Welcome to PCIe Foundation Course

📘 Course Description – PCIe Foundation Course

The PCIe Foundation Course is a focused, instructor-led training that offers a solid understanding of the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) protocol. Spanning 12 interactive sessions, it covers the evolution of PCIe, protocol architecture, packet structures, signaling, and behavior across PCIe generations (Gen1 to Gen6).

Learners will explore the Transaction, Data Link, and Physical layers in depth, along with link training states, BAR decoding, and configuration space. Advanced sessions include MSI/MSI-X, SR-IOV, Error Handling, Power Management, Scrambling/Encoding techniques, and a verification/debugging perspective.

This course is ideal for engineers building or validating PCIe-based SoCs and looking to strengthen their expertise in high-speed digital design and protocol verification.

🎯 Course Objectives

• Participants will be able to:
• Understand PCIe evolution and its role in high-speed interconnects
• Explain PCIe's layered architecture (TL, DL, PHY)
• Interpret TLP and DLLP packet formats and their use cases
• Understand link training (LTSSM), equalization, and device enumeration
• Analyze Physical Layer functions including PIPE, SERDES, encoding/decoding
• Configure PCIe devices and decode BAR/configuration space
• Apply advanced features like MSI, SR-IOV, resets, and hot-plug
• Compare PCIe with AXI, USB, SATA
• Approach PCIe debugging and protocol verification methodically
• Apply knowledge in practical SoC design and validation projects

📅 PCIe Foundation Course Schedule

Day 1: Introduction to PCIe

• Evolution: PCI to PCIe (Gen1–Gen6), Serial vs. Parallel
• PCIe vs. AXI/USB/SATA, Use cases

Day 2: PCIe Architecture

• OSI vs. PCIe model, TL/DL/PHY overview
• TLPs, DLLPs, Config Space, BARs, Components

Day 3: Link Training & Initialization

• LTSSM, lane detection, equalization, BAR decoding

Day 4: Transaction Layer

• TLP types: Memory, I/O, Config, Completion
• Posted/Non-posted, Header Types (0/1)

Day 5: Data Link Layer

• DLLPs, flow control, reply buffers, credit mgmt

Day 6: Physical Layer – Part 1

• Phy layer overview, packet formation, lane bonding

Day 7: Physical Layer – Part 2

• MAC/PCS, encoding (8b/10b, 128b/130b), scrambling

Day 8: Physical Layer – Part 3

• PIPE, SERDES, advanced LTSSM, power states

Day 9: Reserve / Clarifications

• Follow-ups, topic revision, Q&A

Day 10: Additional Topics – 1

• MSI, MSI-X, Sideband, Error Handling, SR-IOV

Day 11: Additional Topics – 2

• Resets, clocking, hot plug, address routing, CXL

Day 12: Final Wrap-up

• Debugging, verification tips, Q&A

                  **********  Enjoy Your Learning *************