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Peripheral Component Interconnect
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The PCI Local Bus (usually shortened to PCI), or Conventional PCI, is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer. These devices can take either the form of an integrated circuit fitted onto the motherboard itself, called a planar device in the PCI specification or an expansion card that fits into a socket.
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The PCI Local Bus (usually shortened to PCI), or Conventional PCI, is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer. These devices can take either the form of an integrated circuit fitted onto the motherboard itself, called a planar device in the PCI specification or an expansion card that fits into a socket. The name PCI is an initialism formed from Peripheral Component Interconnect. The PCI bus is common in modern PCs, where it has displaced ISA and VESA Local Bus as the standard expansion bus, and it also appears in many other computer types. Despite the availability of faster interfaces such as PCI-X and PCI Express, conventional PCI remains a very common interface.
The PCI specification covers the physical size of the bus (including wire spacing), electrical characteristics, bus timing, and protocols. The specification can be purchased from the PCI Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG).
Typical PCI cards used in PCs include: network cards, sound cards, modems, extra ports such as USB or serial, TV tuner cards and disk controllers. Historically video cards were typically PCI devices, but growing bandwidth requirements soon outgrew the capabilities of PCI. PCI video cards remain available for supporting extra monitors and upgrading PCs that do not have any AGP or PCI express slots.
Many devices traditionally provided on expansion cards are now commonly integrated onto the motherboard itself, meaning that modern PCs often have no cards fitted. However, PCI is still used for certain specialized cards, although many tasks traditionally performed by expansion cards may now be performed equally well by USB devices.
History
Work on PCI began at Intel's Architecture Lab circa 1990.
PCI was immediately put to use in servers, replacing MCA and EISA as the server expansion bus of choice. In mainstream PCs, PCI was slower to replace VESA Local Bus (VLB), and did not gain significant market penetration until late 1994 in second-generation Pentium PCs. By 1996 VLB was all but extinct, and manufacturers had adopted PCI even for 486 computers. EISA continued to be used alongside PCI through 2000. Apple Computer adopted PCI for professional Power Macintosh computers (replacing NuBus) in mid-1995, and the consumer Performa product line (replacing LC PDS) in mid-1996.
Later revisions of PCI added new features and performance improvements, including a 66 MHz 3.3 V standard and 133 MHz PCI-X, and the adaptation of PCI signaling to other form factors. Both PCI-X 1.0b and PCI-X 2.0 are backward compatible with some PCI standards. With the introduction of the serial PCI Express standard in 2004, motherboard manufacturers have included progressively fewer PCI expansion slots in favor of the new standard. Although it is still common to see both interfaces implemented side-by-side, traditional PCI is likely to slowly die out in coming years.
PCI 1.0
PCI 1.0, which was merely a component-level specification, was released on June 22, 1992.
PCI 2.0
PCI 2.0, which was the first to establish standards for the connector and motherboard slot, was released on April 30, 1993.
PCI 2.1
PCI 2.1 was released on June 1, 1995.
PCI 2.2
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Auto Configuration
PCI provides two separate 32-bit or 64-bit address spaces corresponding to the memory and I/O port address spaces of the x86 processor family. Addresses in these address spaces are assigned by software. A third address space, called the PCI Configuration Space, which uses a fixed addressing scheme, allows software to determine the amount of memory and I/O address space needed by each device. Each device can request up to six areas of memory space or I/O port space via its configuration space registers.
In a typical system, the firmware (or operating system) queries all PCI buses at startup time (via PCI Configuration Space) to find out what devices are present and what system resources (memory space, I/O space, interrupt lines, etc.) each needs. It then allocates the resources and tells each device what its allocation is.
The PCI configuration space also contains a small amount of device type information, which helps an operating system choose device drivers for it, or at least to have a dialogue with a user about the system configuration.
Devices may have an on-board ROM containing executable code for x86 or PA-RISC processors, an Open Firmware driver, or an EFI driver. These are typically necessary for devices used during system startup, before device drivers are loaded by the operating system.
In addition there are PCI Latency Timers that are a mechanism for PCI Bus-Mastering devices to share the PCI bus fairly. "Fair" in this case means that devices won't use such a large portion of the available PCI bus bandwidth that other devices aren't able to get needed work done. Note, this does not apply to PCI Express.
"How this works is that each PCI device that can operate in bus-master mode is required to implement a timer, called the Latency Timer, that limits the time that device can hold the PCI bus. The timer starts when the device gains bus ownership, and counts down at the rate of the PCI clock. When the counter reaches zero, the device is required to release the bus. If no other devices are waiting for bus ownership, it may simply grab the bus again and transfer more data."
Interrupts
Devices are required to follow a protocol so that the interrupt lines can be shared. The PCI bus includes four interrupt lines, all of which are available to each device. However, they are not wired in parallel as are the other traces. The positions of the interrupt lines rotate between slots, so what appears to one device as the INTA# line is INTB# to the next and INTC# to the next. Single-function devices use their INTA# for interrupt signaling, so the device load is spread fairly evenly across the four available interrupt lines. This alleviates a common problem with sharing interrupts.
PCI bridges (between two PCI buses) map the four interrupt traces on each of their sides in varying ways. Some bridges use a fixed mapping, and in others it is configurable. In the general case, software cannot determine which interrupt line a device's INTA# pin is connected to across a bridge. The mapping of PCI interrupt lines onto system interrupt lines, through the PCI host bridge, is similarly implementation-dependent. The result is that it can be impossible to determine how a PCI device's interrupts will appear to software. Platform-specific BIOS code is meant to know this, and set a field in each device's configuration space indicating which IRQ it is connected to, but this process is not reliable.
PCI interrupt lines are level-triggered. This was chosen over edge-triggering in order to gain an advantage when servicing a shared interrupt line, and for robustness: edge triggered interrupts are easy to miss.
Later revisions of the PCI specification add support for message-signalled interrupts. In this system a device signals its need for service by performing a memory write, rather than by asserting a dedicated line. This alleviates the problem of scarcity of interrupt lines. Even if interrupt vectors are still shared, it does not suffer the sharing problems of level-triggered interrupts. It also resolves the routing problem, because the memory write is not unpredictably modified between device and host. Finally, because the message signaling is in-band, it resolves some synchronization problems that can occur with posted writes and out-of-band interrupt lines.
PCI Express does not have physical interrupt lines at all. It uses message-signalled interrupts exclusively.
Conventional hardware specifications
These specifications represent the most common version of PCI used in normal PCs.
- 33.33 MHz clock with synchronous transfers
- peak transfer rate of 133 MB/s (133 million bytes per second) for 32-bit bus width (33.33 MHz × 32 bits ÷ 8 bits/byte = 133 MB/s)
- peak transfer rate of 266 MB/s for 64-bit bus width
- 32-bit or 64-bit bus width
- 32-bit address space (4 gigabytes)
- 32-bit I/O port space
- 256-byte configuration space
- 5-volt signaling
- reflected-wave switching
The PCI bus arbiter performs bus arbitration among multiple masters on the PCI bus. Any number of bus masters can reside on the PCI bus, as well as requests for the bus. One pair of request and grant signals is dedicated to each bus master.
Variants
Conventional
- PCI 2.2 allows for 66 MHz signalling at 3.3 volt signal voltage (peak transfer rate of 533MB/s), but at 33 MHz both 5 volt and 3.3 volt signal voltages are still allowed. Power rails to provide 3.3 volt supply voltage are now mandatory.
- PCI 2.3 permits use of 3.3 volt and universal keying, but does not allow 5 volt keyed add in cards.
- PCI 3.0 is the final official standard of the bus, completely removing 5-volt capability.
- Mini PCI is a form factor of PCI 2.2 for use mainly inside laptops
- CardBus is a PC card form factor for 32-bit, 33 MHz PCI
- CompactPCI uses Eurocard-sized modules plugged into a PCI backplane.
- PC/104-Plus is an industrial bus that uses the PCI signal lines with different connectors.
PCI-X
PCI-X is a high-performance variant of 64-bit PCI designed for servers.
- PCI-X 1.0 increased the maximum signaling frequency to 133 MHz (peak transfer rate of 1066 MB/s) and revises the protocol.
- PCI-X 2.0 permits a 266 MHz rate (peak transfer rate of 2133 MB/s) and also 533 MHz rate (4266 MB/s - 32x the original PCI bus), expands the configuration space to 4096 bytes, adds a 16-bit bus variant (allowing smaller slots where space is tight) and allows for 1.5 volt signaling
- PCI-X adapters and slots are backward-compatible with 32-bit PCI slots and adapters
Physical card dimensions
Full-size card
The original "full-size" PCI card is specified as a height of 107 mm (4.2 inches) and a depth of 312 mm (12.283 inches). The height includes the edge card connector. However, most modern PCI cards are half-length or smaller (see below) and many PCs cannot fit a full size card.
Card backplate
In addition to these dimensions the physical size and location of a card's backplate are also standardized. The backplate is the part that fastens to the card cage to stabilize the card and also contains external connectors, so it usually attaches in a window so it is accessible from outside the computer case.
The card itself can be a smaller size, but the backplate must still be full-size and properly located so that the card fits in any standard PCI slot.
Half-length extension card (de-facto standard)
This is in fact the practical standard now - the majority of modern PCI cards fit inside this length.
- Width: 0.6 inches (15.24 mm)
- Depth: 6.9 inches (175.26 mm)
- Height: 4.2 inches (106.68 mm)
Low-profile (half-height) card
The PCI organization has defined a standard for "low-profile" cards, which basically fit in the following ranges:
- Height: 1.42 inches (36.07 mm) to 2.536 inches (64.41 mm)
- Depth: 4.721 inches (119.91 mm) to 6.6 inches (167.64 mm)
The bracket is also reduced in height, to a standard 3.118 inches (79.2 mm). The smaller bracket will not fit a standard PC case. Many manufacturers supply both types of bracket (brackets are typically screwed to the card so changing them is not difficult).
These cards may be known by other names such as "slim".
Mini PCI
Mini PCI was added to PCI version 2.2 for use in laptops, it uses a 32-bit, 33-MHz bus with powered connections (3.3 V only; 5V is limited to 100mA) and support for bus mastering and DMA. The standard size for Mini PCI cards is approximately 1/4 of their full-sized counterparts. As there is limited external access to the card compared to desktop PCI cards, there are limitations on the functions they may perform.
Many Mini PCI devices were developed such as Wi-Fi, Fast Ethernet, Bluetooth, modems (often Winmodems), sound cards, cryptographic accelerators, SCSI, IDE/ATA, SATA controllers and combination cards. Regular PCI cards can be used with Mini PCI-equipped hardware and vice-versa, using Mini PCI-to-PCI and PCI-to-Mini PCI converters. Mini PCI has been superseded by PCI Express Mini Card.
Technical details of Mini PCI
Mini PCI cards have a 2 W maximum power consumption, which also limits the functionality that can be implemented in this form factor. They also are required to support the CLKRUN# PCI signal used to start and stop the PCI clock for power management purposes.
There are three card form factors: Type I, Type II, and Type III cards. The card connector used for each type include: Type I and II use a 100-pin stacking connector, while Type III uses a 124-pin edge connector, i.e. the connector for Types I and II differs from that for Type III, where the connector is on the edge of a card, like with a SO-DIMM. The additional 24 pins provide the extra signals required to route I/O back through the system connector (audio, AC-Link, LAN, phone-line interface). Type II cards have RJ11 and RJ45 mounted connectors. These cards must be located at the edge of the computer or docking station so that the RJ11 and RJ45 ports can be mounted for external access.
| Type | Card on outer edge of host system | Connector | Size | Comments |
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| IA | No | 100-Pin Stacking | 7.5 × 70 × 45 mm | Large Z dimension (7.5mm) | | IB | No | 100-Pin Stacking | 5.5 × 70 × 45 mm | Smaller Z dimension (5.5mm) | | IIA | Yes | 100-Pin Stacking | 17.44 × 70 × 45 mm | Large Z dimension (17.44 mm) | | IIB | Yes | 100-Pin Stacking | 5.5 × 78 × 45 mm | Smaller Z dimension (5.5 mm) | | IIIA | No | 124-Pin Card Edge | 2.4 × 59.6 × 50.95 mm | Larger Y dimension (50.95 mm) | | IIIB | No | 124-Pin Card Edge | 2.4 × 59.6 × 44.6 mm | Smaller Y dimension (44.6 mm) |
Other physical variations
Typically consumers systems specify "N x PCI slots" without specifying actual dimensions of the space available. In some small form-factor systems, this may not be sufficient to allow even "half-length" PCI cards to fit. Despite this limitation, these systems are still useful because many modern PCI cards are considerably smaller than half-length.
Card keying
Typical PCI cards present either one or two key notches, depending on their signaling voltage. Cards requiring 3.3 volts have a notch 56.21mm from the front of the card (where the external connectors are) while those requiring 5 volts have a notch 104.47mm from the front of the card. So called "Universal cards" have both key notches and can accept both types of signal.
See also
External links
- PCI IDs.
- , Craig Hart's freeware PCI Software suites and ID Database
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