Windows Server 2019 Administration Fundamentals - Second Edition

PCI and PCIe

In the mid-90s, PCI replaced IBM's Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), a 16-bit built-in expansion slot on the motherboard. Unlike the ISA, Intel's PCI has a 32-bit and 64-bit built-in slot on the motherboard that enables the expansion of computer capabilities. Later on, with the increase in demand for faster speeds, PCI was replaced by PCIe, as shown in Figure 9.2. PCIe is a serial expansion bus standard that comes with four connections: PCIe x1, PCIe x4, PCIE x8, and PCIe x16. It transmits data in full-duplex mode (sending and receiving at the same time) over wires known as lanes:

Figure 9.2: The PCIe slot

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