PLX Technology to Showcase Its PCI Express Bridging in Emerging Instrumentation Platform; PLX PEX 8311 Provides Local Bus-to-PCIe Bridging in Compact PCIe/PXIe-Form-Factor Kit for Designing Measurement, Automation Systems

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2006--PLX Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:PLXT), the leading supplier of PCI Express(TM) (PCIe) and other standard input/output (I/O) interconnect silicon, will showcase its PCIe bridging technology in Compact PCIe/PXI Express (PXIe) applications at the 12th annual NIWeek, the world's leading virtual instrumentation conference and exhibition this month in Austin, Texas. PLX will highlight the PLX(R) PEX 8311 cPCIe/PXIe RDK, a complete rapid development kit (RDK) featuring a PEX 8311 local bus-to-PCIe bridge-based reference board in a CompactPCI (cPCIe)-PXIe form factor.

The PEX 8311 cPCIe/PXIe RDK, the result of a combined effort between PLX and conference host National Instruments, takes advantage of the PEX 8311's versatile bridging capabilities in a PXIe chassis, while demonstrating the simplicity with which PCI-based designs, such as those with the widely used cPCI/PXI form factor, can be migrated to PCIe. The RDK provides a comprehensive array of tools to begin new cPCIe/PXIe designs or migrate existing cPCI/PXI boards; in addition to the PEX 8311 reference board, the kit includes schematics, layout files, bill of materials, and Gerber files.

PXIe technology is the latest addition to the PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation (PXI) platform for measurement and automation. PXIe integrates PCIe signaling into the PXI standard, increasing backplane bandwidth to 6 GB/s, from 132 MB/s. The PXIe specification adds these features to PXI while maintaining backward compatibility.

Dedicated to Migrating Embedded Designs to PCI Express

The PEX 8311 is the newest bridge in the PLX ExpressLane(TM) family, the most complete line of PCIe switching and bridging devices available. The PEX 8311 is the industry's only bridging device dedicated to upgrading standard local-bus embedded designs and providing a smooth migration path from PCI to PCIe. The feature-rich bridge provides the power and flexibility of PCIe to embedded designs spanning the video, imaging, communications, and industrial-control markets. The PEX 8311 provides for efficient conversion between a parallel, low overhead local-bus and a serial, packed-based PCIe interconnect, allowing users to add a scalable, high-bandwidth interconnect to a wide variety of root complex- or endpoint-based applications

The NIWeek virtual instrumentation conference and exhibition runs Aug. 7-10 and features three days of interactive technical sessions, exhibitions and workshops on the latest developments for automation, manufacturing, design, and test.

For a full description of PLX's ExpressLane line of PCIe switches and bridges, see plxtech.com/products/expresslane.

About PLX

PLX Technology, Inc. (www.plxtech.com), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., USA, is a leading supplier of PCI Express, and other standard I/O interconnect silicon to the communications, server, storage, embedded-control, and consumer industries. The PLX solution provides a competitive edge to our customers through an integrated combination of high-performance silicon, hardware and software design tools, and partnerships.

About National Instruments

For 30 years, National Instruments (www.ni.com) has been a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation -- a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government and academia approach measurement and automation.

ExpressLane, PLX and the PLX Technology logo are registered trademarks of PLX Technology, Inc., which may be registered in some jurisdictions. National Instruments, NI, ni.com, and NIWeek are trademarks of National Instruments. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners