MXH917 PCIe 4.0 Transparent Host Adapter
MXH917 PCIe 4.0 Transparent Host Adapter
The MXH917 PCIe 4.0 x16 Transparent Host Adapter is our medium performance PCIe IO product. The card is based on the Microchip Switchtec PCIe 4.0 PFX Switch.
- One x8 PCIe edge port
- Four x4 PCIe Cable ports
- PCIe 4.0 SFF-8644 cables
- Copper and Fiber cable support
- Quad SFF-8644 Connectors
- Host Transparent Bridging
- Low Profile Design
- Optional board management software
Product Data
The MXH917 PCIe 4.0 Host Adapter is our medium performance transparent solution for connecting servers to external I/O subsystems. Based on Microchip® PCIe 4.0 bridging architecture, the MXH917 adapter enables reliable transparent PCIe cable connections and clock isolation. The MXH917 has a PCIe 4.0 x8 Edge connector and four PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 SSF-8644 connectors and is typically recommended for fan-out where sustained PCIe 4.0 x16 performance is not needed.
For high performance application, such as GPU farms, test and measurement equipment, medical equipment, and storage subsystem we recommend the MXH932 card.
Compatibility
The card does not supports the new PCI-SIG CMI (Cable Management Interface ) protocol as defined in the current PCI-SIG External Cable specification 3.0 but uses a proprietary mechanism to transmit reset. Please contact Dolphin for more information on compatibility for PCIe target devices. If you need a transparent card with Host and Target functionality supporting the CMI protocol, please select the MXH932.
Cables
The MXH917 card has a quad SFF-8644 cable connector and supports PCIe 4.0 SFF-8644 copper and fiber cables. Using the MXH917 as a Host card, standard PCIe cables enables basic transparent Host operations including propagation of host reset signal to the downstream device.
The MXH917 is carefully designed for maximum cable lengths. Fiber optics extends this distance to 100 meters. More info on cable alternatives for the MXH917 card.
Configurations
The MXH917 uses an on-board DIP-Switch to select operational parameters. The adapter cable port can be configured as four x4, two x8 or one x16 PCIe connection. The card does not support being used as a Transparent Target card. Please select the MXH932 if you need a card supporting Transparent Target operation.
eXpressWare Board Management Software
The MXH917 Adapter card comes with the optional eXpressWare Board Management software for simplified monitoring and management. For more information on Dolphin board management software visit here.
PCI Express NTB
The MXH917 card is a transparent Host product only. To utilize the Dolphin's PCIe NTB eXpressWare clustering software, you need to purchase the MXH930 PCIe 4.0 NTB adapter card.
Features
- PCI Express® 4.0 compliant - 16.0 GT/s per lane
- Link compliant with Gen1, Gen2, Gen3 and Gen4 PCI Express
- PCIe 4.0 x8 Edge connector
- PCIe 4.0 cables
- Quad x4 SFF-8644 PCI Express 4.0 cable ports that can be configured as:
- One - x16 PCI Express port
- Two - x8 PCI Express ports
- Four - x4 PCI Express ports
Dolphin PCIe 4.0 Transparent Adapter comparison
The table below compares the PCIe 4.0 Transparent adapters available from Dolphin.
| Adapter | PCIe 4.0 Edge | PCIe 4.0 Cable port | Host/Target | CMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MXH932 | x16 | Quad x4 SFF-8644 | Host/Target | Yes |
| MXH919 | x8 | Dual x4 SFF-8644 | Host | No |
| MXH917 | x8 | Quad x4 SFF-8644 | Host | No |
| MXH915 | x8 | Single x4 SFF-8644 | Host | No |
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Link Speeds | 64 Gbit/s per port, total 128 Gbit/s |
| Cut through latency | 120 nanoseconds |
| Active Components | Microchip Switchtec® Gen4 PCI Express Switch |
| PCI Express® | Base Specification 4.0 |
| Topologies | One x16 connection Switch topologies using MXS924 |
| Cable Port | Quad SFF-8644 / Four x4 Gen4 Ports |
| Supported cables | PCIe 4.0 cables |
| Maximum power rating | 12 Volt: max 1.66A (no port power) 2.86A (max port power) +3.3 Volt: Not connected +3.3 Volt Aux: max 100mA |
| Typical power rating | 12 Volt: 1.5 A (no port power) +3.3 Volt: Not connected +3.3 Volt Aux: max 100mA |
| PCIe Bracket | Full height plate mounted Half height plate included |
| Mechanical Dimensions | Low profile, Half length 167.65mm- (6.6 inches) x 68.90 mm (2.731 inches) |
| Operating Environment | Operating Temperature: 0°C - 55°C (32°F - 131°F) Airflow : 350 LFM (Preliminary) Relative Humidity: 5% - 95% (non- condensing) |
| Software | No software needed |
| Configuration | DIP-Switch Host x4, x8, x16 Link |
| Regulatory approvals | CE Mark FCC Class A RoHS compliant UL94V-0 compliant |
| Regulatory EMC tests | EN 55032:2012 EN 55035:2017 EN 61000-3-2:2014 EN 61000-3-3:2013 47 CFR Part 15, Subpart B (Clause 15.107 and 15.109) in conjunction with ANSI C63.4:2014 CISPR 35:2016 Edition 1.0 (CISPR/I/412/CDV) Korean Harmonized standard, KN 35 |
| Operating Systems | Basic operations - All |
MXH917 - Transparent Host functionality only