This live product demonstration from OFC 2022 emulates real-world AI system architectures, based on the PECFF form factor. It incorporates a PECFF backplane with PECFF add-in-cards. Matt Burns, Technical Marketing Manager at Samtec, walks us through the demonstration. He explains that we're comparing the performance of two backplane architectures. The first is a traditional rigid PCB backplane, with Samtec HSEC6-DV edge card connectors interfacing with the PECFF add-in … [Read more...]
Search Results for: PECFF
New PCIe® 6.0 PECFF Emulation Platform Hardware Demonstration
This video, from the AI Hardware Summit, shows a prototypical Gen-Z PECFF demonstration based on PCIe 6.0, at 64 GT/s. It shows PCB connectors and twinax cable systems, with performance capabilities eminently suitable for AI hardware applications. It’s a Gen-Z backplane with Gen-Z Add-In-Cards (AIC) with top card connectivity. This emulates industry standard AI Acceleration hardware platforms. It’s a configurable, scalable system featuring high-speed cable assemblies, high-speed edge … [Read more...]
Samtec Discusses PECFF Applications in Gen-Z Consortium Webinar
HPC. FinTech. Machine Learning. Network Acceleration. These and many other emerging applications are stressing data center networks. Data center architectures evolve to ensure optimal resource utilization and allocation. PECFF (PCIe® Enclosure Compatible Form Factor) was developed to optimize next-gen system design and to reduce solution cost and complexity. PECFF is but one tool available for improved data center optimization. PECFF leverages PCIe CEM AIC mechanical infrastructure. … [Read more...]
Connectors for AI Accelerators
Developments of the last few years have thrust the subjects of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into the limelight. With the growth of online tools, consumers can now harness the power of AI for a range of tasks. High-performance interconnect provide the link between central processing units (CPUs) and AI accelerators, and play a vital role in the scalability and flexibility that these systems demand. Despite its recent place in the spotlight, AI has been with us for … [Read more...]
New AMD Versal AI Edge SoM and Carrier Card From Avnet Feature Samtec Interconnects
Wait . . . An AI hardware platform without a GPU? Is that even possible? Obviuolsy, I jest. GPUs are the workhorse solutions for ever larger LLMs and cutting-edge generative AI defining current and future iterations of data center architectures. However, the power of AI is also being brought to the network's edge using SoMs based on the AMD Versal™ AI Edge series of Adaptive SoCs. Avnet just released the VE2302 SOM and accompanying AI Edge IO Carrier Card. Together, they make the VE2302 … [Read more...]
Connectivity for Artificial Intelligence
Every element of modern life has been impacted by the rise of computing and the semiconductors that power it, but there is no aspect of computing that has caught the public imagination more that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Although AI has been with us for some time, recent advances in technology has placed the power of these technologies into the hands of everyday users. Beyond the public arena, AI is enabling innovation in almost all sectors of … [Read more...]
Samtec Exhibits at AI Hardware & Edge AI Summit, EuMW 2023
Ahh . . . September. It reminds us of the the last bits of summer, kids going back to school and football. Of course, at Samtec we love global football and the North American kind well. In case someone asks, I am a HUGE fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the high-tech world, trade show season is ramping up. Samtec will be exhibiting at two major shows this month. One is the AI Hardware & Edge AI Summit in Santa Clara, CA. The second tradeshow is the European Microwave Week (EuMW) in … [Read more...]
Should I Use a PCB or Cable Backplane?
Selecting a backplane design requires tradeoffs specific to a particular network topology and application. In some cases, the assessment of PCB vs cable backplane is not an “either/or” but a combination approach. This blog post, based on a conversation with Samtec’s Andrew Josephson, Brandon Gore, and Jonathan Sprigler, aims to answer some of the most common questions that come up when deciding should I use a PCB or cable backplane for a high-speed design? How do the two approaches compare on … [Read more...]
Samtec Emulates Real World AI System Architectures at AI HW Summit
AI chip solutions are getting faster. GPUs, the workhorse of many applications, seem to increase in performance while also reducing power. Other AI chip solutions like IPUs, TPUs and traditional FPGAs and SoCs feature 112 Gbps PAM4 transceivers. Getting data from point A to point B as fast as possible always seems to be a challenge. Fortunately, at the upcoming AI Hardware Summit 2022, co-located with the AI Edge Summit, technical experts from Samtec will focus on a number of 112 … [Read more...]
AI HW Summit: Samtec Accelerates 112 Gbps PAM4 Adoption
Something occurred to me recently. AI hardware system architectures are really applications-specific. Computing platforms from laptops, desktops, workstations and servers follow classical architectures. Inputs, outputs, a central processing unit, busses (control, data and memory), data memory and program or instruction memory all balance in harmony in so many facets of our daily lives. Granted, accelerators using FPGAs and GPUs are affecting system architectures. Distributed memory and … [Read more...]