NEC announces ATM controller that handles MPEG with an MPEG "packet engine"............
NEC Electronics Announces Plans for New ATM SAR Controller High Integration for Enhanced Performance and Low Cost
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 8 /PR Newswire -- NEC Electronics Inc. today
introduced to the North American market a new asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)
segmentation and re-assembly (SAR) controller that NEC Corporation has also
made available in Japan and Europe. The new mPD98409 is equipped with advanced
internal capabilities, including a built-in MPEG packet transfer engine and an
on-chip control memory, both of which traditionally have been implemented by
external components. The new ATM SAR controller enables a variety of
high-speed communication links, including ATM over digital subscriber lines
(xDSL), as well as synchronous optical network (SONET) links that can operate
up to 155 megabits per second.
"With today's growing demands for high-speed remote access capabilities,"
said Louis Saadeh, marketing manager for networking products at NEC
Electronics Inc., "NEC is able to respond with products that are multimedia
capable, such as this highly integrated, feature-rich, low-cost device."
The mPD98409 is based on NEC's high-density, 0.35-CMOS process technology
to achieve the high level of integration and the low-cost objective that make
it well suited for cost-sensitive applications such as set-top boxes and ATM
network interface cards.
Features and Benefits
The new ATM SAR controller's built-in MPEG packet transfer engine allows
re-assembly of ATM traffic, on specified channels, into video streams that are
188 bytes of MPEG transport packets. This new capability enhances system
performance by relieving the host processor from this task.
Conventional ATM products have required the use of external memory to
store virtual-channel (VC) and virtual-path (VP) control information. The
mPD98409, however, has sufficient internal memory to support 64 simultaneously
active VCs. This integration eliminates the need for external control memory,
resulting in reduced product size and cost.
Because the new ATM SAR controller has a built-in 32-bit peripheral
component interconnect (PCI) bus interface that provides direct connection to
PCI platforms, it helps to simplify implementations of client network
interface cards. In addition, the device provides a universal test and
operation physical interface ATM (UTOPIA) to allow for a glueless interface to
external physical (PHY) devices that support various line types, such as ADSL,
ATM-25M and SONET.
Background
In the early stages, ATM technology was targeted for large corporate
backbone and wide area networks (WANs). Since the adoption of ATM in the WAN,
the technology has become a favorable one to support the emerging high-speed
remote access services that utilize existing telephone lines. Over the next
couple of years, these high-speed remote access services are expected to be
widely used for remote offices and by home users, with different flavors of
xDSL.
Pricing, Packaging and Availability
Packaged in a 240-pin plastic quad flat pack (PQFP), the mPD98409 is
currently sampling. Volume production is slated for early November 1997 and is
expected to be priced at $40.00 for 10,000 units.(1)
NEC Electronics Inc.
NEC Electronics Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., designs,
manufactures and markets an extensive line of electronic products including
ASICs, microprocessors and microcontrollers, 3D graphics accelerators, digital
signal processors (DSPs), memories and components including flat panel
displays. In 1996, the company ranked fourth in semiconductor sales in the
U.S.(2) The company operates a 709,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in
Roseville, Calif. NEC Electronics is an affiliate of NEC Corporation (NIPNY),
a $41 billion international manufacturer of computer, communications and
semiconductor products. For more information about products offered by NEC
Electronics Inc., visit the NEC U.S. Website at nec.com.
Customer Contact: Literature Hotline, NEC Electronics Inc., 800-366-9782,
or fax, 800-729-9288.
(1) Pricing and availability are subject to change
(2) According to Dataquest (4/97)
SOURCE NEC Electronics Inc.
CONTACT: Vanessa G. Rios, 408-588-6187, or vanessa_rios@el.nec.com, or
Jim Lucas, 408-588-6620, or jim_lucas@el.nec.com, both of NEC Electronics
Inc. |
