Future I/O technologies

[Arcadian]

I wanted to start a discussion of future I/O technologies. Which ones interest people the most, and which ones look the most promissing? I've come up with the following.

a) Infiniband. http://developer.intel.com/design/servers/future_server_io/index.htm

b) PCI-X. http://www.pcisig.com/developers/specification/availspecs.php3?t2=1#pci-x

c) LDT. http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/mpf/pres99/pres8.html

Any others?

[nkeezer]

I remember reading about a couple of those a few months back, but unfortunately, I've forgotten most of the details of them. Don't know anything about Infiniband, and that link seems to indicate that it's intended for servers anyway, so it's not really much of a concern to me.

I think I remembered thinking "what's the point" when I read about PCI-X. Since moving 3d-accellerators to AGP, I don't think there have really been too many bandwidth-intensive devices on the PCI bus. Now I'm really not sure about this at all, but I kind of doubt that the 133mb/sec pipe on the PCI bus is getting filled right now. Is it?

On the other hand, I think I thought that LDT was really exciting when I read about it the first time (can't find the article, though, dammit). But I can't remember anything about it.

What do you guys think about wireless technologies like Bluetooth? They sound pretty cool to me http://www.sharkyforums.com/ubb/smile.gif

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[Arcadian]

The reason I'm excited about infiniband is because it's a serial interface that can be used externally AND internally. It can do what PCI can do, but it can also do what Fiber Channel and SCSI can do! It is composed of serial channels that each run at 2.5GHz. If you have 4 channels, you all of a sudden have 1.25GB/s bandwidth, which is great for internal periferal interconnect to replace PCI. You can also have a single channel, and run at 312MB/s, which is much faster than SCSI or Fiber Channel, and can be used for external periferal interconnect.

PCI-X is also interesting, mostly because it is built of of PCI. It can reach much higher bandwidths, but it is limited by the number of slots compared to PCI. In a PCI-X system with full bandwidth, you can only have two slots per PCI-X bridge, but each of those slots will be 8 times faster than PCI.

LDT is from AMD, and I think in terms of technologies on the horizon, LDT looks very interesting. One of the neat things is the scalability. It can be used as a fast interconnect between processor north bridges, and the same standard can be scaled down to lower bandwidths to connect I/O devices. Very revolutionary, but we'll see if AMD can win over more established technology.

Bluetooth also interests me, but I would like to see some technology actually start to use it. It sounds great on paper, but I would love to see a demo.

[zombor]

heh, id comment, but i have no idea what any of thoes do! http://www.sharkyforums.com/ubb/wink.gif why make a new standard if the current one isnt being pushed to its limit?

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[LiquidGoop]

Although I alree with zombor to an extent, if there isn't a faster interface, they won't try to make devices that will try to utilize the extra bandwith.

About Bluetooth, I think it has real potential however that it's limited by it's range.

[Arcadian]

Originally posted by zombor:
heh, id comment, but i have no idea what any of thoes do! http://www.sharkyforums.com/ubb/wink.gif why make a new standard if the current one isnt being pushed to its limit?


Well, I imagine these technologies will find their way into servers first. Servers definately need this extra bandwidth. I brought it up because I figure we can just as easily speculate on the future of servers as we can the future of desktops. Also keep in mind that these technologies will at some point find their way onto PCs. At least I think so. http://www.sharkyforums.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Tuhran]

Anyone hearing any new info regarding USB 2.0? As in when it might hit the streets?

The specs are competitive with Firewire,and the buzz is that it may prevail if only due to the existing acceptance of the USB standard.

I was honestly rooting for Firewire to take off as a crossover connection standard between information technology and high-end A/V equipment. Didn't happen.

Face it, the products have to be there if a connection standard is going to have decent market penetration, and I believe the 2.0 standard will be backward-compatible with 1.0 devices.

If nothing else, it'll be something else we all have to buy a new motherboard for...

[Arcadian]

Originally posted by Tuhran:
Anyone hearing any new info regarding USB 2.0? As in when it might hit the streets?


I believe it will be available in Q1 or Q2 of next year.