GigaIO’s PCIe-Gen4 Switch Enables Complete Software-Defined Dynamically Configured Rack-scale Architectures

CARLSBAD, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — January 12, 2021 — GigaIO, the creators of the next-generation data center network architecture and connectivity solutions, today announced their collaboration with Microchip Technology Inc. to power GigaIO’s FabreX™, the industry first native PCI Express (PCIe) Gen4 network fabric, which supports GDR, MPI, TCP/IP and NVMe-oF. FabreX technology revolutionizes rack-scale architectures, enabling for the first time, complete software-defined, dynamically reconfigurable rack-scale systems, eliminating system waste, reducing maintenance burdens, and improving performance.

GigaIO’s Microchip silicon-based Gen4 switch appliance, first introduced in 2019, targets HPC and AI data center managers looking to free expensive resources (such as GPUs and FPGAs) trapped inside servers. In the past, to share these resources between their users, IT managers had to install not one but two or three networks in a rack. Even when servers were communicating to storage and accelerators over PCIe, in order to communicate server to server, IT managers had to incur the additional expense, overhead and latency hit of another network, like Ethernet or InfiniBand. With FabreX a single unified PCIe fabric can connect servers without resorting to InfiniBand or Ethernet. As a result, the Microchip and GigaIO collaboration delivers a solution with the industry’s lowest latency.

”With revolutionary technology ushered in by Microchip and GigaIO, a true rack-scale system can be created with only PCIe as the network. The implication for HPC and AI workloads, which consume large amounts of accelerators and high-speed storage like Intel Optane SSDs to minimize time to results, is much faster computation, and the ability to run workloads which simply would not have been possible in the past.” said Alan Benjamin, CEO of GigaIO.

GigaIO further breaks one the barriers to larger scale adoption of disaggregated infrastructure (vendor lock-in) by demonstrating a commitment to open standards: several off-the-shelf software options are available from a number of vendors to compose resources in FabreX, instead of yet another proprietary pane-of-glass and licensing fees. Microchip’s industry leading Switchtec PCIe switches form the foundation of FabreX’s hardware layer, while the management architecture is based on Redfish APIs, an open standard instead of proprietary hardware and software.

“Composable PCIe infrastructure provides data center operators with much needed flexibility to pool and partition resources on-demand, enabling an optimized total system solution based on application needs,” said Andrew Dieckmann, associate vice president of marketing and applications engineering for Microchip’s data center solutions business unit. “Microchip appreciates GigaIO’s on-going collaboration with our Switchtec PCIe Gen4 switches for use in this growing market segment.”

PCIe is emerging as the fabric of choice to realize Composable Disaggregated Infrastructure with industry leading low latency and ease-of-use advantages over alternative methods. GigaIO and Microchip are leading the way to drive PCIe as a true rack-level interconnect.

For more details download the “ Cloud-Class Composable Disaggregated Infrastructure” white paper, and/or go to www.gigaio.com to schedule a demo.

ABOUT GigaIO

GigaIO has invented the first truly composable cloud-class software-defined infrastructure fabric network, empowering users to accelerate workloads on-demand, using industry-standard PCI Express technology. The company’s patented network technology optimizes cluster and rack system performance, and greatly reduces total cost of ownership. With the innovative GigaIO FabreX™ open architecture, data centers can scale up or scale out the performance of their systems, enabling their existing investment to flex as workloads and business change over time. For more information, contact info@gigaio.com or visit www.gigaio.com.

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ABOUT MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY

Microchip Technology Inc. is a leading provider of smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions. Its easy-to-use development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable customers to create optimal designs which reduce risk while lowering total system cost and time to market. The company’s solutions serve more than 120,000 customers across the industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications and computing markets. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com.

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GigaIO
Steve Campbell
scampbell@gigaio.com
760-487-8395