Figure 1 shows a typical PCI/PCI-X local bus system architecture and displays the following characteristics:
- PCI-X primary bus connects to a PCI-X host bridge
- PCI-X to PCI-X bridge interfaced to a secondary PCI-X bus
- Disk controller
- System backplane
Altera's PCI MegaCore® function provides the protocol functionality for both the motherboard's primary and secondary buses.
The disk controller functionality may be integrated with a PCI MegaCore function for a single programmable chip solution. A network adapter card on the system backplane could provide the interface using an Altera® programmable logic device (PLD) and the PCI-X function. The PCI-X architecture enables high-complexity, high-performance systems (66 to 133 MHz) to meet the requirements of both open and embedded systems.
Figure 1. Typical PCI/PCI-X Architecture
Table 1 shows the features of the PCI MegaCore functions.
Table 1. PCI MegaCore Functions |
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| Feature | PCI/MT64 | PCI/MT32 | PCI/T64 | PCI/T32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus Width | 64-bit | 32-bit | 64-bit | 64-bit |
| Frequency | 0-66 MHz | 0-66 MHz | 0-66 MHz | 0-66 MHz |
| Functionality | Master/Target | Master/Target | Target Only | Master/Target |
| Supported Devices | FLEX 10KE APEX 20KE ACEX 1K | FLEX 10KE FLEX 6000 APEX 20KE ACEX 1K | FLEX 10KE APEX 20KE ACEX 1K | APEX 20KE |
| Logic Elements | 1,300 | 900 | 800 | 500 |
The Altera PCI Advantage
The Altera PCI/PCI-X solution provides critical advantages for the system designer. Altera's high-density APEX™ 20K and APEX 20KE devices enable you to create a single-device programmable solution for both the PCI/PCI-X function and the application-specific logic for a wide range of open and embedded custom solutions. The low-cost ACEX™ 1K family provides the PCI solution for high volume, low cost PCI 2.2 and CompactPCI systems.
