Vitesse Crosspoint Switches Set Performance Benchmarks for Datacenter Upgrades and Build-outs
May 27 2009 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (Pink Sheets: VTSS) today
announced production availability of new crosspoint switch devices
that enable a dramatic 2x speed and bandwidth improvement in
datacenter switches and network storage equipment. The devices
feature Vitesse�s industry-leading signal integrity technology
which allows transmission and signal recovery of high-speed signals
over lossy printed circuit board, backplane, and cable media. As
the industry migrates from 4G to 8G Fibre Channel to upgrade
communication bandwidth, Vitesse�s crosspoint and signal integrity
technology is required to enable high-speed switching and signal
propagation amongst servers, workstations, and network storage
systems. OEMs are supporting 8G Fibre Channel in various switch and
blade server card products as a result of the increased demand for
remote data storage, network capacity, server-to-storage, and
server-to-server networking.
The new products include the 8.5G 144X144 channel VSC3144-08 and
the 8.5G 4X4 channel VSC3303 crosspoint switches. The industry�s
highest-capacity semiconductor device, the VSC3144-08 delivers
breakthrough 1.224 Terabit per second (Tbps) switching capacity.
The VSC3303 is a new, low-power device ideal for board edge
placement to clean up signals transmitted across the system
backplane. Each device supports a wide frequency range encompassing
virtually all data protocols, including Gigabit Ethernet (GbE),
XAUI, Reduced XAUI (RXAUI), SAS/SATA, InfiniBand as well as
emerging services such as 8G Fibre Channel. Used together, these
advanced crosspoints enable low-latency, fully non-blocking
switching capability on line cards and switch cards used in Core,
Metro, and Enterprise environments.
�We see tremendous industry migration to 8G Fibre Channel across
storage networks with customers running more traffic, at
higher�speeds, over fewer links, in smaller system footprints.
Vitesse�s VSC3144-08 and VSC3303 uniquely enable this migration by
providing a seamless, pin-compatible speed upgrade up to 8.5 Gbps
per channel,� said Juan Garza, product marketing manager, at
Vitesse. �Vitesse is playing a key role in delivering devices that
enable a world-class performance system-level upgrade path for line
cards and central switch cards critical to storage and networking
equipment.�
Newest Members of Industry�s Highest-Performance Crosspoint
Switch Portfolio
Boasting over a decade of crosspoint switch and signal integrity
breakthroughs, the VSC3144-08 is the latest flagship product to be
added to Vitesse�s crosspoint product line. The device is footprint
compatible to Vitesse�s previous generation devices, allowing a
pin-compatible speed upgrade path for customers using the Vitesse
4.25G VSC3140 or 6.5G VSC3144 products. Other features for the
VSC3144-08 include:
- DC-to-8.5 Gbps fully
differential signal paths with protocol-independent operation
- Adjustable input signal
equalization with per-channel and global control
- Adjustable output pre-emphasis
with per-channel and global control
- Lowest power available at this
bandwidth level with 21W power consumption
The VSC3303 features Vitesse�s exclusive dual time constant,
programmable output signal pre-emphasis. This allows the VSC3303 to
compensate for multiple impairments and discontinuities in a signal
path introduced by connectors and long PCB traces. The smaller form
factor of the VSC3303 is designed to route, drive, and restore 8.5G
signals on line cards by utilizing Vitesse�s FlexEQ� adaptive
equalization and Electronic Dispersion Compensation (EDC)
technology. The VSC3303 consumes only 200 mW per channel,
dramatically reducing power requirements by up to 50 percent over
previous generation devices. Other features of the VSC3303
include:
- DC-to-8.5 Gbps fully
differential signal paths with protocol-independent operation
- Loss of signal (LOS) detecting
and transmitting for out-of-band (OOB) support of SAS/SATA storage
protocols
- Fully non-blocking and
multicasting switch core and flexible fourth-generation
equalization and pre-emphasis I/O capability
- Input equalization
- Dual-decay pre-emphasis works
independently of the data rate and provides compensation for
deterministic jitter across a wide range of operating conditions
without re-tuning
Both crosspoint switches can be programmed through a flexible,
multimode programming interface that allows both per-channel and
global configuration, enabling maximum customization for
applications. Unused channels may be powered down for efficient use
of the switch in applications that require only a subset of the
channels.
Product Availability
The VSC3144-08 is offered in a 45 mm X 45 mm, 1.27 mm pin pitch,
1072-pin BGA package. The VSC3303 is available in an ultra-compact
7mm X 7mm, 1mm pin pitch, 36-pin FCBGA package. Evaluation Systems
and samples for both devices are available now.
About Vitesse
Vitesse designs, develops, and markets a diverse portfolio of
high-performance, cost-competitive semiconductor solutions for
Carrier and Enterprise Ethernet networks worldwide. Engineering
excellence and dedicated customer service distinguish Vitesse as an
industry leader in Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Ethernet-over-SONET, Fibre
Channel, Serial Attached SCSI, Optical Transport, and other
applications. Vitesse innovation empowers customers to deliver
superior products for enterprise, access, metro, and core
applications. Additional company and product information is
available at www.vitesse.com.
Vitesse is a registered trademark and FlexEQ is a trademark in
the United States and/or other jurisdictions of Vitesse
Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks or registered
trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective
holders.
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