Transceiver standard, '12x' parts on the way for Infiniband

Transceiver standard, '12x' parts on the way for Infiniband
SAN JOSE, Calif. ˜ A group of interconnect vendors are readying a standard for Infiniband optical and copper transceivers that will span both 10 and 30 Gbit/second speeds. The move comes as Agilent Technologies (Cupertino, Calif.) is disclosing plans for its first 30 Gbit/s products, implementing the so-called 12x Infiniband standard.

Infiniband was once seen as an interconnect for broad use in data centers for its high throughput and low latency. But due to its relative complexity and expense—and the downturn in IT spending—the technology to date has seen limited use in high-end computer clusters and some storage gear.

In an effort to drive Infiniband forward, a host of vendors including Agilent, IBM, Intel and Sun will present their views at a public Infiniband Trade Association meeting in New York on June 16. More details of the outlook for next-generation 12x products including the transceiver standard may emerge at that time.

The Infiniband transceiver multi-source agreement (MSA) will define a signal conditioning scheme and support hot-plug capability. The signal conditioning will support Infiniband jitter characteristics and features to monitor and control supply voltages and temperatures.

"When you look out at some really big data centers who want optical backbones, you see this MSA is a really great thing. It will help drive the technology forward," said Kevin Deierling, vice president of product marketing at Infiniband start up Mellanox Technologies Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.).

"Once you get up to [clusters with] thousands of nodes, which is what we are starting to bid on now, the optics become very important," Deierling added.

Agilent plans to sample early next year both optical 12x and copper 4x Infiniband transceivers. The optical transceiver includes a 24-channel clock data recovery (CDR) unit for jitter reset and supports the dual MPO (multi-fibre push on) connector for cables of 12 short-reach optical fibers. The copper version includes an eight-channel CDR and supports standard Infiniband 4x cabling.

Agilent has also announced plans to sample early next year its first Infiniband host chip, a dual-port 4x chip that will include links to both the PCI-X 2.0 and PCI Express local interconnects. The company will also ship next year a switch with a mix of 4x and 4x/12x ports.

The products come from RedSwitch, an Infiniband start up with an existing eight-port, 4x switch that Agilent acquired in 2002. They mark one of the first Infiniband 12x product announcements to date.

"We do see customer demand for 12x parts," said Jack Rondoni, a product manager with Agilent's RedSwitch division which claims six design wins for its existing 4x switch chip.

"We have said the second half of 2003 or early in 2004 will be the right time for 12x products, but we have no products announcements right now," said Deierling of Mellanox which currently sells a 96-port 4x switch.