Product Brief
SiI 3723
SteelVine
®
Series 3 Core
Third Generation SATA Port Multiplier Storage Processor
The SteelVine
®
Series 3 Core SiI3723 is a one-to-two Serial ATA (SATA) Port Multiplier
• CE Motherboards
Applications
• PC Motherboards
• DVR Motherboards
designed to provide a high-performance link between a single SATA host port and two SATA
• Storage Enclosures
device ports. The SiI3723 supports host and device link rates of 1.5 Gbps or 3 Gbps with
auto-negotiation, giving system designers or end users the flexibility to choose 1.5 Gbps or 3
Gbps SATA hard drives.
Key Features
• Storage SATA Port
Multiplier
The SteelVine Series 3 Core SiI3723 Port
Multiplier extends the capabilities of SATA host
ports, providing an internal or external port
(eSATA) for multiple drives to enable a more effi-
cient use of the SATA bus bandwidth.
SiI3723 features two operating modes. In SATA
command-based switching mode, SiI3723 operates
like a multiplexing switch whereby each drive is
visible and the target is addressed using a single
hardware queue in the SATA host controller. In
FIS-based switching mode, SiI3723 operates like a
smart multiplexor. Each drive is visible, and, using
multiple ques in an advanced SATA host con-
troller, commands are overlapped to drive the
total bandwidth near the combined speed of both
drives. SiI3723 automatically switches between
modes based on the SATA host controller abilities.
The three ports have LED pins to show activity
and link. No external memory components are
necessary.
SiI3723 port multiplier supports JBOD mode.
SiI3723 reduces your power budget by entering
aggressive power down modes when drive(s) are
idle or not present.
The strap pins are used to set PHY levels for cable
and trace length optimization. There are also
optional pins to enhance performance.
• eSATA capable
device ports
• Automatic down
shift to Gen 1 as
needed
• LED pins for each
PHY
• Enhanced perform-
ance option
SiI3723 System Diagram
SILICONIMAGE [ Silicon image ]
