By Dan Jones
The Next Generation Input/Output (NGIO) Forum will release the approved specification for its I/O architecture in the middle of this year. The forum, which is headed up by Intel Corp, is currently working on the final draft of the specification.
The row over a new I/O architecture has divided some of the heavy hitters of the IT industry. On one side, IBM Corp, along with Compaq Computer Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co and Adaptec Inc are backing the Future I/O specification for server architectures, which has been endorsed by some 60 companies. Meanwhile, Intel along with Sun Microsystems Inc, Hitachi Corp, Siemens AG and Dell Computer Corp are pushing the NGIO spec, which has some 45 companies lined up behind it.
The two sides had been talking about producing a common I/O standard but discussions have apparently broken down, although both Intel and IBM have denied this (CI No 3,631). Charles Andres, group manager for the I/O technologies at Sun, claims that the major sticking point is that IBM is insisting on charging royalties for the Future I/O spec. Andres claims that the NGIO Forum wants a common specification that is not impinged upon by intellectual property. Meanwhile, IBM has said that Intel developed 90% of its spec under wraps, leaving very little room for manufacturers to make any changes and effectively tying them in to Intel’s designs.
Andres also identified some technical issues with the future I/O plans, although, he stressed that there was no actual final specification down on paper from the group. He said that from SunÆs perspective any server architecture needed to be reliable and scalable and that a PCI-based system would just lead to latency and error detection issues. Again, although it is not yet known what the final Future I/O spec will be, Andres suggested that a PCI system would at least be a stepping stone on the roadmap. Andres also claimed that the Future I/O system would be more costly than NGIO specification. The NGIO system will be based around a four cable serial interconnect, which Andres described as a building block for a variety of high and low-end systems. The system should have a throughput rate of 2.5 Gbits per channel per second. Meanwhile, the Future I/O system will, according to Andres, be a more costly 40 wire system. Convergence of the two standards could still be a possibility, according to Andres. ItÆs very dependent on IBM and the other members of the forum, he claimed.
Andres, who is also chairman of the marketing board for the NGIO Forum, also gave details of the next specification that the group is working on. The æfat pipeÆ spec is a system based around the current NGIO plans but optimized for very high end machines. Andres said that the forum hoped to lay out the standards for the next decade with the two specifications.
