<A> Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Introduces Industry's Broadest Family of Low-Power, Highly Integrated ATM SAR and Physical Layer Chips
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--
-- New Segmentation and Reassembly (SAR) controller and companion
physical-layer (PHY) devices are the industry's most complete
family of modular, 3.3V solutions.
-- WAN SONET devices with integrated on-chip PLL/clock recovery
provide best in class jitter performance, exceeding all Bellcore
jitter specifications, and support ATM's migration into LAN and
WAN access applications.
-- Seven-member PHY family includes a quad-port 155Mbps solution and
the industry's first eight-port device for modular xDSL access
multiplexors (DSLAMs) and other T/E carrier port concentrator
applications.
Rockwell Semiconductor Systems has introduced the industry's broadest line of low-power ATM silicon, including both a 3.3V Segmentation and Reassembly (SAR) controller and a companion family of 3.3V ATM physical-layer (PHY) interface devices.
The PHY family includes six 155Mbps SONET devices for LAN and WAN end-stations and switches, plus the industry's first modular eight-port device that cost-effectively aggregates sub-50Mbps data ports in ATM access concentrators and DSL Access Multiplexor (DSLAM) equipment.
Rockwell's PHY offering will provide equipment designers with significantly more options and flexibility than was previously possible with competitive ATM silicon solutions. Additionally, the high-density quad-port 155Mbps devices will give switch designers twice the density of competing solutions while consuming half the power. For 32-port switches, this power savings will reach as high as 25W.
Rockwell's expansion into the ATM PHY market coincides with accelerating ATM market adoption rates, and the need for flexible solutions that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecommunications carriers can use to multiplex T1/E1, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and T3/E3 traffic over their ATM backbone networks.
Each PHY device can optionally be interfaced directly to Rockwell's new low-cost 3.3V RS8235 ATM SAR controller and a broad selection of other companion silicon, and each implements a UTOPIA Level 2 interface with four-cell FIFO memory and multi-PHY addressing to simplify integration with ATM switch fabrics.
Rockwell's new 3.3V SAR and PHY devices are key components in its strategy to provide a flexible portfolio of silicon solutions for next-generation multifunction network access boxes. The new devices join a broad line of T1/E1 framers, line interface units (LIUs), ATM SARs and xDSL modems. Rockwell plans to offer integrated central-site ADSL solutions with ATM uplinks to further improve system-level design options in such applications as DSLAMs and other multiservice boxes and port-concentration equipment.
With its new 3.3V ATM products, Rockwell now offers 13 ATM-specific products that can be combined with other WAN and access solutions to form a portfolio of 18 semiconductor solutions for system-level network access equipment design.
"ATM is the dominant choice for WANs and public networks. It's the principal architecture for next-generation multiservice WAN switches, and it is emerging as the primary transport technology for use with xDSL in the United States and overseas," said Warner Andrews, manager of ATM strategic marketing for Rockwell's Network Access Division.
"Our ATM PHY layer family addresses all of these applications and more, and is backed by one of the industry's broadest portfolios of companion silicon for increasingly feature-rich multiservice boxes."
Rockwell's ATM PHY family includes six 155Mb/s devices for single-, dual-
and quad-port WAN and LAN applications, and a modular eight-port solution for concentrating low-speed (T1/E1, DS3/E3, xDSL) lines onto higher-speed ATM switching fabrics.
Each can be gluelessly interfaced to Rockwell's RS8234 and new RS8235 SAR controller, a 3.3V version of the company's xBR ServiSAR(tm) family that has been optimized for low-cost, low-power implementations. Rockwell's growing family of RS823x SAR controllers consolidates all popular ATM xBR service classes and their associated traffic-management requirements onto a single high-performance multiprocessor chip.
Rockwell's goal is to provide a complete family of ATM solutions for the full range of applications from end-stations to interworking boxes and even high-speed uplink equipment, all with the same broad, multiservice feature sets.
PHY Layer Family Spans
T1/E1, xDSL, T3/E3 and OC-3 Markets
Rockwell's PHY layer family provides equipment designers with a single source for the full range of T1/E1, xDSL, T3/E3 and OC-3 transport applications, and Rockwell also plans to extend the family into OC-12 and OC-48 applications. The products are tailored to the following applications:
WAN/LAN Applications
The RS825x family offers all the functionality necessary for mapping OC-3 signals to ATM backbones and ATM/SONET-compliant edge switch equipment. It includes the RS8250/1 single-port, RS8252/3 dual-port, and RS8254/5 quad-port 155Mbp/s ATM/SONET PHY-layer UNI devices for WAN/LAN applications.
Each features integrated on-chip PLL/clock recovery (GR.253-CORE-compliant) for WAN applications, and is available in high-density quad-port Ball Grid Array (BGA) packages to reduce component costs and board area requirements in WAN/LAN switch equipment. For adapter cards, the RS8250/1 single-port devices' TQFP packages are 25 percent smaller than standard PQFPs.
The Rockwell 0.35m CMOS process reduces power consumption by 48 percent as compared with competitive solutions. This improves cost and reliability, especially in multi-port switch applications. Other features include a unique, hardware-based implementation of industry-standard Automatic Protection Switching (APS) to enable redundant protection paths on both active and inactive channels in the event of signal degradation or failure. A complete package of software drivers speeds design cycles.
ATM Access Concentrator and
DSLAM Applications
Rockwell's RS8228 Octal (eight-port) PDH-ATM PHY layer transmission convergence device provides a single integrated solution in a modular, low-cost architecture for supporting all ATM interfaces below 51 Mbit/s. It is the first to offer the partitioning flexibility to choose T1/E1, T3/E3, xDSL or other line formats on a port-by-port basis.
Its microprocessor-based programmable interface allows it to support either PDH frames or xDSL data streams, while enabling Initialization and Operations Administration and Maintenance (OAM) cell management for network fault indication and performance/diagnostic functions.
The ATM cell delineation block is fully compliant with ATM industry standards, and the total solution dramatically reduces cost per port and PCB real estate as compared with layouts using discrete devices. Rockwell has also packaged the devices in state-of-the-art 27mm BGAs to simplify volume board assembly.
Rockwell is sampling its RS8235 SAR chip now and will begin volume production in the fourth quarter of 1998. Pricing is $39 per unit in OEM volumes of 10,000 pieces. Prototypes of selected members of Rockwell's RS825x 155Mbps PHY family are also available now. The RS8228 will sample in July, and general sampling of all RS825x and RS8228 devices will begin by the third quarter of 1998.
All PHY devices are sampling now and will enter volume production by the fourth quarter of 1998. RS825x packaging options include high-density BGAs or TQFPs, and pricing begins below $30 per unit in OEM volumes depending on features and package. The RS8228 Octal transmission convergence device is packaged in a standard 27mm BGA and priced at $80 per device in 1,000-unit quantities.
Rockwell Semiconductor Systems and Electronic Commerce is based in Newport Beach. Rockwell Semiconductor Systems is a leading worldwide provider of semiconductor system solutions for personal communications electronics products used in personal computing, network access, personal imaging, wireless communications and digital infotainment.
These product platforms offer a variety of technology convergence opportunities and each leverages the company's 30-year mixed-signal computing heritage in such key areas as signal-processing algorithms, signal conversion, and communications protocols.
The Electronic Commerce Division, based in Wood Dale, Ill., is a leading supplier of call center systems and personalized electronic commerce applications software. For more information, visit the Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Web site at rss.rockwell.com.
Rockwell (NYSE: ROK) is a global electronic controls and communications company with leadership positions in industrial automation, avionics and communications, semiconductor systems, and electronic commerce, with fiscal 1997 sales of approximately $8 billion and 48,000 employees. Rockwell's world headquarters is located in Costa Mesa in Orange County, Calif.
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