At Rambus, we create cutting-edge semiconductor and IP products, providing industry-leading chips and silicon IP to make data faster and safer.
Interconnect
What is an Interconnect?
An interconnect is the communication infrastructure that links various components within a computing system, such as processors, memory, accelerators, and I/O devices, to enable data exchange. It can be implemented as on-chip buses, high-speed serial links, or network fabrics, depending on the system architecture. Interconnects are foundational to performance, scalability, and efficiency in systems ranging from embedded devices to data centers and high-performance computing (HPC).
How Interconnects works
Interconnects operate by transmitting data packets or signals between endpoints using protocols that define how data is formatted, routed, and acknowledged. These protocols may support features like flow control, error correction, and packet ordering. In modern systems, interconnects are often layered, starting from the physical layer (e.g., SerDes), through the data link layer (e.g., CRC, FEC), up to the transaction layer (e.g., PCIe, CXL). The choice of interconnect affects latency, bandwidth, power consumption, and system complexity.
What are the key features of Interconnects?
- Support for protocols like PCIe, CXL, NVLink, and AXI
- Integration with FEC, ECRC, and ECC for data integrity
- Multi-lane and multi-path routing for parallelism
- Compatibility with coherent and non-coherent memory models
- Dynamic reconfiguration and hot-plug support
What are the benefits of Interconnects?
- High Bandwidth: Enables fast data movement between components, essential for AI/ML and HPC workloads.
- Low Latency: Reduces delays in memory access and I/O operations.
- Scalability: Supports multi-core, multi-socket, and multi-node architectures.
- Modularity: Facilitates flexible system design and resource sharing.
- Reliability: Includes built-in error detection and correction mechanisms.
Enabling Technologies
Interconnects are enabled by:
- SerDes (Serializer/Deserializer) for high-speed signaling
- PHY IP cores for physical layer implementation
- Protocol controllers for transaction management
- Memory interfaces like DDR5 and LPDDR5
- Security IP for encrypted and authenticated data transfer
Rambus Technologies
Rambus provides a comprehensive portfolio of Interface IP solutions that support advanced interconnect standards including PCIe 6.0, CXL 3.0, and DDR5/LPDDR5. Our Controller IP is optimized for high bandwidth, low latency, and robust error handling, making them ideal for AI, automotive, and data center applications.
