At the SC25 exhibition, Broadcom showcased its PCIe Gen6 switch chip aimed at servers for 2026.
The exhibit featured not only the PEX90144, a large PCIe Gen6 chip with 144 lanes or 72 ports, but it will also be integrated into the Dell PowerEdge XE7745 PCIe motherboard.
The platform is based on the Dell PowerEdge XE7745 platform, but it is equipped with a red motherboard, which typically indicates it is a pre-release version.
However, the PCIe Gen6 interface is more suitable for the next-generation NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPU and ConnectX-8 network cards.
We can see inside the chassis, two PCIe switches.
144 lanes are equivalent to just 9 PCIe x16 slots, while this chassis is equipped with 8 accelerator cards.
In addition to the accelerator slots (the design of the PowerEdge XE7745 is somewhat unique as they are all built-in), the accelerators also require network cards, with a typical ratio of 1:1 or 1:2 between network cards and GPUs.
The switch also requires an x16 link to connect to the CPU, so the 144 lanes will be quickly utilized.
Here is another example of the rear NIC I/O slots, showcasing all the I/O required for the CEM slot AI system.
Broadcom’s Avago and PLX switch chip series have now become the dominant force in PCIe switches.
Broadcom also plans to launch the PLX91144 (144-lane PCIe Gen7) in 2027 and the PLX92144 (144-lane PCIe Gen8) in 2029.
This roadmap is quite robust.
As Microchip’s switch product line sees diminishing applications in the server space, Broadcom is actively responding to challenges from competitors like Astera Labs and XConn, and is formulating an ambitious roadmap.
This is crucial for the next generations of AI and storage servers (as well as the CXL switches from the same series).
Broadcom must strictly adhere to this roadmap, as NVIDIA is pushing Broadcom out of the high-speed network card and PCIe switch market for NVIDIA B300 servers.