Editor: Linley
Gwennap In This Issue
Our updated Communications Market Forecast report will soon be available with information on more than fifteen categories of wired and wireless communications semiconductors plus embedded microprocessors and FPGAs. Order by August 31 and save $300 on this new edition. For more information, visit our web site. NetXen Attacks Server LOM Market Last week, NetXen announced a next-generation chip it hopes will kick-start the market for 10G Ethernet server connections. The NX3031 is the startup's third-generation controller design, which supports four GbE ports in addition to dual 10GbE ports. Although NetXen did not announce chip pricing, the company claims the NX3031 delivers "port price parity with Gigabit Ethernet." This aggressive pricing is at the heart of NetXen's FlexLOM design, which enables OEMs to ship a 4xGbE LAN-on-motherboard (LOM) design that is upgradeable to 10GbE using a daughtercard. By using a daughtercard, the OEM can decouple the cost and complexity of 10GbE PHY options (optical, 10GBase-T, etc.) from the motherboard design. The NX3031 design is evolutionary, starting with a process shrink from 130nm to 90nm. NetXen has added a fifth custom CPU core (or "MetaCore"), eliminated external SRAM, and upgraded the PCI Express interface to v2.0 with support for Single-Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV). The move from PCIe v1.1to v2.0 eliminates the host interface as a performance bottleneck even when both 10GbE ports are active. New dynamic power management cuts power dissipation by about 50 percent when operating in a GbE-only configuration or a power-optimized 10GbE mode. The NX3031 is already in production. NetXen also announced three adapters based on the new chip: a 2x10GbE NIC for SFP+ direct attach (twinax), a 2x10GbE optical NIC for SR/LR, and a 4xGbE copper NIC. NetXen's FlexLOM strategy represents a significant shift for the startup. Following more than 18 months of 10GbE shipments, NetXen was disappointed with its volumes. Now, the company is going on the offensive to capture LOM designs in high-volume platforms. This strategy separates NetXen from most other 10GbE NIC vendors but puts the startup in direct competition with GbE incumbents Broadcom and Intel. With this approach, NetXen should either become a major player in server connectivity or die trying. —Bob Complete coverage of NetXen appears in our report A Guide to 10G Ethernet Adapters and Controller Chips. Last week, Freescale introduced the MSC7104 GPON controller for ONU applications. This chips is low-cost follow-on to the company's earlier MSC7120 GPON controller. Compared to its predecessor, the MSC7104 removes support for VoIP. The MSC7104 retains the e300 Power CPU and delivers more than 8.5Gbps peak I/O throughput. It also retains dual GbE ports, a 32-bit DDR2 controller, and QoS features. Freescale targets the MSC7104 at markets that do not require voice support. In these markets, the customer is likely to use cellular services for voice. Freescale has priced the MSC7104 at $12, about 20 percent less than the MSC7120. Using the MSC7104, carriers will have the option of providing a lower-cost GPON ONU. Freescale hopes to spur demand for GPON with this new price point. Freescale's GPON chips are not well suited to gateway designs, as the company does not believe there is currently a significant market for GPON gateways. Some ODMs, however, are developing GPON gateways using chips from BroadLight. Although the MSC7104 is a minor derivative, it signals Freescale's intention to fight for new GPON business. —Jag Complete coverage of Freescale's GPON products appears in our report A Guide to Broadband Chips. At this week's Intel Developer Forum, Pericom announced its 3-port e-lane PCIe packet switch, designated the PI7C9X303UL. With its newest switch, Pericom has focused on small size and low power. Compared with previous devices, the new chip reduces power dissipation by up to 30 percent. The 303UL is an attractive solution for dual-mode 802.11 access points, where it can connect a low-cost CPU with two radio chips, which generally have PCIe ports. The switch chip should also be useful in notebook PCs for connecting dual radios on a minicard module. New multifunction printers that support wireless connections could also use the 303UL. Also at IDF, PLX Technology introduced three new PCIe switches that integrate DMA controllers. The three products, PEX8619/15/09, support 16 ports, 12 ports, and 8 ports, respectively. Each switch offers the same number of lanes as ports. Each integrates four DMA controllers to move data to and from memory without CPU overhead a rate of up to 3Gbps. The chips support two clock domains for isolation and they include 2 virtual channels per port for QoS. A typical application may use the ports on these switches to collect statistic data from end points, such as ASICs and FPGAs, without burdening the host processor. DMA is a proven function to improve performance, and integrating the DMA controller in a switch can offload the main CPU or coprocessors. —Jag Additional coverage of Pericom and PLX appears in our report A Guide to High-Speed Interconnects. On Monday, the HyperTransport Technology Consortium (HTC) released the latest revisions to the HyperTransport specification and the HTX connector specification. HyperTransport 3.1 increases the data rate from 2.6GHz to 3.2GHz and adds intermediate data rates of 3GHz and 2.8GHz. Using the maximum bus width of 32 bits with DDR transfers, HT3.1 supports full-duplex bandwidth of 51.2Gbps, an increase of 23 percent compared to the previous version (HT3.0). Whereas HyperTransport defines the processor interface, HTX defines a physical connector for the host processor and adapters. Connecting adapters directly to the host processor reduces latency compared to going though an intermediate bus such as PCIe. HTX 3.0 supports data rates of up to 2.6GHz and should enable very high performance adapters. —Jag Additional coverage of HyperTransport appears in our report A Guide to High-Speed Interconnects. Last week, NPU startup Xelerated announced it has closed an additional $13 million round of funding with participation from all existing investors. This round was led by Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund, which also led Xelerated's previous round in May 2007 as a new investor. The company will use the new funds to complete development of the HX300 family, due to sample in 4Q08, as well as expand its worldwide sales and marketing staff. This new support indicates the shipping X11 NPU continues its revenue ramp at customers such as Huawei, Fujitsu, and others. Xelerated is fortunate to have investors that understand the long design cycles for carrier equipment and are willing to fund next-generation products. —Bob Complete coverage of Xelerated appears in our report A Guide to Network Processors.
Are you investigating the newest chips and OEM products for switching and server connectivity for your data-center network designs? If so, you'll want to join us on Sept. 16th in San Jose for a Linley Tech seminar on the trends and technologies driving this market. This one-day event brings together leading suppliers delivering information-packed presentations on 10GbE switching, 10GbE backplanes, and application-aware networking. You won't want to miss these outstanding presentations:
Register now! The seminar, free to qualified attendees who register early, is intended for network-equipment vendors, server OEMs, system designers, network service providers, enterprise-network managers, software developers, press, and the financial community. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss their specific issues with the speakers and vendors during lunch and the reception. As a special bonus, we're giving away an Apple iPod and one of The Linley Group's reports. The seminar will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in San Jose, CA. Visit our web site for details. View the detailed program on our web site. Sponsored by Freescale, AMCC, Netronome, Xelerated, Dune Networks, Fujitsu, Finisar, Hifn, the Ethernet Alliance, and the HyperTransport Consortium.
If you're faced with the complex and hazardous task of selecting the Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) vendors and products for your new equipment design, A Guide to Ethernet Switch and PHY Chips is your roadmap through the Ethernet minefield. Unlike typical market research, we provide technology analysis, head-to-head product comparisons, and a forward-looking view. We tell you which chips are best for your designs and why, explain how these vendors are positioned, explore the target markets and applications, and provide meaningful conclusions in each category. Despite strong competition from incumbent vendors Broadcom and Marvell, new vendors such as Realtek, and Vitesse are winning designs in the vast Gigabit Ethernet segment. The number of 10G Ethernet ports is increasing rapidly with Broadcom, Fujitsu, Marvell, and Fulcrum competing to establish a leadership position. Even more competitive is the market for 10GbE PHYs, with several vendors vying to establish a leadership position. We've got the information to help you navigate through the plethora of vendors and products. The report breaks this market into six key segments:
Only The Linley Group delivers a comprehensive look at the full range of chips designed for GbE or 10GbE applications. Whether you are looking for the right Ethernet chip for your application or seeking to partner with or invest in a chip vendor, this report will cut your research time and save you money. Make the intelligent decision; get A Guide to Ethernet Switch and PHY Chips today. Order by September 26 to take advantage of the prepublication discount. To receive Linley Wire via e-mail, click here
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