Aries PCIe®/CXL™ Smart Retimers
Astera Labs delivers industry-proven Smart Retimers that overcome signal integrity issues for PCI Express® (PCIe®) 4.0, PCIe 5.0, and Compute Express Link™ (CXL™) systems.
Aries Smart Retimers are purpose-built 100% in the cloud and for the cloud, offering extensive fleet management capabilities and tested for robust, seamless interoperation in our Cloud-Scale Interop Lab. As the #1 choice for CPU / GPU vendors and cloud operators, Aries is the industry’s most widely-deployed and field-tested PCIe / CXL Retimer portfolio.
- Purpose-built for high-performance server, storage, cloud, and workload-optimized systems
- Pin- and register-compatible solutions for PCIe 4.0, PCIe 5.0, and CXL in x16 and x8 lane configurations
- Flexible link bifurcation supporting 1x16, 2x8, 4x4, 8x2, and other combinations enabling completely independent links
- Compatible with PCIe 4.0, PCIe 5.0, and CXL specifications as well as the Intel PCIe Standard Retimer Footprint
- Receiver and Transmitter performance exceeds PCIe Base Specification requirements for robust signal and link integrity
- Protocol-transparent low-latency modes to achieve maximum possible application performance
- Supports all PCIe clock topologies: SRIS, SRNS, Common Clock
- Supports hot-plug, loopback, Receiver Lane Margining, self-test modes, and PRBS test modes
- Advanced in-band and out-of-band diagnostics for fleet management in large-scale system deployments
- Full-featured C and Python SDKs for rapid integration of advanced diagnostics features
- Support for Lane reversal and automatic polarity correction
- Integrated AC-coupling capacitors reduce solution size and improves signal integrity performance
- Drop-in upgrade from PCIe 4.0 to PCIe 5.0 and CXL
- Interop and stress tested with all major CPUs, GPUs, switches, and 30+ Endpoints in our Cloud-Scale Interop Lab.
System Block Diagram
Orderable Information
Aries PCIe Smart Retimers
| Orderable Part Number | Documents | Description | Package | Max PCIe Gen | PCIe Lanes | Pack Quantity | Ordering | Eco Status | MSL Peak Temp | Production Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT4080LRL | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Astera_Labs_PT4080L_Product_Brief.pdf | Astera Labs PCIe 4.0 x8 Low-Latency Smart Retimer | 332-pin FC-CSP | PCIe 4.0 | x 8 | 1800 | 1 | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/astera-labs-self-compliance-reach-rohs-halogen.pdf | Level-3-260C-168 HR | Production |
| PT4080LRS | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Astera_Labs_PT4080L_Product_Brief.pdf | Astera Labs PCIe 4.0 x8 Low-Latency Smart Retimer | 332-pin FC-CSP | PCIe 4.0 | x 8 | 180 | 3 | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/astera-labs-self-compliance-reach-rohs-halogen.pdf | Level-3-260C-168 HR | Production |
| PT4161LRL | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Astera_Labs_PT4161L_Product_Brief.pdf | Astera Labs PCIe 4.0 x16 Low-Latency Smart Retimer | 354-pin FC-CSP | PCIe 4.0 | x 16 | 2400 | 1 | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/astera-labs-self-compliance-reach-rohs-halogen.pdf | Level-3-260C-168 HR | Production |
| PT4161LRS | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Astera_Labs_PT4161L_Product_Brief.pdf | Astera Labs PCIe 4.0 x16 Low-Latency Smart Retimer | 354-pin FC-CSP | PCIe 4.0 | x 16 | 240 | 3 | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/astera-labs-self-compliance-reach-rohs-halogen.pdf | Level-3-260C-168 HR | Production |
| PT5081LC | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Astera_Labs_PT5161L_Product_Brief.pdf | Astera Labs CXL/PCIe 5.0 x8 Low-Latency Smart Retimer | 332-pin FC-CSP | PCIe 5.0 / CXL | x 8 | 1 | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/astera-labs-self-compliance-reach-rohs-halogen.pdf | Level-3-260C-168 HR | Pre-Production | |
| PT5161LC | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Astera_Labs_PT5161L_Product_Brief.pdf | Astera Labs CXL/PCIe 5.0 x16 Low-Latency Smart Retimer | 354-pin FC-CSP | PCIe 5.0 / CXL | x 16 | 1 | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/astera-labs-self-compliance-reach-rohs-halogen.pdf | Level-3-260C-168 HR | Pre-Production |
Evaluation Kits
| Orderable Part Number | Image | Documents | Description | Max PCIe Gen | PCIe Lanes | Pack Quantity | Ordering | Production Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECLIPSE-REVA |  | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Astera_Labs_Eclipse_Equinox_Product_Brief.pdf | Aries PCI Express® 4.0 Smart Retimer Riser Card | PCIe 4.0 | x 16 | 1 | 1 | Production |
| EQUINOX-REVA | | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Astera_Labs_Eclipse_Equinox_Product_Brief.pdf | Aries PCI Express® 5.0 Smart Retimer Riser Card | PCIe 5.0 | x 16 | 1 | 2 | Production |
| COMET-REVA |  | https://www.asteralabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Astera_Labs_COMET_Product_Brief.pdf | Astera Labs USB-to-I2C Communication Module | 1 | 3 | Production |
You may also order from our distributors >
Application Notes
| Name | Description | Type | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet Management Made Easy | The Aries Smart Retimer portfolio offers unique features to support multiple PCI Express® and Compute Express Links™ in a system ranging from x16 to x2 width and running at 4.0 (16 GT/s) and 5.0 (32 GT/s) speeds. See how Aries' unique feature set and C-SDK collateral enables a powerful array of Link health monitoring tools for data center server fleet management. | White Paper | Request Access |
| Aries Compliance Testing | This guide shows how to perform PCIe Transmitter and Receiver compliance tests to ensure your system meets PCI-SIG specifications. | Application Note | Request Access |
| Aries CScripts Testing | This guide shows how to use the Astera Labs plug-in for CScripts to automate system-level tests of PCIe Links in an Intel-based system. CScripts is a collection of Python scripts which perform tests targeted at exercising different aspects of the PCIe Link Training and Status State Machine (LTSSM). | Application Note | Request Access |
| Aries IOMT | This guide shows how to use Intel I/O Margin Tool (IOMT) measure I/O performance in an Intel-based server with Aries Smart Retimers’ built-in loopback mode. | Application Note | Request Access |
| Aries PRBS Testing | This guide shows how to use Aries Smart Retimers’ built-in pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) pattern generators and checkers to perform physical-layer stress tests and monitor per-lane margins and bit error rate. | Application Note | Request Access |
| Aries Pre-RMA Checklist | Resolving potential quality issues is a top priority. This step-by-step guide will help to gather critical information in-system prior to initiating an RMA. | Application Note | Request Access |
| Aries Preset Sweep Testing | This guide shows how to use the Python-SDK to automatically sweep over all Transmitter preset settings to capture the bit error rate (BER), margin information, and other useful performance metrics in a loopback configuration. | Application Note | Request Access |
| Aries RX Lane Margining | The PCIe Base Specification has a provision for collecting Receiver margin information from all Receivers in a system during the L0 state of a Link using in-band Control Skip Ordered Sets at 16 GT/s and 32 GT/s. This guide shows how the Aries Smart Retimers supports Lane Margining for both timing and voltage, and an example with the Intel Lane Margining Tool (LMT) is provided. | Application Note | Request Access |
| Aries Security and Robustness | This guide covers ways to use the Aries Smart Retimer and the associated C-SDK collateral in a system where security and robustness are critical aspects of maximizing system performance and up-time. | Application Note | Request Access |
| Aries Self Test | This guide shows how to use the Aries Smart Retimer built-in self-test feature for diagnosing situations where a device is suspected to be damaged or non-functional, possibly due to electrical/thermal over-stress, mechanical damage, etc. | Application Note | Request Access |
Why Use Aries Smart Retimers?
Aries Smart Retimers are robust, easy-to-use, and designed for enterprise fleet management.
Robustness
Signal Integrity: Best-in-class SerDes exceeds PCIe specification, supports >32 dB (8 GHz) for both TX and RX, <1 dB (8GHz) package insertion loss, PCIe 5.0 drop-in upgrade
Thermals: Integrated heat spreader and thermally-optimized materials simplify thermal design
Interop Testing: Rigorous system testing with 30+ Endpoints and all major Root Complex (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, etc.)
Ease-of-Use
Total Solution Size: Integrated supply decoupling and AC coupling caps reduce solution size >50% and improve signal quality by avoiding vias
REFCLK: REFCLK repeat feature reduces need for additional CLK buffers
Flexibility: Firmware upgradable through I2C/EEPROM to add features, expose more diagnostics, adjust protocol for misbehaving Endpoints, and more
Fleet Management
Quick Debug: Built-in protocol analyzer with Link state history and timestamps, full non-destructive eye scan for RX Lane margining
Deep Diagnostics: Firmware-driven link health monitoring to alert BMC of any possible link performance issues
System Visibility: The Retimers unique position in the middle of the Link means diagnostic tools can help identify system-level issues before they affect customers
The Difference is Clear
Aries Smart Retimers are a cost-efficient solution to doubling both bandwidth and reach for complex topologies while maintaining low latency.
Aries PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0 Smart Retimer
Generic PCIe 4.0 Retimer
Videos
Aries Smart Retimer for PCIe 5.0 and CXL
Learn about Aries Smart Retimers enabling PCIe® 5.0 system level testing on Sapphire Rapids-based platforms using PCIe 4.0 endpoints and sub 10ns latency for CXL™ applications.
FAQ
Astera Labs Aries PCIe Smart Retimers offer exceptional robustness, ease-of-use and a list of Fleet Management capabilities. Get more details >
There are generally three ways to approach this:
- Channel Loss Budget Analysis
- Simulate channel s-parameter in the Statistical Eye Analysis Simulator (SeaSim) tool to determine if post-equalized eye height (EH) and eye width (EW) meet the minimum eye opening requirements: ≥15 mV EH and ≥0.3 UI EW at Bit Error Ratio (BER) ≤ 10-12.
- Consider your cost threshold for system upgrades
View Signal Integrity Challenges for PCIe 5.0 OCP Topologies Video >
A redriver amplifies a signal, whereas a retimer retransmits a fresh copy of the signal.
For PCIe 5.0, 36 dB pre channel and 36 dB post channel. So ideally, with one retimer, the total loss from Root Complex to End Point is 72 dB. And with two retimers cascaded, the total loss from Root Complex to End Point is 108 dB, leaving 10-20% margin from a system design point of view.
There is no need to fine tune a retimer EQ setting as it participates in Link Equalization with Root Complex and End Points and automatically fine tunes the receiver EQ.
The maximum number to cascade retimers in a link is 2, which is defined in PCIe specification.
Even when equalization is bypassed, a Retimer will still assert the Retimer Present bit (TS2 symbol 5, bit 4) in 2.5 GT/s data rate so that the Root Complex and EP can learn that a Retimer is present in the link.
There are no “special” considerations. During Equalization, the Retimer’s upstream pseudo port (USPP) and the Endpoint will simultaneously train their receivers, with a total time of 24ms to do this. The will also happen with the downstream pseudo port (DSPP) and the root complex. The timeouts are the same regardless of whether a Retimer is present or not.
Not quite, each port of a packet switch has a full PCIe protocol stack:
Physical Layer, Data Link Layer, and Transaction Layer.
A packet switch has at least one root port and at least one non-root port.
A Retimer, by contrast, has an upstream-facing Physical Layer and a downstream-facing Physical Layer but no Data Link or Transaction Layer.
As such, a Retimer’s ports are considered pseudo ports because a Retimer does not have — nor does it need — these higher-logic layers, the latency through a Retimer is much smaller compared to the latency through a packet switch.
The only notable differences are:
- As with all PCIe 5.0 transmitters, the Retimer’s transmitters must support 32 GT/s precoding when requested by the link partner.
- As with all PCIe 5.0 receivers, the Retimer’s receivers must support Lane Margining in both time and voltage.
A Retimer is required to have the same link width on its upstream-facing port and on its downstream-facing port. In other words, the link widths must match. A Retimer must also support down-configured link widths, but the width must always be the same on both ports.
Redrivers are not defined or specified within the PCIe Base Specification, so there are no formal guidelines for using a Redriver versus using a Retimer. This topic is covered in more detail in this article:
PCI Express® Retimers vs. Redrivers: An Eye-Popping Difference.
A Retimer’s transmitters and receivers, on both pseudo ports, must meet the PCIe Base Specifications. This means that a Retimer can support the full channel budget (nominally 36 dB at 16 GHz) on both sides — before and after the Retimer. Calculating the insertion loss (IL) budget should be done separately for each side of the Retimer, and channel compliance should be performed for each side as well, just as you would do for a Retimer-less Root-Complex-to-Endpoint link.
Redrivers and Retimers are active components which impact the data stream: their package imposes signal attenuation, their active circuits apply boost, and (in the case of Retimers) clock and data recovery. As such, there is no way to truly disable these components and still have data pass through. When disabled, no data will pass through a Redriver or Retimer.
- Determine if a Retimer is needed based on different PCB materials
- Define a simulation space, and identify worst-case conditions (temperature, humidity, impedance, etc.), minimum set of parameters (e.g., Transmitter Presets)
- Define the evaluation criteria, such as minimum eye height/width
- Execute and analyze results
View Signal Integrity Challenges for PCIe 5.0 OCP Topologies Video >
Bit error rate (BER) is the ultimate gauge of link performance, but an accurate measure of BER is not possible in relatively short, multi-million-bit simulations.
Instead, this analysis suggests the following pass/fail criteria, which consist of two rules:
-
- A link must meet the receiver’s eye height (EH) and eye width (EW) requirements
- A link must meet criteria 1 for at least half of Tx Preset settings (≥5 out of 10)
- Criteria 1 establishes that the there is a viable set of settings, which results in the desired BER. The specific EH and EW required by the receiver is implementation-dependent.
- Criteria 2 ensures that the link has adequate margin and is not overly sensitive to the Tx Preset setting.
View Signal Integrity Challenges for PCIe 5.0 OCP Topologies Video >
Use IBIS model and time domain simulations.
Have more questions about general topics, such as PCIe 5.0, ordering, quality, etc.? See the full list of FAQs.
PCIe Retimers to the Rescue
Learn how to address PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0 signal integrity and channel insertion loss challenges with Smart Retimer technology.
Systems
Rapidly implement diverse system topologies using our plug-and-play connectivity system boards. Our solutions include:
- Riser Cards: Extend PCIe/CXL technology slots and enable incredibly complex multi-connector topologies.
- PCIe-Over-Cable Extender Cards: Connect a server head-node to a JBoF or JBoG without sacrificing speed.
- GPU Booster Cards: Support external graphics (eGPUs) and enhance the gaming experience.
Services
Rapidly develop, achieve signal integrity peace of mind and avoid wondering if your PCIe 4.0, PCIe 5.0 or CXL technology-based design will work. Our services include:
- Cloud-Scale Interop Lab: Receive custom test reports that highlight the Aries Smart Retimers’ interoperability with an ever-growing list of root complexes and endpoints.
- Custom Design Support: Our team of experts can help develop first-pass design success and accelerate time to market for your high volume system and board deployments.
- Tailored Test Services: Have a specific test scenario for your system or solution involving Aries Smart Retimers? We have you covered.
Contact us for more information about our design and testing services >