DECEMBER 20, 2006 -- Broadcom Corp. (search for Broadcom) today announced what it claims is the industry's first all digital signal processing (DSP)-based 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) serial transceiver, which enables IT professionals to preserve their existing multimode and singlemode fiber infrastructures by providing an upgrade path from 1 GbE to 10 GbE.
According to the company, the high-speed DSP provides significant performance, manufacturing, and reliability advantages over competing analog solutions that should help drive significant growth in the 10-GbE market. Utilizing the Broadcom DSP-based 10-GbE physical layer device (PHY), enterprise data centers now can achieve higher bandwidth and performance while maintaining significant savings in cost, resources, and manpower when upgrading to 10-GbE links, say company representatives.
Broadcom claims its 10-GbE DSP PHY exceeds the requirements of the new IEEE 802.aq standard, which was developed to provide a low cost 10x speed upgrade for existing Gigabit Ethernet links in multimode fiber applications. Today, more complex and higher cost 10GBASE-LX4 optical modules currently are servicing this market, creating the need for simpler and lower cost options. Additionally, as density of 10-GbE line cards increase from 8 to 16 channels today to as many as 48 channels on next-generation designs, smaller form factors and lower cost 10-Gigabit modules (such as SFP+) will be required, says Broadcom.
"Broadcom's all DSP-based 10-GbE PHY will enable future products that are consistent, predictable, and have more tolerance to power supply noise and temperature variations," contends Nariman Yousefi, vice president and general manager of Broadcom's Physical Layer business. "Additionally, when the PHY performs signal detection using advanced signal processing with DSP, it provides a significant performance advantage when compared to analog solutions. As a result of this new technology," he says, "the all DSP-based PHY provides the highest level of production quality that can also be easily integrated in complex ASICs and, together with Ethernet switch and controller products, provides a complete end-to-end solution that guarantees network design interoperability."
Broadcom claims it changed the industry when it became the first company to ship PHYs in high volume production based entirely on DSP technology. Today, all 10-/100-/1000-Mbit/sec PHYs in the market are DSP-based, and Broadcom's new 10-Gigabit DSP equalizer technology will help to enable the rapid growth in data-intensive applications in next-generation designs, says the company.
"With the growth of computational power and the number of servers in data centers, the requirement for high-speed connectivity becomes a critical requirement," adds Jag Bolaria, senior analyst at The Linley Group. "As 10-GbE technology becomes more cost-effective over the existing infrastructure that includes multimode fiber, it will make strides to become the interconnection of choice in servicing the high-bandwidth needs of the enterprise. We expect Broadcom's new 10-GbE PHY technology to enable these high-bandwidth links, which are expected to grow at a significant rate for the next few years," he contends.
Announced today is the Broadcom BCM8706 10-GbE (SFP+ to XAUI) transceiver that builds on five generations of 10-GbE serial PHY technology and will be used in SFP+ line card applications and inside X2 optical modules. The DSP equalizer provides optimal performance over 300 meters of multimode fiber that exceeds the IEEE specified link distance of 220 meters. An on-chip micro-controller provides additional flexibility to maintain optimal performance in even the most challenging operating conditions, says the company.
In support of the new SFP+ optical module standard, the BCM8706 product family incorporates multi-tap transmit pre-emphasis to compensate for FR-4 board material loss in line card applications. For additional flexibility, it supports backward compatibility using existing 1-GbE SFP modules, providing a single PHY design that is capable of interfacing to both new and legacy Ethernet interfaces from a single PCB design.
According to Broadcom, the BCM8706 serial 10-GbE transceiver is a low-power, 90-nm device that is now sampling to early access customers. It is available in a 13- x 13-mm, PBGA, RoHS-compliant package and is compliant to all serial 10-GbE interfaces, including 10GBASE-SR, 10GBASE-LRM, 10GBASE-LR, and 10GBASE-ER. Volume production is scheduled for the second quarter of 2007. Pricing is available upon request.
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