-X 1066
PCI-SIG members are welcome to join the workgroups involved in developing the PCI-SIG's industry-standard specifications. All PCI-SIG members also participate in the final review of specifications before they are released to the industry. If you are interested in becoming a member, please visit the PCI-SIG web site at www.pcisig.com.

About the PCI-SIG

The PCI-SIG is the Special Interest Group that owns and manages PCI specifications as open industry standards. The organization defines and implements new industry standard I/O (Input/Output) specifications as the industry's local I/O needs evolve. The PCI Special Interest Group was formed in 1992, and the organization became a nonprofit corporation, officially named "PCI-SIG" in the year 2000. Currently, more than 800 industry-leading companies are active PCI-SIG members. The PCI-SIG's current directors are employed by the following PCI-SIG member companies: Adaptec, AMD, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Phoenix Technologies, ServerWorks and TI. For more information about the PCI-SIG, and PCI-SIG membership benefits, contact the PCI-SIG by phone, at (800) 433-5177 (within the United States), or by fax at (503) 297-1090, or visit the PCI-SIG web site at: www.pcisig.com.

PCI-X Roadmap:


The PCI-X 1.0 specification encompassed 66 MHz and 133 MHz (PCI-X 66 and PCI-X 133); the PCI-X 2.0 encompasses the full range of performance from 66 MHz to 533 MHz (PCI-X 66, PCI-X 133, PCI-X 266, PCI-X 533); and PCI-X 3.0 will target 1066 MHz (PCI-X 1066).

All trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.