Note the remarks from Cisco's manager of hardware development:
BURNABY, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1999--
-- New FREEDM-84/TEMUX chip set provides a complete packet
processor, framer and mapper solution for T1/E1 over SONET/SDH and
uses less than half the number of chips compared to other currently
available solutions
PMC-Sierra (NASDAQ:PMCS) today announced the new FREEDM-84/TEMUX
chip set. The chip set consists of two new members of the FREEDM
family of high density packet processors, and the TEMUX - a highly
integrated T1/E1 framer and SONET/SDH mapper device. The
FREEDM-84/TEMUX chip set provides an optimized solution for packet
based T1/E1 over channelized DS-3 or SONET/SDH interfaces used in
Internet access switch, router and access multiplexer applications.
This improved density allows designers to build T1/E1 channelized
interface cards with multiple OC-3 capacity (see Figure 1 which
illustrates a complete OC-12 solution using TEMUX and FREEDM-84).
Internet Access Equipment Design Challenges
Internet access system designers face the challenge to develop
equipment that terminates a dramatically increasing amount of
bandwidth, while remaining restricted to a fixed space and power
budget. System port card capacities must evolve from aggregate rates
ranging from 45 to 155 Mbit/s to capacities ranging from 155 to 622
Mbit/s within the same form factor. The FREEDM-84/TEMUX chip set meets
this need, providing a complete T1/E1 over SONET/SDH solution in half
the space required by other currently available devices. In a T1
channelized OC-3 application, the new chip set replaces up to 10
devices (Figure 2), while in an E1 channelized STM-1 application, the
FREEDM-84/TEMUX chip set replaces up to 13 chips (Figure 3). In either
case the solution consists of just five chips (Figure 4).
FREEDM-84/TEMUX Chip Set Meets Cisco Systems' Port Card Density
Requirements
"We worked closely with PMC-Sierra on the specification for both
the FREEDM-84 and TEMUX devices," said Yakov Zbinovich, Cisco Systems'
manager of hardware development. "This new chip set meets our
requirements for both port card density and backwards compatibility,"
he added.
FREEDM-84/TEMUX Chip set
The PM7384 FREEDM-84P672 and PM7385 FREEDM-84A672 each support up
to 672 simultaneous High-level Data Link Control (HDLC) channels
across up to 84 T1 or E1 links. The FREEDM-84P672 supports a 66 MHz,
32 bit PCI 2.1 compliant system interface, and allows system designers
to continue to deliver high performance PCI-based solutions. The
FREEDM-84A672 supports PMC-Sierra's Any-PHY(TM) streaming packet
system interface. The Any-PHY(TM) interface supports aggregate data
rates exceeding 622 Mbit/s and the ability to ensure low latency
required for delay sensitive applications such as voice over IP.
Both new FREEDM devices support up to three times the number of
links previously possible in a single device. This radically improved
link density is achieved through the new Scaleable Bandwidth
Interconnect (SBI) bus developed by PMC-Sierra. The SBI bus uses an 8
bit parallel format to interconnect the TEMUX Layer 1 framer device
with high density Layer 2 solutions such as the new FREEDM-84 devices
(Figure 5).
The PM8315 TEMUX integrates 28 T1 framers, 21 E1 framers, a DS-3
framer/multiplexer and SONET/SDH mappers into a single chip. The
device supports transmission over both DS-3 and SONET/SDH links,
interfacing directly to the PM5342 SPECTRA-155 for SONET/SDH
applications. The TEMUX supports the new SBI bus high density
interface to FREEDM-84 while also supporting seamless interconnect to
other members of the FREEDM family and to the PM73121 AAL1gatorII ATM
AAL1 SAR.
"Through the SATURN Development Group we've worked to define
interfaces such as Any-PHY(TM) and SBI that provide the future
scalability our customers require -- they simply cannot afford the
time to market costs of choosing a point solution," said Glenn
Bindley, PMC-Sierra vice-president & general manager access products
division.
Pricing, Availability and Customer Support
The PM7384 FREEDM-84P672 is packaged in a 35 by 35mm 352-pin SBGA
and is priced at $480 in 1KU volumes. The pin-compatible PM7385
FREEDM-84A672 is priced at $385 in 1KU volumes. The PM8315 TEMUX is
packaged in a 23 by 23 mm 324 pin PBGA and is priced at $299 in 1KU
volumes. All devices are sampling now and are rated for industrial
temperature range operation (-40 to +85 degrees Celsius).
The FREEDM-84P672 and FREEDM-84A672 are software compatible with
the entire FREEDM family, while the TEMUX provides software
compatibility with PMC-Sierra's PM4351 COMET and PM8313 D3MX products
ensuring an easy upgrade path for the 100's of existing designs
currently using these devices. A comprehensive customer support
package including device datasheets, technical overview, software
drivers, programmer's guide and hardware reference design is available
at pmc-sierra.com. |
