Compaq Selects Broadcom's NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet Controllers for Next-Generation Servers
BCM5701 Single-Chip Controller Chosen for Compaq's ProLiant Server Family NIC and LOM Applications for its Leadership in Performance and Reliability
IRVINE, Calif. - Jan. 29, 2002 - Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), the leading provider of integrated circuits enabling broadband communications, announced today that Compaq Computer Corporation has selected Broadcom's NetXtreme single-chip PCI-X Gigabit Ethernet controllers for use in its line of ProLiant servers. Compaq is using Broadcom's BCM5701 Gigabit Ethernet controllers in its next-generation PCI-X Server Network Interface Cards (NICs) and Server LAN on motherboard (LOM) applications.
"Our customers are relying on Compaq to work to provide ProLiant servers with the highest levels of performance and reliability," said Paul Santeler, Vice President of Management, Networking and High Availability, Compaq Industry Standard Server Group. "With Broadcom's PCI-X controllers, we are able to provide leading edge Gigabit Ethernet technology for our industry-standard servers that supports our adaptive infrastructure strategy and allows Compaq to meet our customers' requirements with a cost-effective and high-performance solution."
NICs based on the Broadcom BCM5701 NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet controller outperformed Server NICs using competitive controller solutions, achieving up to 47 percent better performance in a series of independent, comparative tests conducted by eTesting Labs (a Ziff-Davis Media company). In the comparative tests, the BCM5701 outperformed competitive offerings in every performance category, including data throughput and CPU efficiency, which measures the amount of host processor computing power required to transmit and receive data.
"We are excited to expand upon the strong relationship already established between our ServerWorks subsidiary and Compaq for SystemI/O products to include our NetXtreme PCI-X Gigabit controllers," said Marty Colombatto, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Networking Business Unit. "This engagement with the industry's largest server supplier demonstrates our mutual commitment to accelerate the transition of computer networks to Gigabit speeds, and to drive the adoption of next-generation video, voice, and data services at market-enabling price points."
Gigabit Ethernet boosts data transmission over existing Category 5 cabling, the dominant cabling infrastructure in today's corporate networks, by up to ten times compared to today's Fast Ethernet solutions. This leap in performance is especially critical for today's servers, workstations, and new Pentium 4 desktop computers that are already being bottlenecked by aging 10/100 Ethernet networks. This congestion is the result of an increased utilization of network-oriented applications such as automatic file backup,
e-mail, messaging, streaming business video and Network Attached Storage (NAS) applications.
Compaq's Gigabit NIC and LOM designs will be based on Broadcom's original BCM5701 single-chip Gigabit Ethernet controller, as well as Broadcom's third-generation family of BCM570X controllers. The new controllers will enable 10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet LOM solutions to be designed at virtually no price premium or board real-estate penalty over 10/100Base-T (Fast Ethernet) solutions, thereby enabling the mass deployment of Gigabit Ethernet into the business enterprise.
BCM570X Product Overview
The BCM570X NetXtreme controllers combine Broadcom's BCM5700 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet media access controller (MAC) core with the industry's most widely deployed Gigabit copper transceiver technology to create a complete Gigabit Ethernet solution. The controllers also include support for DMTF (Desktop Management Task Force) ASF (Alert Standard Forum) version 1.0 and IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) version 1.5 specifications for managing server and desktop computers.
Broadcom provides comprehensive software suites for the NetXtreme controllers, including a server software suite for server NIC and LOM applications to maximize server uptime and ease management of the server's network connection. Broadcom's Advanced Server Control Suite , Advanced Server Program and SNMP-sub agents software feature heterogeneous NIC and LOM Fail Over, Smart Load Balancing , Generic Port Trunking, IEEE 802.3ad Port Aggregation, IEEE 802.3ac/802.1Q VLAN and Priority Tagging Configuration, Advanced Server Configuration Save/Store/Recover, Cable Fault Detection and Diagnostics, and SNMP support, as well as other standard NIC and LOM diagnostics functions.
The BCM5701 Gigabit Ethernet controller is currently shipping in volume production.
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