connectivityZONE Products for the week of January 15, 2007
Agere Systems Says…
1394b Host Delivers PCI Express Bus And 1394B Functions
On One Chip
Compact dual-mode device doubles multimedia streaming speeds
over 1394A, enables maximum PC design flexibility
Agere Systems has delivered to market a chip aimed at igniting a new
wave of PC and embedded system design creativity, as well as much faster,
more feature-rich PC and embedded system connectivity. The FW643 chip --
one-fourth the size of a U.S. dime -- is the most integrated of its type
ever produced.
The chip combines PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Express bus and 1394B functions. Agere is the first company to make available a single chip integrating these two connectivity interfaces.
The PCI Express bus is rapidly becoming the underlying backbone inside a PC because it enables smaller, more cost-effective PC circuit board designs than the PCI bus, the previous-generation bus it is replacing. The PCI Express bus is less than one-sixth the width of the PCI bus.
1394B transports data, audio and video between computer and consumer electronics equipment at up to 800 Megabits per second (Mbits/s) -- twice as fast as current 1394A 400 Mbits/s technology.
The chip's unprecedented integration makes it possible for PC makers to lower silicon and system costs. The integration also gives these makers flexibility to design more varied sizes and shapes because they only need one chip instead of two, and because they use the much thinner PCI Express bus. Higher integration also improves overall power management and reduces the distance to route data, audio and video through PC systems.
"This chip could lead to some of the most creative PC designs ever made," said Shane Gunning, marketing director with Agere Systems' Networking Division. "Such innovative PC products need chips that are small and can easily fit in tight spaces on the PC mainboard, so the entire circuit board can be designed in various ways. Our chip gives those innovative PC companies the robust performance in a very small device so they can add all kinds of pizzazz to the PCs they design. The chip brings to fruition maximum computer performance in a minimal amount of space."
With the PCI Express bus, the connection to the host chipset is achieved using just nine signal pins; chips that connect using the 32-bit PCI bus require 58 signal pins. The more pins on the chip, the more space it consumes in both chip area and circuit board routing.
Another key feature of Agere's new chip is its support of the PCI Express Active State Power Management (ASPM). ASPM enables aggressive power management operating within the chip's link layer. Agere's PCI Express link within the FW643 has implemented the L0 (L stands for Level) and L1 low-power states. These dramatically minimize the power the chip consumes in non-active states.
This aggressive power management is key to battery life in mobile PCs. Additionally, the low-power features reduce the need for system cooling, allowing PC designers to reduce fan speed and minimize noise for all PCs.
"With consumers creating their own home video libraries and amassing large volumes of audio content, 1394B is emerging as the fastest way to back up this content on the latest-generation of high-performance external hard drives," said James Snider, executive director of the 1394 Trade Association. "The high performance of PCI Express makes it the perfect bus for 1394B to interface to."
Agere is also introducing today a PCI Express bus to 1394A version, called the FW533, for applications that require lower-cost 1394A operating at 400 Mbits/s. The pin-compatible FW533 and FW643 can be used interchangeably in a PC mainboard design allowing maximum flexibility to PC manufacturers.
With Agere's solution, PC manufacturers can offer cost-effective 1394A
and 1394B using one main board design. They can do this by deciding to populate
either the FW533 or the FW643 as needed. The FW533 also features all of
the same PCI Express footprint and power-saving features as the FW643.
analogZONE Says . . .
It's great to see FireWire -- oops, I mean IEEE
1394 -- finally getting the respect it deserves and gaining general acceptance
as the networking interface of choice for digital video. That's why the
Agere FW533 and FW643 PCIe-to-1394 interfaces are especially welcome arrivals
on the scene. 
As the release above explains,
the FW533 is a 1394A-only device, while the pin-compatible FW643 supports
both 1394A and 1394B, its double-speed extension. There are several PCIe-to-1394
bridges already on the market (such as the TI XIO2200) but Agere claims
that they are the first native interface devices of their type (see Fig. 1), an
important differentiation because a straight interface enjoys significantly
lower latency than a bridge.
The chips get big points with me because Agere took the time to design them to cater to the peculiarities of PC motherboards and adapters. This includes a large 8 k asynchronous receive buffer that supports two packets-worth of maximum-sized transfer sizes which helps keep your serial traffic moving while a PC North Bridge wakes up from sleep mode (a common issue in many PCs). Attributes of the PC-friendly devices also include support for both the L0s and L1s low-power states which can drop its power draw to well below 400 mW. Even in its normal operating mode, the FW643's typical power consumption is pretty reasonable at 579 mW (732 mW maximum).
It's great to see these Agere products which will make it easier to get 1394 traffic on and off the PCIe busses that are becoming increasingly common in higher-performance PCs. Their higher transfer speed, smaller connectors, and better transport efficiency make them an increasingly popular choice for exchanging digital multimedia -- a trend that these handy little devices should help accelerate.
Agere has already started shipping the new chip to customers. Volume pricing for the 1394A-only FW533 is $5 and $6 for the 1394A/B-capable FW643.
For more information, customers may visit Agere's
web site.
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