Communications device and method for configuring a communication port depending on a direction condition of a remote device communicatively coupled to the communications port

For communications with a remote PCI Express device over a PCI Express communications link, a configurable PCI Express communications device comprising:

• a communications port for communicating with a remote PCI Express device over the PCI Express communications link in transmit and receive modes, the communications port including at least one communications lane having a pair of pins, a differential across the pins being implemented for communicating informational signals;
• a driver coupled to the communications port and configured to generate signals for passing to a remote PCI Express device on at least one of the communications lanes via the communications link;
• a receiver coupled to the communications port and configured to receive signals from a remote PCI Express device on at least one of the communications lanes via the communications link;
• a sensing circuit configured to sense a communications direction condition of a remote PCI Express device communicatively coupled to the communications port via the PCI Express-type link by sensing a voltage differential across a pair of pins for one of the communications lanes;
• and a configuration circuit configured to configure the driver, receiver and communications port in at least one of the transmit and receive modes as a function of the communications direction condition sensed by the sensing circuit such that a communications direction condition of the communications port matches the communications direction condition of the remote PCI Express device.

A data handling system comprising:

• a PCI Express link;
• a central processing unit (CPU) coupled with the PCI Express link;
• first and second PCI Express devices coupled to the PCI Express link and configured to communicate with each other and the CPU via the PCI Express link;
• and at least one configurable communications lane coupled to the second PCI Express device and configured for operation in transmit and receive modes as a function of a directional communications characteristic of the first PCI Express device, for facilitating communications between the first and second PCI Express devices such that a directional communications characteristic of the at least one configurable communications lane matches the directional communications characteristic of the first PCI Express device.