RocketIO

Engineers are facing new challenges as they strive to build high-speed connections between chips, boards, and boxes that deliver the data bandwidth required by a new generation of electronic systems. Xilinx is leading the way with Virtex®-4 system connectivity technology, and a complete solution that includes intellectual property cores for protocols and data processing, design tools, and partnerships.

• Standards Support
• Backplanes
• Line Cards
• Switching Systems
• High Speed Serial Solutions

Virtex-4 FPGAs Deliver Ultimate Connectivity

Powered by RocketIO™ multi-gigabit serial transceivers and proven SelectIO™ parallel I/O technologies, the Virtex-4 FPGAs enable flexible bridging between emerging serial standards and existing parallel standards. Additionally, embedded PowerPC® processors and MicroBlaze™ soft cores enable control and protocol processing.

RocketIO Multi-Gigabit Transceivers Features at a Glance

• Third-generation multi-gigabit transceiver technology : View RocketIO transceiver characterization data
• Flexible SERDES with the broadest operating range available anywhere - 622 Mbps to 6.5 Gbps, and supports multi-rate applications.
• Compliance with the widest range of standards and protocols to chips, backplanes, and optical devices.
• Advanced Tx / Rx EQ techniques.
• Up to 24 transceivers.
• Complete serial I/O solutions.
• Simulation models - Evaluation boards, IP, and Technical support

RocketIO Tranceivers Provide Integrated Support for These Standards
Serial Standard	Channels	Baud Rate per channel
OC-12	1	622 Mbps
InfiniBand	1,4,12	2.5 Gbps
1 Gb Ethernet 1000BASE-CX/SX/LX	1	1.25 Gbps
10 Gb Ethernet XAUI	4	3.125 Gbps
Fibre Channel	1,1,4,1	1.06, 2.12, 3.1875 Gbps
Serial RapidIO	1	3.125 Gbps
PCI Express®	1,2,4,8,16	2.5
Aurora	1,2,3,4,...	600 Mbps - 6.5 Gbps
RocketIO supports emerging multi-gigabit serial standards.

RocketIO Simplifies Backplane Design
Multi-rate Support	622 Mbps - 6.5 Gbps
Programmable Termination	Reduces signal reflections Simplifies board design
Programmable Voltage Swing	Reduces power consumption
Transmit Pre-Emphasis	Equalizes simple channels
Integrated AC coupling	Direct interface to other devices Reduces component count
Receive Equalization	Equalizes stringent channels Upgrade legacy backplanes

RocketIO Simplifies Line Card Design
Multi-rate Support	622 Mbps - 6.5 Gbps
FPGA Fabric	Enables integration of processing components (MAC/Framer) Enables customization
Programmable PCS	Support multiple protocols in a single line card

RocketIO Simplifies Switching System Design
Multi-rate Support	622 Mbps - 6.5 Gbps
Up to 24 RocketIO multi-gigabit transceivers	Enables multiple port-count density points
Mesh Fabric Reference Design	Enables mesh-based switching at optimal cost, density points
Transmit Pre-Emphasis	Equalizes simple backplane channels
Receive Equalization	Equalizes stringent channels Upgrade legacy backplanes

RocketIO Simplifies Server and Storage System Design
Multi-rate Support	622 Mbps - 6.5 Gbps Support multiple traffic speeds in a single line card
Fibre Channel compliance	Compliant with ALL FC specifications
Internal Configuration Port	On-the-fly update of PMA and PCS settings
Electrical Idle (Out of Band Signaling)	Enables the link to change state Required for PCI Express
Beaconing (Out of Band Signaling)	Enables remote power-on
Spread-Spectrum Clocking	Compliant with PCI-Express and SATA standards
Serial ATA (SATA) & Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)	Compatible with these standards

Signal Integrity Simulation Support

• Signal Integrity Simulation Kit (SIS), HSPICE models
• RocketIO transceiver models
• FR4 trace models
• Connector models
• Stimulus files
• RocketIO design kit for HyperLynx on Mentor's website