Since PCI Express 2.0 builds upon the previous PCIe 1.1 standard, new PCI 2.0 cards can operate in either a PCIe 2.0 or 1.1 industrial computer system environment. This inherent PCIe 2.0 backward compatibility means that in Government & Defense applications such as Secure Cross Domain Network and Video Image Processing system solutions where secure networking or advanced video processing is key, and the systems are deployed for long periods of time; the option card technology can evolve without adversely affecting the current system installation.
2. The system solution technology rewards are great
PCIe 2.0 cards use a 5.0 GT/s base signal frequency, while PCIe 1.1, cards have a 2.5GT/s frequency. This doubling of the base frequency leads to an effective doubling of the available bandwidth between the single board computer and the option cards or between the motherboard's processors and the PCIe 2.0 option card slot. In Industrial Automation applications this 2x bandwidth availability can have provide enormous advantages in Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Semiconductor Fabrication system solutions. In HMI applications this extra bandwidth can allow sensor data transitions to been seen faster and silicon wafer machine to process more build and test instructions.
3. Chipset & CPU technology is available today for PCIe 2.0
The Intel 5520 and Intel 3420 chipsets and Intel Xeon C5500-series processors used on products like the WTM7026 embedded motherboard and the JXT6966 single board computer offer multiple PCI Express 2.0 interfaces. These long-life chipsets and processors from the Intel Embedded Products Division simplify the task of designing in the industrial computer longevity needed in Medical Imaging system solutions.
4. Implementing PCIe 2.0 in a system is easy
The PCI-SIG group simplified the task of incorporating PCI Express 2.0 into system designs by developing PCIe specifications that truly incorporate the advantages of backward compatibility and automatic PCIe link training.
5. Might as well get started with PCIe 2.0 because PCIe 3.0 is right around the corner
In early 2011 we will be discussing the benefits of PCIe 3.0 interfaces in your system solution designs, so what better way to get familiar with the benefits of faster data throughputs and wider bandwidths than by jumping on the PCIe Gen 2 bandwagon?