PEX 8648 Gen 2 PCIe switches are providing the interconnect backbone to the new OSS 1U computational accelerator expansion system. Using three PEX 8648 chips with a x16 link to the host, the expansion system supports up to two 2-slot-wide graphic accelerators used in telecommunications, defence, security and imaging applications.

The PLX PEX 8648 is a high-performance switch offering 48 lanes and 12 ports, as well as the PLX-exclusive integrated x16 support and non-transparent (NT) port functionality. PLX's advanced SerDes enables the PCIe Gen 2 x16 links over a cable and adapter card from the I/O expansion box to the host system. Other unique and leading features include three internal Hot-Plug controllers (with nine available through I2C), Read Pacing, Dual Cast, Dynamic Buffer Allocation, low latency and low power. The PEX 8648 is PCI-SIG® PCIe 2.0 (Gen 2) specification-compliant and highlighted on the special interest group's highly respected Integrators List. The switch provides an essential building block for system expansion and performance enhancement.

The new One Stop Systems 1U PCIe expansion platform was designed specifically for the emerging computational accelerator market. The platform supports either two double-slot graphical processing units (GPUs) or four single-slot GPUs. The PCIe interface, enabled by the PEX 8648 switches, delivers raw transfer rates of up to 160Gb/s to the host system through an adapter inserted in the host computer's PCIe x16 expansion slot