The PEX 8508 is an inexpensive 5-port/8-lane PCI Express switch with a host of capabilities applicable to security appliances. These switches support aggregation traffic from upstream to/from downstream ports as well as peer-to-peer data transfers with no host intervention. In addition, the PEX 8508 includes many optional PCI Express capabilities such as Hot Swap controllers on every port. This application note looks at the advantages associated with the PEX 8508.