MAGNA ENABLES PLX TO DELIVER PCI EXPRESS GEN 2 SWITCHES.

Magma(r) Design Automation, Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), San Jose, Calif., a provider of semiconductor design software, has announced that PLX Technology(r), the leading supplier of PCI Express(r) (PCIe(r)) and other standard input/output (I/O) interconnect, has implemented the PCIe Gen 2 switch family using Magma's RTL-to-GDSII integrated circuit (IC) design solution. Because of the Magma software's proven ability to deliver repeatable silicon success on time and on budget, PLX will deploy the Magma Talus(r) IC implementation system to PLX's design teams worldwide.

The PCIe Gen 2 family includes industry-leading features that feed the requirements of next-generation graphics, backplanes, server, storage, HBA/NIC and embedded markets. PLX had previously used Magma software to create the PEX 8548, which at the time featured the highest lane count, lowest latency and most flexibility of any PCI Express switch in the industry.

"PLX is committed to meeting the industry's demands for advanced interconnect solutions," said George Apostol, PLX vice president of engineering. "By leveraging Magma's innovative software and world-class support, we are able to streamline our design flow, reduce design costs and deliver robust, cost-optimized silicon."

"PLX leads the PCIe interconnect market with the industry's broadest line of switching and bridging products," said Kam Kittrell, general manager of Magma's Design Implementation Business Unit. "We're very pleased that they continue to meet their timing, area, power and yield goals using the Magma software. We are committed to enabling their design teams worldwide to leverage the advanced capabilities of the Talus system for their designs targeted at increasingly smaller process geometries."

About the PLX ExpressLane PCIe Gen 2 Switches

The new ExpressLane(tm) PCIe Gen 2 switches include the PEX 8648 (48 lanes, 12 ports), PEX 8632 (32 lanes, 12 ports), PEX 8624 (24 lanes, 6 ports), PEX 8616 (16 lanes, 4 ports) and PEX 8612 (12 lanes, 3 ports). These Gen 2 switches share a field-tested and proven PLX architecture with industry-leading features including the lowest latency and power, highest performance, integrated non-transparent ports and Hot-Plug controllers, the smallest Flip-Chip packaging and highly flexible port configurations up to x16.

PLX's PCI Express Gen 2 switches are fully compliant with the PCI-SIG(r) PCIe base specification 2.0, which doubles the interconnect bit rate over its predecessor, to 5 GT/s (GigaTransfers per second) from 2.5 GT/s, and are backward compatible with Gen 1, thus allowing ease of migration with existing designs. Integrated non-transparency enables PCIe use in multi-host, host-failover/redundant systems and intelligent I/O modules. Unique power-reduction methods and a proprietary cut-through design for low latency down to 140 nanoseconds are achieved through the company's signature engineering features achieved with PLX's third-generation PCIe architecture.

Talus: The Platform for Advanced Designs

Magma's IC implementation software provides advanced capabilities within an integrated and highly automated RTL-to-GDSII flow. The front-end product allows logic designers to synthesize, visualize, evaluate and improve RTL code quality, design constraints, testability requirements and floorplan. Also integrated are fast, full-featured, high-capacity predictable synthesis capabilities, full and incremental static timing analysis and power analysis. Magma's physical design solution includes optimization, place and route, useful skew clock generation, floorplanning and power planning, RC extraction and a single, built-in incremental timing analyzer. Based on Magma's unified data model, this platform accurately predicts final timing prior to detailed placement, eliminates timing closure iterations and enables rapid design closure while taking into account nanometer effects such as on-chip variation (OCV).

About PLX

PLX Technology, Inc. (http://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. These innovative solutions enable our customers to develop equipment with industry-leading performance, scalability and reliability. Furthermore, the combination of PLX product features and supporting infrastructure allow customers to bring their designs to market faster. PLX PCI, PCI-X, PCI Express and USB devices are designed into a wide variety of applications across multiple industries. In addition to its headquarters in the United States, PLX has offices in China, Japan, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, while also supporting customers through distributors, sales representatives and an on-demand customer-relationship-management system.

About Magma

Magma's software for designing integrated circuits (ICs) is used to create complex, high-performance chips required in cellular telephones, electronic games, WiFi, MP3 players, DVD/digital video, networking, automotive electronics and other electronic applications. Magma's EDA software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification, circuit simulation and characterization is recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology, enabling the world's top chip companies to "Design Ahead of the Curve"(tm) while reducing design time and costs. Magma is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with offices around the world. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA.

For more information, visit http://www.magma-da.com or call 408/565-7689.