Renesas Electronics announced that ASPEED Technology has qualified the Renesas I3C IMX3102 2:1 bus multiplexer, IMX3112 1:2 bus expander, and DDR5 SPD Hub SPD5118 for its AST2600 Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) designed for use in data centers and embedded platforms and applications.

Renesas is the first I3C partner selected for ASPEED's AST2600 BMC Approved Vendor List (AVL), enabling an ideal migration path for customers shifting their DDR5 platforms and boards from I2C or other legacy expansion specifications to the new high-speed I3C specification.

According to the company, the Renesas I3C re-driver and expander products include many features that enable customers to develop their applications efficiently and cost effectively compared with existing solutions. These include in-band switching control via I2C/I3C commands to switch over, level-shifting capability with master devices working in 3.3V while peripherals work in 1.0V, and reduced bill of materials costs by eliminating additional circuitry, such as pull-up resistors. Combined with the ASPEED AST2600 BMC, Renesas I3C devices provide optimized, high-speed, and system cost-centric combination solutions to meet customers' application needs.

As momentum toward DDR5 platforms increases, I3C is gaining popularity as a high-speed host interface bus for applications requiring ideal communication between host and peripheral or slave devices, as its 12.5 MHz speeds outpace I2C's 1 MHz speeds. Renesas continues to the journey to I3C with a robust lineup of I3C bus extension devices for large-scale, high-speed control plane designs that enable ideal capabilities for environmental control, advanced telemetry, security, and fault recovery.

Renesas' selection as the first I3C and SPD Hub device provider on the AST2600 BMC AVL reflects the companies' collaboration and commitment to the path to I3C for DDR5 memory solutions used in data centers and embedded platforms and applications. Both companies are actively engaged in ongoing collaboration for testing, optimization, and validation, as well as long-term product, roadmap, and technology alignment to expand the I3C ecosystem and support mutual customers.

Renesas' I3C devices and evaluation boards are sampling now to qualified customers.

For more information, visit www.idt.com/memorymux and www.idt.com/spdhub.

ASPEED's AST2600 BMC and evaluation board are also sampling now, and its I3C-capable BMC firmware is also available.

For more information on ASPEED, visit www.ASPEEDTECH.com