Arria® 10 Transceiver PHY User Guide

ID 683617
Date 4/01/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents

2.7. PCI Express* (PIPE)

You can use Arria 10 transceivers to implement a complete PCI Express solution for Gen1, Gen2, and Gen3, at data rates of 2.5, 5.0, and 8 Gbps, respectively.

Configure the transceivers for PCIe* functionality using one of the following methods:

  • Arria 10 Hard IP for PCIe
    This is a complete PCIe solution that includes the Transaction, Data Link, and PHY/MAC layers. The Hard IP solution contains dedicated hard logic, which connects to the transceiver PHY interface.
    Note: For more information, refer to the Arria 10 Avalon-ST Interface for PCIe Solutions User Guide.
  • Native PHY IP Core in PIPE Gen1/Gen2/Gen3 Transceiver Configuration Rules

    Use the Native PHY IP (Native PHY IP Core) to configure the transceivers in PCIe mode, giving access to the PIPE interface (commonly called PIPE mode in transceivers). This mode enables you to connect the transceiver to a third-party MAC to create a complete PCIe solution.

    The PIPE specification (version 3.0) provides implementation details for a PCIe-compliant physical layer. The Native PHY IP Core for PIPE Gen1, Gen2, and Gen3 supports x1, x2, x4, or x8 operation for a total aggregate bandwidth ranging from 2 to 64 Gbps. In a x1 configuration, the PCS and PMA blocks of each channel are clocked and reset independently. The x2, x4, and x8 configurations support channel bonding for two-lane, four-lane, and eight-lane links. In these bonded channel configurations, the PCS and PMA blocks of all bonded channels share common clock and reset signals.

Gen1 and Gen2 modes use 8B/10B encoding, which has a 20% overhead to overall link bandwidth. Gen3 modes use 128b/130b encoding, which has an overhead of less than 2%. Gen1 and Gen2 modes use the Standard PCS, and Gen3 mode uses the Gen3 PCS for its operation.

Table 182.  Transceiver Solutions
Support Arria 10 Hard IP for PCI Express Native PHY IP Core for PCI Express (PIPE)
Gen1, Gen2, and Gen3 data rates Yes Yes
MAC, data link, and transaction layer Yes User implementation in FPGA fabric
Transceiver interface Hard IP through PIPE 3.0 based interface
  • PIPE 2.0 for Gen1 and Gen2
  • PIPE 3.0 based for Gen3 with Gen1/Gen2 support