The specification for the next generation PCI architecture, PCI- X, is set to be published early in the third quarter, paving the way for products incorporating the technology to be launched by the end of the year, Mike Bailey, chairman of the PCI SIG (special interest group), told ComputerWire yesterday. Bailey said the PCI-X working group, which consists of such heavyweights as Intel Corp, Compaq Computer Corp, 3Com Corp, Hewlett Packard Co and IBM Corp, was currently evaluating the spec and would release it to the SIG for approval next month. The SIG, whose membership consists of approximately 650 companies, will have sixty days to evaluate the specification and pass their comments and feedback to the group’s steering committee. Assuming there are no major problems with the spec, it will be published to OEMs early in the third quarter. After we publish a new spec, we usually expect to see it in products a year later, but it will probably happen sooner as vendors start developing prototype products early on. Bailey said. PCI-X was first proposed last August by HP, Compaq and IBM, to replace the existing PCI local bus architecture. It defines a 64-bit bus that runs at speeds up to 133 MHz, and is designed to be backward-compatible with current PCI-based systems.
