14 DAY TRIAL // The PCI Special Interest Group is working on extending the current PCI 2.0 specifications. There are multiple features scheduled for implementation and the results should be available by June next year.
These new features are alleged to enhance system performance as well as accelerators and storage devices that are heavily relying on the interconnect. The upgrading process will also focus on methods for traffic synchronization, particularly between host CPUs and co-processors, and a new technique for handling virtual memory and support for multicasting.
Chip interconnects are a vital element in the battle between Intel and rival AMD. Any of the competitors are expected to take maximum advantage over the new PCI Special Interest Group achievements and even to build new technologies on top of them. Intel is highly likely to use the PCI Express enhancements for third-parties to link to their chipsets and CPUs, and thus develop a viable alternative to the competition's HyperTransport Technology.
Multicasting is an important feature that allows a PCI Express switch to send data packages to multiple receivers at no extra latency or bandwidth cost. The PCI Express multicast feature could be used in systems that include multiple graphics chips or monitors, as well as redundant / mirrored storage capabilities, such as professional workstations or servers.
Some other extensions scheduled for implementation will be the cornerstone in creating a link between "hosts and co-processors without all the complexity of a fully cache coherent interconnect", as SIG experts say. The PCI SIG have a very strict non-disclosure policy regarding the offers in progress, but certain participating companies enjoy a broader spectrum of information regarding their own proposals.
The Interest Group is also continuing working on version 3.0 of the Express standard that has been announced in August. The new version is alleged to take care of physical layer transfer rates up to 8 Gtransfers/second. The division that is actively working on the encoding scheme for the new data rate has not yet reached an agreement on key signaling requirements such as equalization and pre-emphasis, anonymous sources within the group say.