January 11, 2006 Fremont, CA -- Ample Communications, a provider of communications silicon for wireline network systems, announced that its Redhawk device is now sampling to customers. The company says the 2-port, 10-Gbit/sec Ethernet intelligent MAC features embedded XFI SerDes capability and multiprotocol congestion management technology.
Ample has incorporated the Redhawk onto an evaluation platform that provides customers with a dual-port card that can be used either as a full-rate, 1- or 2-port 10-Gbit/sec Ethernet system, or as a dual-port oversubscribed system with statistical multiplexing. Two of the devices can also be cascaded with this evaluation platform to demonstrate a 4-port oversubscribed 10-GbE platform. The company says the Redhawk evaluation platform allows customers to evaluate network-side XFP, XENPAK, and X2 optics, as well as XAUI and SPI-4.2 system side interfaces.
"Now that Ample is sampling Redhawk, customers are able to leverage Redhawk's multiprotocol congestion management in networks so no high priority packets are lost, even in a congested network," comments Marek Tlalka, vice president of sales and marketing for Ample Communications. "Redhawk offers the highest level of integration, allowing system suppliers to dramatically reduce power, space, and system cost."
The Redhawk 10-GbE evaluation platform offers system-side footprint compatibility with the company's existing SPI-4.2 based network interface cards, thus providing customers with flexibility to develop a system for multi-rate Ethernet applications just by changing the interface card, says the company.
The cards use a standard PCI or a USB interface for control. Also according to the company, with USB connectivity, the Redhawk evaluation platform can be used in a standalone evaluation mode, suitable for interoperability testing and rapid prototyping platform development.