Unigen Corporation, designer and manufacturer of SSD, DRAM, NVDIMM modules and Enterprise IO solutions, has launched its PCIe Gen 4 Switch Evaluation Kit (EVK) based on Microchip’s Switchtec product. The “Mahogany” EVK was developed in close collaboration with Microchip (a provider of smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions) and is targeted for low-lane count applications, the company said. The evaluation board supports up to 52 lanes in a PCIe Gen 4 add-in card form factor and can enable fanout testing for a variety of systems including enterprise servers and storage, industrial servers, networking equipment, video production and broadcasting equipment, and test and instrumentation equipment.
In addition to the evaluation board, the EVK ships with the necessary cables, screws/standoffs and User Guide to enable a simple out-of-the-box test environment. The low-lane count EVK is intended to supplement Microchip’s Switchtec offerings, and is fully compatible with the partner’s suite of software and test tools, such as ChipLink, a convenient and easy-to-use GUI that provides access to all hardware functions and status information.
Unigen also offers design customization services should a customer require modifications prior to production. When coupled with their industry-leading contract manufacturing capabilities, Unigen is able to offer a full turnkey service that is unmatched in the industry.
“Unigen is the perfect collaboration partner to offer a specialized evaluation board for our low-lane count switches for Microchip’s Switchtec product line,” said Krishna Mallampati, Associate Director of Marketing and Applications at Microchip. “Not only are they well known for their world-class contract manufacturing services, but they also provide the design expertise required to enable customers for success.”
“Microchip’s Switchtec family offers an excellent solution for Gen 4 port expansion, multi-host applications, as well as adapting to multiple PCIe lane width and speed configurations,” said Richard Interrante, Director of the Future Intelligent Solutions specialist team at Future Electronics. “Unigen’s low-cost Mahogany board combined with the support of advanced networking specialists at Future Electronics provide our Switchtec customers with the tools and engineering assistance needed to ensure a successful path to production.”
“We are excited to be partnering with both Microchip and Future Electronics on the rollout of Mahogany,” said Paul Heng, President and CEO of Unigen. “This new PCIe switch offering is a good example of Unigen’s capability to expand our product portfolio beyond our expertise in storage and memory to now include enterprise IO.”
Pricing and availability
The company said the Mahogany EVK is available exclusively through Future Electronics to qualified customers.
www.futureelectronics.com/resources/featured-products/mahogany-evaluation-kit-for-pcie-switch
