Curtiss-Wright announced Monday that it has, for the first time, developed the ability to meet Gen 4 PCI Express bandwidth requirements with standard MultiGig RT2 VPX connectors, bringing Gen 4 capability to VPX and OpenVPX (VITA 65) standards. This level of bandwidth and signal integrity allow them to transfer 16 Gbaud PCIe 4.0 data communications signals over the backplane.
The Gen 4 specification is quite new, enough so that today’s high-powered computer processors don’t even use it. Curtiss-Wright imagines using Gen 4 for its Fabric64 family of modules and systems, which will support PCIe using standard VPX connectors. The global technology company primarily supports the defense, industrial, and energy markets.
“The ability to support next generation Gen 4 PCIe data rates over VPX without having to abandon the current OpenVPX architecture, today’s de facto bus and board standard for aerospace and defense systems, will enable our customers to protect and preserve their investment in current VPX hardware,” says Lynn Bamford, senior vice president and general manager of the defense solutions division. “This development highlights Curtiss-Wright’s ongoing commitment to innovation and leadership in the VPX market.”
The new design approach also includes future-proofed technology paths designed to smooth the transition into “Gen 5” speeds, which are not yet being discussed in practice.
Embedded computing leaders at Embedded Tech Trends, as well as PCI-SIG president Al Yanes, have noted that Gen 4 is still a matter for the future and has not been released for application yet. Many of today’s products use Gen 3 or Gen 2 specifications.
