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PCI Bus Segmentation Requirements for Avid Adrenaline and Avid Mojo DNA

This paper describes the PCI bus technology requirements of platforms connected to Avid Adrenaline and Avid Mojo DNA. It specifically addresses PCI bus segmentation and Avid’s requirements for systems with multiple PCI bus segments for most configurations. It does not imply that any platform meeting these requirements is supported by Avid.

Avid Adrenaline and Avid Mojo connect to the host platform using an IEEE-1394 (FireWire) cable. For optimum real-time performance, the Avid Adrenaline or Avid Mojo must connect to a PCI bus segment that is not shared with any SCSI or Fibre Channel storage controller being used for local or shared storage, and in the case of Windows PCs, with any Gbit Ethernet controller to be used with Avid Unity™ LANshare EX storage solutions. The following paragraphs provide background on PCI bus segmentation and the associated configuration requirements.

Most computers today implement PCI slots to accommodate add-in cards. Depending upon the number of slots provided and supported bus speeds, some computer vendors’ implementations often require the segmenting of slots to different PCI bus segments. Each bus segment will typically have more than one PCI slot, thus it is impossible to determine PCI segmentation by viewing the slots. You need more detailed PCI slot layout information than what is typically supplied by vendor product specs to determine bus segmentation and layout.

Multiple PCI bus segments are “bridged” in a way that cards populated in a particular segment have most of that segment’s bandwidth available to them. This can work to an advantage for high-bandwidth or real-time PCI devices as such devices can be distributed across PCI bus segments for maximum performance. Avid editing products using either the Avid Adrenaline or Avid Mojo require platforms to have more than one PCI bus segment unless there are no plans for attached external storage.

Configurations vary depending on the user’s requirements for local storage and/or for shared storage via Avid Unity LANshare EX or Avid Unity MediaNetwork. The configuration rules can be described as follows for Windows PCs, depending on the user’s functional requirements:

Note: In all cases, the system’s boot drive must be an internal IDE drive.

Case #1: SCSI, Fibre Channel or FireWire storage, and connection to LANshare EX are required
This configuration requires a minimum of three PCI bus segments. One PCI bus segment must include the 1394 interface to which the Avid Adrenaline or Avid Mojo is connected. The second PCI bus segment is utilized by a SCSI, Fibre Channel, or 1394 storage controller. The third PCI bus segment is utilized by a Gbit Ethernet controller for connection to LANshare EX.

Case #2: SCSI, Fibre Channel, or FireWire storage is required, but connection to LANshare EX is not required
This configuration requires a minimum of two PCI bus segments. One PCI bus segment must include the1394 interface to which the Adrenaline or Avid Mojo is connected. The second PCI bus segment is utilized by a SCSI, Fibre Channel, or 1394 storage controller.

Case #3: No SCSI, Fibre Channel, LANshare EX or FireWire storage expansion is required
This configuration has no specific PCI bus segmentation requirements and may use a system with one or more PCI bus segments. Either an integrated 1394 controller or an add-in PCI 1394 controller may be used to connect the Avid Adrenaline or Avid Mojo. This configuration cannot support the attachment of external storage. Use only the internal IDE drive for media storage.

Many workstations also incorporate SCSI, FireWire and Ethernet controllers integrated on the motherboard. The method by which these controllers attach to the PCI is vendor implementation dependent. For these devices to work properly with Avid Adrenaline or Avid Mojo, they must meet the PCI bus segmentation requirements stated above.

Notebook Computer Considerations

Notebook computers do not implement the bus segmentation attributes described above. All devices in notebooks typically share one bus segment. As a result, application performance associated with notebooks connected to Avid Adrenaline or Avid Mojo and also connected to external storage will vary. Refer to the www.avid.com for specific information on supported notebooks and configurations.

Typical PCI Bus Segment Implementations

The following describes the typical correlation between current computer technologies and PCI bus segmentation implementations. This information is provided for reference only, is typical of what is in the marketplace today, and may not always hold true. Please refer to the www.avid.com for a current list of Avid-supported platforms.

References below to "non-IDE storage" refer to SCSI and Fibre Channel storage. The implementations described below are typical, may vary, and represent technology as of this writing.

Windows PCs

Intel® Pentium® 4 Systems

All of these systems are single processor and most implement all 32bit/33MHz PCI slots, all of which are typically on one bus. These systems do not support any configuration which includes non-IDE or LANshare EX storage together with Avid Adrenaline or Avid Mojo connectivity.

Intel® Xeon™ Systems:

All Xeon systems support dual processor configurations. Most implement both 32-bit and 64-bit bus segments. There are two cases:

  1. If the 64-bit slots are PCI (not PCI-X) slots, then there are typically two bus segments. These consist of one 32bit/33MHz segment and one 64bit/66MHz segment. These systems are capable of supporting a configuration which includes non-IDE storage together with Avid Adrenaline or Avid Mojo connectivity. However, coincident non-IDE and LANshare storage is not supported.
  2. If the 64-bit slots are PCI-X slots, then there are typically three or more bus segments. These consist of one 32bit/33MHz segment and two or more PCI-X bus segments. These systems are capable of supporting a configuration which includes non-IDE storage together with Avid DNA or Avid Mojo connectivity. Coincident non-IDE and LANshare storage is also supported.

Apple® Macintosh® Systems

The supported Power Mac® G4 desktop system implements the integrated Gb Ethernet controller and FireWire 400 port in a way that the Avid Adrenaline and Avid LANshare EX may be supported directly and without the addition of any add-in cards. For the new G4 systems that include an integrated FireWire 800 (1394B) port, care must be taken to make sure the Adrenaline DNA is attached to the FireWire 400 port and not the FireWire 800 port. Supported SCSI and Fibre Channel cards may be installed in the PCI slots.