NVIDIA Corporation
Techniques for improving high-speed communications in a computing system

Abstract:

In a computing system, various components/devices communicate with each other. For example, a microprocessor may communicate with memory or may communicate with another microprocessor over a link. Various factors such as the frequency and transmission speed of a signal can distort what is being communicated over a link. The problem becomes more pronounced as the transmission speed increases. To address this problem, devices on both ends of a link can cooperate to equalize the link. Equalization involves configuring the transmitting device to alter the signal being transmitted so that certain distortions introduced during transmission are negated by the time the signal arrives at the receiving device. Given that each link can have slightly different characteristics, appropriate equalization parameters need to be ascertained for each link. Introduced herein are improved techniques for performing equalization that are quick yet provide equalization parameters that are stable even in a noisy high-speed link.